the Wolverines did a good job taking control near the end of the

Winter on the highveld is traditionally cold and dry, but recent days have seen widespread unseasonal rain across it and almost everywhere else in the country. There have been heavy falls of snow on the mountains, and photographs in the newspapers and websites have shown railway stations under metres of water, cars in parking lots floating casually downstream like so many bath-time ducks.In this type of weather, cricket is not exactly front of mind, although it will slide into the frame as the New Zealanders drift south from two Tests against Zimbabwe shortly to prepare for their twin Tests against South Africa next month.Its already a nicely poised series. New Zealand are an open-minded, streetwise lot, while the gifted South Africans seem to have taken their fractiousness to the next level. There has been bickering behind the scenes in the latest round of contract negotiations - the threat of free agency is the thing in South Africa at the moment - and we have a board that demonstrates little leadership or grace under pressure. Last seasons domestic match-fixing debacle shows no signs of finding closure, and from everywhere comes the fidgetiness of widespread discontent.This said, self-laceration has become so inimical to South African cricket that its quite possible to dismiss the angst as so much white noise. South Africa produce good, if slightly unadventurous, cricketers, and it will only need one decent series - and one competitive summer - to remind us all of the countrys cricketing riches.Southern Africa is a naturally fertile cricket crescent. How else does one explain the fecundity that sees a Dale Steyn spring from the copper-mining wastes of Phalaborwa, or Kagiso Rabada need only one spell of bowling (in the televised final of the Under-19 World Cup in 2014) to be fast-tracked to the terminus that is a South Africa cap?One player who has sailed blithely clear of all the sturm und drang for the last couple of seasons is Dean Elgar. Known variously as Deano or Porra, a not entirely onside reference to what some have erroneously seen as his Portuguese ancestry, Elgar seems happiest to play cricket, remain true to his chirpy self and tiptoe past the mines and booby traps. It is a mark, perhaps, of his emotional intelligence, although it might just be that hes largely unconcerned with anything else. Either way, the strategy has served him well. In the Titans dressing room he is known as one of the Three Hyenas, a select group of enforcers, fines dispensers and receptacles of cricketing wisdom who back up their captain and generally charge about in a pack. Roelof van der Merwe used to be a hyena until he hauled his coffin off to the Netherlands (he was replaced by Farhaan Behardien). The third member of the trio is Heino Kuhn.Last season Kuhn opened the innings for Titans with either Elgar (when he wasnt away on Test duty) or Grant Mokoena. He scored 1126 first-class runs in 20 innings at 62.55, not a bad return for a player who was on a pay-for-play contract because he wasnt deemed quite key enough in the initial contracting round.Those young men and their parents who bleat about quotas and lack of opportunities and head to England or New Zealand at the drop of a hat would do well to study Kuhns numbers. Like Elgar, he is no longer a young man, but he has remained loyal to the Titans system, hung around and polished his game. Like Elgar, there has been little toy-throwing, much endeavour and no lack of focus.The reason Titans won the domestic double last season is due to a variety of quantifiable factors, several of which relate to Kuhns contributions to good starts, which, in turn, put pressure on the opposition.Yet every happy dressing room also abounds with currents more difficult to pin down. One has to be Elgars general sense of mischief. He certainly brings a levity to things. When he was asked recently, for example, who he thought should replace Rob Walter as Titans coach, because Walter is heading to Otago, he didnt pause for thought. Albie [Morkel], he replied, because that way we can hunt and fish during pre-season. It wont be like Rob, who always had us out on obstacle courses and training runs.Whatever his secret, South African cricket needs more Elgars at the moment. In all the hand-wringing, we have lost sight of whats important, what remains pure and untrammelled in the game we all love. Elgar has kept perspective and so kept the faith.The first Test against New Zealand is at Kingsmead, where the South Africans have the kind of record thats best ignored. But then its on to Elgars home ground, Centurion, a fortress, and a place where hes very much at home.Cheap Nike Air Max Outlet UK . - Levi Browns tenure at left tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers is over before it even began. Air Max UK Sale Outlet . Tevez, who has had conflicts with coaches in the past, has not been called up since Sabella was named coach in 2011. Argentina boasts Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Aguero, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Angel Di Maria. http://www.wholesaleairmaxukoutlet.com/ . SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. Nike Air Max Sale Online UK . In the lead up - which seemed to begin the moment Mike Geiger blew the whistle in Houston last Thursday night - the Impact rumour mill went into overdrive. The speculation went into meltdown mode, of the golden nugget variety. Air Max UK Sale .R. Smith realized how easily basketball can be taken from him, and he wasnt going to take his place in the NBA for granted anymore.ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The mood on Michigans campus was subdued, and Crisler Center was no exception. The football teams loss to Ohio State on Saturday will sting for a while, and it was hard for fans to get all that excited about a basketball game against Mount St. Marys.We knew we were going to have to create our own energy, senior Zak Irvin said.Irvin scored 14 points, Derrick Walton added 12 and No. 25 Michigan pulled away late in the first half and went on to a 64-47 victory over Mount St. Marys on Saturday night.In front of an announced crowd of only 9,410, the Wolverines went on an 18-2 run in the first half and led the Mountaineers 33-16 at halftime.Moe Wagner added 13 points for the Wolverines (5-1), who bounced back from a 15-point loss at South Carolina on Wednesday. Junior Robinson led Mount St. Marys (1-6) with 21 points, and the 5-foot-5 guard made his first five shots from 3-point range.The Mountaineers pulled within eight with 4:46 remaining in the game. Irvin responded with a midrange jumper, and the Wolverines were able to close out the game comfortably.Michigan trailed 12-8 in the first half when Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman made a 3-pointer to start the Wolverines big run. A 3-pointer by Walton put Michigan up 16-12, and after 3s by Wagner and Duncan Robinson, it was 26-14.After going 2 for 26 from 3-point range against South Carolina, the Wolverines were 11 of 27 on Saturday. They also outrebounded Mount St. Marys 36-24 in a crisply played game that took only 1 hour, 40 minutes.BIG PICTUREMount St. Marys: The Mountaineers are starting their season with nine straight games away from home in a 23-day span. They played Michigan tough for about 10 minutes before going quiet offensively.The days kind of run together, but I cant say enough about tthese guys ability to enjoy the moment and improve on it, coach Jamion Christian said.dddddddddddd I think when we get to March, I think Ill be saying the same thing about our success. This group knows how to enjoy the moment and lock into it.Michigan: Its hard to say what the atmosphere would have been like at this game if Michigan had won the football game earlier in the day, but the Wolverines did a good job taking control near the end of the first half, in front of a crowd that was small and not particularly loud.BACK ON TRACKIrvin had an awful game at South Carolina, shooting 2 for 13 and turning the ball over eight times. He was sharp Saturday, scoring his teams first eight points.For Zak to just come out stroking the ball the way he did was important for us, and then he made a huge shot down the stretch, Michigan coach John Beilein said.CLEANMichigan did not attempt a free throw until Xavier Simpson went to the line with 7:41 remaining in the game. The Wolverines finished 5 of 6 on free throws, and Mount St. Marys went 5 of 5.POLL IMPLICATIONSThe Wolverines were actually tied for No. 25 with Florida State in this past weeks poll and are in danger of dropping out because of the loss to South Carolina.UP NEXTMount St. Marys: The Mountaineers have only two more road games to go before their home opener, but the next one should be tough. Mount St. Marys is at Arkansas on Monday night.Michigan: The Wolverines host Virginia Tech on Wednesday night as part of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.---More AP college basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 .---Follow Noah Trister at www.Twitter.com/noahtrister ' ' '