As history begins to repeat itself, it is the familiarity that connects the dots. On the morning of the second day of the Test at Hagley Oval, as all the work that Pakistans openers had done was frittered away, it was that feeling of familiarity that was most obvious.For Pakistanis of a certain generation, tours to the antipodes are tied in to memories that are easily evoked - of godforsaken hours on wintry nights, of hope springing eternal, and of batsmen struggling to cope with alien conditions. It is often said that Pakistans worship of bowling, particularly the faster kind, has to do with the number of great fast bowlers the country has produced. But at times like this, one often feels that its the fact that the bowlers have delivered great wins in spite of the incompetence of the batsmen that leads to them being treated as higher beings.Pakistan havent lost a Test series to New Zealand in three decades. Even their last series loss there came about in a match that Wasim Akram got his first ten-for in, in the great tradition of bowlers trying to cover up for the incompetence of batsmen.Despite this record, its not as if Pakistani batsmen have conquered New Zealand. Pakistan went to New Zealand three times in the 1990s: in each instance, in their first Test innings of the tour, they were bowled out for under 220. Across the Tasman, where Pakistan will go in a fortnights time, their record is worse: in their first Test innings on five of their last eight tours to Australia, they have been bowled out for under 180.It was supposed to be different this time around - the success of Pakistani batsmen over the last three years, including on the tour to England, had promised more. But the days leading up to this tour will have set the alarm bells ringing. Pakistan lost a Test to West Indies, and the explanations for that seemed to raise more questions than answers. The first was that the team already had their minds on the series to come. The second was that mental and physical fatigue was a factor, as there had been just two weeks between a three-month long tour of England and the six weeks of the West Indies series in the UAE - which, despite its familiarity, still is a tour away from home for the players - and that this had affected them. The fact that these explanations came from the coach, Mickey Arthur, seemed to raise questions about his own performance, for arent these the things that he is supposed to be in control of? The final explanation, as seems to have been the case in every home series over the past couple of years, was that Pakistan didnt get the pitches they wanted (Arthur, in fact, referenced how Pakistan ought to be able to get the sort of pitches Bangladesh or India have for their home Tests), which again raises questions about the board and the team management, and what control they have over these home Tests.As the excuses piled up, and then Pakistans only warm-up game was washed out, the writing seemed to be on the wall. The last time Pakistan had a difficult away tour without any real preparation, they were bowled out for 49 by South Africa in their first innings there. Yet it wasnt in the first innings that Pakistan lost this Test match in New Zealand. Top-order collapses, as mentioned earlier, have always been a part of Pakistans away tours. What they lacked here was a failure to learn from the first innings. Having seen their approach to prolonging innings without shifting gears fail in the first innings, Pakistan doubled down on it in the second. Australia had just shown why even the opposite of doing what Pakistan did can fail. If there is any lesson to learn from this, or from this year in general, its that extremism towards any single approach is not exactly ideal.At least that is something Pakistan can work upon, even if they will badly miss Misbah-ul-Haq in the middle order. What they cant work on - and this is something that continues to affect them - is their tail.As pitches have in general gone from the homogenisation of the last decade to getting back to their true selves over the past few years, home teams have become more dominant, but there has also been another trend: the strength of teams lower-order batting can make or break games. Englands successes over the past 12 months might have more to do with their lower order than their middle order, for instance. Australias decline from the heights of the 2013-14 Ashes has a lot to do with their lower orders failings too.This year has been seen as an improvement for Pakistans tail - the Oval Test being held up as an example. Yet despite that match, and despite Sohail Khans efforts in New Zealand, Pakistan are one of only three teams whose last four batsmen (Nos. 8-11) have averaged under 15 this year. (This is still an upgrade on the rest of the decade, where Pakistan have competed with Zimbabwe for the wooden spoon.)And yet, for all these problems, Pakistan have rarely had it this good. In the history of the country, only four times have they gone more than five Test series without losing one, only three times have they done so with a streak as long as seven series. The first of those three was from 1985 to 1989, when Pakistan went ten series without losing, as Javed and Imran built the greatest team in Pakistans history. That streak ended on a tour down under, where Pakistans top five averaged 25 at a combined run rate of under 2.3. The second streak followed the spot-fixing scandal, and ended with a series where Misbah was banned from a Test because of slow over rates. The third is right now, Pakistan havent lost a series in seven - but with Misbah missing and the batsmen following the template of their ancestors, history might be ready to repeat itself. New York Jets Jerseys