introduced into the athletes due to supplements

Old dogs, so the saying goes, are not wont to learn new tricks. Tell that to Misbah-ul-Haq. In December, Misbah was getting to grips with Twitter for the first time, tweeting a video of himself - complete with a rather funky swoosh of a haircut - to prove the account was official. Now, at the age of 42, he is preparing to lead Pakistan at Lords on his first Test tour of England.Both fairly momentous, of course, though neither should be surprising, given that in 2014 Misbah up-ended his reputation for batting obduracy by equalling Viv Richards then-record for the fastest century in Tests. In the six years since he resumed his international career in desperately fraught circumstances, Misbah has developed an impressive habit of defying predictions and exceeding expectations. Even so, he has set himself quite a challenge this time around.After Pakistans 2-0 win over England in the UAE last year, there had been suggestions Misbah would retire but here he was, strolling around Lords, stopping for the occasional selfie, his hair slightly less bouffant and a thick beard in place, perhaps specifically designed to protect him from the blustery weather. One or two grey hairs are starting to show but Misbah, eight months after his most recent Test, continues to resist the onset of winter.Again, that should be no surprise. Shortly before he was called upon to lead Pakistan out of the darkness of the spot-fixing scandal, Misbah had been contemplating international retirement; but in the postlapsarian world of Pakistani cricket in late 2010, his qualities of experience, calmness and mental strength acquired greater significance. Since then, he has guided the Test team in particular with rare dignity and to no little success.He faced down criticism right from the start. I know the task assigned to me is not easy, he said shortly before his first series in charge, aged 36. However, underestimating me as a captain and batsman is not fair as one always learns with time and improves. Rarely has word been so squarely backed by deed. Should he register three figures in this series, he will move up from 11th in the list of oldest Test centurions, possibly as high as fifth.Misbah has no previous experience of playing Tests in England, where conditions are demanding enough for those not well advanced into their fifth decade, but said that he felt he needed to be here for his side. If he has to learn a few new tricks in order to survive, so be it. This series could help to define his time as captain, healing over the wounds opened on Pakistans last tour; or it could be a bridge too far. Either way, Misbah will tap his bat, stand up tall, and face the onslaught.My retirement is being discussed every series, he said. If I am not discussing it, somebody else is. I could have retired at the end of that England series but so much has been said about this being a tough series and weve been playing together the last six years, the same batting line-up. So I thought I really have to take the initiative and come here, as a captain and a batsman also, to face this challenge. Finally I decided, okay, I need to be here. Its a tough series for Pakistan, so I really want to do well here.Although Misbah and his side have had to live off Test scraps, they are currently ranked No. 3 in the world - one place above England - and have prepared assiduously for this tour. Misbah, typically, set the standard by topping the fitness tests - alongside fellow veteran Younis Khan - at a PCB training camp in May, and Pakistans players have benefited from a long lead-up into the Test series, initially in the nets at the Ageas Bowl in Hampshire and then gaining useful workouts at Taunton and Hove.Pakistans pace attack is expected to ask searching questions with the Dukes ball and Misbah admitted that the changes to Englands middle order could be an area you really exploit as an opposition. But, as Sri Lanka discovered earlier in the summer, the best efforts of the bowlers will fall on stony ground unless the touring batsmen can manage to plough a fertile furrow.That area of the side is as settled under Misbah as it has ever been - going back to his first Test series as captain, against South Africa in 2010, five of the current top six (Mohammad Hafeez, Azhar Ali, Younis, Misbah and Asad Shafiq) were involved. Misbah sets great store by this continuity and his batsmen have so far adjusted well, albeit against county attacks, with Hafeez the only one yet to pass fifty.We arrived here and the conditions were really like we get normally in the UK, it was raining, there was moisture all around on the pitch, so the ball was moving, Misbah said. So that really helped us, the first ten days were not easy for the batsmen, to get used to the conditions. After that, when we got into the county games, we felt it was a bit easier for us after being in difficult conditions for the ten days. All the batsmen are improving, getting used to the conditions, so hopefully we can translate that into the Test matches.Amid the hoopla and symbolism of Mohammad Amirs return - its a big opportunity for him to perform for Pakistan and win over people again - there will be another landmark moment in the first Test. Misbah has played three T20 internationals at Lords, but never a Test innings. Might there be a flutter in the stomach when the 42-year-old freshman first steps out later this week?No nerves. Thats something you always wait for. Its a big occasion, everybody wants to play at Lords. If a cricketer has just started playing, its his wish that he can play at Lords. Its an opportunity, to perform well here and get respect in the eyes of every spectator and every supporter. These opportunities give you the chance to prove yourself.The end of road may be nearing but that is surely something Misbah will never stop trying to do. Wholesale Custom Jerseys . First off, the fans ripped the Cubbies introduction of a fuzzy new kid-friendly mascot named "Clark". Custom Jerseys Adidas . The 29-year-old from Port Colborne, Ont., has nothing but good things to say about former U.S. marine Liz (Girlrilla) Carmouche ahead of their co-main event Wednesday on the UFCs "Fight for the Troops" televised card in Fort Campbell, Ky. https://www.cheapcustomjerseysonline.com/ . 