freshmen -- Jayson Tatum, Javin DeLaurier, Marques Bolden and F

It should be no surprise when Keaton Jennings says he feels very comfortable and very English as he prepares to make his Test debut on Thursday.And if the words at the moment rather underline the somewhat transient nature of modern nationality, it is not an issue with which Jennings can be expected to wrestle. He is 24. And he is reaping the rewards for a decision made when he was a teenager. He has a home in Chester-le-Street. He talks fondly of his local pub. He just wants to play cricket.It is a well-trodden path that Jennings has taken into the England team. Like Kevin Pietersen, Jonathan Trott, Nick Compton and many, many more, he has utilised a British passport (Jennings mother was born in Sunderland), looked at the unstable nature of South African cricket and the depth of the professional game in England, and come to an understandable conclusion. None of them were poached or coerced; they made perfectly understandable choices that have become common in a mobile, multicultural world.I sat down with my Dad and I felt it would be my best opportunity to live my dream in the UK, he explains. And Im very glad as I sit here now to have made that hard decision. The opportunity, the professionalism - I cant put my exact finger on it - but there was a welcome feeling, and feeling loved, and being pushed as well.That is not to say there are not concerns. For a start, there is an obvious dilution of talent available to the South Africa selectors. By the time South Africa tour England in the summer of 2017, it is anticipated that a new raft of Kolpak registrations will have weakened them further.It also raises questions about the English development system. Why is it, for all the money pumped into grassroots cricket, England remain so disproportionately reliant upon players born and largely developed overseas? Jennings will be - after Trott, Compton and Sam Robson - Cooks fourth opening partner born in South Africa or Australia since the retirement of Andrew Strauss, who was also born in South Africa. The differing climates may be one factor, but it is hard to ignore the suspicion that cricket - absent from most schools and many TV screens - has simply reduced in relevance across much of England and Wales. Take private schools out of the equation, and the situation looks grim.The ECB, to be fair, recognise this. It is the motivation behind their Cricket Unleashed initiative and their plans for a new-look T20. Their vehicle of change may be questionable, but many of their intentions are good.Jennings cannot be expected to worry about such matters. As if standing in the shoes of Haseeb Hameed is not hard enough - Jennings must feel like an Elvis impersonator going on stage after Elvis - he now has to deal with a fine India attack.Had he stayed in South Africa, however, Jennings might well be a seasoned international cricketer already. He captained the U19 team (in 2011, he opened the batting with Quinton de Kock in an U19 ODI against England) and, of course, he was steeped in cricket in the family home.He talks of his father often (though he refers to him as coach) and with a softness that belies the hard-man reputation Ray Jennings may have cultivated. And while there were clearly times the younger Jennings was taught some pretty tough lessons, there is little doubt it was wrapped up in the benevolence of a loving father.When I was nine or 10 we went to the nets, Keaton remembers. But it was one of the days when I decided not to listen. He threw me the first ball, I got out. Second ball, I got out. He said you get out one more time were going home. He threw me another ball, I got out. He put his bag down and walked off. From that day forward, I called him Coach. I cant remember the last time I called him dad.Having grown up in a cricket family you talk a lot about cricket. It is very intense from a training and professionalism point of view, but it was also a very loving environment. My mum softens my Dad and has taken the edge off him at home. From the persona of someone who is a hard and concentred man, in the family house he is very loving and gentle.Weve got a very good relationship. Im probably closer to him than I am to anybody else in the world. Hes my father, a role model and a coach. Im blessed to have a person in my life that I trust with my life and that will help me guide my career.Most of the advice passed on from father to son in recent days - and Ray has copious experience as an IPL coach - has been practical in nature. Drink lots of water and make sure its closed bottles, was one of his bigger tips, Keaton says.But there has been a deeper theme to his advice. Despite the cricket drills and apparently intense concentration upon success in the game, Keaton was also taught to embrace other aspects of life and understand that there is much more to it than sport. So he is currently studying for a degree in financial accounting and puts his much-improved performance in 2016 (he scored seven first-class centuries in the season; he had scored five in total before that) down to having found happiness outside the game.My dad made me do one thing in my life and that was to study, he explains. I take my hat off to him. Im really thankful he pushed me in that direction.And he has told me to enjoy the process and the culture of India. Fake Jerseys Outlet . -- Ryan Getzlaf grabbed the three pucks wrapped in tape and held them up to his chest in the Anaheim Ducks dressing room for a celebration nine seasons in the making. Fake Jerseys From China . Breaking three of his own world records on his way to winning in Paris, Chan silenced the critics and left the audiences standing in appreciation and awe. http://www.fakejersey.com/ . The Olympic champion curler and TSN curling analyst immediately went online to look at the Halls long list of honoured members. Thats when the enormity of the honour sunk in. Fake Jerseys . -- Its been a long road back for Sean Bergenheim. Wholesale Fake Jerseys . Numbers Game examines the deal that sees Michael Del Zotto and Kevin Klein switch places. The Predators Get: D Michael Del Zotto. DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke packed its roster full of star freshmen. The Blue Devils already will be without one of them for a while.The presumptive Atlantic Coast Conference favorites wont have Harry Giles for a few weeks after he had his left knee scoped.Better to take care of cleaning up the scar tissue and loose bodies inside Giles knee now, coach Mike Krzyzewski said Tuesday, rather than allow it to linger through what could be a special season.Will we have all the talent available at the time you have the opportunity to win the championship? Krzyzewski said. Thats why were making sure that Harry is good right now. The championship is not going to be won in October and November. The championship we want to win is the national championship. ... I dont know how many programs have that (as a legitimate) goal. We do, so were going to try to conduct our season appropriately.The Blue Devils enter the season as one of the favorites to win their sixth national championship, and third since 2010, and Giles is a big -- though certainly not the only -- reason why.A centerpiece of whats considered one of the nations top recruiting classes, the 6-foot-10 Giles had an arthroscopy on his left knee earlier this week, his third procedure on one of his knees. He tore several ligaments in that knee three years ago, then tore the anterior cruciate ligament in the other knee last November and wound up missing his senior season in high school.This procedure was nowhere near as severe as the previous two -- team officials say the typical recovery time is six weeks, putting it close to the Nov. 11 season opener against Marist -- but it does create an early test of adversity for a team coming off a season defined by its struggles to replace a key player lost to injury.ddddddddddddDuke was never the same team last season after high-energy forward Amile Jefferson broke his foot in December and eventually was lost for the season. Those Blue Devils essentially went with a six-man rotation, and their lack of depth helped lead to losses to Louisville, Notre Dame and, ultimately, Oregon in the West Regional semifinals.Depth doesnt seem like an issue on this team, which is full of five-star freshmen -- Jayson Tatum, Javin DeLaurier, Marques Bolden and Frank Jackson, in addition to Giles -- and talented returnees including third-team AP All-American Grayson Allen and Jefferson, who received a medical hardship waiver that allows him to play an extra season.Really talented -- maybe one of the most talented Duke teams here, Jefferson said.Indeed, these Blue Devils have options, and an abundance of them.They can use the 6-11 Bolden and the 6-10 DeLaurier inside. Or, they could go small with some combination of Jefferson, Allen, Tatum, Jackson, sophomore Luke Kennard or senior co-captain Matt Jones.We have to be careful that we dont try to do too many combinations and options, Krzyzewski said, so that, what are the best things we can do with the group? ... Id rather have it, instead of doing too many things, doing a number of things with people doing them from different positions. ... Itll take on different looks. ' ' '