field, Decker said.Tebow already has drawn the attention of minor l

Terry Alderman is the undisputed king of the Ashes swingers. In 17 Tests against England he took exactly 100 wickets, including a phenomenal 83 on his two tours of England in 1981 and in 1989. On the second occasion he was instrumental in Australia establishing a grip on the Ashes that they have yet to relinquish. He is returning to England this month to promote the NatWest Series and NatWest Challenge for Sky Sports, who are screening both tournaments exclusively live.You must be looking forward to getting back to England, the spiritual home of the swing bowler. Yeah, somehow English conditions seemed to be made for me. In 1980, the year before my Test debut, I went up to play for Watsonians in Edinburgh, where I found out that that make of cricket ball, on those sorts of wickets, did all sorts for me.You were a consistent success on both your England tours, in 1981 and 1989, but the memories must be hugely contrasting. Oh yeah, Ive still got the scars of 1981. Dennis [Lillee] and myself took 81 wickets between us in that series - he took 39, I took 42 - and yet we still lost the series 3-1. But we exacted our revenge alright, eight years later.That 1989 series, of course, was epitomised by your remarkable success against Graham Gooch. Well, Id played against him a few times and by 1989 wed developed this tactic of placing a man in short at midwicket. He used to drive me a lot, but we figured this might make him think about it twice, and thats exactly what happened. He played across the line and I got him lbw a couple of times, and then he popped a catch up to that very man at midwicket. After that he took a Test or two off to work on his game, but when he came back I still got him with a return catch. So yeah, I probably had the wood over him in that series, but he had some success against me at county level.Does it surprise you that genuine swing bowlers are such a rare breed these days? It is a dying art, thats for sure. There arent too many playing Sheffield Shield cricket and there are very few coming through either. Its a shame, because if you put a man like Chaminda Vaas on a good wicket and with a ball that swings, the batsmans technique has got to be pretty perfect to overcome one of his good tight spells. Personally, my trick was that I bowled stump-to-stump, so if they missed I had a chance of an lbw. But it is a dying art. The best of Australias recent crop was Damien Fleming, but he had a chronic shoulder problem and couldnt get the pace that he wanted out of it. Hes now gone into coaching.In 1989, Allan Border was driven by a singular urge to win back the Ashes. Yeah, AB was our Captain Grumpy, and he was well-nicknamed, because he had openly admitted he didnt want the job. But he grew into the role alright, and the two captains that followed him, Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh, definitely took on board elements of what AB had taught them. I imagine the same goes for Ponting, although Ive never played with him, so I wouldnt know.Was that tour the true start of Australias professional era? Not really, because we were still only halfway to the professionalism that this team has reached now. We still celebrated hard and fast, whereas the blokes dont do that this days because they cant afford to. We enjoyed ourselves much more on the 1989 tour than they will on the 2005 tour. That is a fact of life. Sixteen years ago, we toured with a scorer, a physio, a coach and a manager. These days there is an entourage of 13 or 14 people. Its a lot more professional, but if you talk to AB the thrill on the `89 tour was incredible. We had such a camaraderie going. We toured around on a bus the whole time, and we were on a winning run the whole way. We didnt lose a single Test, and but for two terrible washouts we might have won 6-0.Australia just might be caught out if they try to play like millionairesYour two tours were eight years apart. Incredibly, the same can be said of Australias attack, which looks like being identical to the 1997 line-up of McGrath, Warne, Gillespie and Kasprowicz. On the one hand its a tribute to their fitness, but on the other, you have to hand it to the selectors, because they have got Brett Lee on the sidelines and chomping at the bit. If the Test was being played tomorrow, he wouldnt be in the squad. Theyve left him like a caged lion and will let him loose in the one-dayers, where poor old Bangladesh and the English are going to cop it. He wants to play in the first Test, and the only way he can do that is by knocking a few heads and having a terrific series.So far this summer, its not been raw pace but swing - and Bangladeshs inability to play it - that has been the talking point. What have you made of Matthew Hoggard? Hoggard is your typical old English workhorse, another of those guys like Gus Fraser, Mike Hendrick and Geoff Arnold who will keep running in all day. But hes penetrative as well. Hell get some wickets but hell keep it tight as well and Australia arent used to that - they are used to one or two loose balls an over. If England have got him bowling a 10- or 12-over spell, with Flintoff and Harmison operating on a five or six-over change at other end, plus the fourth seamer, Jones or Anderson, its a pretty good attack. Thats discarding Giles. Hes not going to run through Australia. But the pacers could, and Australia will be under real pressure if they lose early wickets. Theres still a bit of doubt over the fitness of both Flintoff and Harmison though.And what about Harmison? Is he up to the challenge? I saw a bit of him in South Africa and I was impressed, I must say. He wasnt fit towards the end and he struggled, but in Australia three winters back he was homesick all the time and didnt want to play. I cant imagine a person like Troy Cooley can have managed to turn him around, I reckon its more likely to have been Rod Marsh whos done the work, got his mind back on the job and made him tougher.What do the Aussies make of Marsh and Co. being in the England camp for this series? I guess we beat our chests a bit and claim that England need our coaches to become competitive again. But theres been no harm done at all, and I imagine that with all those Australians on the county circuit as well, theyve toughened up a lot of county sides too.Michael Vaughan is taking a tough approach to this summer, much like Border in 89, in fact. Do you think its working? Vaughan is the key. Hes done it before against Australia, and his aim is to get back to the form he showed at Edgbaston in the Champions Trophy last summer. The way he took to Lee in that game was brilliant - no slogging at all, but he simply murdered him, and none of the bowlers knew where to bowl. Hes the captain, so if he can get to that frame of mind again, then England will be a threat.After such a