On Tuesday, beneath a purple south-coast sky, England completed the demolition of Sri Lankas cricketers. Soccer Jerseys China . While England were brilliant with bat, ball and in the field, Sri Lanka were poor: a judgement that can apply to many of the days of battle between these two countries during the past two months. There is a sadness in saying that. Sri Lankans have hidden behind transition, a word that serves to highlight the impossible task of replacing great cricketers who have moved on to other fields and commentary boxes. It has been a wonderful ride, top and tailed by the twin departures of first Arjuna Ranatunga and Aravinda de Silva, then of Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, and exaggerated by Muttiah Muralitharans stellar career. But the ride is over and the mighty bump at its end is hurting like hell.Touring England in the early months of summer is a devilish business. Many are the strokemakers from the subcontinent to have perished at the hands of refreshed and voracious English swingers and seamers of the ball. Sending Angelo Mathews team to Leeds and Durham first up bordered on cruelty. Not that his team was as embryonic as perceived. Most were on the successful trip two years ago, but Mahela, Kumar and Tillakaratne Dilshan were with them to lean upon. Now that the pillars of the pre-transition days have gone, the immediate future of Sri Lankan cricket is a worry. A tighter and stronger first-class playing structure is urgently needed, along with calmer and more consistent governance. Like Barbados, Sri Lanka is a small island with a big heart and, seemingly, an unconditional affection for cricket. It would be wise not to push that unconditional affection too far.The score in the three series of matches was 20-4. Reasonably, you do not know what the heck that means. Suffice to say that in an attempt to heighten interest, the ECB introduced a points system for all the matches in the three formats - four for a Test match win and two for a white-ball win. So England smashed it, but then we do know that. Oddly, there was no prize. Come to think of it, neither was there an announcement of the triumph or even any form of acknowledgment. Caesar stopped Rome for his victories. It will be interesting to see if the idea is pursued or pushed quietly aside.Cricket needs context but then most of us know that too. Wade eight pages into the bowels of the Times sports section - a paper that genuinely cares for cricket - and you will find a seven-paragraph report on Tuesday nights match but no picture. Deemed more important than Englands T20 cricket fortunes are European Championship football - a tournament from which England were unceremoniously dumped by Iceland but in which Wales caused a stir; Wimbledon, which still has Andy Murray involved, and of course, the Williams sisters on a charge; lots of Jose Mourinho and Manchester United; and a little of Mark Cavendish in the Tour de France. On the front pages in these turbulent times, and destined to stay for a while yet, are Brexit and Boris, Theresa and Jeremy and all who sail in and around their political aspirations. Alastair Cook made the front page on May 31st for a personal aspiration of his own, his 10,000th Test match run, but that was crickets sole jump from one end of the paper to the other since Carlos Brathwaite shattered the English dreamers in the last over of the World T20 final back at the beginning of April.The point is that in the midst of summer, cricket is marginalised. Even diehards struggle to remember where the Sri Lankan games were played and what happened. Cricket must be very careful. Its hat is thrown in the T20 ring but only one T20 match was played between the sides. Five 50-over matches - the format of the game, apparently, that is on the bones of its bum - and one T20. Why? Three, three and three must be the way forward, with just enough of a gap between each to allow the marketeers their moment. And there must be a reason for it all, a tally towards something bigger and brighter that gathers momentum, reaches a crescendo and crowns a champion. I am playing an old record but we cannot expect the game to chug along in its present vacuum: the danger signs are clear and present. What have we learnt about England? Enough to encourage but little about which to become complacent. There are good young players, impressive determination, and an exciting athleticism in the county cricketers of the day. Very few appear fazed by their exposure to the big time - witness Liam Dawson and Tymal Mills on Tuesday - and most, if not all, are strongly driven by the possibility of England colours. The limitations of the county game, it seems, have kept expectation in check.There appears to be favour for the multi-dimensional cricketer, and for a kinder face. The fear so evident in the eyes of Englands footballers on the dreadful night they were humiliated by Iceland is nowhere to be seen on the faces of the cricketers. Rather there are signs of the clear thinking that empowered the rugby players to win so well in Australia, and of the modesty that has long prevailed in that fine sport.This is a good period for the English game, indicated by fine leadership, strong management and uncomplicated coaching. Subtly, there has been a destructuring of general affairs that has allowed the players freedom of thought and expression. It is less than three years since an unnamed England player said: It can feel as if there is no escape, as if everything you do is being assessed and analysed and stored away. If you are not careful, it can wear you down. It is incredibly difficult to come to terms with. Much, if not all, of that pressured team environment has been stripped way. The emphasis of the moment is on enjoyment and stability, the consequence of which is a dressing room of smiles.Having said that, Pakistan have the ability to wipe away smiles. At Lords next Thursday, a true test of Englands progress will begin in a Test series that is hard to call. There are four Test matches, the seemingly obligatory five one-day games, and a T20 - all against feisty opponents who boast a fine and varied bowling attack to make good the unpredictable nature of batsmen whose minds and feet