When the towering frame of Steven Finn took the crease at the end of Englands second innings in Dhaka, I started dreaming. England, nine wickets down, needed 112 to win, or 111 to avoid defeat, which is probably a better way of phrasing the chase from this unlikely position. I hoped this could be one of the last-stand classics. I envisioned Finn blocking and nudging his way to a valiant 30-odd, while Chris Woakes, no amateur with a willow cleft, battled his way to the total. I pictured the two warriors slaked in sweat, raising their swords to the joyous Three Lions battalion celebrating on the balcony.You might well guess, by how carried away Im getting with the language, the military metaphors and the redundant hope, that I love a last-wicket stand. Tension, the scrapping underdog, this is cricket at its most riveting.And why shouldnt I have hoped in Dhaka? The record tenth-wicket Test partnership is a monstrous 198 from when Jimmy Anderson baffled the bowlers, the fans, and certainly himself - his previous highest score was 49 - by notching up 81 against India at Trent Bridge in 2014. He was so surprised by his fifty, he was unsure how to celebrate. I didnt really know what that meant, so I just did the round with the bat. Ive seen people point at the dressing room, so I did that as well.It wasnt the first time wed watched Anderson epically hang on at the end. Only a few weeks earlier, against Sri Lanka at Headingley hed desperately clung to his wicket for 20 overs, until the penultimate ball. Such was the hurt of losing the game, he broke down in tears.We feel deeply for these No. 11 nearly heroes, no matter how partisan the player, fan or hack. Think of Andrew Flintoff photographed kneeling to Brett Lee in 2005, an image that was replicated when Joe Root consoled Sabbir Rahman in Chittagong two weeks ago. And who didnt want 19-year-old Ashton Agar, striking the ball with unfettered joy, to hit two more runs and make a hundred on his Test debut in 2013?My own appreciation of these last-stand battles, particularly digging a trench and staying put no matter what artillery the opposition launches, stems from my teenage introduction to mens league cricket. Aged 14, I was sneaking into my club 2nd XI on fielding ability alone. Being able to throw, catch, run and dive were rare skills in an ageing side. Although, in reality, it was more likely my name was on the sheet because I was too young to complain about batting 11.Not that this batting position was ever superfluous. Not on North Leicestershire minefields, where the most innocuous delivery could detonate the stumps. Back in the 1980s the league points system was set up in such a way that a losing draw was infinitely preferable to defeat, and thus giving away a precious bonus to the opposition. This meant my propping up of the tail end became more important than the runs scratched from the established batsmen. After the men went in and threw away their wickets, I was expected to save the day by blocking out the remaining overs.I still recall a wet and windy afternoon on an exposed hillside. My fanciful memory is that we were actually playing on a farm somewhere, with cowpats in the outfield, but this is probably my imagination. I had a dozen or so overs to keep my wicket and save the game. Both their quicks got lift and bounce off a skiddy track. I either dropped my hands and left, or played that forward defensive that my coach, former pro Peter Booth, proud Yorkshireman and stickler for correct technique, drilled into us every net session. Despite being young and green, surrounded by men whose lives apparently meant no more than winning a game of cricket on a rain-swept Saturday, I resisted. And the more I resisted the more viscous became the sledging. Men sledging a boy, testing his nerve by questioning whether hed reached puberty, had he ever kissed a girl, if he even liked girls. When this had no effect, the mumbled threats started, the swear words and promises of physical violence.Still, the bails remained in place, and I strode off that pitch and marched into manhood. Hearty bear paws patted my back in the pavilion, and the men whod never even spoken to me before were now buying pints of shandy for me at the bar. I was a Not Out hero. These dashing feats of non-scoring still enthral my social cricket. Regular No. 11 for the Authors CC is historian Tom Holland, a bowler who usually takes more wickets in a game than he scores runs. A few years ago he hit a six. His first. A remarkable inside-out scythe over extra cover. He still tweets the photo of it once a week.Yet his most heroic innings, or at least the knock that I remember, was a tenth-wicket stand we shared against the Royal Household at Windsor. Forget any visions you might have of a gentle opposition made up of effeminate butlers and dainty footmen. Strapping Aussie imports and veteran club players people a team that loves nothing more than to drub the Authors. Not this Saturday. We blocked and shouldered arms, nudged and frustrated. We got down to the last six balls, and Id failed to get Tom off strike. No fear. Tom defended, left, and even flicked one off middle stump, and we walked, no we strode, back to a raucous welcome celebrating that single, intact wicket.Oh, and the Woakes-Finn fairy tale in Dhaka? No. Not this time. You already know that. He was plumb lbw for a duck. That happy ending belonged to Bangladesh. Miami Marlins Shirts . President of baseball operations Larry Beinfest was fired Friday after 12 years with the Marlins. The move came as the team neared the end of its third consecutive last-place season in the NL East. Miami Marlins Gear . It was Kerbers third final of the year after losing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia in Monterrey in April and to Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic in Tokyo two weeks ago. The 10th-ranked German improved her record in finals to 3-5. https://www.cheapmarlinsjerseys.us/ . Jay Feely kicked a 41-yard field goal in overtime, and the Cardinals edged the Tennessee Titans 37-34 in overtime after blowing a 17-point lead late in the fourth quarter. Marlins Jerseys 2019 . Vokoun departed practice on Saturday morning after discovering swelling in his thigh. He was taken to a local hospital where the clot was revealed. The club announced the surgery following a 5-3 exhibition loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Marlins Jerseys China . LOUIS -- Roman Polak was celebrating even before Alexander Steen scored the winning goal in Saturdays 4-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. CHARLESTON, S.C. -- It was turkey time at the Charleston Classic for Wake Forest ??? and not just because its November.Demon Deacons coach Danny Manning said assistant coach Randolph Childress challenged their players to get three defensive stops in a row. We called it a turkey, Manning said.Wake Forest picked up several turkeys Sunday night in a 78-61 victory over College of Charleston to finish third in the eight-team tournament.Manning said he wanted his players focused on defense and Childress found a catchy way to do that. We had three turkeys in the first half, Manning said. Not sure how many we had in the second half, but the guys kind of rallied around that. I think were going to try and use that all year long.Especially if it leads to more defensive efforts like Wake Forest (4-1) had in beating the Cougars (3-2).The Deacons held Charleston to 33.3 percent shooting overall and 27.8 percent on threes. They had five blocks and out-rebounded their opponents 36-30 in finishing 2-1 at TD Arena.Bryant Crawford scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half and John Collins added 15 points for Wake Forest.The Demon Deacons took control against the home-standing Cougars with a 15-6 run over the final six minutes of the opening half. They kept the pressure up after the break as Crawford had a 3-pointer and a three-point play to build a 62-42 lead midway through the period.College of Charleston (3-2) sliced that margin in half with 10 straight points, but could get no closer to lose for a second straight game.The shots were just falling, Crawford said. Coach gets on me a lot about missing layups, but today I made them.Crawford ended 7 of 12 from the field and had two of Wakes eight 3-pointers.Joe Chealey led Charleston with 19 points.Wake Forest closed an up-and-down event on a high note. It opened by hitting the 100-point mark for the first time eight years with a 103-81 victory over UTEP, then fell 96-77 to No. 3 Villanova despite shooting 50 percent from the field.ddddddddddddhis time, the Deacons mostly clicked throughout against the pesky Cougars. They finished over 50 percent (28 of 54) from the field, the fourth time in five games with such a high percentage.BIG PICTUREWake Forest: The Demon Deacons have a large group of athletic young players like sophomores Bryant Crawford, Keyshawn Woods and John Collins and freshman Brandon Childress who all saw extensive action at the Charleston Classic -- minutes that will serve them well once Atlantic Coast Conference play starts in five weeks or so. The 6-foot-10 Collins has led the Demon Deacons in four of five games this season, including all three at TD Arena this week.College of Charleston: The Cougars have to find their scoring touch if they hope to make a run in the Colonial Athletic Association this winter. Charleston shot less than 29 percent in a loss to UCF on Friday night and was struggling to make shots once more against Wake Forest.LOTS OF DEACONSWake Forest coach Danny Manning used 11 players, in part because of early foul trouble for starters Dinos Mitoglou and John Collins. Still, the team got solid showings from players not typically in the rotation. I really like our balance, Manning said. For us to get a win with John only playing 14 minutes and Dinos only 17, I think that speaks volumes to the balance we have on our team.COLD CHARLESTONCollege of Charleston struggled with its shooting throughout the tournament, something the Cougars know must improve in a hurry. Its early, Charleston guard Joe Chealey said. Its only the first five games of the season. Weve got to trust the process.UP NEXTWake Forest returns home to play Coastal Carolina on Wednesday night.College of Charleston travels to No. 3 Villanova on Wednesday night.---More AP college basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org ' ' '