long history of success, do you think Australia might just fear the end of the line? I certainly hope they arent complacent, because they just might be caught out if they try to play like millionaires. They havent had a lot of cricket under their belts leading up to this tour, and guys like Justin Langer who arent in the one-day squad will only get a couple of hits before the first Test. They cant afford to be complacent, but if things get tough, it might just sow a few seeds with the blokes who are contemplating retirement soon. Their bodies might not hold up and they might be caught short. But on the other hand, if Australia get away to a good start then England have got no chance. They have got to be competitive in that first Test at Lords or else its goodnight. Kellyn Acosta USA Jersey . The lawyers filed a 33-page amended complaint Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan, expanding on the suit originally filed Oct. 3 in New York Supreme Court. Arbitrator Fredric Horowitz last week refused to compel Selig to testify in the grievance, and Rodriguez then walked out of the hearing without testifying. Bill Hamid USA Jersey . General manager Jarmo Kekalainen told Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch on Friday that he wants to see Gaboriks contributions go beyond the scoresheet before considering a long-term deal for the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent. http://www.usasoccerauthority.com/geoff-cameron-usa-jersey/ . Scott Kazmir allowed four hits in seven shutout innings, Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer in a three-run first inning and the Indians maintained their hold on an AL wild-card spot with a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night. Jorge Villafana Jersey . The Islanders dealt Thomas Vanek to the Montreal Canadiens after less than a year on Long Island. Meanwhile, the Oilers dealt long-time sniper Ales hemsky to the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday for a fifth-round pick in 2014 and a third-rounder in 2015. Matt Miazga Jersey . With the short-handed Warriors needing help from someone -- anyone -- to stop a three-game skid, ONeal returned from right knee and groin injuries that had sidelined him for four games and put up season highs with 18 points and eight rebounds. It was just enough to help lift Golden State to a 102-101 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- With professional football not working out, Tim Tebow is going to give baseball a try.The 2007 Heisman Trophy winner and former NFL first-round draft pick plans to hold a workout for Major League Baseball teams to scout him. Tebow last played organized baseball in high school.ESPN first reported the news.Agent Brodie Van Wagenen, the co-head of CAA Baseball, said in a statement that the workout is not a publicity stunt.His work ethic is unprecedented, and his passion for the game is infectious. He knows the challenges that lie ahead of him given his age and experience, but he is determined to achieve his goal of playing in the Major Leagues, Van Wagenen said.Tebow, who turns 29 on Sunday, has been training in Scottsdale with former major league catcher Chad Moeller.I am beyond impressed with Tims athleticism and swing, and it goes without saying that he has shown a high level of discipline and strong work ethic, Moeller said in a statement released by CAA. I see bat speed and power and real baseball talent. I truly believe Tim has the skill set and potential to achieve his goal of playing in the Major Leagues, and based on what I have seen over the past two months, it could happen relatively quickly.Former All-Star slugger Gary Sheffield came to bat for Tebow on Twitter.I spent time with Tim Tebow in the cages, Sheffield wrote, hes a NATURAL. Tim has IT.Tebow won the Heisman and two national championships with the University of Florida and was drafted in the first round by the Denver Broncos in in 2010. He has not played in the NFL since 2012 with the New York Jets. He went to training camp with the New England Patriots in 2013 and the Philadelphia Eagles in 2015 but was cut before the season each time.Tebow last played competitive baseball more than a decade ago, hitting .494 as a junior for Nease High School in Florida. He didnt play baseball as a senior, concentrating instead on football.He was a six-tool player, Tebows high school coach Greg Boo Mullins said in a 2013 interview with The Sporting News. He has arm strength, he could run, he could hit, he could hit for power, he could field, but his character made him that six-tool guy.John Fox, the Chicago Bears coach who coached at Denver when Tebow played there, said good forr him when told of his decision to try baseball.ddddddddddddHe was very competitive, Fox said Tuesday, a super, super young person, very dedicated to life, a guy that I was very impressed with that took us to the playoffs and won a playoff game.ESPN reported that Tebow will work out for major league teams later this month.Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona managed Michael Jordan when the basketball star did a stint in the minors with the Birmingham Barons in Double-A in 1994.Its a little harder jump, though, than I think people realize, Francona said. Even the lower A-ball, the lower rungs of professional baseball, are still pretty good baseball.New York Jets receiver Eric Decker, who was Tebows teammate in Denver and who played baseball at the University of Minnesota, said he doesnt know if Tebow will be good enough, but he is confident people will pay to find out.I dont know what the chances are (of Tebow being successful), but if I was a Double-A or a Single-A team, Im signing him to get the ticket sales up. Im sure hell have success in that field, Decker said.Tebow already has drawn the attention of minor league teams that always are on the lookout for a successful promotion.The Schaumburg, Illinois, Boomers of the Independent Frontier League issued a news release saying they have offered Tebow a contract .Were looking for an athletic outfielder who can bring some leadership and competitiveness into the clubhouse, Boomers manager Jamie Bennett said. Tebow brings all of those characteristics and then some. I think hed be a great fit here in Schaumburg.The Fort Myers Miracle, a Class A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, quickly planned a What Would Tim Tebow Do? night on Thursday.As for the majors, New York Mets general manager Sandy Alderson was asked if the team had any interest in Tebow.Are you insinuating we need a Hail Mary at this point? he said.---AP Baseball Writer Ben Walker in New York; AP College Football Writer Ralph D. Russo in New York; and AP sports writers Dennis Waszak in Florham Park, New Jersey, Stephen Whyno in Washington, and Andrew Seligman in Bourbonnais, Illinois, contributed to this report. ' ' '