Funkerstation » Perez, 35, posted a 1-2 record with a 3.69 earned-run a

It was hard to avoid a sense of deja-vu as Alastair Cook accepted that Englands batting had let them down in Mohali.He was quite right, of course. By failing to take advantage of winning the toss here, England surrendered their best opportunity to control the game. On a surface that Cook described as 400 par - and it was at least that - England instead succumbed to 283 all out and surrendered the pitch at its best to an India side who were determined to utilise it.Whereas four England batsmen had scored centuries (three in the first innings, one in the second) on what Cook described as a similar surface in Rajkot, here Jonny Bairstow was the only man to make 50 in the first innings.You need a big score on a wicket like that, Cook said, and we werent good enough to make one. Jonny Bairstow made a good 80, but we need hundreds. The pitch wasnt too different to Rajkot, maybe slightly harder to score on, but it was 400 par and we were below it. We just werent good enough.While Cooks candour is welcome, England have now lost four of their most recent six Tests with batting failures a recurring theme. If the collapses in Dhaka (where they lost 10 wickets for 63 runs) and Visakhapatnam (where they lost 10 for 63) were especially eye-catching, the batting at The Oval (England were 110 for 5 on the first day having won the toss) and here (where they were 87 for 4 before lunch on the first day) was equally culpable.And while they seem to have found the answer to their problem at the top of the order in Haseeb Hameed, Moeen Ali was not convincing at No. 4 (or No. 3 in the second innings) and Hameed is now unavailable for the rest of the series. Moeen and Jos Buttler both picked out the fielder after trying to hit over the top in the second innings - victims of good bowling, for sure, but also a lack of patience - underlining the suspicion that England were still trying to find a way to blend their naturally positive approach with the discipline required for Test cricket.Their struggles against spin are familiar, too. While the pitches in this series have deteriorated and turned a little, there has been none of the extravagant assistance that some anticipated. Instead, on perfectly reasonable surfaces, England have struggled to deal with an accurate, disciplined spin attack who have exposed some flawed techniques and uncertain temperaments.Cook was criticised for his theyre no supermen comments after the Visag Test (some even suggested he was taunting India), but he came very close to repeating those remarks here.There were not magic balls, he said of Englands second innings struggle. Maybe Jonny Bairstow was the only one that was a good piece of bowling, but apart from that there wasnt a huge amount misbehaving from the pitch. It was good accurate bowling, as you expect from India in these conditions, but not unplayable. You can talk all you want but the top order have to go and deliver.While the phrase the only one that was a good piece of bowling in unfortunate - and almost certainly a reflection of a lack of eloquence more than a lack of grace - there is a valid point in there somewhere. Cook, for example, missed a 46 mph delivery that turned about one degree. Moeen and Buttler fell to sucker punches. It was soft cricket that was thrown into its proper perspective by a 19-year-old with a badly broken finger. His teammates were, quite rightly, proud of his performance: one or two of them might have felt it contrasted with their own.Ultimately, professional players have to take responsibility for the way they play. They have to make their choices and live by the results. But these are the times that coaches also earn their keep and there have been times of late when it has been unclear what Englands approach is meant to be: are they blocking their way to safety - as they attempted in Visag - or trying to counter-attack to success, as they showed, in fits and starts, here. Both options are reasonable, but a lack of confidence in their defence has been a feature of several of these batting failures. England have usually preferred aggressive players to defensive ones - consider the selections of Ben Duckett, for example - and here picked an excellent limited-overs players (Buttler) who had played just one first-class game in the previous year. There is not a lot of evidence to suggest this aggressive approach is working.Perhaps the brief holiday they will have now is well-timed. Several of the squad will travel to Dubai for a few days, with no formal training planned. It will mentally give us a break from cricket, Cook said. We can come back more refreshed.Cook also admitted England may have erred in their selection for Mohali. The presence of a third spinner - and a second off-spinner, in particular - was superfluous, with Cook suggesting the option of a fourth seamer would have been more beneficial.All of us probably misread the pitch, Cook said. we thought it was dry and would spin more. If we had known what we do now, we would have gone four seamers two spinners. The seamers were always in the game with reverse and the way we bash length, we