if not more, that the players care. And in Virat Kohli, India have at the helm a cricketer not merely of considerable skills but with a passion to match. Kohli is a man of the times, a hero and an icon that the fans of

Captain John Muldoon says his Connacht side have out-grown old inferiority complexes ahead of their top of the table clash with Leinster on Saturday, live on Sky Sports 1 HD. Speaking to Sky Sports, Muldoon also stated that Connacht will continue with the game plan that has propelled them to the top of the PRO12, drawing comparisons with Leicester City in the Premiership.It is a bit nosebleed territory, he said. Top of the table clash against Leinster coming up - its certainly something that we are not used to but it is something that players, management and above all else, our supporters - they are in dreamland at the moment. I think in the last four or five years that [inferiority complex] has dwindled away and as its dwindled away weve progressively got better. We might not have the budget that some of the rest of them have but I think thats forced us to be more creative. Connacht captain John Muldoon in action against Cardiff Blues For us to change what we have been doing over the last couple of weeks, it would be very remiss of us to do pull back - were scoring tries; were bloody conceding them as well but thats the way we are doing it and why would we change?The long-serving back-row has endured some tough days playing for the province and admits that more than once he questioned his decision to remain at the club.Id be lying if I said I didnt think about going away, and Id be lying if I came in once or twice after a loss and said right thats me done. he said. Absolutely, theres times when I was just in a very low place but ultimately you get dragged back in by that sense of community; by that sense of where you are from and who you are from. Connachts unity and cohesion has helped carry them to the top of the PRO12 And while he admits that theres been an edge to recent training sessions, he joked that he wasnt at the centre of it.Its does get feisty. Thankfully I havent been involved in any of those fights recently. Im probably getting older and a little bit wiser now.Speaking about the development of his leadership role, Muldoon said:I suppose not everyone is going to like you and Ive probably burnt bridges with some fellas here over the years but at the end of the day, you got to do that if you want to get it.I know if you speak to any player or any club, theyve got exactly the same thing and captains will tell you exactly the same thing. Watch Connacht v Leinster live on Sky Sports 2 HD on Saturday from 5pm. Catch the match for £6.99 on NOW TV. No contract. Also See: PRO12 home PRO12 table Fixtures and results Rugby Union on Sky Drazen Petrovic Jersey . The Oilers come in having lost five in a row (0-4-1) and 16 of their last 20 games, dropping a 2-1 decision to the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday. Rudy Fernandez Jersey . "Trying to breathe," he said with a grin. Bernier stopped 42 of 43 shots on Monday night, including all 22 in a hectic middle frame, his heroic performance propelling the Leafs toward an undue point in their final game before the Christmas break. https://www.cheapblazersonline.com/308i-clyde-drexler-jersey-blazers.html . They reached the 100-point plateau for the fourth time in five games, bested the visiting Trail Blazers by 34 in the paint and scored 19 of the final 25 points in regulation. Jusuf Nurkic Jersey . -- Matt Ryan needed one of the best games of his career to lead the Falcons and their depleted offence out of their three-game losing streak last week. Wesley Matthews Jersey . Louis Blues. Shane Hnidy joins Brian Munz for the broadcast on TSN 1290 Radio at 7pm ct. At our first editorial meeting to discuss ideas for Indias 500th Test, inevitably the thought strayed to the future and temporarily the mood turned sombre. It had taken just over eight decades for India to reach 500, but how many more to the 1,000th? Will there be a 1,000th?But it was apparent in a moment how absurd and incongruous that thought was. It was an occasion not for foreboding, but for gratitude. For as long as it has existed, Test cricket has been a reminder that higher and lasting pleasure can be derived from engagement and absorption, from anticipation and waiting, and from enjoying the journey as much as the destination.And it is more relevant and resonant than ever before in a world that is prone to living in moments. Few other sports are as sharply defined by singular moments as cricket, but its the sum of those moments that makes Test cricket the grandest, the deepest and the most profound of sporting experiences. Once you make the connection, it usually lasts for life.Mine started nearly four decades ago, with a small transistor radio clutched to my ear in the early winter mornings. India were playing the Bobby Simpson-led, Kerry Packer-depleted Australia, and the series, swinging one way and the other, ended in an epic six-day Test, with India falling short of a 493-run target by only 47 runs to concede the series 3-2.I was yet to hold a bat, and beyond the short Films Division news reels that played in movie theatres, I had seen no other cricket. I read up a short book by Vijay Merchant on the basics of the game, and it might have been an aunt who filled me up with some background, but the rest the mind imagined. I can swear I had a fairly graphic image of Sunil Gavaskars forward-defensive shot even before I watched him play.The colour of the game has changed immeasurably in the last four decades. The World Cup arrived in the 80s; Sachin Tendulkar ruled the heart in the 90s when India only won at home; the Test team truly arrived in the first decade of the new century; and in the last 10 years, the IPL has rewritten the rules of the game, both of how it is played and watched. But even more significantly, from the transistor radio in the 70s, Indians have at their command home-entertainment options that are no longer limited to even to the 1,700-odd television channels available.For Test cricket, this challenge also brings an opportunity. There is no doubt that the base has shrunk and will shrink further. But a niche is not necessarily an obscure corner. It can be distinct, high-profile and aspirational. It can be clutter-breaking, the rarer pleasure requiring fans to spend the commodity considered thee most scarce: time.dddddddddddd The faithful will be rewarded, and they will enlist more. In many ways, it is already a miracle that a sport lasting 40 hours a game has lasted 140 years. It will endure.It is perhaps no more than a coincidence, but what can be a bigger celebration of Indias 500th Test than the fact that it marks the beginning of Indias biggest home Test season in memory. Fault them for whatever else, BCCI officials, current and those just out of office, have shown a remarkable commitment to Test cricket. Thirteen is a significant number. With 103 Tests, the previous decade was Indias most prolific, and this decade, with 66 Tests already, is well on its way to match or exceed it. And if India stay the course, the 1,000th could come in double-quick time. Institutionalising a home season would be a progressive use of the BCCIs clout.It is also pertinent that Test cricket is going to smaller towns, with as many as six new Test venues being added. Players occasionally grumble about smaller venues that lack the attractions of the big cities, but arousing fan interest is a greater imperative. Test cricket needs spectators in the grounds, and it is worth taking the chance on smaller venues, which now have excellent playing facilities. It is now incumbent on the state associations to make fans feel welcome. They could start by making daily tickets easily available instead of the take-it-or-leave-it season tickets. Clean toilets and drinking water would be nice too. Love cant forever be one-sided, and it can no longer be taken for granted.?But it matters as much, if not more, that the players care. And in Virat Kohli, India have at the helm a cricketer not merely of considerable skills but with a passion to match. Kohli is a man of the times, a hero and an icon that the fans of his generation identify with. And he brings to Test cricket both the edge of his personality and the syntax of the shorter formats, in which he first earned his fame. He respects the challenges of Test cricket, but plays it on his own terms. His rage not only fuels the engine of his young team, it also fires public imagination.The 500th is a good reason for celebrating the past, and we will do so on these pages through the course of this Test. But there is much to look forward to too. The best way to celebrate this season would be to turn up at the grounds, tune in to the action on TV, or simply log on to our sites. We will be doing our bit, ball by ball. If you think Test cricket is worthy, its time to show it. ' ' '