Bewerbungen » marbles. When sky blue plays maroon, everyone north of th

If it is the brutality of the ECBs decision to punish Durham that strikes first, it is the inconsistency that follows close behind.Oh, yes. There is some logic in the ECBs stance. A financial punishment would clearly have been inappropriate and this action - relegation and a heavy points deductions for next season - certainly sends out a strong deterrent.Against what though, is unclear. Against building a ground in an out-of-town location more than 20 years ago? Against bidding for international games in an over-crowded market place? Against slipping into debt? If so, the ECB needs to be relegating a few other teams.The only difference between Durham and Glamorgan is that, at Durham, the creditors - notably the local council - declined to waive the debt. In Cardiff, they allowed the taxpayer to pick up the bill. Warwickshire owe Birmingham City Council around ￡20m and have already benefited from a repayment holiday.So, if the ECB is to be consistent, shouldnt Glamorgan, who were stripped of a Test in 2012 and obliged to swap a fixture in 2013 after struggling to pay staging agreements for Sri Lanka Test in 2011, be treated in the same manner?And what is the difference between Durham and Hampshire? Or, indeed, Yorkshire? Hampshire, the beneficiaries of this action, have been bailed out to the tune of ￡10m or more by Rod Bransgrove, while Yorkshire are indebted to Colin Graves. The club owes - and continues to pay interest upon - trusts set-up by Graves totalling ￡24m. All were insolvent. The difference is that Hampshire and Yorkshire found benefactors; Durham found judgement. The ECB, with reserves of ￡70m and more, could have taken a more sympathetic approach.Such was Yorkshires plight that, in interviews with ESPNcricinfo, Graves referred to Yorkshire as bankrupt and 48 hours from being written off. So we can only presume that Durham are not being punished for financial mismanagement but for failing to find a sugar daddy to bail them out.Did Durham have to be punished at all? Might the ECB not have reflected that it was, at least in part, complicit in Durhams descent into debt? Might it not have concluded that, having encouraged Durham to build an international venue - a condition of being granted first-class status in 1992 - and then given them a May Test against Sri Lanka starting on a Friday, it had contributed to the difficulties the club has faced?Might it not have reflected that, by encouraging the counties to bid against one another to host international games, things were always going to end this way?And might the ECB not even have reflected that it, like the banks that offered 120% mortgages before the economic crash, had extended credit to Durham far beyond the reasonable? The ECB now admits it has been working on this rescue package for the best part of a year. In that case, why was the Test against Sri Lanka allowed to take place in Chester-le-Street? Why were Hampshire or Nottinghamshire not incentivised to take on that game?This episode is every bit as much the ECBs fault as it is Durhams. It is an inevitable product of the system.Besides, who does this decision punish? Does it punish the officials at Durham who, years ago, embarked on a course that always threatened to end this way? Hardly. Some are dead, some have moved on or retired and one of them (Gordon Hollins, once commercial director at Durham) is now chief operating officer of the professional game at the ECB.Does it punish the investors who involved themselves in the club when they thought hosting international cricket was a lucrative business or the officials at the ECB who created this system and extended the clubs line of credit? Of course not.No, this is a decision that punishes the players and the supporters. Innocent victims of decisions over which they had no control.It wont help them, either. At least one of the players - Keaton Jennings, who recently signed a new deal with the club - is understood to have a clause in their contract allowing them to leave if they are relegated. Those supporters who enjoyed Durhams run to T20 Finals Day this year may conclude there is little point attending in 2017; the points deduction is too much of a handicap. And you can bet that the next club in need of financial assistance will call Wonga before it calls the ECB. The governing body needs to take a more benevolent approach than this.The shame is that, as a cricket club, Durham has excelled. Yes, as a business they have failed and as a business they need to change. But no cricket team had been in the top division for as long (11 years) before today. Only a couple of weeks ago, Ben Stokes, keen to play when he could easily have rested, bowled his side to a crucial victory over Surrey