Discount . The 19-year-old Olsen played 34 games with the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL this season. In that time, hes recorded 17 goals and 17 assists with 36 penalty minutes. Cheap Folorunso Fatukasi Jersey . Breaking three of his own world records on his way to winning in Paris, Chan silenced the critics and left the audiences standing in appreciation and awe. http://www.cheapjetsjerseyselite.com/ . John Tavares, Thomas Vanek and Kyle Okposo were also being counted on to slow down sizzling Rangers forward Rick Nash. That plan didnt go so well early. Cheap Sam Darnold Jersey . Dusautoir, the former World Player of the Year, sustained a torn bicep playing for Toulouse in the Heineken Cup on Saturday. The flanker, who has played 65 times for France, is expected to be out for up to four months. Cheap Parry Nickerson Jersey . It is a cliché dragged out by fans and pundits regularly when discussions take place around which teams are better than others. TROON, Scotland -- Tiger Woods isnt the only player chasing Jack Nicklaus in the majors.So is Phil Mickelson.Only one of them has been making progress over the last four years. That isnt necessarily good news for Mickelson, but it should be.Mickelson did everything right in the British Open, only to watch Henrik Stenson do just a little better.They combined to deliver the greatest closing rounds by a final pairing in major championship history -- 63 for Stenson, 65 for Mickelson, on a day when the average score was 72.8. They had a better-ball score of 59. They walked off the 18th green at Royal Troon with their arms around each others shoulders, and given the intensity of the battle, they might have been keeping each other from collapsing.Stenson, the champion golfer of the year, received the silver claret jug.Mickelson not only received a silver platter, he took over sole possession of second place on golfs all-time list of runner-up finishes in the majors.Hes No. 2 at being No. 2The runner-up finish at Royal Troon was the 11th for Mickelson, one more than Arnold Palmer and still eight to go to catch Nicklaus.No one talks much about that record because Nicklaus is identified more with his 18 majors. Woods reached 14 majors in 2008 and was ahead of the pace set by Nicklaus until a fourth knee surgery, three back surgeries and one fire hydrant got in the way.Eight years later, Woods remains at 14 and hasnt played in nearly a year.Mickelson, who won his fifth major in the British Open at Muirfield three years ago, now has recorded a runner-up finish each of the last four years. Not even Nicklaus put together a streak of four straight years with the silver.This is not meant to cheer up Mickelson.He is 46, in his 25th year as a pro. He has been around long enough that losing stings, and it doesnt always matter if its self-inflicted. Is it easier to stomach knowing he played bogey-free than if he couldnt hit a par 3 with a pitching wedge?It was the second time that Mickelson posted the lowest score in any major, only for someone else to go lower. That was David Toms at Atlanta Athletic Club, who holed a 10-foot par putt on the final hole to beat Mickelson by one. And it was Stenson at Royal Troon, making 10 birdies in a round of 63 that even Johnny Miller admired.Im not sure how Im going to feel about that, Mickelson said. I pllayed what I feel was well enough to win this championship by a number of strokes, and yet I got beat by three strokes.dddddddddddd You know, its not like I have decades left of opportunities to win majors, so each one means a lot to me.I put in my best performance today. Played close to flawless golf and was beat, he said. So it kind of goes both ways. Im happy with the way I played, but even more disappointed that it wasnt enough because you look back and say, `What do I need to do?By now he should know the answer, because it has happened a lot.Sure, Mickelson erred by trying to hit 3-iron around a tree at Winged Foot and making double bogey on the 18th hole in the 2006 U.S. Open. The soft bogeys he made on the 13th and 15th holes at Merion cost him a shot at the 2013 U.S. Open. One can find other mistakes, but with the exception of Royal Troon, even the winner doesnt hit all the right shots.Whats impressive about Mickelson is that seven of his 11 runner-up finishes in the majors were by two shots or fewer.Nicklaus was a runner-up 19 times, but its not simple math to suggest he could have won 37 majors. In six of those, he finished three shots or more behind. The only time Mickelson was never a serious factor in the closing holes was when Jordan Spieth won by four shots at the Masters last year.Toms and Payne Stewart made par putts on him at the last hole. Mickelson made double bogey from the bunker on the 17th at Shinnecock Hills. A bogey on the 16th hole cost him at Valhalla when Rory McIlroy won by one shot, and a bogey on the 17th hole at Bethpage Black left Mickelson one shot behind in the 2009 U.S. Open.Should he have won more majors? Anyone, Woods included, can say that.To be in this conversation, and to have more runner-up finishes in the majors except for Nicklaus, means something is going right at least most of the time. Mickelson has posted scores of 266, 267 and 269 in majors and lost them all. That might be really tough to take if not for the five majors he has won.Mickelson doesnt see his window closing all that quickly. He wouldnt want Nicklaus other record, but it sure would be nice to be in a position to try. That means he has a chance at winning, and everyone should want that. Wholesale NFL Hoodies Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Black Jerseys NFL Jerseys From China Cheap NFL T-shirts Youth NFL Jerseys Cheap Discount NFL Jerseys ' ' '