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BENGALURU --- When the womens 4x400m relay quartet of Nirmala Sheoran, Tintu Luka, MR Poovamma and Anilda Thomas booked Indias berth at the Rio Olympics during the Indian Grand Prix in Bengaluru earlier this month, one of their teammates would have been forgiven for pumping her fist harder than others.At 28, Ashwini Akkunji is raring to have her first go at the Olympics. More than that, it would be a shot at redemption for her.I come from an agricultural family in a small village called Jansale, Udupi district (in Karnataka), and in my childhood days I used to run in school, Akkunji says. My father always encouraged me about sports. The foundation of my career in sport was when I went to a sports school in Bangalore.Starting out as a sprinter, the young Akkunji tried her hand at 800m as well, before settling on the 400m, encouraged by her father, who observed how her lanky frame and stride-length gave her a natural advantage.However, it would take a few years, until the preparations for a seminal year in 2010 which brought her in touch with Russian coach Yuri Ogorodnik, that Akkunji began a purple patch in her career.The year 2010 was really amazing, because I got a very good opportunity to train under Yuri and the 4X400m relay team; the seniors were really good back then, Akkunji says of a phase when she helped India to relay golds in the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games and the Guangzhou Asian Games, besides bagging the 400m hurdles gold in the latter.I learnt a lot of things from my seniors, truly speaking, because they guided me. They told me things about running and also encouraged me a lot.A dark phase was to follow, when Akkunji and two of her relay teammates were among seven athletes who tested positive for anabolic steroids just prior to an Asian Championship in Japan the following year. Akkunjis voice chokes when recalling the two-year ban that followed.Those two years, emotionally and personally as well, were the hardest of my life, Akkunji says. My morale had really gone down. If my life had been normal then, I could have won gold medal. People used to humiliate us; I know it was a difficult situation. Life was entirely different, between 2010 and 2014.The ban was lifted 2013, and her first competitive race only took place the following June at the Inter-State Championship in Lucknow. Running the 400m hurdles, she beat her closest competitor by almost nine seconds in her heat. She then clinched the goold with a timing that broke the existing meet record -- held by Jauna Murmu, ironically one of her former colleagues who was also handed out a ban in 2011.ddddddddddddShe was ready for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, though this time the Indian team would fall way short of defending the crown they picked up in Delhi, finishing fifth in their heat. In two months time, Akkunji sat out as her younger teammates smashed the existing Asian Games record -- recorded by Akkunji and her team in 2010 -- on their way to the relay gold in Incheon.Akkunji stresses the importance of educating athletes about what they are ingesting, while pointing out an inherent flaw in the Indian drug-testing system.We dont have any specialised lab here to test. If anyone is taking something, we dont know what we are taking. We (athletes) are not manufacturers; at least we should have one specialist lab where we can test whatever we have taken. It is just a precaution.Akkunji also demands greater accountability from the nutritional supplements industry, possibly because there were rumours at the time of her ban that the banned substances had been introduced into the athletes due to supplements given by their coaches.The supplements industry is just a money-making enterprise. They dont think about athletes. But as athletes, we have to take supplements. Our physical capacity is not that much; we have to train and we need recovery.We cant say daal, chawal, roti?(pulses, rice and bread) and youll be an Olympic medallist. I dont think so; it would be foolishness. If daal, chawal, roti?was the diet of champions, every man on the street would be a medallist. Everybody is different and we have to think about recovery, diet, and everything.Akkunjis eyes light up when asked about the prospects of the relay team in Rio. Our team is really good for the Olympics. Two of the girls are from PT Ushas academy, one of the girls, Nirmala (Sheoran), is from Haryana; shes a really young girl. And we also have (MR) Poovamma, Anilda (Thomas), Debashree (Majumdar) and me.?People can say anything, but the 4x400m girls will always come in medal reckoning. New girls, anybody, (even) if I am not there, any of the other girls...the 4x400m team is always going to win in Asia and the next Commonwealth Games also. Were going to get medals. ' ' '