in a thrilling passage of play that seemed to have avoided relegation. To snatch that away devalues so much that went before.Might the ECB have taken such a hard line to make a point? Might it have taken this opportunity to remind the counties of their precarious finances and of the need to embrace a new T20 competition? You would hope not.There are lessons to learn from Durham. We can see (as we can from Hampshire) that out-of-town cricket grounds do not work. And we can see (as we can see from Hampshire and as we will see from Northants) that private ownership (Durham, like Hampshire, is not a members club) brings more problems than it solves. Sympathy for privately owned clubs is limited; if they dont share their profits with the wider game, why would the wider game want to share their losses? Nor will it be forgotten that, a few years ago, Durham breached the salary cap. They are not blameless.Most of all, though, we can see that the arms race by which international games were allocated for a decade or more did not work. And we can see that producing players for England is not sufficiently rewarded. A club that has uncovered such gems as Mark Wood and Stokes should not be begging for help from its governing body. It should be cherished and nurtured.At some clubs, this setback would spark an exodus. But at Durham? There has long been a sense of unity about Durham that other clubs have admired and envied. And it has long been said in county circles that it is hard to drag their players away from the north-east. Maybe the examples of Scott Borthwick and Mark Stoneman show that times have changed. Or maybe this is just the event to redouble their determination and renew their sprit. If Stokes and Wood are ever made available to them in 2017, some Division Two batsmen will find themselves unwitting victims of this episode.There is not much appetite around the first-class counties for punishment of Durham. There is an acceptance that their days as a Test-hosting ground are over (for the foreseeable future, anyway) and an acceptance that they required some intervention. But punishment? No. That comes from the ECB, which has somehow tarnished one of the most wonderful finishes to the county season for years into a squabble about finances and legal action. The reverse alchemists have done it again.Well-governed sport is defined by events on the pitch. Increasingly in English cricket, we see decisions made in committee rooms transcending events on the field. It reflects poorly on the sport and, most of all, poorly on the administrators. Joe Corona Jersey . "We have always prided ourselves on the way we play defence. Having two big pieces back is going to be a key for us moving forward for years to come," said Knighthawks head coach Mike Hasen. Antonee Robinson USA Jersey . Bryzgalov stopped 25 shots on Saturday in the Oklahoma City Barons 4-1 victory over the Abbotsford Heat. 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Not in this game, says Graham Arnold.The Sydney FC coach doesnt care what colour kit Brisbane wear - orange, white or Queenslands maroon.The third-placed Roar will attempt to end A-League leaders Sydney FCs perfect - 6-0 - season start in Saturdays home clash, a clash they are billing as a State vs State affair.They will run out in in a special maroon jersey for the first time when they face the sky blue of the visitors on Suncorp Stadium, also the home of Queenslands beloved State of Origin rugby league team, whove regularly dominated the NSW Blues.The colour switch is a big deal north of the Tweed River, with the jerseys presented to Roar players by Maroons Origin legend Billy Moore this week.It doesnt matter if its rugby league, football or marbles. When sky blue plays maroon, everyone north of the Tweed cares, Moore said.The significance, however, was lost on FC coach Arnold, who isnt buying into talk of a state rivalry in Australian soccer.Its not ruugby league, its football, Arnold told reporters on Thursday.dddddddddddd.It doesnt matter what colour jerseys theyre in. Theyre still the same human beings - same bodies, same talent, same quality.Well go up there with the intention of suffocating them.It could also bring bad luck. Theyve never worn maroon.Adding another element of spice was Roar defender Jade Norths recent description of the Sky Blues perfect start to the season as lucky, particularly in conceding a competition-best only two goals in 2016-17.Rather than lucky, Arnold believes it was their opposition who were fortunate not have succumbed to heavier defeats.All Ill say is last week, we had 47 entries into Perth Glorys penalty box ... and we only scored four goals, Arnold said.Were nowhere near the finished product. Were still operating at about 60-65 per cent of where well end up. ' ' '