ERST LESEN! » etter team. I dont see the Cardinals disapp

Match facts August 13-17, 2016 Start time 10.00 local (04.30 GMT)Big Picture Like a villain in Peter Falks old detective show, Australias undoing could be completed by one more thing: Colombo. Crushed near Kandy, gutted in Galle, Steven Smiths men now move on to the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground for the final Test of their tour. Their No.1 ranking is at stake although, having lost the series already, even a surprise win in the third Test might not be enough to save their position.Make no mistake: this is Sri Lankas chance to create history. That rarest of cricket achievements - a whitewash against Australia - is theirs for the taking. In nearly 140 years of Test cricket, Australia have played 177 series of three or more matches and only four times have they been whitewashed: 0-3 to England in 1886; 0-4 to South Africa in 1969-70; 0-3 to Pakistan in 1982-83; and 0-4 to India in 2012-13. Smith arrived on this tour never having lost a Test as captain. Now he is in danger of joining Tup Scott, Bill Lawry, Kim Hughes and Michael Clarke in sharing an unwanted page in the record books.The achievement is similarly rare for Sri Lanka who, prior to this campaign, have played 50 series of this length. Only three times have they swept teams 3-0, and two of those came against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. The other was against a declining West Indies in 2001. To complete such a rout against Australia, who were presented with the ICC mace before this series began, would count as one of the finest achievements in Sri Lankan cricket history. Angelo Mathews could be on the verge of joining Sanath Jayasuriya and Mahela Jayawardene as the only Sri Lanka captains to lead such 3-0 sweeps.Of course, such talk is getting ahead of proceedings. Australia have one more chance to defend their honour. They would, though, need to show vast improvement in both playing and bowling spin in order to turn their results around, and none of the evidence from the first two Tests suggests that is probable. Having lost their past eight Tests in Asia, Australia have moved on to their ninth life. Chances are that when they head to India next February the cat will be dead, and unlikely even to bounce.Form guide Sri Lanka: WWDLL (last five completed matches, most recent first)Australia: LLWWDIn the spotlight Nominally it is spin that has troubled Australia during this series, but often their problem has been the ones that dont turn. Between them, Rangana Herath and Dilruwan Perera have served up more sliders than a hipster café. Perera has 11 wickets at 15.63 in this series and, remarkably, 10 of them came in Galle, where he became the first Sri Lankan to score a fifty and take 10 wickets in a Test. Also during that match he became the fastest Sri Lankan to reach the milestone of 50 Test wickets, getting there in his 11th Test. Between Perera, Herath and left-arm wrist-spinner Lakshan Sandakan, Australias batsmen can expect no let-up in Colombo.Australia have played two spinners in each of the Tests so far, yet it is Mitchell Starc who comfortably leads their wicket tally with 17 at 13.47. Starcs speed, accuracy and ability to gain reverse swing have made him a weapon on these Sri Lankan pitches. Australias batting has been their major issue, but with a little more assistance from the spinners Starc might at least make a contest of it. His 11 for 94 in Galle were the best figures ever by an Australian in Sri Lanka, and the best by an Australian fast bowler in Asia since the 1970s.Team news Dimuth Karunaratnes poor run of form - he has scores of 5, 0, 0 and 7 this series - could leave his place in jeopardy, although as the SSC is his home ground and the series is already won, the selectors might give him one more chance. If Karunaratne is dropped, a possible scenario is that Dhananjaya de Silva could move up to open and Roshen Silva slot into the middle order. Suranga Lakmal is set to play his first Test of the series, in place of Vishwa Fernando, who was required for only two overs on debut due to Sri Lankas spin strength.Sri Lanka (possible) 1 Dimuth Karunaratne, 2 Kaushal Silva, 3 Kusal Mendis, 4 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 5 Angelo Mathews (capt), 6 Dhananjaya de Silva, 7 Kusal Perera, 8 Dilruwan Perera, 9 Rangana Herath, 10 Lakshan Sandakan, 11 Suranga Lakmal.Shaun Marsh appears a likely inclusion for Australia, though whom he replaces is up for debate. Adam Voges has carried hamstring tightness but trained fully on Thursday, although a decision on whether Voges would play in Colombo was not going to be made until after training on Friday. If Voges is passed fit, it is not out of the question that Usman Khawaja could make