There was a moment on the final afternoon of the Rajkot Test when Ben Stokes swapped his position at slip with Ben Duckett and moved to extra cover.With Adil Rashid bowling, the ball was being driven in that direction often and he wanted to be in the game more.A little while later, with the batsmen stealing runs to Alastair Cook at mid-on, Stokes moved the England captain out of the way and took the position.He had already been promoted to No. 4 in the batting line-up, as England searched for quick runs before the declaration, and he had proved himself Englands premier bowler of reverse swing in Bangladesh. Hell, he even bowled a few overs of off-spin in the UAE last year.Increasingly, the answer to every question that England pose is Ben Stokes. Increasingly, he resembles that super-talented bloke in the school team who opens the batting and the bowling and then keeps wicket for a bit.Now, sitting in the team hotel in Visakhapatnam (and looking so like a Van Gogh self-portrait that you fear for his ears), he laughs at the description. But he doesnt deny it.Its come from the coaches, he says. Im always getting told, when the spinner is on and the ball is looking like it is going to a certain position all the time, go there. It was the same when Pujara was hitting the ball to Cooky at mid-on, I went over there.But I think I get given the responsibility to move myself and I have more confidence to do that. Rather than before, when I thought Id look a bit arrogant if I just said swap, and its come from the coaches as well which is good. The players dont take any offence.The desire to be in the thick of the action is nothing new for Stokes. But the confidence to ask players - including the England captain - to swap positions is new and reflects Stokes new-found self-confidence and status within the side. At times this winter, he has looked Englands best batsman, best bowler and best fielder. At times this winter - and yes, these are relatively early days - its looked as if Stokes has graduated from promising to the real thing. Notwithstanding Andrew Flintoff in his pomp, England havent had a better allrounder since Ian Botham.Stokes agrees that he owes his improvement, to some extent at least, to the faith shown in him by the England management. In particular, he credits his promotion to No. 6 in the batting order as crucial.I started off decent in Australia, but after that it was pretty shit, to be honest, he says. I didnt score a run against India in three innings. But they kept on picking me and picking me and, once Paul Farbrace got me back up the order to six, it carried on from there. The more Ive played, the more confidence Ive got. The last 18 months has been the turnaround period for me.Playing on low, slow, turning wickets was, in Cooks words, probably the last challenge facing Stokes. But, after an innings of 85 in Chittagong and 128 in Rajkot, it seems he has made substantial progress. Working with Graham Thorpe and Mark Ramprakash, he learned a method to defend against spin bowling so that he is able to soak up periods of pressure and capitalise if the bowlers tire or stray.Ive always known I can hit the big shots, he says now. But I tightened up the other things which dont come as easy: the defensive side of it and rotating the strike. I was doing sessions of not getting out, playing defensively, going forward or back no matter what the ball was. As nets progressed, I started getting into a few more attacking shots.My feet have got better. I do not get stuck on the crease as much as I used to. It still happens now and again, but Im generally getting right forward and right back. My technique against spinners has gone up a level and its good to be able to look back from a year ago and understand why I am being more successful.The century in Rajkot was, he believes, the first time he has batted for more than 200 balls in a single innings (he faced 198 for his epic 258 in Cape Town in January). While he accepts he had some luck - there were times I was laughing at myself and the amount of times the ball seemed to land in between fielders - he also hopes he has proved himself against what he calls the best team in the world and the best bowler in the world.Ravi Ashwin knows exactly where he is going to bowl every ball, Stokes says. He changes his pace and almost seems to read you. Its almost like you are telling him that youre going to run down the wicket and he bowls the ball where you dont want it to be. And Ravi Jadeja doesnt miss the area where he wants to bowl. To perform against them is a good feeling. Its the best feeling Ill have. All the work Ive done is paying off. We take confidence from it that we got 530 or whatever it was and lost only two wickets on a fourth- and