Seamers fire blanks in Melbourne warm-up

It was billed as a “shoot-out” between England’s back up seamers to decide who would replace the injured Stuart Broad for the third Test in Perth.

But after three awkward days in Melbourne against Victoria, which yielded just one wicket between them, the selectors will be just as puzzled as they were at the start of the match.

Tim Bresnan was the man who struck, snaring Ryan Carters during Victoria’s first innings. But that was as good as it got for the England quicks, whose threat quickly fizzled out.

Bresnan remains he favourite to make the side for Perth, mainly due to his greater experience and ability with the bat. Chris Tremlett has the build to take advantage of the bouncy Waca pitch, but a quiet game may persuade the selectors that he isn’t quite ready for a recall.

Ajmal Shahzad was always the wildcard option having began the winter with the A side. A flurry of wickets may have tempted the selectors to throw him in, but match figures of 0-75 are unlikely to have earned him a staring place in Perth. The Ashes betting offers suggest England will look for a bit more experience.

It was wicketkeeper Matt Prior who stole the headlines with a gutsy century on the final day. A top order collapse saw Prior come in with the score 55-4 chasing 311 for victory and anyone who has bet on the Ashes should pay attention to the way Prior turned things around.

But with that target beyond them Prior played for the draw, taking 20 overs to make it from 75 to 100. It maintains England’s unbeaten run down under though and means they can head to Perth full of confidence.

Quite who will be lining up in place of Broad though remains to be seen – a golden opportunity to stake a claim has been missed by all three of the contenders at the MCG.

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Spanish La Liga – Barcelona blanks Real Madrid in El Clasico

Jose Mourinho’s name has for a while now been associated with success. A quick look into his professional coaching career will do nothing but prove that no matter where he goes, it seems that success obediently follows. So far this season, the talented Portuguese Manager has worked his way into Real Madrid, one of Spain’s and Europe’s most coveted positions in the sporting world. But with his track of success and championships, comes always a very big load of expectations and responsibilities.  Mourinho is known for his charismatic and passionate style. But after thirty minutes of play time in this season’s first Spanish Derby, there was little to be seen from Mourinho.

Yes, it has been a while since Real Madrid won a game against Barcelona. Almost four years now since Real Madrid’s last road victory at the Camp Nou stadium. Sure enough, die-hard madridistas still remember the two goals by Raul and van Nistelroy on Real’s 2-0 win against Barça on October 2006. And yet, since the beginning of the game, it was quite evident that Real Madrid was in for a ride they wouldn’t forget in a very long time. By the time the referee had finished the game, Barcelona had scored 5 goals and had bullied the white team throughout the entire game. Not Benzema or di María or Cristiano Ronaldo had anything to offer against a team so powerful, so well synchronized, so dialed in perfection, that not even money can buy.

Because money can buy a big group of names and a can cut a deal for a big reunion of superstars. But it doesn’t necessarily mean that it can buy you a team worthy of a championship. Just ask the Miami Heat if money is always synonym of success in the professional sports world. To really put things into perspective, you need to consider that Real Madrid’s starting eleven cost 44.8 million dollars a year. That’s more then three times what it costs to bring in Barcelona’s ensemble.

What’s they key for Barcelona’s success? The significant monetary investment that the club has made in its youth academy La Masaia. As a matter of fact, only four of the 14 players that played during this game, that is Dani Alves, Eric Abidal, Seydou Keita and David Villa, did not spent many hours in the youth academy, perfecting the close-passing game that has not only been Barça’s signature style but also the key to its most recent success.

And then there was Xavi Hernandez. The 30-year-old Spaniard has been absolutely brilliant in his performances in the Clasico. He has been razor sharp in 3 of his last four games against Real Madrid. In may of 2009, Xavi had 4 assists in Barça’s 6-2 win at the Santiago Bernabeu. Then, last year, he scored the two goals that gave Barcelona a 2-0 win at Nou Camp. He is a brilliant playmakes that has had no trouble when performing on the international stage. He currently holds the record for most passes completed on a single World Cup at 599 passes.

On the 5-0 win on Monday, Xavi completed 110 passes, the highest number in any game in La Liga so far this season. And yes, he scored the first goal in the crusching of their archrival Real Madrid on Monday. Bottom line: It pays off to invest in the future.