ed per game (2.23).Cleaner zone exits have ignited an underrated ca

Six teams have come to Los Angeles pursuing a spot in the the 2019 World Cup and hoping the City of Angels can spare a few to be on their side.The next step on the road to England, the World Cricket League Division Four begins on Saturday at Woodley Park in the northwest suburb of Van Nuys. The two teams to finish on top get move on to Division Three. Then there is Division Two, which in turn leads to a qualifying tournament in 2018 in Bangladesh.USA would be pleased to have the home advantage in a WCL tournament, and that is not just because they had missed out on it, twice, due to administrative issues. Since the start of the 2009 cycle, in WCL events at which promotion and relegation are at stake 14 out of 19 hosting teams have finished in the top two slots and moved on to the next level.The other five teams - Bermuda, Denmark, Italy, Jersey and Oman - will provide strong competition over the course of the next week. Those who finish in the bottom two, however, will be relegated to Division Five.USA (fifth at 2014 WCL Division Three)The American squad is almost unrecognisable from the group that was relegated in Malaysia two years ago. Captain Steve Massiah, leading wicket-taker Usman Shuja and batsmen Aditya Thyagarajan and Sushil Nadkarni have departed the national scene and a wave of fresh faces has emerged.Allrounder Timroy Allen played for the 2016 CPL champions Jamaica Tallawahs. A destructive presence at the top of the order, Steven Taylor has also taken leadership of USA. His partner Fahad Babar forms the backbone of the batting line-up. Babar was USAs leading scorer at 2014 WCL Division Three, and has struck four fifties in nine one-day games, including two against Canada in Octobers Auty Cup. Akeem Dodson has been in solid form in the middle-order and Alex Amsterdam making a century in a warm-up match on Tuesday has bolstered the teams batting strength.USA may have the most potent pace attack in the tournament, but legspinning allrounder Timil Patel is their biggest threat. The Los Angeles-based player picked up 10 wickets at the World T20 Qualifier in Ireland last summer and should be a handful on his own turf.Bermuda (sixth at 2014 WCL Division Three)Since making their maiden World Cup appearance in 2007, Bermuda have fallen on hard times. They were beaten 3-0 by an under-strength Canada developmental squad in Hamilton last weekend. Among the defeats was a disappointing effort of 34 all out.Finding players has been an issue. Dean Minors, the 46-year old who hasnt played for Bermuda in five years, is their first-choice keeper. Their replacement for vice-captain Terryn Fray, who had broken his finger during that series loss to Canada, was 41-year old Janeiro Tucker.In his prime, Tucker was a match-winner and was Bermudas leading run-getter at the 2005 ICC Trophy. But a Bermuda Cricket press release said he has arrived in Los Angels after postponing surgery this week on his right shoulder. Their confidence heading into the tournament is low and the odds are heavily in favor of Bermuda being relegated come November 5.David Hemp, often Bermudas batting mainstay, has left to take up a coaching role in Australia. The 21-year old Tre Manders has picked up some of the slack, scoring 73 in the final game of the Canada series. Delray Rawlins is another player to watch out for. The left-arm spinner plays for Sussex in the English county circuit. Bermuda will also look to fast-bowling allrounder Kamau Leverock to lend them balance.Denmark (third at 2014 WCL Division Four)They have had a rocky start to their American tour, having lost a pair of warm-up games in Houston: one by 23 runs to Jersey and the other by three wickets to a Houston club side.Denmarks squad includes Amjad Khan, the former England fast bowler. He may not possess the searing pace he once did, but may still be a threat in early-morning conditions at Woodley Park. Meanwhile, wicketkeeper Freddie Klokker and captain Michael Pedersen lend structure to their batting.Denmark are short of power-hitters which could become a disadvantage. They play only one of their games on a ground that has large boundaries - Wong Cricket Field - and might struggle to match the tempo of the other teams when playing at the smaller fields at Severn and Wright.Denmark may not look like a contender for promotion, but they have beaten USA in five straight one-day matches and should they extend the streak on day four of the round-robin stages it could help them snag a top-two finish.Italy (fourth in 2014 WCL Division Four)After playing in two straight World T20 Qualifiers, Italy were jumped by Jersey in 2015, a sign that their fortunes were changing. Peter Petricola, who has been a pillar with bat and ball since his debut in 2008, has not made himself available for this tournament. Neither have the equally dependable Andy Northcote and Vince Pennazza, putting a major dent into Italys hopes.The absence of the seniors was felt on Wednesday when Italy lost by 38 runs to a Southern California XI. Captain Damian Crowley made 77 out of a total of 173, having to compensate for six single-digit scores from his team-mates. He was the teams leading batsman at the last Division Four with 200 runs in six games.Carl Sandri, formerly of Sydney Thunder, could prove to be an impact player for Italy. Though he is primarily used as an offspinner, Sandri has a reputation as an explosive hitter in the middle order. The small boundaries at Wright and Severn in particular could help Sandri and Italy pose a greater challenge. After beating Oman in the final of Division Five in May, Jersey are one of the more confident sides heading into the tournament. They earned a spot in Division Four for the third time, though in each prior instance they have promptly been relegated. An up-an-coming squad is hoping to reverse that trend.Opener and captain Peter Gough provides stability to the batting, with a battery of allrounders, notably Nat Watkins and Anthony Hawkins-Kay, to follow him. They will miss Ben Stevens though, who had been their top-scorer in Division Five and in whose absence they were bowled out for 130 by Houston Club side. Harrison Carlyon, who is only 15 years old, has been chosen as his replacement and could become the youngest player to represent Jersey.Batsman Jonty Jenner failed to cross fifty despite getting plenty of starts in Division Five but he comes to Los Angeles on the back of a 116 for Sussex second XI in a three-day match in August.Jerseys bowling attack is spearheaded by seamer Ben Kynman, who took 15 wickets in Division Five and garnered interest from Kent last summer. Oman (2nd place at 2016 WCL Division Five) Though they stunned Ireland in the 2016 World T20, Oman have been woeful in 50-over cricket over the last three years.They took their first steps to turning their fortunes around in Jersey, finishing second in Division Five, but the batting remains an area of concern. Outside of allrounder Zeeshan Maqsood, who was the tournaments leading batsman with 350 runs, only one other player crossed 100 runs, a fact that had worried coach Duleep Mendis.The return of Amir Ali, their match-winner at the World T20, could help ease some of the concern. He had missed Division Five with a broken hand but has since recovered. Another key addition is Arun Poulose, a former Kerala opening batsman who recently qualified to play for Oman having spent four years in the country. He top-scored with 47 in Omans last match, beating UAE by 72 runs.On the bowling front, Munis Ansari will be key in the final overs while Rajeshkumar Ranpura should enjoy using the new ball in Woodleys swing-friendly conditions in the morning. Their left-arm spin arsenal is missing a key component though. Allrounder Aamir Kaleem was injured during a training camp ahead of the tournament, leaving captain Ajay Lalcheta to pick up the slack.New Balance Australia Clearance . 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Aside from the trilogy main event title fight, there are a number of intriguing matchups in the heavyweight, welterweight and lightweight divisions.GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Puck management is a helpful lens through which to view the Columbus Blue Jackets and Arizona Coyotes before their meeting on Saturday at Gila River Arena.Columbus was abysmal in that department last season on its way to the NHLs fourth-worst record, but the maturation of defensemen Zach Werenski and Seth Jones played a major role in lifting the surprising Jackets into the upper half of the leagues possession rankings this season, and into its top 10 in points.Despite an emphasis on puck possession that extends back at least to the 2011-12 season, when Arizona advanced to the Western Conference Final, the Coyotes consistently struggled to hang onto the puck this season. They rank dead last in the NHL with a Corsi For percentage of 45.08 percent, and they are tied for last in the NHL standings with 19 points.We bring so much trouble on ourselves its frustrating, coach Dave Tippett said after a 4-3 loss at home to Los Angeles in which the Coyotes committed a critical late turnover that led to the Kings game-winning goal. We just need some people that can do the job. Sometimes, its just a simple play to gain a line. When you dont get them made it comes back to bite you.Its been all the more painful for Arizona this season because it played so many tight games. Nine of the teams last 10 games were decided by one goal and only six of the teams 22 games this season have been decided by more than one goal.Weve got to be better at puck management, left winger Tobias Rieder said. Weve got the puck on our sticks a lot of times and we turn it over and thats how we get scored on. Were always talking about gaining zones, so weve got to get the puck in deep and get our forecheck going.Jones emergence as a No. 1 defenseman, and Werenskis emergence as a Calder Trophy candidate at age 19, is making a world of difference for the Jackeets when it comes to quick, clean zone-exit passes from their defense to their forwards.ddddddddddddYou can see how (Zach) can control the game with the puck, Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. We have a lot of teaching to do with him without the puck, but the God-given ability that he has, its at a different level than a lot of other players in this league.Columbus improved possession game is impacting multiple other facets of its play. As of Friday morning, the Blue Jackets were tied for the second most goals per game (3.18) in the NHL, and they were fifth in goals allowed per game (2.23).Cleaner zone exits have ignited an underrated cast of young, skilled forwards. Cam Atkinson leads the team with 21 points in 22 games and Nick Foligno is tops in goals with nine, but Columbus has eight players with five or more goals.The Jackets are also suppressing shots, allowing 29.5 per game, which ranks 11th. Last season, they were 27th at 31.1. The lesser workload is allowing goalie Sergei Bobrovsky to regain his form of two seasons ago. Bobrovsky is tied for 13th in the NHL in save percentage (.929) and 11th in goals against average at 2.08.Theyve got a lot of good young players that I dont think the league knows about yet, Tippett said of the Blue Jackets. Youre starting to see the fruits of their labor. John has done a good job. They look like theyre playing well.As of Friday afternoon, Tortorella hadnt named his starter in goal between Bobrovsky and Curtis McElhinney, but the Jackets did activate left wing Matt Calvert (head) off injured reserve.Mike Smith is expected to start in goal for Arizona, which is healthy other than center Brad Richardson (broken tibia and fibula). Richardson is out indefinitely. ' ' '