One of the most critical relationships in a cricket team is that between a captain and his spin bowler. A spinner relies more than fast bowlers do on the captain trusting him enough to offer him the right opportunities with the right fields to be successful. Not every spinner - hardly any in fact - possesses the sort of confidence we saw from a Shane Warne or a Graeme Swann at their peak, and the confidence of the captain is the bedrock on which they gain it.Thats why I was intrigued by the way Steve Smith used Nathan Lyon at the WACA Ground, specifically only giving him 12 overs on the third day, with none before lunch. Ive seen Steves explanation about wanting to focus on using the reverse-swinging ball early in the day, but I also know that when Nathan did come on to bowl in the afternn, he almost immediately created the first clear chance of the day. I wonder how much confidence the decision to hold him back showed in him.This isnt to say that Steve and Nathan dont have a great relationship - they do. But theres a difference between being friends off the field and strong collaborators on it. One of Michael Clarkes great strengths was a terrific instinct for when and how to use Nathan for maximum impact. Its easy for us to forget that Steve remains a young captain, learning his tactical craft, and a big part of that will be finding ways to get the best out of his spinner.There was a contrast here between Australia and South Africa, one of many in a Test match where the visitors ran out handsome winners. The game turned on the second day around the time that Dale Steyn left the field injured, as Faf du Plessis gambled boldly and successfully on his dwindling pace resources. Kagiso Rabada was given licence to go after the Australians with a piercing spell of reverse swing, and South Africa never surrendered their advantage.To be perfectly honest, I was shocked how skilful Rabada was for someone so young. He actually reminded me of Pat Cummins on his Test debut at the Wanderers in 2011. That week, in a high-pressure game, immediately after we had been bowled out for 47 in Cape Town, Patty put on an amazingly complete display as a fast bowler, delivering different kinds of spells, gearing up and down in pace, swinging the ball both ways, and contributing to a nail-biting victory - he even hit the winning runs.Unfortunately for Pat, hes not been able to stay fit long enough to play another Test since then. But the maturity he showed then, beyond his teenaged years, was mirrored in the way Rabada went about his work in Perth. Once he got a sniff of a wicket he geared up from around 135kph to 145kph, found reverse swing in both innings, and seemed generally to know what he was trying to do at any given moment to work a batsman out. These skills are rare enough in the game, let alone for a 21-year-old. Above all, Rabada bowled like a leader of the attack, taking it upon himself to change the direction of the game. Thats something I lk forward to seeing from Josh Hazlewd, who is now getting really settled in the Australian side. Josh played quite a lot of Shield cricket before he tk his first big bag, in the 2014 final at Manuka Oval, and I reckon a similar breakthrough moment for him in Tests is just around the corner.It was no gd for the team to lose both Shaun Marsh and Peter Siddle. Shaun lked very much the part as an opening partner for Davey Warner, while Sidds is always a selfless contributor to any team. Coming off his back injury, Sidds would have known the risks going into the game, and really he has fallen prey to the need to back up so quickly after the first-innings batting fell away.One part of the game we dont always take into calculations is the mental mindset of the guys, particularly now they have lost four Test matches in a row. At key moments in games, like the second day in Perth, a few losses under your belt can mean a feeling of here we go again and negative thoughts starting to build up.Thats where Ill be lking for something more from Davey and Steve in Hobart. Davey played beautifully in the first innings but probably left a few runs out there, maybe even 100 more. Steve was lking secure in the second innings when Rabada tempted him into error. The true test of where the Australians are at as a cricket team will be how they respond at Bellerive Oval this week. One thing the team has done really well over recent years - with Davey and Steve often at the forefront - is to counterpunch from a loss.Theres a lot of pride in the group about playing for Australia, and there will also be an awareness of the way Darren Lehmann works as a coach. Hes all about letting people make mistakes, because thats how you learn to play the game. But his fuse will shorten if he sees guys repeat similar mistakes a few times, and over the past four Test matches that has certainly been the case, particularly among the batsmen. Ondrej Palat Lightning Jersey . -- Aldon Smith believes he is on the path to being sober for gd. Louis Domingue Lightning Jersey .In my heart and mind Im competing for India, luge competitor Shiva Keshavan told The Associated Press in an email interview. Every day Im flded with messages from Indians all over the world telling me they are supporting me. http://www.lightninghockeystore.us/Yanni-Gourde-Jersey/ . The 18th player to sht 60 on the tour, Jamieson settled for par on the final hole when his 15-ft birdie chip grazed the edge of the hole and stayed out. After opening with rounds of 66 and 73 to make the cut by a stroke, he had 11 birdies in the bogey-free round. Ryan Callahan Jersey . 