fifth-day pitch. So from that point of view I think were pretty confident in the way we managed to hold off those two.The demands of batting for so long in hot conditions took their toll on Stokes. Cramp forced him off the field and, for the first portion of the India reply, he was unable to play a meaningful role with the ball. He accepts this is partially due to his difficulty in eating while he is batting - he explains that it makes him uncomfortable - and left the England support staff, in his words, trying to force-feed him.Our physio, strength-and-conditioning coach and doctor were trying to force-feed me pretty much, he says. I cant eat when Im not out, I dont know why. I literally cant eat, not even a protein shake or anything. Ive never been able to. I eat on a bowling day, definitely, just when Im not out I cant seem to eat anything.That was the reason for the cramp. Ill have to put up with a bit of cramp here and there, I think. Everyone gets it, except Cooky because he never sweats so he doesnt lose any fluid.I think this is the first time Ive realised it is tough to bat and bowl and try to back one of the skills up with the other. It doesnt really affect you in England because it is always freezing.For all the talk of giving Stokes responsibility - he was vice-captain to Jos Buttler when the ODI side played Bangladesh recently - he dismisses any suggestion that he might one day want to be captain.No, he says when asked if the responsibility appeals. You have to be boring like Cooky if you want to be captain. Im just enjoying being where I am at the moment which is having opinions valued by captains, coaches and other guys.I enjoyed being Joss right hand man. It didnt feel like I was doing anything different. The difference was Jos would have a few discussions whereas you normally see Cook and Rooty doing that or Eoin and Jos.He is frustrated, though, at Englands status as underdogs for this series, despite their improvement over the last 18 months or so - their Ashes win, their series victory in South Africa, their performance in the World T20 and an ODI series victory in Bangladesh that had proved beyond so many others of late.No matter what we have done over the last 18 months, we always seem to get underdogged, he says. But we pull something out of the bag, win and it seems a surprise to people. We are heading in the right direction in all forms of the game.Trevor Bayliss is a man of few words but one thing he complimented us on after every session in Rajkot was our attitude towards fielding. We were never switching off. We were always on it.We were not going into series thinking we were going to lose. We have taken a lot of confidence from knowing we were ahead of India pretty much the whole Test match. We have taken confidence from knowing how well we have done with bat and ball. Weve four games left and we are going to try and win all four.Investec is the title sponsor of Test match cricket in England. For more on Investec private banking, visit investec.co.uk/banking Nike Air Max 90 Donna . Nigeria beat surprise package Ethiopia 2-0 in the second leg of their playoff for a comfortable 4-1 aggregate victory. Victor Moses converted a 20th-minute penalty after an Ethiopian handball, and Victor Obinna made certain of Nigerias place in Brazil with his powerful free kick in the 82nd at UJ Esuene Stadium. Nike Air Max 2017 Scontate . The 18th player to shoot 60 on the tour, Jamieson settled for par on the final hole when his 15-foot birdie chip grazed the edge of the hole and stayed out. After opening with rounds of 66 and 73 to make the cut by a stroke, he had 11 birdies in the bogey-free round. http://www.nikeairvapormax.it/nike-air-max-90-outlet-italia.html . Ryan Garbutt had a goal and two assists as Dallas snapped a six-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. Nike Air Max 90 Essential Donna . "I wrote 36 on my sheet at the beginning of the game," the Cincinnati coach said, referring the yard line the ball would need to be snapped from. Air Max 2017 Donna . -- Claudio Bieler hadnt scored since early September, and not from the run of play since mid-July. Spain took a 2-0 lead in the World Group playoff tie against India after Feliciano Lopez defeated Ramkumar Ramanathan 6-4, 6-4,3-6, 6-1 before David Ferrer saw off Saketh Myneni 6-1, 6-2, 6-1 the first two singles matches at the RK Khanna stadium in New Delhi on Friday.Lopez had replaced Nadal after the latter suffered from stomach pain and a blister on his foot just before the match.In their first ever singles meeting, world number 203 Ramkumar was the first to serve and held comfortably in the first game of the match. Lopez, who is ranked 26th in the world, struggled in his first service game before