e is catching up with him but his fitness and passion for the game are intact. I am at a certain stage of my career where I only think what I can give back to my team, Misbah to

Interested to see the best finals preparations - week off or regular footy?I am keen to see what works better between having a week off and recovering or playing intense, regular football. I am interested to see if either has an outcome in the game -- the Cowboys came off a hard game in Melbourne in Week 1 and then an Origin-style game of football at home against Brisbane and now they travel to Sydney.It will be fascinating to see what is the best style of approaching a finals campaign -- having the week off or continuing to play regardless of how hard it is.These days is the best our game has ever had it with professionalism so it will be interesting to see if we get a cracking game of football or does a week off make one team rusty or whether the travel and playing continuously puts the other team under pressure.?The Cowboys won the premiership last year after losing the first game but they went the hard road and we now know there was nothing wrong with the path they took.Hope to see a strong Chad Townsend response after being hooked last gameI am looking forward to seeing what Chad Townsend presents this weekend because he unfortunately didnt play a great deal of time two weeks ago in Canberra.It was a masterstroke from Shane Flanagan to replace him and put Jack Bird to the halves but I dont know what effect it will have on Chad Townsend -- how hes feeling and how his confidence level is sitting.I think coming up against Johnathan Thurston is a great game for him. If anyone feels like hes under pressure or down on confidence I think playing the best player in the game should be seen as a nice battle for yourself.I think Cronullas chances of success hinges a fair bit on how Chad Townsend performs -- the right edge of the Sharks in which Townsend and Luke Lewis sit will have to certainly send a fair bit of football at Johnathan Thurston and I think that will be a way of targeting the Cowboys and improving the Sharks chances of victory.Cooper Cronk 300-game milestone for MelbourneCooper Cronks 300 games for the Melbourne Storm will be a wonderful celebration -- they sell great milestones better than anyone in the NRL competition and I just think its a great rap for a great bloke.There are 25 people who have played 300-plus games, there are around 10 or 11 that have played 300-plus at the one club so I think its been an amazing career for him and a nice way to celebrate a milestone in such a big occasion.Hell look back at the end of the year and recognise hes played 300 games for the one club which is a fair milestone. I think Melbourne Storm players have been walking around in Cooper Cronk t-shirts all week so as much as hes playing it down and staying humble, I think there has already been a little celebration by the football club.Cronk and Melbourne is like the perfect marriage -- he couldve gone to another club that played ad-lib football and probably never had a career. Hes done a wonderful job to turn into the player he is. Edwin Encarnacion Jersey . Dukurs winning time was 1 minute, 45.76 seconds, a quarter-second better than Russias Alexander Tretiakov. Lativas Tomass Dukurs was third, 1.41 seconds off the pace. Jon Montgomery of Eckville, Alta. Brandon Guyer Jersey .C. -- Rodney Hood connected from all over the court while freshman Jabari Parker was busy swatting shots and scoring in transition. http://www.indiansteamproshop.com/Indians-Jose-Ramirez-Kids-Jersey/ . Louis Cardinals. Victorino is batting sixth and playing right field after missing two games because of back tightness. Cody Allen Jersey .5 seconds to play in the game, Kevin Love never stopped believing that they would come out of there with a win. Joe Carter Jersey . The 28-year-old from Calgary matched his career best after missing just one shot in his two rounds of shooting in the mens 10-kilometre sprint competition. Smith finished in 23 minutes 15. Pakistans Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq has said he is still undecided about his retirement plan and it is a decision he will take on his own, not with the PCB, after deciding his utility as a captain and as a player for the team. He also said he did not have to announce his retirement beforehand and could end his career whenever he wanted, as he was not looking for a farewell.In April this year, Misbah had marked the upcoming Australia tour as possibly his last, with Pakistan playing series against England, West Indies and New Zealand before that. His fitness helped him play all those series, though he recently missed the Hamilton Test against New Zealand following the death of his father-in-law - he had also been given a one-match suspension by the ICC for his sides slow over rate in Christchurch. He is set to depart from Lahore on Saturday to join the squad in Brisbane ahead of the three Tests against Australia.Misbah, 42, understands that age is catching up with him but his fitness and passion for the game are intact. I am at a certain stage of my career where I only think what I can give back to my team, Misbah told ESPNcricinfo. I am thinking but havent reached any conclusion, but my whole thought process is all about the team - if they can move on without me or not. And how I can do more as a senior to inspire and make this team stand on its own.I do believe these boys have the capability to take responsibility and can deliver. So I am actually thinking if its a good to leave at this stage. But this is a decision I want to take on my own and I dont think I need to pre-announce it. I dont think that it is necessary for me to mark any series my last but I can take it any time without even having a farewell. I dont have to make my retirement plan a big issue by beating drums all over.Misbah was reportedly requested by PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan to continue playing beyond the Australia series but he quashed any such propositions and said its eventually his own decision. The PCB made Azhar Ali, who has been playing under Misbah since 2010, the vice-captain, but he seems to have lost favour among board officials, who now want Misbah to continue until they identify another successor.Both Azhar and Sarfraz Ahmed are good choices but the formers batting suffers whenever he leads the side, Khan said recently. Allrounder Imad Wasim can also be a candidate as he haas impressed the PCB with his ability to handle pressure at crucial stages of matches.ddddddddddddPakistan became the No. 1 ranked Test team earlier this year but soon slipped to No. 4, due to the defeat against West Indies in Sharjah and the 2-0 whitewash in New Zealand. They next tour Australia, where they have never won a Test series in 52 years. In their last three outings to Australia, they lost all three Tests in each of the series, in 1999, 2004 and 2009.Misbah believed that the set of players selected for the Australia tour formed a winning squad. The alarming situation is that our main batsmen are out of form. Otherwise these boys have beaten England in their own conditions, he said. In New Zealand, we were not able to get time to adjust and the pitches were all in favour of bowlers. Even the New Zealand batsmen struggled most of the time because conditions were unplayable. But in Australia, you have a lot of opportunities to score runs and you either get out or play your strokes.Its not like we are not capable enough to compete against Australia in Australia. We are. Yes, we are low on confidence after losing three straight Tests and its tough to regather ourselves but we have to and we will. Our batsmen have done it in the past, our bowlers are good but they need to be pushed hard and they have to take responsibility. So, overall this team has everything you need to win a game and I am sure we are very much capable.Pakistan recently moved Azhar from the No. 3 position, his regular batting slot where he has batted in 45 of his 54 Tests. He averages 44.32 at No. 3 with 10 hundreds. Similarly, Asad Shafiq was displaced from the No. 6 spot, where he played 45 out of 50 Tests. Misbah realised that moving Shafiq cost Pakistans lower order but with Babar Azam coming in, the No. 3 conundrum could be solved.For the sake of team requirement we had to move him [Azhar Ali] up as we needed to have an experienced hand in the opening slot, Misbah explained. So we moved Asad, but it was never a long-term prospect as we now have Babar Azam building up for No. 3 position and he has shown the promise. We also realised that we were missing out much-needed partnerships between Asad and Sarfraz so now he can go and bat at his regular number. ' ' '