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. Mikhail Sergachev Lightning Jersey .ca! Kerry, Two nights after the Scott-Eriksson incident in Buffalo, the Bruins returned home to play San Jose. In that game, Zdeno Chara put a check on Tommy Wingels that clearly targeted his head. RIO DE JANEIRO -- Before going their separate ways, Tony Parker and Paul Gasol met near mid-court and the new teammates shared a warm embrace following Spains lopsided win.Theyll sn be together in San Antonio to chase an NBA title.Theyll never meet again in the Olympics.Nearly written off after two losses to open the Rio Games, Spain is back in the mens basketball semifinals for the third straight time following a 92-67 rout of Parker and France in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. With Spurs-like offensive precision, the Spaniards got easy lks at the basket and dissected a French team that came to Brazil with medal hopes but leaves empty-handed.After the loss, a nostalgic Parker, the dazzling point guard who made France relevant on international hardwd, said he would no longer play for his home country.I just tk a lot of pride playing for the national team, said the 34-year-old Parker, who scored 14 in his final game. I just love playing in this competition. I love this atmosphere, which is very different than the NBA. Growing up, my dream was to win an NBA championship. That was my ultimate goal. But as I grew up, I fell in love with the national team.We won the gold medal in juniors when I was 18. So then my goal was to try to bring the first national team ever championship for France, and we did that in 2013. Overall, just great experiences. I enjoyed it all these years. These last 16 years have been great. I dont regret one second.Nikola Mirotic scored 23 points, Willy Hernangomez added 18 and Spain pulled away in the third quarter to reserve a spot in Fridays semis.When Spain opened the preliminary round with losses to Croatia and Brazil, it appeared the countrys standing among the worlds basketball elite might be in decline. However, the two-time defending silver medalists have overcome injuries, a summer of free agency and a lack of practice time together to again advance to the global version of the Final Four.And now the Spaniards not only have a shot at a medal to go with the ones they got in Beijing and London, they get another crack at the U.dddddddddddd.S., which has beaten them in the gold-medal game in the past two Olympics.The Americans advanced to the semis with a 105-78 pummeling of Argentina.For Parker, his second Olympics ended like his first: without a medal hanging from his neck. While he has won four titles with the Spurs and is considered one of the games premier point guards and basketball ambassadors, Parker never attained the international success hes had in the NBA.Still, hell cherish the time he spent wearing Frances uniform, hearing Le Marseillaise played or watching the nations tri-colored flag raised after a victory.I think we put French basketball on the map, he said.With Parker, France built a rivalry with Spain as the two tk turns knocking each other out of tournaments.Let me just say that Ive been honored to play against Tony Parker throughout so many years on the national team, Spain coach Sergio Scariolo said. Hes a great competitor and it was so tough to prepare games versus him.Saying gdbye to the French team wasnt Parkers only farewell this summer.In June, his longtime Spurs teammate Tim Duncan announced his retirement, and for a while it appeared Manu Ginobili would hang it up, t. However, Ginobili recently said hes coming back for one more season with San Antonio.Parker knows the breakup of San Antonios Big 3 is inevitable, but that doesnt make it any easier.Im very blessed, thats all I can say, Parker said. Those 15 years with Timmy and all the championships and all the records and everything we accomplished, its just stuff that when I retire I can cherish and show my kids everything that we won. Im happy that Manus got one more year. So its not everybody at the same time.That day will come t. My day will come. Its just life. Everything comes to an end. ' ' '