Dein erstes Forum » placed Sunday on the DL, h

Even though the result of the first Test between New Zealand and Zimbabwe was decided before Sunday, captains Kane Williamson and Graeme Cremer did not expect the match to end without a fight. Williamson already saw signs of it on the first day; Cremer was preparing to be in the thick of it on the fourth.The Zimbabwe captain had already bowled 53 overs, including a marathon spell of 26 on the second day, batted for half an hour to drag the game out a little longer at the end of the third but he knew the fourth day would bring its greatest challenge: to ensure that even though Zimbabwe were going to lose, they would lose with some respectability.We spoke about it after the first innings. We thought we were a little bit soft upfront but being in the field for so long, we realised what Test cricket is about, Cremer said. We watched them (New Zealand) bat. They didnt play any shots out of frustration or anger and we wanted to do the same.Despite the frustration of being so far behind the game and the anger that his men had not executed themselves as well as they could have, Cremer did not let that bleed into his batting. For five minutes short of three hours, he stoically saw off a New Zealand attack that was pushing for a quick result. He accepted the body blows that included being hit in the ribs, on the shoulder and on the arm he broke just before the World T20, which still has a plate in it. He let his team-mate Sean Williams, who had spent the past two days in the grip of a flu that has spread to more than half the Zimbabwean squad, have his moment in the sun.I knew batting with Sean, he scored quite freely anyway, so I knew I had to play the supporting role. He was hitting a boundary an over and we didnt need to score quicker than that. I just needed to stay there, Cremer said. He was feeling quite ill but credit to him. He was a little bit loose when he got out to bat and got a bit lucky but there he dominated. The player that he is, he can do that on wickets like this. He has got good hands and good eyes.Williams century, the fastest by a Zimbabwean in Tests and decorated with 21 fours that included cover drives, sweeps and a ramp shot, will overshadow Cremers silent resistance at the other end, Craig Ervines first fifty, Donald Tiripanos unbeaten 49 and Prince Masvaures impressive 42 on debut, and it should. But collectively, all those performances speak to a Zimbabwean batting line-up that is not as fragile as it looked when twin collapses saw it fall to 72 for 8 in the first innings and a top-order meltdown reduced them to 17 for 4 in the second.As the game progressed, the batsmens long-format muscle memory kicked in. At the same time, the New Zealand attack could not sustain the level of aggression that had seen them surge into the advantage earlier. Neil Wagner could not keep banging in the short ball, the hint of movement Tim Southee found was eventually lost and Trent Boult reached a top speed of 132kph but kept his average at 128.2kph. Williamson had expected all of that to happen.The way we bowled in the first innings was a huge part of how we got ahead. When you are tying to bowl that again, its going to be extremely challenging, he said. Sometimes, on surfaces like this one, you need to try and be a little bit creative. You want to try and make things hostile and difficult but you also need to be patent and build pressure. It was a very good effort to get 20 wickets. We knew it was going to be tough. We had to fight very hard to pick up the wickets that we did.Williamson had to use creative field placings, his spinners and a lot of patience while he waited for Wagner to find reverse-swing as the ball reached the end of its lifetime. He understood that things would happen slower than they had in the first innings but trusted that they would eventually happen. Neil has showed us he can be pretty creative with the older ball which is useful on surfaces that are not offering swing, Williamson said.Ross Taylor was preferred as the Man of the Match over Wagner but it was clear that even Williamson thought his left-armer was the man who changed the game. That first innings put us ahead of the game. It was extremely important to have some hostile bowling on a surface that didnt offer much, he said.In the end, Zimbabwe lost the real fight on the first morning but they will take heart from knowing they picked themselves out to compete in the smaller battles that came later on.Raheem Sterling Jersey .B. -- The Baie-Comeau Drakkar took over sole possession of first place atop the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League on Thursday with their sixth straight win. Danny Welbeck England Jersey . -- Timbers coach Caleb Porter didnt stray from his business-like approach to the season even after Portland downed the two-time defending league champion Los Angeles Galaxy to gain