导出博客文章The advantage of being a home team is you have a better understanding of conditions than your opposition, but that may not be the case when South Africa host New Zealand next month.
Thomas Vermaelen Jersey . Kane Williamsons men will have spent a significant amount of time in the country ahead of their two-Test series, thanks to a training camp at the University of Pretorias High Performance Centre organised by former New Zealand player Kruger van Wyk.The wicketkeeper-batsman, originally from South Africa, had retired from cricket in December and returned home to take charge of the Universitys cricket program, which he himself had come through. Van Wyk has an intricate knowledge of the High Performance Centre, which is home to CSAs National Academy and hosts several other elite sports teams at its state-of-the-art facilities. He knew it would be the ideal place for New Zealand to prepare for the four Tests they play in southern Africa - two in Zimbabwe, two in South Africa - this winter.I know what its like to tour, to want to get the best preparation and I had no doubt that we could help them with that, van Wyk said. In particular, he has focussed on giving New Zealand the kinds of surfaces they will encounter in Bulawayo, Durban and Centurion, which are all expected to be slow and low at this time of year. Its important that they [the pitches] are similar to the Zimbabwe ones, similar to the ones theyll get here. As a player, whatever you need, you get. Thats our motto. Whatever you guys need, were going to give it to you and give it at a high level of professionalism as well, so I hope the boys enjoy it as well while theyre here.With New Zealands every need being met, van Wyks loyalties were a subject of discussion and he made no attempt to hide where they lie. I think its going to be an awesome series. Its very clear who I want to see do well. These are the guys who I played for, and my priorities, even though Im coaching and living in South Africa at the moment, its still with the New Zealand side, he said. Ive played Test cricket for New Zealand and Im proud of that. But I think its going to be a hell of a good series and Im so excited about seeing that and I really believe this is a good opportunity to get a double Test series victory.Key to New Zealands recent success has been their team culture, which is centered on the collective and has exuded a fun-factor for all involved. For van Wyk, that is the difference. Its been wonderful, actually. I think theres been such a new life blown into cricket in New Zealand and that was just through the culture in this side. Mike [Hesson, the coach] and Baz [Brendon McCullum] and Kane and a lot of the senior players must take massive credit for this. Theyve done some wonderful things for the image of the game and just the way theyve played as well. Thats the best way to get fans back, to get all these sorts of things back, ex-players, and their performances have been outstanding and I know it will only grow under Kane and Mike as well.That culture exists even among those, like van Wyk, who have left the New Zealand fold. As a coach, and as an ex-player, I think a lot of it is about giving back to the game, giving back to the people whove always been good to you. I am extremely thankful towards New Zealand cricket whove always been good to me and its time to give back, he said. Tukkies [University of Pretoria] was an institution that put a lot of time and effort into my development when I was a youngster here, so its the best of both worlds.
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http://www.barcelonasoccerpro.com/Authentic-Thomas-Vermaelen-Barcelona-Jersey/ .ca NHL Power Rankings for the second straight week, ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Colorado Avalanche. COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Tulsa will be a huge underdog coming in to face No. 4 Ohio State Saturday in front of 100,000 fans in storied Ohio Stadium, but the Golden Hurricane wont be lacking in confidence.A good old-fashioned blowout will do that for a team. Nearly every aspect of Tulsas game was clicking last week when it pummeled San Jose State in its opener 45-10, showing signs that there could be major improvement from last years 6-7 squad.Of course, Ohio State -- which beat Bowling Green 77-10 in week one -- will be a much tougher opponent, but Tulsa coach Philip Montgomery said his team played with maturity and emotion, and he expects players will carry that right into Columbus.Weve got to be free, Montgomery said. We cant go in there and be hesitant about what we want to do. I dont want to walk off the field and still have bullets left, so were going to shoot them and see what happens.OFFENSE GALOREBoth teams showed they are loaded with offensive weapons. Tulsa running back DAngelo Brewer rushed for 164 yards and three touchdowns last week on 22 carries. Quarterback Dane Evans, directing the spread offense, was 12 for 23 for 198 yards and a touchdown as Tulsa rolled up 512 total yards. The Golden Hurricane was 13th in the country in total offense last year.Very talented receivers, two NFL prospects at wide receiver, a returning veteran at quarterback, Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said. They just force you to play in space.Ohio State broke a school record for offensive yards by piling up 776 against Bowling Green. Quarterback J.T. Barrett passed for six touchdowns and ran for another.Montgomery, a former Baylor assistant, recruited Barrett out of high school in Texas and knows how dynamic he is.He got them in and out of plays, he got them in and out of situations, threw the ball very effectively, and hes a dual-threat guy, Montgomery said. I mean, hes a guy that can pull it down and hurt you with his feet just as well as he can do it with his arm.
Malcom Jersey. BUCKEYES EXPECT MORE FIGHTIt was designed to be another tuneup game, but several Ohio State players said this week they expect Tulsa to put up more a fight than their week one opponent.I feel like were going to get some more experienced people, cornerback Gareon Conley said. I know a lot of guys had left from Bowling Green, and watching some of the film from Tulsa I know (they have) an experienced quarterback, so weve got to get ready for that. And they have a faster tempo.Said center Pat Elflein: Theyve got better players. They run some more stuff (on defense), theyre going to blitz us more, so its just kind of like another step up from Bowling Green.BURROW SHOWS HIS STUFFMeyer said he was pleased to see backup quarterback Joe Burrow get some significant playing time last week. Burrow, a redshirt freshman who likely is the Buckeyes quarterback of the future, took over for Barrett in the third quarter for mop-up duty. He was 6 for 8 for 68 yards and threw his first career touchdown pass.He confirmed what we all thought and what hes shown: Hes a tough guy who has talent, and it means a lot to him, Meyer said.Asked if he was confident Burrow could do the job if Barrett got injured, Meyer wouldnt answer. Im not going there, he said.Injuries forced Meyer to use his second- and third-string QBs to win the national championship in 2014.SMALL SCHOOL IN THE BIG TIMETulsa has the smallest undergraduate enrollment of FBS schools with 3,473 students; Ohio State is ranked third with 55,508.With a capacity near 105,000, Ohio Stadium will host the largest crowd ever to see Tulsa play football. The Golden Hurricane played in front of 85,657 last year at Oklahoma.---Follow Mitch Stacy at
http://twitter.com/mitchstacyFor some of his other recent stories:
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