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At first glance, Saqlain Mushtaq seems an unlikely cheerleader. At second glance too.Certainly in the modern sense. Hes never been seen with a pair of pom-poms and his dancing days are probably behind him.But that was the description of his role on Englands tour of India offered by Zafar Ansari. It was not meant as faint praise, either. It was meant to underline the unstinting support he has given to Englands spinners in his role as coaching consultant and, in a subtle way, it recognises the sensibly soft touch he has taken.These brief coaching stints are tricky. On one hand, the coach is keen to make as much of an impact as possible in the short period they are with the team. In the case of Saqlain, that was originally only going to be for two weeks on this tour, though it has now been extended to something approaching a month.On the other hand, such short-term coaches can be reluctant to force themselves on players. One highly respected batting coach who was invited to spend a session or two with the team during the summer departed having hardly spoken to the players for fear of tinkering without sufficient time to make substantial progress.Saqlain understands this. He understands that, as a consultant, his role is not to completely overhaul anyones technique and that, going into a game, the worst thing he could do is inject any negativity or doubt into a players mind.He has made it explicit that he didnt want to come in and change anything, Ansari said after Englands training session at the not especially catchily named Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam. He hasnt had time to change our actions and, in the lead-up to Test, the last thing you want to be doing is changing what youre doing.He acts as our cheerleader to some extent. He boosts us and makes us feel good about ourselves. And as someone who has been so successful to come in and say I think youre a good bowler and I think you can take wickets at this level, that gives you a lot of confidence and that is important for Test cricket.Saqlain may have learned a thing or two in this regard. During his first stint with the England team, just ahead of the Manchester Test against Pakistan, he mentioned to Moeen Ali that he may like to alter his grip a little in a bid to gain more bounce. But when the result was a couple of head-high full tosses, they both concluded that the time for technical changes is not a couple of days before a Test.His input is not limited to bowling, either. Moeen credits his improvement against spin bowling in part to Saqlains comments. So when Saqlain mentioned that Javed Miandad had recently told him how much he admired Moeens batting, Moeen was thrilled and more receptive to the advice - advice offered many times previously by Mark Ramprakash - that he might like to come down the pitch more often against spin bowlers. Sometimes the source of the advice is just as important as the subject.Thats not to say that Saqlain is nothing but a cheerleader. He also has the experience to offer practical advice. So, while Adil Rashids Test career has previously been characterised by coaches suggesting that he would need to bowl quicker to succeed in international cricket, Saqlain has recognised that Rashid has several gifts but that speed will never be one of them.Instead, he has encouraged him to embrace his natural strengths: to give the ball some air, to give the ball a rip and to back his own skills to defeat the batsmen. On the evidence of the Rajkot Test, where Rashid produced probably the best bowling performance of his Test career, it seems to be working well.Its more about your approach to bowling and bowling in Test cricket, Ansari said. How you can maintain your composure when batsmen are coming at you, when the crowd is loud and when youre playing on TV. All these external factors, he brings a certain perspective to that.Saqlains background may be relevant, too. Four of this England squad identify as British Muslims and three - including all three of the spin bowlers from the Rajkot Test - have family roots in Pakistan. Saqlain is a man they can identify with, and not just as a cricketer.Ansari, while reluctant to think of himself as a role model as an individual at this stage of his career, nevertheless celebrates the success of the collective and feels their visible success is a good thing for society.As a group of four British Muslims there is something in that, he says. Theres no doubt. Thats really exciting and something were proud of. A lot of people outside the group clearly care about that and value that a lot. And that is a good thing in our society.From a personal point of view, I wouldnt hold myself up as a role model. At least in that way. Im from a very privileged background. I dont necessarily challenge norms in a particularly obvious way or even in a superficial way. So I wouldnt necessarily characterise myself as breaking down boundaries. But Moeen, Adil and Haseeb Hameed - all of them are doing a wonderful job representing their communities. And thats not an easy role to play.On a day of optional nets - the seamers from the first Test plus Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow took the opportunity to rest - James Anderson ran in hard and looked as if he was raring to go. But it was Steven Finn who troubled the batsmen most, generating unpleasant bounce from just back of a length. Both are set to be frustrated, though, with England likely to play the same XI that featured in Rajkot.And that would mean another chance for Ansari. Though he is modest about his own talents - he describes himself as not a natural ball-player and seems somewhat in awe of Moeen having spent a month or so watching him at close quarters - he concedes that he is growing more comfortable with the glare of life in international cricket.The second game felt easier from a psychological perspective, he says. Just the attention being removed from you to some extent - as an England player, people are always observing - but that singular attention shifting away is a big thing for the second Test and going forward. It allows you to play the game as a game rather than as an event that you are the centre of.Im not a natural ball-player. I guess its all relative. Im probably comparing myself with Moeen or people like that. They work incredibly hard but, from the outside, they have a certain touch that maybe I dont feel like I quite have. But this is just my perspective. Other people might say youre talking rubbish; youre being self-deprecating. But thats genuine.Ansaris skills are likely to be tested to the full in the second Test. While the pitch at Visakhapatnam currently has some grass on it, the groundsman expects it to turn from day two. It is likely that spin will play a greater part than it did in Rajkot and likely that the toss will, once again, prove important. Cheap Mavericks Jerseys .ca NHL Power Rankings for the second straight week, ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Colorado Avalanche. Jalen Brunson Jersey . Note: The Calgary Flames announced Tuesday that Sean Monahan would not be made available to Canadas World Junior team. http://www.cheapmavericksjerseys.com/ . Walcott is available for Saturdays home match against Southampton as Arsenal looks to extend its two-point lead at the top of the Premier League. The Gunners are currently the second highest scorers in the league but Wenger insists Walcott will add something extra to his team. DeAndre Jordan Jersey . -- Mike Smith never saw his first NHL goal go in. Cheap Mavericks Jerseys Authentic .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. TORONTO -- Peter Budaj is still filling in nicely for Jonathan Quick, and the Los Angeles Kings gave him plenty of help Tuesday night.Jeff Carter scored twice during a four-goal second period, Budaj made 19 saves and Los Angeles thumped the Toronto Maple Leafs 7-0.Budaj hasnt allowed a goal in 150:32 and has a 1.86 goals-against average while filling in for Quick, out with a lower-body injury since the opening game of the season.Im glad Im getting into the game rhythm a little bit, Budaj told NHL.com. Im seeing the puck really well right now and I just have to continue working hard and try to help the team.Tanner Pearson and Tyler Toffoli added goals in the second period and Dustin Brown, Kyle Clifford and Dwight King also scored. Los Angeles has won three straight.Toronto goalie Frederik Andersen allowed four goals on 26 shots, and then Jhonas Enroth came on and made 14 saves.The Leafs had won three straight.As optimistic as everything appears one day and you win three in a row, then you get your lunch fed to you and youre not competitive and not organized and not prepared, coach Mike Babcock said. It was a humbling experience for our players and myself here in our building.One of the younger teams in the league, the Leafs were ultimately schooled by a more veteran opponent, one thats captured the Stanley Cup twice in the past five seasons.They taught us a lesson tonight, Toronto forward Nazem Kadri said.The Kings had the bulk of the chances in the first period, scoring with 6:04 left in the period on Browns second this year. Third-line center Nic Dowd did the dirty work, controlling the puck down low before finding Brown atop the left faceoff circle.His shot thhrough a maze of moving bodies beat Andersen, who entered the evening with a .dddddddddddd944 save percentage in his previous five starts. The Leafs had a chance to get the puck out initially but Martin Marincins exit feed never quite reaching Ben Smith along the wall.The Leafs came up with a couple decent chances early in the second. James van Riemsdyk was stopped by Budajs blocker while efforts from the all-rookie line of Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Zach Hyman were also shut down.Matthews, who had 10 points in his first six NHL games, has only one point in his last seven.Following that initial push from the Leafs, the Kings got two goals in less than two minutes, one from Pearson and another from Toffoli.After the Leafs failed to come up with a puck in the neutral zone, Anze Kopitar scooped it up and found Pearson, who easily beat Andersen. Almost two minutes later, Toffoli finished off an odd-man rush for the 3-0 lead.Carter added two more goals for the Kings less than five minutes apart. The first again came after the visitors march easily into the Toronto zone, and Carters shot and goal ending Andersens night.Carter banked his second of the game and fifth this season off Enroth from behind the Leafs goal.Game notes The Kings added third period goals by Clifford and Lewis. Derek Forbort had a career-high three assists. ... The Leafs were outshot 43-19 overall. Tuesday marked just their second loss in six games at home (4-2-0).UP NEXTKings: Play at Montreal on Thursday night.Maple Leafs: Host Philadelphia on Friday night. ' ' '