can control the scoring rate very well.That does not necessarily mean that England will play four seamers in Mumbai. As well as injury concerns over seamers Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes, England hope to have Zafar Ansari, the left-arm spinner, available for selection again and expect that surface may provide more assistance to spinners. The last time England played a Test there, in 2012, Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann shared 19 wickets between them. Buy Nike Blazer Mid . SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. Nike Blazer Sale Online . Giroud, who wasnt in the starting lineup for two matches after allegations about his private life and a decline in form, scored twice in the first half. Tomas Rosickys chip made it 3-0 before half time at Emirates Stadium, while defender Laurent Koscielny scored an unmarked header in the second half. http://www.cheapblazershoes.com/blazer-low-suede-sneaker/blazer-low-sb.html . Perez, 35, posted a 1-2 record with a 3.69 earned-run average in 19 relief appearances last season. His season ended Aug. 9 due to a torn ligament in his left elbow. Perez joins infielder Andy LaRoche and catcher Mike Nickeas with minor-league agreements for 2014 that include invitations to attend spring training. Nike Blazer Sb Mid Sale . Francis told several hundred members of the European Olympic Committees that when sport "is considered only in economic terms and consequently for victory at every cost . Cheap Nike Blazer Mid 77 .Y. -- Paul Byron and Matt Stajan scored as the Calgary Flames started a five-game road trip with a 2-1 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon. SAN DIEGO -- Steve Fisher gave quite the halftime speech to his San Diego State Aztecs on Wednesday night, some 48 hours after they were embarrassed by No. 14 Gonzaga.Leading San Diego Christian by 14, Fisher told his players that their forced effort reminded him of kickball in third period gym class when he was a teacher and coach at Rich East High in Park Forest, Illinois.Then, he jokingly asked the two 13-year-old honorary coaches if they had tennis shoes because he was going to need to put one of them in due to a shrinking number of healthy players.The Aztecs came out looser in the second half and ran off to an 81-58 victory, with Jeremy Hemsley scoring 23 points and Trey Kell adding 19.They were trying to shake off a 21-point loss at Gonzaga on Monday night.One young freshman said, `Coach, this is forced fun. I said, `It looks like its forced fun. Youre feeling sorry for yourself about the whipping we took on Monday and you cant do that, Fisher said, recounting his halftime talk.I thought the second half was far from perfect but I liked the pop in our step and we played with a little more, `Im really glad to be here, rather than, `Do I have to be here?Zylan Cheatham and Dakarai Allen scored 15 points each for the Aztecs (2-1), who improved to 7-0 against the Hawks.This was an exhibition for San Diego Christian, an NAIA team from suburban Santee. Isaiah Milan scored 19 for the Hawks and Luis Salgado had 12.San Diego State jumped to a 14-2 lead against the Hawks. Hemsley scored seven points in the opening run, including a 3-pointer and a dunk on an alley-oop pass from Kell. The Aztecs led by three with six minutes left before going on a 15-4 run to close the half for a 37-23 lead. Kell had a 3-pointer and Hemsley had two buckets.It was a good game to get the bad taste out of our moutth but we still remembered what happened, Hemsley said.dddddddddddd. That game isnt something we can hang our heads on. It happened and we have to move on from it and get better.San Diego Christian, an NAIA school from suburban Santee, was playing its first game since its bus was involved in a fiery fatal crash early Sunday on the way home from a game at Cal State Bakersfield. The team was OK but the driver of the car that rear-ended the bus was killed. The car caught fire, which spread to the bus and destroyed the teams road uniforms and personal belongings.The Hawks wore a set of alternate jerseys.Coach Edgar Mendez said there was no thought about rescheduling this game.I think we needed something back to basketball. That was more important, he said. This brought us back to the game that we love. And Im hoping it took some of that thought away from all of our guys. Its been a couple of days where thats all weve been talking about.BIG PICTURESan Diego Christian: After Sunday mornings accident in San Bernardino County, the Hawks had to wait for a replacement bus to arrive. They got back to campus at 5:30 a.m.San Diego State: The Aztecs were once again without 6-foot-10 forward Malik Pope, who has a knee injury, Ben Perez (back), and two other injured players. Matt Shrigley (ankle) could have played in an emergency. Guard Emmanuel Wilson, who made the team last season through open tryouts, made his season debut. Allen shook off a leg injury and returned in the second half. When he went out, the Aztecs had only five healthy scholarship players.UP NEXTSan Diego Christian plays at Chapman on Saturday.San Diego State plays California in Sacramento on Monday night. ' ' '