Both the idea and the practice of Pakistani democracy are fragile concepts, ones that have been regularly disrupted by military takeovers. Cheap Carlos Lee Jersey . So perhaps it was inevitable that a few out-of-touch lawmakers went into a huff when they perceived the cricket teams push-ups at Lords as being meant to support the army - and not the trainers in the army they were actually meant to be a tribute to. The team ritualised the celebration over the England tour. It became an immediate way of showing the unity of the side, and their self-belief.There were no push-ups in New Zealand over the past month, and beyond the poor performances it was also because, unlike when they went to England, Pakistan had zero preparations for this tour. Instead of a month-long bootcamp and tour matches, Pakistans first bat on the tour was in a Test match.What followed over the next four innings rekindled a ritual that many of us have now got used to - waking up at odd hours to watch a procession of Pakistani batsmen edge it to the cordon and help the team collapse. The longer I sat through the cold nights of this tour, the more I became exasperated at the intense feeling of déjà vu invoked by watching another collapse.What made this exasperation worse was the smug declaration by some Pakistani analysts and ex-cricketers that this team had finally been shown up and its lack of talent exposed. Most of us already know that the current lot distinguishes itself by its hard work, not its natural skill, but at the same time I couldnt stand this whitewashing of the past, given that fans like me had performed the same ritual of watching terrible batting from Pakistan many times over. Indeed, during the couple of decades Ive watched the team, other, infinitely more talented batsmen had always been a major disappointment on away tours.Lets take a look at the numbers of Pakistani batsmen in comparison to their Asian counterparts. Starting with averages outside Asia (last 20 years, with a 300-run minimum) you can immediately see how only two Pakistanis - Mohammad Yousuf and Taufeeq Umar - make it to the top ten. If you remove West Indies and Zimbabwe, two sides that have been weak in this era, and whose conditions are more familiar, then Taufeeq, Umar Akmal and Younis Khan are the only Pakistanis in the top ten; and the former two were never regular members of the side. Yousuf also averages more than 40, but stalwarts like Inzamam-ul-Haq and Saeed Anwar fall below that mark, and the allrounder Azhar Mahmood follows a few runs behind.Moving from individual to team batting records, the difference becomes starker. Pakistani batsmen, over the past 20 years, are comfortably the lowest- and slowest-scoring of the three Asian sides outside their home continent.If you sort the batting figures by host country, youll see that Pakistans records are the worst in every country save New Zealand and Zimbabwe.But lets delve a bit deeper. Why not break down the away records further, coupling the swing-friendly green wickets of England and New Zealand in one category, and the sun-baked, bouncy pitches of Australia and South Africa in the other? It would also provide better insight into the records, as over the past two decades Pakistani batsmen have only had two bad tours in the first two countries - 2010 in England and 2016 in New Zealand.When it comes to England and New Zealand, over the past 20 years only 35 Asian batsmen have scored more than 300 runs. Four Pakistanis are in the top ten when it comes to averages - Inzamam, Yousuf and Younis are in the top five, while Umar Akmals magical debut lands him at No. 7. Sorted by hundreds, Yousuf and Younis have four and three, while Inzamam is one of several Asians with two hundreds. As can be seen, Pakistani batsmen havent done badly in these two countries, but the toppers muddle the results. Sort the list by ducks and six Pakistanis are in the top ten. What is more interesting is that Sri Lanka - who started their Test journey much later and typically play shorter tours, with less time to acclimatise - have more batsmen (14) on the batting averages list than either India or Pakistan.Things become worse overall as we move to the warmer climes of South Africa and Australia. Here, 27 Asian batsmen have made over 300 runs in the last 20 years, with Sri Lanka once again punching above their weight to end up with almost as many on the list (seven) as Pakistan (eight), while India pull ahead with 12.Sorted by averages, three Pakistanis make it into the top ten, with Saeed Anwar at four the only regular batsman. Along with Salman Butt and Mahmood, he is one of the three Pakistanis to average above 40 in these countries. Out of the holy trinity, Younis ends up 13th, while Yousuf and Inzi languish further back, averaging under 30. Only four Asians have more than two hundreds at these venues, while the three Pakistanis in the top ten all have two. Both Butt and Mahmood played just six Tests apiece in South Africa and Australia, while Taufeeq, who has a hundred