Steven Smiths captaincy starts here. If there was any doubt over control of the Australian team and its selection, the XI unveiled for the day-night Test in Adelaide sets those aside.Having pleaded for a group of players he can take into battle with him after the innings defeat in Hobart, Steve appears to have got his wish. He has a bat-all-day opener in the 20-year-old Matt Renshaw, an adaptable and capable middle-order player in Peter Handscomb, a potential match-winner at No. 6 in Nic Maddinson, and a proven fighter with the gloves or the bat in Matthew Wade.The decision to move on from Peter Nevill and back to Wade will have been a particularly tough one for Steve and the coach Darren Lehmann. Nev is a terrific team man and a wonderful character, so an asset to any dressing room. He certainly has not been dropped for reasons relating to character or anything like that. It is more a case of sacrificing a gloveman in the search for more runs from Wade and the lower order alongside him.Whatever you may think about how tidy or otherwise Wade can be behind the stumps, his enjoyment of a scrap down the batting order is obvious. The two Test hundreds he has made, in Dominica against West Indies and at the SCG against Sri Lanka, were fantastic rearguard innings in conditions other batsmen found difficult. On both occasions he was able to build partnerships with the tail to help set up a winning position. Australia have lacked that lately.Something that has changed about Wade since he was last in the Australian Test side is that he has taken up the captaincy of Victoria with plenty of success - the last two Sheffield Shields, in fact. By all accounts captaincy has not overly changed his aggressive demeanour on the field, but it has enhanced his appreciation for all the roles in the team. Hes had good results, too, from using spin bowlers like Fawad Ahmed and Jon Holland, so Im hopeful he will be able to work productively with Nathan Lyon this time around. There is actually potential for a really damaging partnership to be set up between Wade and Maddinson, who is among the most talented players of his generation. I was in Bristol in 2013, when, playing for Australia A, he tore up Gloucestershires attack to make 181 from 143 balls. Those are the sorts of innings that win matches, and Maddo is more capable of putting them together than most.In addition to his power, placement and ability to play pretty much every shot in the book, Maddo has also been impressive in the way he thinks about the game. I was a big fan of the decision to give him some captaincy experience with the Blues last summer, and he has demonstrated on a few occasions, either on the field or in conversation, that he can come up with the sort of tactical thought that marks him as being ahead of the game. Steve has known Maddo for years, and I wont be surprised to see them swapping ideas over the course of this Test.Another step up the batting order and Handscomb will walk in at No. 5. He is regarded as one of the best players of spin in the country, and uses his feet to good effect. Something else that has impressed me about him is how he approaches training, which I saw first-hand when doing some coaching work with Australia A earlier in the year.The fundamental thing I liked about Pete is that he wasnt afraid of getting uncomfortable in training. We did several batting drills where he wanted to be taken out of his comfort zone - one of which was me firing balls down at him from a shorter distance than normal to test his reflexes and technique under that pressure. Players who seek out difficult experiences in training, to stretch themselves, invariably perform well on the field because they have made the game easier for themselves by doing so.Apart from his batting, Pete is also an excellent slips fielder, a trait he shares with Renshaw. The injection of a couple of high-quality specialist catchers will make a difference to the Australian team, and may in fact contribute to the sort of presence and energy that Steve has called for. Runs, of course, are the biggest thing the team will be searching for after their recent run of outs, and Steve will walk onto the field in Adelaide knowing the changes to the team have offered up a fresh a chance of that happening. Custom Bill Torrey Jersey . 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"Weve told him to stay as long as necessary with your dad," he said. Ovechkin and his Russian national team were eliminated from the mens hockey tournament in Sochi on Wednesday with a 3-1 quarter-final loss to Finland. KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Chiefs linebacker Justin Houston says hes ready to dominate.It will coach Andy Reids call whether he has the chance.The four-time Pro Bowl pass rusher returned to the practice field Thursday with the hopes of making his season debut Sunday at Carolina. Houston was removed from the physically unable to perform list a day earlier but has not played in a game since having surgery to repair his left ACL in February.Feel good. Ready to get back out there with my guys, said Houston, who was voted to the Pro Bowl last season despite missing five games with the bothersome knee. Been grinding, working with the guys. It is just fun to be back out there with them.Houston hurt his knee midway through last season, and at the time the Chiefs believed it had merely been a hyperextension. He rested it in the hopes that it would heal naturally, and played in a playoff win over the Texans. But it was during that game that he said he tweaked it again, and he hardly made it onto the field in a loss to the Patriots that ended the Chiefs season.Houston had the knee examined a few weeks later, and noted orthopedist Dr. James Andrews discovered that his ACL was not functioning properly. It was repaired in February and rehab quickly began.I was concerned. I knew I couldnt move the way I wanted to and how I was capable of, Houston said. When it happened, the coaches, nobody made me go out there. I wanted to be out there with my team. Any chance to be out there with my team, especially the playoffs, I wanted that chance.The Chiefs were roundly criticized for their treatment of the injury. Many believe it should have been diagnosed and repaired last season, when the knee trouble began, and that could have allowed Houston to recover sooner and be ready for this season.Instead, the procedure wound up costing him the first eight games and the bye week this season, to go with the games he missed last season while hoping it would heal.Its the playoffs, Houston said, when asked whether he reggretted trying to play through it.dddddddddddd If we werent going to the playoffs, thats a different story, but guys play their whole careers and dont get to the playoffs. I wouldnt turn down the chance to be there with my guys.I felt like during that time I did everything in my power to get ready to play.The Chiefs (6-2) have survived without Houston in large part due to the emergence of Dee Ford, who already has nine sacks this season. But with little production from Tamba Hali and the rest of the Kansas City linebackers, Ford was poised to see more double teams and a tougher pass to the quarterback.In that respect, Houstons return to the field couldnt come soon enough.Hes played a lot of football. I dont think it will take him long (to get up to speed), Chiefs defensive coordinator Bob Sutton said. Im sure theres a period where hell say, `I can process that quicker. That will be the biggest thing. He knows the system, so its not a knowledge deal.Its just reactions, Sutton said, seeing things fast as you want to see them.Sutton isnt sure whether Reid will give the green-light for Houston to play Sunday, nor was he willing to guess how many snaps Houston will play once he does make it onto the field.I think you just have to see. I dont think he knows, we know for sure until he gets out there, Sutton said. Games are different than practice. Its faster, the tempo is up. I think when he gets out there hes going to say `Hey, Im golden, ready to roll, no holds-barred, or, `Hey, I need a little break here. I dont think theres a guarantee on any of those.Game notes Hali returned to practice after getting his normal Wednesday off. ... DE Jaye Howard (hip) and WR Jeremy Maclin (groin) remained out of practice Thursday. It is unclear whether either of them will be available against the Panthers.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '
