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At first glance, Saqlain Mushtaq seems an unlikely cheerleader. At second glance too.Certainly in the modern sense. Hes never been seen with a pair of pom-poms and his dancing days are probably behind him.But that was the description of his role on Englands tour of India offered by Zafar Ansari. It was not meant as faint praise, either. It was meant to underline the unstinting support he has given to Englands spinners in his role as coaching consultant and, in a subtle way, it recognises the sensibly soft touch he has taken.These brief coaching stints are tricky. On one hand, the coach is keen to make as much of an impact as possible in the short period they are with the team. In the case of Saqlain, that was originally only going to be for two weeks on this tour, though it has now been extended to something approaching a month.On the other hand, such short-term coaches can be reluctant to force themselves on players. One highly respected batting coach who was invited to spend a session or two with the team during the summer departed having hardly spoken to the players for fear of tinkering without sufficient time to make substantial progress.Saqlain understands this. He understands that, as a consultant, his role is not to completely overhaul anyones technique and that, going into a game, the worst thing he could do is inject any negativity or doubt into a players mind.He has made it explicit that he didnt want to come in and change anything, Ansari said after Englands training session at the not especially catchily named Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam. He hasnt had time to change our actions and, in the lead-up to Test, the last thing you want to be doing is changing what youre doing.He acts as our cheerleader to some extent. He boosts us and makes us feel good about ourselves. And as someone who has been so successful to come in and say I think youre a good bowler and I think you can take wickets at this level, that gives you a lot of confidence and that is important for Test cricket.Saqlain may have learned a thing or two in this regard. During his first stint with the England team, just ahead of the Manchester Test against Pakistan, he mentioned to Moeen Ali that he may like to alter his grip a little in a bid to gain more bounce. But when the result was a couple of head-high full tosses, they both concluded that the time for technical changes is not a couple of days before a Test.His input is not limited to bowling, either. Moeen credits his improvement against spin bowling in part to Saqlains comments. So when Saqlain mentioned that Javed Miandad had recently told him how much he admired Moeens batting, Moeen was thrilled and more receptive to the advice - advice offered many times previously by Mark Ramprakash - that he might like to come down the pitch more often against spin bowlers. Sometimes the source of the advice is just as important as the subject.Thats not to say that Saqlain is nothing but a cheerleader. He also has the experience to offer practical advice. So, while Adil Rashids Test career has previously been characterised by coaches suggesting that he would need to bowl quicker to succeed in international cricket, Saqlain has recognised that Rashid has several gifts but that speed will never be one of them.Instead, he has encouraged him to embrace his natural strengths: to give the ball some air, to give the ball a rip and to back his own skills to defeat the batsmen. On the evidence of the Rajkot Test, where Rashid produced probably the best bowling performance of his Test career, it seems to be working well.Its more about your approach to bowling and bowling in Test cricket, Ansari said. How you can maintain your composure when batsmen are coming at you, when the crowd is loud and when youre playing on TV. All these external factors, he brings a certain perspective to that.Saqlains background may be relevant, too. Four of this England squad identify as British Muslims and three - including all three of the spin bowlers from the Rajkot Test - have family roots in Pakistan. Saqlain is a man they can identify with, and not just as a cricketer.Ansari, while reluctant to think of himself as a role model as an individual at this stage of his career, nevertheless celebrates the success of the collective and feels their visible success is a good thing for society.As a group of four British Muslims there is something in that, he says. Theres no doubt. Thats really exciting and something were proud of. A lot of people outside the group clearly care about that and value that a lot. And that is a good thing in our society.From a personal point of view, I wouldnt hold myself up as a role model. At least in that way. Im from a very privileged background. I dont necessarily challenge norms in a particularly obvious way or even in a superficial way. So I wouldnt necessarily characterise myself as breaking down boundaries. But Moeen, Adil and Haseeb Hameed - all of them are doing a wonderful job representing their communities. And thats not an easy role to play.On a day of optional nets - the seamers from the first Test plus Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow took the opportunity to rest - James Anderson ran in hard and looked as if he was raring to go. But it was Steven Finn who