and a fifty to his name in those countries, only played two Tests there.My favourite stat to emerge from all this was the number of ducks in both sets of data. Given that his name was brought up by so many experts as a batting selection for the tours down under, it is interesting to see Kamran Akmal top the lists for most ducks in both sets of venues. He has five ducks in New Zealand and England, and another four in South Africa and Australia.Perhaps that is why his fans were so anxious to bring him on board. With such testing tours coming up, perhaps they wanted to ensure that they would not be deprived of their usual ritual of watching Pakistani batsmen fail. Cheap Andy Pettitte Jersey . -- The St. Johns IceCaps weathered a wild first period with the help of goaltender Jussi Olkinuora, before finding offensive inroads in the second. Cheap MLB Jerseys Authentic .com) - The Chicago Blackhawks aim for their third three-game winning streak of the season when they host the struggling Edmonton Oilers in Sundays battle at the United Center. http://www.cheapastrosjerseys.com/ .Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres have recalled forward Kevin Porter and defenceman Chad Ruhwedel from the minors as part of a five-player roster shuffle made by the NHLs worst team. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida States offensive line was thought to be strength at the beginning of the season, especially with a mobile dual-threat quarterback. Instead it has been a disappointment.The 12th-ranked Seminoles (5-2, 2-2 ACC) go into Saturdays game against No. 3 Clemson with one of the worst pass protection units in the Football Bowl Subdivision. They have allowed 21 sacks, which is 106th out of 128 teams. It is also tied for third-worst among Power 5 schools.Things wont get any easier against the Tigers (7-0, 4-0). With 25 sacks, Clemson is tied for third among Power 5 teams and tied for fourth nationally.You have to get in front of them and block them. Its that simple. Put a hat on a hat and get an attitude, coach Jimbo Fisher said.Fisher and some of the linemen have pointed to technique as the root of the problems, but it is a variety of things.I think it is communication sometimes. Some plays we just have mental lapses or missed a call or assignment, tight end Ryan Izzo said. I think it is really frustrating. Sometimes you get in a groove and have a mental lapse that stalls the drive.Not all of the pass protection problems can be blamed on the offensive line. Quarterback Deondre Francois is a freshman and has had periods where he has held on to the ball too long, especially on deep routes. However Pro Football Focus, which grades offensive lines, has Francois being pressured on nearly one-third of the times he drops back to pass.Francois has taken his share of hard hits this season, including two in the Oct. 8 win at Miami where he was out for a series. Fisher has lauded Francois toughness, but everyone knows there are limits.It doesnt matter if hes hit one time or 40 times, hes frustrated. I would be frustrated too if my offensive line didnt protect me, and I got hit multiple times during a game, left tackle Rod Johnson said. He doesnt show his frustration though. I ttip my hat off to him, but were going to keep those sacks to a complete minimum. Cheap J. R. Richard Jersey. Francois hasnt shown his frustration, but Fisher has on occasion. During an episode of Showtimes A Season Inside series, Fisher got in each offensive linemans face during halftime of the Oct. 15 game against Wake Forest and challenged them.A major focus of practice the past two weeks has been on trying to fix the mistakes.Its halfway through the season. Weve made mistakes, left guard Kareem Are said. Sometimes it has been a little bit sloppy, but now we have to take that to the next level.Despite having two defensive lineman drafted in the first two rounds, Clemson has one of the nations toughest defenses again. Of the Tigers 25 sacks, all but 5.5 are by the defensive line.Clemsons a really good defensive line, Are said. Theyre big guys. We just have to make sure we play physical and hold the point.Clemson will be focused on getting pressure on Francois, but some of the players think another key will be trying to contain running back Dalvin Cook.Florida States run blocking has improved since the beginning of the season as Cook has rushed for over 100 yards in four straight games. But a lot of his big runs have come on stretch plays as yards inside the hashmarks have been difficult.The Tigers enter the game allowing only 3.3 yards per rushing play, which is 20th in the nation.They are most similar to NC State last week, just the stretch plays they run, linebacker Kendall Joseph said. They have an exceptional talent in Cook and do a good job getting the ball in his hands.---AP Sports Writer Pete Iacobelli contributed to this report from Clemson, South Carolina.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.orgFollow Joe Reedy on Twitter at www.twitter.com/joereedy. ' ' '