way for Marsh. An unchanged attack is probable, given the likely need for two spinners again.Australia (possible) 1 David Warner, 2 Joe Burns, 3 Usman Khawaja/Shaun Marsh, 4 Steven Smith (capt), 5 Adam Voges, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Peter Nevill (wk), 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Nathan Lyon, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Jon Holland.Pitch and conditions The SSC pitch might have a reputation as a draw wicket, but that is based on old evidence. In 2014, the top layer was re-laid and the surface has had a little more character. Since then three Tests have been played there for two results and a rain-affected draw. The pitch this year will be dry and is expected to provide plenty of turn.Stats and triviaSri Lankas pace bowlers have sent down only 30 overs in this series, compared to 221.2 overs from their spinnersIn the past decade, Australia have played 17 Tests in Asia for just a single win: against Sri Lanka in Pallekele in 2011So far in this series, Australias batsmen have collectively averaged 16.32. By comparison, in the UAE against Pakistan in 2014, Australia averaged 25.65 and in India in 2013 it was 25.89Quotes Weve got to prove to ourselves that we can play in these conditions. To win the last Test match, that will give us a little bit of confidence. Were going to hopefully play with a little bit more freedom and courage, and be willing to take the game on.Australia captain Steven Smith USWNT Gear . PETERSBURG, Fla. USWNT Store . -- Linebacker Myles Jack ran for four touchdowns, defensive end Cassius Marsh caught a scoring pass, and No. https://www.cheapuswnt.com/ . If ever they start actually putting pictures beside words in the dictionary, the Blue Jays left-handers mug will appear beside “Consistency. USWNT Jerseys 2021 . -- If this was Aaron Gordons final home game at Arizona, and it almost certainly was, then he went out in style. USWNT Shirts . -- The Magic have their first victory of the new year. Chris Berman has taken his Swami Sez NFL picks segment, seen on SportsCenter, to ESPN Chalk. Each week during the NFL regular season, hell give his favorite picks against the spread here with a little further analysis.Season record:?44-20 ATS (last week: 4-1)?Denver Broncos at Tennessee TitansThe Broncos have a Super-Bowl quality defense, and it came to play last week against Jacksonville. Trevor Siemian might play in this one, but Im not sure it makes a difference. This is the biggest game Tennessee has had in a while. The Titans are on their way to being a good team, but with this game a toss-up line, Im taking the battle-tested defense to deliver again.Score: Denver 20, Tennessee 17Houston Texans at Indianapolis ColtsIndianapolis looked great in a 41-10 blowout of a bad Jets team on Monday Night Football. Houston has lost three in a row, but is still tied for first at 6-6 in the AFC South. The Texans defense has played well this season. Look for those guys to play like they did most of the game against the Raiders in Mexico a couple of weeks ago and keep Andrew Luck in check somewhat. Houston pulls out a close one with a couple of big plays on offense and stays in first place.Score: Houston 22, Indianapolis 20Arizona Cardinals at Miami DolphinsWe still have a quarter of the season left, which means its too early to throw in the towel for some teams we thought would be good before the season. Arizona is one of them, annd I think the Cardinals will show up for this game.dddddddddddd Even if they arent in the race, theyre playing like they are. The Dolphins arent as bad as they looked last week in Baltimore, but Arizona is a better team. I dont see the Cardinals disappearing quite yet.Score: Arizona 26, Miami 23Pittsburgh Steelers at Buffalo BillsDo we get the Bills team that showed up for the first 2? quarters in Oakland? Or the one that blew a 24-9 lead in the last 1? quarters? Im banking on the good Buffalo team to show up. Pittsburghs defense was very impressive in its win over the New York Giants on Sunday, but in a hotly contested game I like the home team to eke it out here.Score: Buffalo 24, Pittsburgh 23New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay BuccaneersThis is a game the Bucs are supposed to win if they are going to make the playoffs, which is a position this young team hasnt been in recently. Remember, they were an underdog at home to the Chicago Bears just a month ago. I understand that Drew Brees has been his usual self this season and could break his own record for completion percentage, but I like Tampa here and Im getting under a field goal with the team with a better record. The Jolly Roger will be firing at the new Sombrero as Tampa Bay continues its playoff push.Score: Tampa Bay 27, New Orleans 23 ' ' '