move in the shadows of the wind. If Englands cricketers are still unbeaten after September 7th, the curtain call will reflect a magnificent performance rather than simply a job well done. Wholesale Jerseys . -- For the first time in two months, an opponent was standing up to Alabama. Wholesale NBA China Jerseys . The defending champion beat Gael Monfils of France 7-6 (6), 6-3, while second-seeded Andy Murray of Britain dispatched Edouard Roger-Vasselin, also of France, 6-3, 6-3. Making his first appearance since injuring his wrist a month ago, Del Potro had difficulty with his service games in the first set. http://www.wholesalejerseyssundaynfl.com/ . -- Jakob Silfverberg is making himself right at home with the Anaheim Ducks, scoring four goals in his first four games. Jose Lobatons home run changed the tenor of Game 2 in Washington, and the Nats Daniel Murphy remains hot in the postseason. Dodgers starter Kenta Maedas ERA is more than half a run lower at Dodger Stadium than on the road.Go inside the numbers and matchups that will decide Mondays game, then vote for which team will win?at the bottom of the page.Inside the pitching matchupWhen Gio Gonzalez is on the mound: The Dodgers were the worst-hitting team in the majors against left-handed pitching, so this looks like a potentially good matchup for Gonzalez, although youll likely see Yasiel Puig and Howie Kendrick and maybe even Charlie Culberson in the starting lineup to give the Dodgers three more right-handed bats.Gonzalez went 11-11 with a 4.57 ERA, although his peripheral numbers -- 3.76 fielding independent pitching -- suggest he pitched better than that. Then again, his ERA has been at least a half-run higher than his FIP three years in a row. Over those three years, hes allowed a .292 average with runners in scoring position, including a .333/.406/.507 line in 2016, compared to .255 overall. So the numbers suggest he loses something when pitching out of the stretch.Gonzalez is known for his big-breaking curveball, a reason that lefties hit just one home run off him this year and just three over the past three seasons. Gonzalez works off a fastball that averaged 90.8 mph during the regular season, down from the 92-93 hes been in recent years. Hes thrown the two-seamer more this year, which appears to account for some of that decline. Along with the curve, which generates not only a high swing-and-miss rate but also a high ground-ball rate, he throws a changeup that right-handers hit .256/.293/.426 against. In a sense, its all about fastball command for Gonzalez (hey, just like most pitchers!). He did have a career-low walk rate this year. If hes hitting that outside corner low and away to the Dodgers righties, he can be tough. -- David SchoenfieldWhen Kenta Maeda is on the mound: The 28-year-old rookie from Japan seemed to fly under the radar all season, going 16-11 with a 3.48 ERA. He has pitched in playoff games in Japan and in the World Baseball Classic, so should be used to postseason pressure.Maeda is more like a conventional U.S. pitcher, as he doesnt have a splitter like a lot of Japanese pitchers. He throws his fastball about 43 percent of the time, mostly a four-seamer, and adds a slider, curveball and changeup. The slider is his best wipeout pitch, as batters hit just .176 against it this season -- a key reason he had a large platoon split, as left-handed batters had a .730 OPS versus .580 for righties. While he threw the curveball more than the changeup on the season, it wasnt a good pitch for him (.398 average allowed), so lets see whether he goes more to the changeup as an off-speed pitch to lefties. Cheap NFL Jerseys. he Dodgers were very cautious with Maeda down the stretch, as he faced more than 24 batters just once in the second half and went five innings or fewer in seven of his final 10 starts. Look for manager?Dave Roberts to use the same pattern and go to his bullpen sooner rather than later. -- SchoenfieldPlayer in the spotlightDaniel Murphy: Given Maedas platoon split and Murphys showing he looks healthy after missing most of the final two weeks with a strain in his left buttocks, this could be a huge matchup. Murphy is 4-for-6 in the series with two walks. If Maeda pitches around Murphy, Anthony Rendon has followed him in the lineup.-- SchoenfieldWhat will decide Mondays gameBryce Harper seems to be looking for the ball inside, and hes having trouble with outside pitches.Hes swung at seven pitches on the inner half and hasnt missed any of them. (Hes 1-for-3 with a double in at-bats ending on pitches in there.) But hes 1-for-6 with four strikeouts in at-bats ending on pitches on the outer half, and hes whiffed on half of his 14 swings against pitches out there. (The one hit was a ground-ball single.)-- John Fisher,?ESPN Stats & InfoChoosing sides: Who will win??Jose Lobatons bomb off Rich Hill is the kind of moment that can turn a series. And it will. Left-hander?Gio Gonzalez, who didnt do well in his final start after attending friend Jose Fernandezs funeral, comes up big against L.A.s lefty-laden lineup -- just as he did in July for Washingtons only regular-season win over the Dodgers. Daniel Murphy (4-for-6) keeps doing Daniel Murphy things, and Lobaton surprises again. Nats win. -- Eddie MatzBack home after squandering a golden opportunity in Game 2 because of a lack of clutch hitting, the Dodgers will move toward the brink of clinching. Rookie starter Kenta Maeda has been tough on opponents the first time he sees them, and he has yet to get a crack at the Nationals, one of three NL teams he missed this year. Home is where the Dodgers do their best work, going 53-28 at Dodger Stadium, tied for the second-best regular-season record at home in baseball. -- Doug PadillaWhere the series standsThe Dodgers are kicking themselves after stranding 12 runners in Game 2 and going 0-for-5 with the bases loaded. With the series tied, its important to note that as of now, the Dodgers have Julio Urias scheduled for Game 4 rather than Clayton Kershaw on short rest. The Nationals havent announced a Game 4 starter, although the speculation is that it would be Joe Ross over Max Scherzer. Both managers used six relievers in Game 2. 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