troubled the batsmen most, generating unpleasant bounce from just back of a length. Both are set to be frustrated, though, with England likely to play the same XI that featured in Rajkot.And that would mean another chance for Ansari. Though he is modest about his own talents - he describes himself as not a natural ball-player and seems somewhat in awe of Moeen having spent a month or so watching him at close quarters - he concedes that he is growing more comfortable with the glare of life in international cricket.The second game felt easier from a psychological perspective, he says. Just the attention being removed from you to some extent - as an England player, people are always observing - but that singular attention shifting away is a big thing for the second Test and going forward. It allows you to play the game as a game rather than as an event that you are the centre of.Im not a natural ball-player. I guess its all relative. Im probably comparing myself with Moeen or people like that. They work incredibly hard but, from the outside, they have a certain touch that maybe I dont feel like I quite have. But this is just my perspective. Other people might say youre talking rubbish; youre being self-deprecating. But thats genuine.Ansaris skills are likely to be tested to the full in the second Test. While the pitch at Visakhapatnam currently has some grass on it, the groundsman expects it to turn from day two. It is likely that spin will play a greater part than it did in Rajkot and likely that the toss will, once again, prove important. Vapormax Flyknit 2 Pas Cher .Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syracuse connections once again by hiring Rob Moore to take over as receivers coach. Vapormax Plus Soldes . Note: The Calgary Flames announced Tuesday that Sean Monahan would not be made available to Canadas World Junior team. http://www.vapormaxpaschersoldes.fr/vente-air-vapormax-flyknit-2/vapormax-flyknit-2-femme.html . Team physician Dr. Steve Traina performed the surgery Friday. Robinson was injured in a spill underneath the Nuggets basket during the first quarter of Wednesday nights loss to the Charlotte Bobcats. Vapormax 97 Femme Pas Cher .com) - The red-hot Los Angeles Kings will try to extend their winning streak to a season-high seven games when they visit the Edmonton Oilers for Sundays clash at Rexall Place. Nike Vapormax Pas Cher . - Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco is not a fan of his teams use of the wildcat formation, saying "it makes you look like a high school offence. The New York Knicks have emerged as the strong favorite to sign free-agent big man Joakim Noah, according to league sources.Sources told ESPN that multiple teams interested in Noah have all but conceded that the Knicks are his runaway preferred destination.The Knicks meeting with Noah will be Friday afternoon, league sources said.No deals can be officially signed until July 7, but teams and free agents can start coming to verbal agreements on contracts ?starting Friday at 12:01 a.m.?Noah, a former All-Star center, is scheduled to meet with Knicks president Phil Jackson on Friday, according to sources.There is significant interest on both sides. Noah, a native New Yorker, had expressed strong interest in signing with the Knicks in recent days, sources say. He is close with Carmelo Anthony and Derrick Rose, his former teammate in Chicago, who said last week that he would like Noah to join him in New York.The Knicks are eager to land a center this offseason. They have prioritized the position in free agency after trading Robin Lopez, last years starting center, to Chicago in the Rose trade.Noah, 31, is coming off a 2015-16 season filled with injury. He suffered two significant shoulder injuries that limited him to 29 games last season, missing almost a month with a left shoulder tear and undergoing season-ending surgery to repair a left shoulder dislocation in January. He has spent a portion of his summer at The Peak Performance Project in Santa Barrbara, California.ddddddddddddHe has been outspoken in years past about how much he loves Chicago, and there is still some hope within his camp that he will stay with the Bulls, but the likely option is that Noah will take a big-money deal from a team and look for a new start.Im very focused on free agency, Noah said in June, according to international website Sportando. I spent the last 10 years in Chicago. There were good moments and bad moments, but now I have an incredible opportunity for a player, being recruited by a team. I definitely want to live that kind of experience. Its new for me, but its something very intriguing for a player.The Knicks have roughly $30 million to spend in free agency and hope to fit Noah into that space while keeping enough room to add a starting shooting guard. Courtney Lee and Eric Gordon are among the guards the Knicks have a level of interest in, sources say.Some members of the Knicks organization expressed optimism earlier in the week about getting an audience with free agent Kevin Durant. But if the club comes to terms quickly with Noah, its unlikely that it will have the requisite cap space to sign Durant to a max contract. The Knicks are currently not among the teams that have secured a meeting with Durant.Information from ESPN staff writer Nick Friedell was used in this report. ' ' '