managing to hold serve after a big serve.Lopez, 34, had a 5-8 singles record in the Davis Cup going into this match, and didnt get an early look in as Ramkumar held comfortably in the third game to lead 2-1.I knew it would be a tough match. He was suffering as well, but we were just trying to hang in there and do our best. Finally, I found a way to win the match and take the point for my country, Lopez said after the win. They love Rafa, and hes such a big idol around the world. Its an honour for us to have him in our team. Thank you, all of you, for coming to watch. We are hoping that you will come in tomorrow as well.Ramkumar, 21, appearing in only his third Davis Cup singles match, was solid at the baseline even as Lopez tried to serve and volley on the slow surface. The left-handed Lopez squandered two break point opportunities in the fifth game before capitalizing on the third break point with a passing shot down the line to lead 3-2.Guys, thank you. I was not able to get enough first serves. I was trying my best, but unfortunately I could not win. It was a good match, and I dont regret anything, Ramkumar said. I gave it my best and didnt win and I wish Saketh good luck. I couldnt return as well as I hoped. Id like to thank my parents.Lopez, who has made 59 consecutive Grand Slam appearances, second only to Roger Federer, tried to keep the rallies short and rushed to the net at every opportunity. The strategy did not always work as Lopez won only 14 per cent of the net points in the first set.There were no breaks of serve in the next four games as Lopez won the first set 6-4 in 41 minutes. Ramkumar committed 14 unforced errors in the first set whereas Lopez committed only 8. Ramkumars inexperience showed in the first game of the second set as he failed to put away a couple of volleys to lose serve. Lopez then unveiled an array of strokes with a lovely drop shot and some nicely placed serves in the ad court which dragged Ramkumar out of the court often.The next five games saw no breaks of serve as both the players held comfortably and Ramkumar showed greater energy and let out a coouple of big roars after holding serve.ddddddddddddRamkumar faced a break point in the seventh game but managed to hold with a couple of good first serves. The second set saw only one break of serve as Lopez won the set 6-4 in 34 minutes.Lopezs serve proved to be the difference as he won 93 per cent of the first serve points whereas Ramkumar won only 62 per cent points on his first serve in the second set. The third set saw both players hold serve comfortably in the first five games but Ramkumar took a medical time out after the fifth game with what looked like a bout of cramps.Ramkumar came out charging after the time out as he had two break points opportunities in the eighth game and put Lopezs serve under pressure. He converted the third opportunity with a passing shot to lead 5-3.He then held serve to close out the set 6-3 in 40 minutes. The unforced errors mounted up for Lopez as he committed 10 to Ramkumars six in the third set.Lopez broke Ramkumar in the second game of the fourth set with a passing shot as Ramkumar continued to be uncomfortable at the net.Lopez ran away with the match in the fourth set as he broke Ramkumar again to go up 5-1. He then held serve to win the set 6-1 in 28 minutes.Ferrer doubles Spains leadDavid Ferrer gave Spain a commanding 2-0 lead at the end of the first set after he defeated Saketh Myneni 6-1, 6-2, 6-1 in one hour and 28 minutes in the second singles match of the day.Ferrer, ranked 13th in the world, was in imposing form from the beginning, breaking Mynenis serve twice in the first set to win it 6-1 in 22 minutes. Myneni was first broken in the fourth game when he committed a double fault on break point.The 34 year-old Ferrer, who has a 25-4 career record in singles matches in the Davis Cup, attacked from the baseline and kept the rallies short with 6 winners in the first set.The trend continued in the second set as the 28 year-old Myneni was broken twice in the first three games. The slow court helped Ferrers game as it neutralized Mynenis serve.Unlike Lopez, Ferrer rarely approached the net and controlled the rallies from the baseline. He raced to a 5-0 lead in the second set after breaking Myneni for the fifth time.Myneni got himself on the scoreboard in the second set after Ferrer committed a double fault to lose serve in the sixth game of the second set.Ferrer made Myneni scamper from corner to corner as he worked the ball around the court as he won the second set 6-2 in 34 minutes.World number 137 Saketh was broken twice early in the third set as Ferrer led 4-0. He then wrapped up the set 6-1 in 30 minutes. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '