Breitmann Tuning » Week 9, the Saints gained 571 yards, follow

Match factsAugust 11-15, 2016 Start time 11am (1000 GMT)Big PictureLess than four weeks have passed since Pakistan wrapped up a rousing victory at Lords in the first Test, capped by a military-inspired set of press-ups in front of the pavilion, but they return to London with very little of that inspirational vim remaining. Trips to Manchester and Birmingham have resulted in two strength-sapping defeats and it is now England who are flexing their muscles ahead of the Oval encounter.From entering the series ranked fourth in the world, and thanks to Australias unexpected capitulation in Sri Lanka, England can suddenly see a shortcut to No. 1. That would require victory in the final Test and a 3-1 series scoreline (as well as West Indies to hold off India in one of their two remaining matches) but they are moving in the right direction regardless. In contrast to their tightly drilled ascent to No. 1 five years ago, England seem a little surprised to have found themselves wandering around the summit so soon - and Alastair Cook is sticking to his line that they have plenty to learn, whatever the rankings say.An improvement on their record in the final Test of a series is clearly the next matter to address. A draw at The Oval will be enough to give England all nine series trophies but a win would underline the sense of progress rather more emphatically. In recent times, England have finished off Test tours with defeats in Centurion, Sharjah and Barbados, while last summer they were beaten at The Oval and Headingley. Such flakiness is unbecoming of a side with aspirations to be the best in the world.Another reason to guard against complacency is Pakistans good record at The Oval. Putting aside the memory of their forfeiture in 2006 (a game in which they were well placed), Pakistan have secured several memorable wins in south London, including Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis reverse-swinging their way through England in 1992 and victory on their most recent visit, six years ago. By contrast, since England clinched the 2009 Ashes on this ground, they have only beaten India (in 2011 and 2014), while suffering three defeats and a draw.Pakistan will always have Lords and this tour will be remembered for Misbah-ul-Haqs hundred, the heroics of Yasir Shah and the return of Mohammad Amir. But they have a chance to leave with even better memories if they can pull it all together again back in the capital - not to mention an outside shot of reaching No. 1 themselves with a drawn series. The drill sergeants of Abbottabad, just like everyone else, will be watching keenly.Form guideEngland: WWLDW (last five completed matches, most recent first)? Pakistan: LLWWWIn the spotlight Having struggled against Pakistans left-armers, Alex Hales finally produced a substantial contribution with the bat in the second innings at Edgbaston, putting on a vital century stand to help erase Englands deficit. However, he is still waiting for the defining, three-figure innings that will secure his tenure as Test opener for the near future. The final Test of the English summer is often the occasion for auditions but Hales - who has put faith in his technique - is hoping to shut the door on prospective top-order newcomers.As the tour has gone on, confidence in Pakistans batting has steadily eroded. The fortunes of Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan have been divergent but they have common cause to try and finish the series with heads and bats held high. Misbah has coped admirably with the conditions on his first Test experience of England but another defeat would doubtless trigger talk about his age and the captaincy; Younis, though four years younger, is also unlikely to be back again and, 15 years after his first tour here, is in need of an innings to stave of similar talk of retirement.Team news Alastair Cook said England were hoping to play the same team, which would mean Adil Rashid and Jake Ball missing out again. James Vince has recovered from a finger injury sustained attempting to take a catch at Edgbaston but wont field in the slips.England (possible) 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Alex Hales, 3 Joe Root, 4 James Vince, 5 Gary Ballance, 6 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 Steven Finn, 11 James AndersonMickey Arthur hinted at various options for Pakistans selection, with the need for a fifth bowler even more pressing in the second of back-to-back Tests. If Iftikhar Ahmed - who bowls offspin and decently, according to Arthur - wins a Test debut, he would likely come into the side at Mohammad Hafeezs expense but bat in the middle order, with Azhar Ali asked to open. A rare four-Test series has increased the workload on Pakistans pace bowlers and there may also be changes to the attack.Pakistan (possible) 1 Mohammad Hafeez/Iftikhar Ahmed, 2 Sami Aslam, 3 Azhar Ali, 4 Younis Khan, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), 6 Asad Shafiq, 7 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 8 Yasir Shah, 9 Mohammad Amir, 10 Sohail Khan, 11 Rahat Ali/Wahab RiazPitch and conditions As before the Ashes Test at The Oval last year, a distinctly green-tinged pitch was on show (although that didnt stop Australia from racking up 481 in an innings win) and Cook suggested it would be suited to pace bowling, with some turn later on. In Surreys last Championship match here, in June, spinners Zafar Ansari and Gareth Batty took 12 wickets between them. The forecast is for a warm finish to the week, which could