Halfway through his maiden Test double-hundred, against India in Ahmedabad in 2008, AB de Villiers told Jacques Kallis about a shot he had mastered. He referred not to a cut or sweep, lap or ramp, not to one of those outlandish pick-up shots that a hockey player would try if handed a tennis racquet. No. De Villiers was talking about the far more humble defensive block.A helmeted de Villiers, bat in hand, pink pads on, ready for a hit in an indoor net, recounts the moment via a video clip on cricketyard.com. If I could have my career over again, he says, this will be the first shot that Ill teach myself: the late block. Once you can play this shot, everything else will come naturally to you… Every shot I play, I set up to play a really late defensive stroke.De Villiers goes on to demonstrate how he shapes up for each ball - bat pointing to first slip, backlift raised high at the point of the bowlers release, set to meet the full ball with a late block, before letting his reflexes take over. If the ball is wide, he will allow his hands to flow. If short, he will cut or pull as per instinct. I dont have a defensive mindset when I do it, he says of setting up for the defensive block. All I know is, that is my best chance of getting into a really, really good position for my other strokes. And if its a really good ball, I will sort of succumb to the bowler and say, Listen, well bowled, Im going to do the late shot. And I might still get off strike if it runs down to third man.Process that for a second. The most versatile shot-maker in the game - with the capacity, it seems, to hit any ball, of any length, in any format, to any part of the ground - has a method rooted in a textbook forward-defensive. The shot that results may go against the dictums of cricketing geometry - not to mention the laws of physics - but until the ball is delivered, de Villiers adopts a tried-and-tested approach. Only when he is ready to defend - visualising a box in front of him, within whose boundaries he keeps his bat, feet and head - does he consider the possibility of attack.The world of batting abounds with such contradiction. Most of the analysis (from commentators and writers) is little but informed guesswork. A lot of it is convenient categorisation. Spectators may term a firm push back to the bowler as a defensive shot, but a batsman may think differently. For him, picking the ball out of the hand, reading length early, taking a purposeful stride and finding the middle of the bat may all be signs of aggression. Similarly, commentators may assume a batsman is confident when he strides out, but he could be putting on an act when actually being wracked with insecurity. A batsmans body language, his strokes, his response to a bowler mouthing off, all this is only one part of the story. When one observes said batsman at practice and listens to him deconstruct his method, when one speaks to his team-mates and coaches, keeping in mind past batting successes and failures as well as critical junctures in his career, only then does the full picture emerge. And that too is often work in progress.There was a time when journalists (and players) explored these themes in books (and autobiographies). The amount of time available between tours allowed for deep analysis, and the terrific rapport between cricketers and writers enabled colour and insight. These days there is barely time to hammer out match reports, let alone examine spells and innings. Journalists have to make do with press-conference mutterings and the occasional one-on-one. Backroom access is almost out of the question.Which brings us to this months cover story: Ed Smiths meticulous exploration of technique and coaching in the age of the dazzling bat. Smith is a former Test cricketer who draws upon his technical and tactical know-how. He is an aesthete who is well versed with the games evolution, able to link a Virat Kohli cover drive to an image of Geoff Boycott taking his stance.Earlier this year, Smith worked as a consultant to Royal Challengers Bangalore, getting a ringside view of some of the finest limited-overs batsmen of our (and all) time. Which put him in an enviable position - not only because he was able to watch batsmen of the calibre of de Villiers and Kohli from close range but also because he could shadow them at practice, observe them at team meetings and listen to what team-mates had to say about them. Inside knowledge isnt always right, Smith cautions. But about pure talent, people close to the subject tend to know. Ask cricketers to name the games freak, theyll say AB. When de Villiers walks into a room, you sense exactly that. He does not signal this pre-eminence himself. It is written on everyone else.There is much else to savour in this issue: a cracking history of Pakistanis in the north Staffordshire leagues, the little-known story of Don Bradman meeting Kerry Packer, a Garry Sobers retrospective, and five writers on how cricket broke their hearts. Jusuf Nurkic Jersey .C. - The Carolina Hurricanes have placed backup goalie Anton Khudobin on injured reserve with an unspecified lower-body injury. 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Three minutes after the break, a simple through pass from Paulinho freed Oscar and the Chelsea star rounded goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong to extend Brazils lead. METAIRIE, La. -- Veteran linebacker Craig Robertson, who emerged as a surprise starter in his first season with New Orleans, uses words like confidence and trust when he describes the Saints transformation from an 0-3 team to a resurgent playoff hopeful that has won four of five games.As important as improved chemistry was bound to be for a team with its share of young players and recently acquired journeymen, it might take more than that to see the Saints through an upcoming two-game stretch that could either validate their recent run of winning form, or send them stumbling back to the ranks of playoff long shot.New Orleans hosts defending Super Bowl champion Denver on Sunday, then plays the following Thursday night at defending NFC champion Carolina, which has won two straight since a surprising 1-5 start.You know what it is -- you have two physical teams, two physical battles, Saints running back Mark Ingram said. You just know mentally you have to be prepared and physically you have to be prepared.For the third straight season, and the fifth time since 2007, New Orleans is 4-4 following a start of 1/3 or worse.On the four previous occasions the Saints rallied from a poor start to climb back to .500, they were unable to sustain their mid-season momentum and faded down the stretch.But coach Sean Payton and his players sound dismissive of any attempt to compare the 2016 Saints to those of failed seasons past.Its a new year, a new team, said Ingram, who rushed for 158 yards, including a 75 yard touchdown, and also caught a short TD pass in a 41-23 victory at San Francisco on Sunday. Weve got a lot of guys with great character, a lot of guys with resilience. I feel like our teams getting closer. We all love each other.Halfway through its season, the Saints have at least produced the resume of a competitive team. Of the four teams that have beaten New Orleans, two (Atlanta and Oakland) are division leaders, while the other two (Kansas City and the New York Giants) are second-place teams with winning records. Only New Orleans loss to Atlanta was by more than six points. The other three came down to the final posseession.ddddddddddddYet, of the four teams New Orleans has beaten, only one -- Seattle -- has a winning record. Three of their victories were by five or fewer points. New Orleans double-digit defeat of the Niners was only the latest of several lopsided losses for San Francisco.I dont try to look at the quality of wins or losses, Payton said. Its in the rear-view mirror, really, and weve just got to learn from the mistakes.And the Saints made mistakes in San Francisco, particularly on defense. Niners QB Colin Kaepernick had his best performance this season with 398 yards passing -- second most of his career -- including touchdown passes of 47 yards to DuJuan Harris and 65 yards to Vance McDonald. If the Saints defense hadnt come up with four turnovers, including Robertsons early interception that set up a New Orleans TD, Sundays game could have been much tighter.Their explosive plays were mistakes on our end, Robertson said Were still growing as a defense, week by week, mixing together, and youre going to have that where you just have mistakes like that. But its our job as a defense to limit those mistakes because mistakes in this league go for touchdowns.In the meantime, the Saints have managed to reduce pressure on their defense by keeping their offense on the field with time-consuming drives that have featured an improving ground game. In a victory over Seattle two games ago, Tim Hightower became the Saints first running back this season to rush for more than 100 yards. On Sunday, Ingram became the second as New Orleans finished with 248 yards on the ground. And quarterback Drew Brees still managed to pass for 323 yards and three TDs.This team is playing complementary football, Robertson said. Our offense did a great job of running the ball, controlling the clock and letting us have time to rest. And when you have that, you have a chance to be good when its time for you to get back on the field again.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '
