hit long not to find a way to get the potentially destructive hitting of Plunkett i

Queensland Firebirds can move closer to two slices of eternal trans-Tasman netball competition history when they host NSW Swifts in the Australian conference final on Monday.With the 10-team tournament in its ninth and final season, no side has yet won back-to-back titles.The defending champion Firebirds are also on track to finish as the outright most successful team, as they are presently locked with Melbourne Vixens and Adelaide Thunderbirds on two championships apiece.The Swifts and Firebirds split their two regular season games, with the home side victorious on each occasion.They met at the corresponding stage last year when Queensland won, with the Firebirds also triumphant over the Swifts in the grand final.This season however the Swifts, who have lost all 10 of their trans-Tasman matches ever played in Brisbane, have had over a weeks break as opposed to less than 48 hours last year.Ive been here for seven seasons and I feel the rivalry with New South Wales immensely, theres a lot at stake for both teams, Firebirds coach Roseleee Jencke said on the clubs website.When we played the Swifts in the Australian conference final last year, there was a lot of discussion around the fact they only had a couple of days off before backing up and werent fully recovered.This time, theyve had a good amount of time to prepare for us.They will be fresh and ready to go. Were looking forward to playing the game with both sides on equal terms.Both teams will put the emphasis on defensive pressure in a match where the ability to convert hard-won turnovers into goals will be critical.We certainly are aware of their ability to score very fast and the need for us to be able to apply defensive pressure for 60-plus minutes, Swifts midcourt star Laura Langman told AAP.It has been a real focus for this week, ensuring that full court presence is there.The real strength of the Firebirds is they dont necessarily have to be in the attacking third to be able to hit the target, that being (star shooter) Romelda (Aiken).They are a massive threat from anywhere when they receive the ball in that mid third. Shoes Sale . After Mondays hard-fought loss, the wait seemed longer than usual. 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Cheap Shoes . -- Matt Rupert scored once in regulation and again in the shootout as the London Knights extended their win streak to nine games by defeating the Owen Sound Attack 4-3 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. Yorkshire 166 for 6 (Williamson 65)beat Derbyshire 165 for 8 (Rutherford 44, Rashid 3-20) by one runScorecard Yorkshires NatWest Blast hopes still hang by a thread - and the margins are getting tighter. Five runs in a feverish Roses match against Lancashire, two runs - and a few doubts about that - against Warwickshire on Friday night and now the closest of all: victory by one run in a match that was Derbyshires for the taking.Twenty-five off the last three overs with six wickets intact made Derbyshire favourites, even allowing for a sluggish Derby pitch and slow outfield, but they contrived to lose four wickets in 10 balls for eight runs and, by the time Matt Critchley swung the last ball from Azeem Rafiq for six, the match was settled. Yorkshire go fifth, the return from England ODI duty of Adil Rashid, David Willey and Liam Plunkett reviving their optimism. Derbyshire, by losing by one run for the third time this season, are now as good as eliminated.Kane Williamson is fighting fatigue, according to Yorkshires director of cricket Martyn Moxon, but one of crickets consummate professionals is not the sort to wear his responsibilities lightly. There are few greater loads to bear than energising Yorkshires Twenty20 cricket, but he stood up to the challenge, his 65 from 45 balls the guiding force in Yorkshires 166 for 6.It has been a difficult season for all of Yorkshires T20 batsmen with only Joe Root having passed 50 before Williamsons intervention. Alex Lees own contribution on this occasion was a first-baller, caught at the wicket driving at Shiv Thakor, but his first season as Yorkshires T20 captain remains alive and he will take sustenance from that.Williamson will soon depart; the Australian Travis Head has just landed in England. In the NatWest Blast, players come and go so often the county grounds should have their own runway: another alternative perhaps to Heathrow expansion. Thanks to this victory, Heads involvement will at least have some relevance to it.That Williamsons efforts almost came to naught owed much to a second-wicket stand of 73 in 49 balls for Derbyshire between two New Zealand compatriots, Hamish Rutherford and Neil Broom. Rutherfords six over extra cover against Willey, who is now contending with shin splints after only just recovering from a side strain, was as good as it got, and with Broom taking a fancy to Plunkett, Derbyshire were 76 for 1 off nine.Rashid intervened in the nick of time, having Rutherford stumped attempting a slog sweep in his first over, and trapping Broom lbw at the start of his third. His return from England one-day duties will also steel Yorkshires challenge and his control never wavered, Wayne Madsen outfoxed as he came down the wicket, a second stumping for Andrew Hodd delivering figures of 3 for 20.Only briefly did Yorkshire feel confident. Two towering sixes by Chesney Hughes, with 17 off an over from Tim Bresnan, should have made it Derbyshires game but when an outstanding catch at deep midwicket by Plunkett intercepted Jimmy Neeshams fast, flat pick-up, they still needed 13 off the last over.That over was bowled by Rafiq - and thereby hung a tale. It was Derbyshire who almost signed him after he was released by Yorkshire, only for his action to waver ahead of the season while contractual negotiations were underway.dddddddddddd His nerve held here - a yorker off his penultimate ball engineering a drive back by Critchley and the run out of Thakor - and Yorkshire look a better T20 side for having the option of bowling Rashid and Rafiq in tandem.Gillespie was full of praise for Rafiq, who conceded only 28 from four overs. It takes some nerve from a finger spinner to bowl in the powerplay and the last over of the innings, he said. It shows how far hes come in such a short time. Hes very relaxed, hes happy in his own skin and I cant tell you how happy I am to see him have that success after a challenging period for him.Some will contend that Yorkshire were fortunate to enter the match still with hopes of a quarter-final place. Adam Lyths acrobatic last-ball stop at long-on to complete an unexpected victory against Warwickshire at Headingley on Friday night was perilously near to the boundary according to some spectators with a close view. Yorkshires supporters celebrated victory, but their reaction might have been more critical if the situation had been reversed.Willey is another man Yorkshire are relying upon to bring fresh impetus to their last-eight challenge. Fourteen in three balls over long-on against Neesham, and 21 off in all off the over, gave Yorkshires innings early stimulus, but even he was relatively restrained apart from that, finally dismissed for 33 from 28 balls when he lofted Wes Durstons offspin to long off.From 42 for 0 off four overs, Yorkshire struggled to make headway, their batting strength undermined by a groin injury to Ballance which has made him doubtful for the first Test against Pakistan at Lords on Thursday. Lyth was first out, helping a short ball from Andy Carter to third man, and Jack Leaning and Will Rhodes succumbing quickly.Williamsons innings ended seven balls early, bowled around his legs by his fellow New Zealander Neesham. His seventh-wicket stand of 48 in 27 balls with Bresnan rallied Yorkshire, although as successful as it was, it seems wasteful for a side which struggles to hit long not to find a way to get the potentially destructive hitting of Plunkett into the action earlier.So for the second season in a row, the group stages of the NatWest Blast had reached the final stages with every county still in contention. That will be used as evidence by those dismissive of Twenty20 that it is such a short game that the result becomes more random and therefore is of less value.But it can be perceived in different ways. Those seeking comfort will view it as evidence of the depth, not always recognised in Englands professional game. Those committed to radical change will insist that it is the withdrawal of England players which levels the standards and only their introduction would lead to a tournament of real value. And some, this being England, just blame the whole thing on the rain which has caused 12 No Results and when matches have been played consigned them too often to sluggish surfaces where quality does not always out.Whatever the cause, only a fool would suggest with confidence who might win it. ' ' '