Clifford comes to Charlotte after spending last season as an assist

Australias coach, Darren Lehmann, has admitted his teams batting woes have reached crisis point and placed his own job under scrutiny, after their crushing 85 all out on day one of the Hobart Test against South Africa.On an ideal day for the seam and swing of Vernon Philander and Kyle Abbott, the hosts lacked the technical or mental means by which to withstand the challenge presented to them. With the exception of captain Steven Smith, the batsmen melted away in a near action replay of their collapses in Trent Bridge 2015, Lords 2013, Cape Town 2011 and the MCG on Boxing Day 2010 - the sorts of unmitigated batting disasters that have come to define the team of late.Lehmann, who in August signed a lucrative contract extension to keep him in the job until 2019, conceded it would be difficult for him and others to retain their positions should things continue to deteriorate. When you get bowled out for 85, it probably is, isnt it? Lehmann said, when asked if crisis was an appropriate description. So, for us, its a matter of actually getting better. We lost 10 for 86 in the last Test match.We know they can play, youve got to have the belief to play at this level. Its a tough game, international cricket, no doubt about that. Having been there and been through it as a player myself, there are times when youve got to really believe in your ability.Its a great challenge ahead for myself and the coaching group, to pull the young guys through and teach them better, improve their techniques both on and off the field, mentally and that side of the game. Its a lot of fun. It doesnt feel like fun right at the moment to be perfectly honest, but thats what weve got to get better at.Summing up the conditions, Lehmann said he had been reminded very much of Nottingham last year, when the Australians were shot out for 60 before lunch on day one of a match they had to win to avoid losing the Ashes.It was a bit of a reminder of Trent Bridge to be perfectly honest, the way it was going around, he said. But again weve got to refine our game, as we spoke about before the game, if we bat first we have to really rein it in and make sure theyre bowling really good balls to challenge us. A couple of the dismissals probably didnt warrant that. At the end of the day, 85 is not good enough from an Australian cricket team, theres not much more you can add to that.There were various contributory factors in Australias downfall - vice-captain David Warners decision to chase a wide delivery in the very first over of the day, batsmen falling over, as was the case in the dismissals of Joe Burns, Adam Voges and Peter Nevill, and the run-out of debutant Callum Ferguson - highlighting how many basics of the game seem to have passed the Australians by.There were a couple of technical ones and mental decision making, Lehmann said. For us weve just got to be better. Its a case of when the ball is swinging weve struggled, theres no hiding from that fact. So weve been doing everything behind the scenes to get better at it, but today we werent as good as we should have been, we werent good at all.Steven Smith played really well and we needed someone to hang with him. Our lower order has not performed either, but you cant blame them, the batters have to do the batting. We believe this is the best squad weve got. On todays performance you would say weve got to change. Weve got to find a way to get through those tough periods, and we havent done that in our last five Test matches now.So thats a challenge for the players but also the coaches, to adapt to the situations that confront you. Its been disappointing because once we have a collapse we seem to have a big one, and someone needs to stop that rot and have a partnership somewhere. A lot of good sides, whether Australian sides in the past or the good sides playing cricket now, find a way to have a partnership somewhere, and we didnt have one today.Lehmann denied that there had been mixed messages surrounding the dropping of Mitchell Marsh after the selectors had initially indicated he would be guaranteed the first two matches. Conditions, [Shaun Marshs] broken finger, additions we had to make with Shaun going out and then picking the extra batter, Lehmann said of the circumstances changing. I dont think its mixed messages, the players are fine, Rodney talks to them before the match all the time, so very clear. Whether they agree with it or not is a different scenario. Wholesale Custom Jerseys . -- Anaheim Ducks captain and leading scorer Ryan Getzlaf has been scratched from Sunday nights game against the Vancouver Canucks because of an upper-body injury. Custom Jerseys Adidas . Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek defeated Nenad Zimonjic and Ilija Bozoljac 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (4) on the indoor hard-court at Belgrade Arena. The victory improved the Czech pairs impressive cup doubles record to 14-1. https://www.cheapcustomjerseysonline.com/ . - 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. Authentic Custom Jerseys . Following a lopsided 5-2 loss against the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night, Paul MacLean told reporters that "theres a lack of focus, theres a lack of leadership and theres a lack of preparation" with his struggling team. That came on the heels of Bryan Murray taking the unusual step of going into the locker room at the Prudential Center and addressing the players himself. Custom Jerseys Nike . Listen to the game live on TSN Radio 1050 at 7pm et. The Raptors traded Rudy Gay, Quincy Acy and Aaron Gray to the Sacramento Kings on Monday, in exchange for Greivis Vasquez, John Salmons, Patrick Patterson and Chuck Hayes.CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Steve Clifford said he isnt one to back down from challenges. That might make him a good fit for Charlotte. The Bobcats are a long way from being a legitimate NBA playoff contender. The team introduced Clifford as their new head coach at a press conference Wednesday. Clifford becomes the Bobcats sixth different coach since the 2006-07 season and inherits a team that went a combined 28-120 over the past two seasons, by far the worst record in the NBA. "Steve has worked quite a few years in this league and we feel very positive with that with our young competitive core that he is the right fit for us," said Rod Higgins, Bobcats president of basketball operations. Clifford said after meeting with Higgins and general manager Rich Cho last week he feels confident they share the same vision for the Bobcats. "When I met with them I left here thinking that the three of us could work very effectively together," Clifford said. His core players includes no big-time NBA stars, but rather young and developing players like four-year NBA veteran Gerald Henderson, second-year veterans Kemba Walker and Bismack Biyombo and last years rookie Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. That may have scared some coaches away, but not Clifford. He called that foursome "above average competitors," and said thats exactly what he wants from his players. "I think every coach in basketball has his own priorities in terms of judging players, but for me it starts with competitiveness and then skill level, in particular shooting," Clifford said. "Coach (Bill) Parcells once said he wanted guys who are competitive on their own without the aid of coaches and in this league when youre playing four and five nights a week there arent many times you can address the group and have some magic word to get them to play hard. "You either have the right kind of guys or you dont. When you have young guys who are naturally competitive you have the opportunity to build the kind of culture that you want." Clifford said there will be an emphasiss on improving the teams defence, pointing out that the top six teams in overall defence this season all reached the quarterfinals of the NBA playoffs.dddddddddddd. "Any good coach has a clear and definitive vision of how they want their team to play and practice -- and I have that," Clifford said. "I have seen what the right amount of work and the right amount of communication can do for a team.... Yes, I am inexperienced (as a head coach), but Im confident and I know how I want to do it." Clifford comes to Charlotte after spending last season as an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Lakers. Prior to that he spent five seasons (2007-12) working as an assistant under Stan Van Gundy in Orlando. He was also as an assistant coach under Jeff Van Gundy with the Houston Rockets for four years and was an assistant with the New York Knicks for three seasons. This is his first NBA head coaching job. Jeff Van Gundy, who now works as a NBA television analyst, believes Clifford is up to the task of building the Bobcats into a competitive team. The Bobcats have only been the playoffs once and have never won a post-season game. "Steve is the type of guy who can coach young teams that are rebuilding, teams on the verge of the playoffs and experienced teams, I really believe that," Jeff Van Gundy said. "I think he has great people skills and hes a quality basketball coach." The Bobcats made the move to hire Clifford one day before he was slated for a second interview with the Milwaukee Bucks for their coaching vacancy. Clifford replaces Mike Dunlap, who was fired after just one season. "Anytime you make the tough decision to change you want, if at all possible, to address some of the things that you didnt get from your prior" coach, Higgins said. "We felt very good with making the change with Steve to adhere to some of the issues we might have had here, whether its on the court, in the locker room or trying to compete every night. ... I think were getting close to becoming a very good team." ' ' '