crucial playoff position. http://www.englandsoccerpro.com/Jordan-Pickford-England-Jersey/ Raheem Sterling England Jersey . Traditional contenders Brazil, Greece and Turkey drew the other three spots to complete the 24-team field for this summers tournament in Spain, basketball governing body FIBA announced Saturday at its meeting in Barcelona. David Beckham England Jersey . The nimble-footed quarterback got his wish, dashing through the snow and a weary defence all the way into the NCAA record book.MINNEAPOLIS -- Neither the Minnesota Twins nor the Oakland Athletics wanted a postponement, despite a severe thunderstorm that delayed the first pitch by 2 hours and 42 minutes and left the ballpark largely empty.The long wait was well worth it for Tommy Milone and Twins.Kennys Vargas, Max Kepler and Miguel Sano hit home runs, Milone beat his old team and the Twins topped the Athletics 11-4 in a game that ended early Wednesday morning.When you win, it makes it look like a good decision so Im glad we got it in, Twins manager Paul Molitor said.The game started at 9:52 p.m. and ended at 1 a.m.They were right, As manager Bob Melvin said. They got it in.Winning for the first time in eight starts since Sept. 28, Milone finished the sixth inning for only the second time this season. Marcus Semien hit his 18th home run in the second, but that was all the As managed against Milone (1-2). He allowed five hits and one walk to the team that traded him to the Twins two summers ago, crediting catcher Kurt Suzuki for calling a smart game behind the plate.We were on the same page pretty much the whole night, Milone said.Milone averaged 4 1/2 innings over his first six starts this year. With top prospect Jose Berrios on a tear for Triple-A Rochester, the left-hander was likely pitching to keep his spot in the rotation. Molitor essentially acknowledged as much before and after the game.I try not to think about that. I try to just go out there and do what I do on the field, Milone said.Danny Valencia hit a three-run homer in the eighth to bring the As within 7-4, but Sano hit his three-run shot in the bottom of the inning to seal it and help the Twins (28-55) move ahead of Atlanta (28-56) in the race for the worst record in the major leagues.Vargas, recalled Monday from Triple-A Rochester, went deep for the first time since June 22, 2015, with a two-run, two-out home run in the fifth against Sean Manaea (3-5). Then Kepler homered on the next pitch.After a meager four-hit performance Monday, the Twins brought their bats to life. Suzuki, another former As player, had two RBI. Byron Buxton had two doubles, driving in one.The dark clouds rolled in early enough to cancel batting practice, but with both teams scheduled to travel Wednesday evening (Minnesota to Texas and Oakland to Houston) the preference was to avoid a doubleheader the next day.dddddddddddd So they waited out the heavy rain, swirling wind and thunder and lightning, and the tarp was pulled off the infield at 9:17 p.m. In the clubhouse, some of the Twins gathered around shortstop Eduardo Nunezs cubicle to talk about his All-Star Game selection.Milone hadnt begun his pregame routine when the rain began, so he said he wasnt bothered much by the delay. Manaea might have been.I know he was pretty antsy, Melvin said. He kept coming in here asking me if Id heard anything. For starting pitchers, theyre the ones that are affected the most. Theyre very routine-oriented.WEATHER TRACKINGPaid attendance was announced at 16,938, the smallest crowd in Target Fields seven seasons. The actual number of people in the seats at first pitch couldnt have been much more than 1,000. The Twins granted fans ticket exchanges for a future game because of the delay, which was the 31st since the ballpark opened in 2010. There have been 14 postponed games and one suspended.TRAINERS ROOMATHLETICS: Oakland reserve catcher Josh Phegley, placed Sunday on the DL, had minor surgery in San Francisco to remove a cruciate ligament cyst on the inside of his right knee that was causing swelling and inflammation. Hell be reassessed in 10 days. Matt McBride has taken over as the backup.TWINS: Buxton was back in the Minnesota lineup after two days off to rest bumps and bruises. He crashed hard into the wall in left-center making a catch in the game Friday. In the seventh inning, Buxton made a sprinting grab of Jake Smolinskis smashed line drive and collided with the fence around the same spot.UP NEXTOakland RHP Sonny Gray (3-7, 5.42 ERA) will pitch Wednesday against Minnesota RHP Ervin Santana (2-7, 4.50 ERA) in the series finale.Gray is 0-2 with a 4.42 ERA in six starts since coming off the DL due to a trapezius muscle strain between his shoulder and neck. Santana gave up only three hits in his last start, going 6 2/3 innings in a defeat by Texas. That was his lowest hits total since opening day, when a rain delay limited him to two innings. ' ' '