facilitate the surface breaking up.Stats and triviaA 3-1 series win for England will send them top of the rankings, at least until the completion of Indias tour of the West IndiesAside from forfeiting the 2006 Test at The Oval, Pakistan have not lost at the ground since 1967Chris Woakes needs one more wicket to break James Andersons record of 23 for an England bowler in a Test series against PakistanJoe Root is 60 runs short of 4000 in Tests; if he gets there in his next innings, he will go level with Kevin Pietersen as 14th fastest overallQuotes It would be a great achievement. Weve just got to focus on playing good cricket, weve been consistent the last two games, up against it at times but played some consistent cricket - can we have that same hunger and determination in this game? If we can do that, weve got a good chance of winning.Alastair Cook on Englands quest for all nine series trophiesIn the third Test match, I believe it was some of our mistakes that let England come back into that game. After doing so much well, we were really in the game until the fourth day - even on the last day, until lunch, it was looking like a draw. So the team can do it but we need to combine those performances.Misbah-ul-Haq wants his players to focus on finishing the series wellWholesale Yeezy . The phone hearing is scheduled for 4:30pm et/1:30pm pt. Winchester, who was not penalized for the hit, appeared to make contact with Kellys head early in the first period of Thursdays game in Boston. 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"We talked about wanting to be disciplined and stick with our game plan and good things will come," Draisaitl said, who had two goals for the victors.METAIRIE, La. -- Saints receiver Brandin Cooks sees no connection between his readiness to speak up when he was unhappy last week and the out-of-sync performance of the offense the following game.I laugh when I hear some stuff like that because that wasnt the case at all, Cooks said after practice Thursday as the Saints prepared to play at Tampa Bay this Sunday.New Orleans lack of rhythm on offense last weekend against Detroit begged the question whether there was a carry-over effect from the dissatisfaction Cooks expressed after not having a single pass thrown to him during a lopsided Week 12 triumph over Los Angeles .But Cooks had other explanations for the Saints struggles, and his teammates tended to agree with him.We werent able to get our run game going, and when our run game is going is when our offense gets lethal, Cooks said. I dont feel I disrupted (the offense) at all because if it was the other way around and I had a huge game and we won, then what are people going to say?Cooks had nine passes thrown to him against Detroit, more than any other of Drew Brees targets in that game. He caught seven for 73 yards, but New Orleans struggled to sustain drives and score points, largely because of a lack of execution on third downs and because three possessions ended with interceptions.Brees threw seven passes to tight end Coby Fleener, six to wide receiver Willie Snead and five to rookie wideout Michael Thomas, who currently leads the club in catches (69), yards (831) and touchdowns receiving (seven). Brees also threw 12 passes to running backs.Everyone had targets that game. It was not like all the balls went to me, said Cooks, a 2014 first-round draft choice who has 58 catches for 809 yards and six TDs this season. For the most part, guys were averaging their target ratio.Brees didnt necessarily take issue with the general premise that the appearance of disharmony on a team can sometimes undermine performance.That might happen other places, Brees said, but stressed, I do not feeel like that happens here.ddddddddddddI know there were some issues last week, but we dealt with that stuff very quickly and efficiently, Brees continued. There was nothing lingering from that.Snead echoed Cooks and Brees sentiments.Im in the room with the guy and I watch the film and see the stuff we did wrong and what we could have done better, Snead said. If we win the game, Cooks gets his targets, theres no story. But because we lost like that and the timing was off with the offense, it makes it look like thats the way it is.We were just in a lot of bad situations, and when we were throwing the ball, it was going to Cooks, and theres nothing wrong with that, Snead said. Thats not the reason we lost. On offense, we just werent hitting our stride like we usually do. I dont think it has anything to do with him.Cooks pointed out that even before the Lions game, coach Sean Payton told the offense that it had demonstrated a tendency to see considerable drop-offs in production in the weeks immediately following some prolific games. In Week 1, the Saints had 507 total yards, followed by 288 in Week 2. In Week 3, the Saints gained 475 yards, only to see that drop to 275 in Week 4. In Week 9, the Saints gained 571 yards, followed by 373 in Week 10. Now it has happened again, with the Saints putting up 555 yards in Week 12, followed by 369 in Week 13.Weve just got to a find a way to be consistent when we do have those big games, Cooks said.As for whether Cooks wishes hed handled his dissatisfaction differently, the receiver said, I dont regret anything. Life is about lessons.Game notesThe Saints had six people sit out practice on Thursday: LT Terron Armsetad (quadriceps, knee), RB Mark Ingram (toe, knee), C Max Unger (foot), Thomas (foot), LB Craig Robertson (shoulder), TE Josh Hill (fibula).---For more NFL coverage: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '