Last year, when announcing the ECBs decision to change the coin toss before the start of Championship matches, Peter Wright, chairman of the cricket committee, set out the thinking behind the move: By giving the away team the option of bowling first, we hope the home side will be encouraged to produce the best possible four-day pitch. That will be good for cricket in general, and not only for spinners.So, with the dust settling on a four-day finale to remember at Lords, has the new regulation succeeded? Did better pitches help to rebalance the game, allowing English spinners to gain more traction?Leaving aside the sight of Alex Lees and Adam Lyth serving up a few declaration lobs against eventual champions Middlesex on Sky TV on the final day of the season (probably not the sort of exposure the ECB had in mind), there were certainly some encouraging signs.Speaking earlier in the month, Andrew Strauss, Englands director of cricket and a member of the ECBs cricket committee, indicated that the governing body has been satisfied by the trial.Anecdotally its been a really important step forward, Strauss said. Weve played on better pitches, more games have gone to the fourth day, the bowlers who have done well are those more likely to play international cricket, there have been different challenges on batsmen and spinners have bowled more overs.From an anecdotal point of view I think its achieved most of the objectives we set out. Ive always thought we can judge it too soon. But the noises are encouraging, and once people have got their heads round the idea, in my opinion, it has nudged the right behaviour.In Division One, the effect was marked by two spinners - Warwickshires Jeetan Patel and Somersets Jack Leach - topping the wicket-takers list. Not since 2009, when Danish Kaneria and James Tredwell led the way in Division Two, were the two most successful Championship bowlers both purveyors of spin.Patel, a vastly experienced international, has been recalled by New Zealand on the back of his good form and was already regarded as the best spinner in the county game, having taken 50-plus wickets in each of the past five seasons, although this was still his best return; Leach on the other hand enjoyed a breakthrough year as Somerset tailored their surfaces to suit the slow left-armer as the summer progressed and they narrowly missed out on a first title.Middlesex also benefited, eventually. Despite drawing seven of their first eight games and not winning at Lords until August, they came through strongly in the second half of the season and held off Yorkshire and Somerset in a taut last round. Ollie Rayners 51 wickets (another personal best) made him a vital component of their attack.It has made a difference, Middlesexs director of cricket, Angus Fraser, said. If its design was to get spinners more involved then its been a success because you just have to look at the top wicket-takers in the country.This time last year, Rayner was writing for ESPNcricinfo on the difficulties of bowling spin in England. Given greater responsibility and more overs - 444 compared to 273 in 2015 - he has risen impressively to the challenge, though ultimately neither he nor Leach won inclusion for Englands subcontinental challenges this winter.Fraser is also an England selector and, as well as having greater options to discuss - Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid, Zafar Ansari and the 38-year-old Gareth Batty were the slow bowlers selected for next months tour of Bangladesh - he suggested cricket is more complete when spin plays its full part. He was in no doubt about the strides that Rayner has made.The pitches have meant, one: hes bowled more overs, two: hes been in the game and three: hes grown in confidence, Fraser said. So the fact hes been used as a potent weapon rather than just a stopgap has given him far more confidence, and extra overs, so therefore hes got into rhythm and the whole things opened up for him because of it. So its been hugely positive for spinners in that respect.The fact is, hes done a bloody good job, because on pitches that werent offering a great deal, as in the past hes offered us control, but then on the surfaces when youd expect him to come to the front, he has done. We would have won two or three more matches but for weather and a lot of that would have been on Ollie.While Middlesex would have liked to see a bit more pace and carry in the surfaces at Lords - they have discussions with the MCC and groundsman Mick Hunt at the start of each year - the team they pipped to top spot went down a different route. Somerset also won one and drew seven of their opening eight matches; they then lost on a green Taunton pitch that improved to the extent that Middlesex chased 302 in 46 overs. After that, in the words of their captain, Chris Rogers, Somerset were forced to try the spin path and it worked.Rogers, who has suggested a similar tweak to the toss rules could work in Australia, admitted that the change of tactics did not play to his strengths, as an opening batsman with huge experience against the new ball nibbling around in damp conditions, but said his own game - batting and as a captain - had improved in the process.Initially it didnt overly help, there were so many draws and a lot of sides were struggling to find the best ways to create results, he said. But certainly towards the back end of the year, there were a lot more results and teams worked things out a bit more - for instance we made the pitches spin and sometimes those games were over very quickly but at least it was a contest.If anything its been a new learning skill for a lot of county cricketers, who havent had to face the prospect of serious spin before, and facing so many overs of spin, so in many respects I think its been good for the English game. He did sound one note of caution, however: My only worry is whether you wont find as many high-quality seam bowlers coming through that England have always seemed to be quite proud of, and even fewer opening batsmen who learn the skills to be able to play the swinging and seaming new ball. But I do think in the end its for the benefit of English cricket.The full picture will take time - perhaps several seasons - to come to light. While spin became an instrumental factor in Division One, the rule change had a negligible effect in the second tier, where the leading slow bowler was Northamptonshires Rob Keogh, with 31. That more than doubled the number of first-class wickets Keogh, a top-order batsman, had taken in his career.By one measure, Division Two spinners were actually entrusted less. While the number of overs of spin delivered in Division One rose from 4395 in 2015 to 6231 this year, in Division Two it dropped from 4295 overs to 3581.This could have been down to a number of factors. There were few experienced spinners beyond Tredwell at Kent operating in the second division, so clubs were inevitably less inclined to set up that way; if young talent is not (yet) there, it will take time to bring through. Another consideration may be that, with only one team going up, there was greater pressure to get results. Essex, the Division Two winners, relied heavily on their seam-bowling strengths but head coach, Chris Silverwood, was positive that better pitches had been good for Essex, and the game in general.I think it will help everybody produce better cricketers, Silverwood said. Playing in good conditions, youve got to bowl well to get your wickets but, equally, youve got to bat well to get your runs. To me, the blend itself will produce better cricketers, full stop, and possibly bring spin back into the game.One inarguable statistic was that the number of results dropped from 93 to 71, although if, as Strauss suggests, the priority is to produce battle-hardened players ready for the drawn-out rigours of Test cricket, that need not be a bad thing.There may well be dissenters out there, though. Yorkshires captain, Andrew Gale, spoke against the move when it was announced and the change possibly contributed to his team missing out on a third straight title, having suffered rare defeats at Headingley and Scarborough (only one opponent, Surrey, opted not to insert Yorkshire on their own patch). Others grumbled darkly about Somerset switching to turners - their victory over Warwickshire saw 21 wickets fall on the opening day - to fuel an unexpected Championship bid.Fraser has even suggested taking the rule change a step further. You wonder whether the toss should be taken away completely from the home side, so then you avoid any of those contentious situations, he said.It is perhaps too early to tell if the fortunes of English spin are on the turn but, either way, the flip of a coin has never been so hotly discussed.New Balance Scontatissime . -- The Missouri Tigers might not have a roster full of superstars. New Balance Saldi . -- The proud fathers huddled near the Dallas Stars dressing room, smiling, laughing and telling stories while wearing replica green sweaters of their sons team. http://www.scontatenewbalance.it/ . The Dutchmans tenure got off to a poor start when referee Guido Winkmann awarded a penalty within two minutes for Niklas Starks clumsy challenge on Alexandru Maxim. New Balance Ingrosso . Barcelona also left injured defenders Carles Puyol, Javier Mascherano and Jordi Alba out of its squad for the trip to Glasgow. That means that Marc Bartra will probably start again in the centre of the defence alongside Gerard Pique. New Balance Outlet . PETERSBURG, Fla.TORONTO -- In a perfect world, Morgan Rielly would like to be in Toronto with the Maple Leafs in October. But its not that simple. The 19-year-old defenceman is in no-mans land, caught between being too good for junior and perhaps not yet ready for the NHL. Hes too young to play in the AHL with the Marlies, yet Rielly is at the point where he might be bored dominating the Western Hockey League. "Its not something where he needs to mature and he needs to learn how to be the guy because I think he already knows how to be the guy," Leafs director of player development Jim Hughes said. "Has he outgrown that role? Its possible that he has and that he needs new challenges." How to get him new challenges is an organizational concern for the Leafs, who already have an established defensive corps led by Dion Phaneuf and a young defenceman in Jake Gardiner they need to blend in with the rest of the group. Theres no sense in rushing Rielly, who could be a star but might need patience before his time comes. "I understand that I have plenty of time to play pro hockey," said Rielly, the No. 5 pick in the 2012 draft. "If I dont play this year, that doesnt mean that I wont ever play in the NHL. Thats a goal I have. But if not, Ive just got to keep working hard, keep trying to get better. Ill be 20 this time next year, which is still pretty young, so Im not too concerned about it. But thats a goal Im pretty driven to achieve." The Maple Leafs understand the delicate situation theyre in with Rielly. Hughes said being in the pressure-packed Toronto market ups the ante on making sure they dont derail his development by either pushing him into the NHL too soon or keeping him in the WHL too long. "Weve got to do it right," Hughes said. "You can see how Nazem (Kadri), how hes turned the corner. So we need to get this right. But Morgan, hes mature, and hes sharp and hes physically strong. Hes got that strong, wide base and foundation. He doesnt get knocked off the puck. So hes a little bit further ahead, annd its going to be real dicey to see how this all unfolds.dddddddddddd" Rielly is waiting along with everyone else. He was almost a point-a-game player last season for the Moose Jaw Warriors, who finished 10th out of 12 teams in the WHLs Western Conference. Theres not much else he can achieve at the junior level, except perhaps feel better about his game as a top prospect who controls the play. "I think Id get a chance to be an older player on a team thats quite young. I think thats a pretty good opportunity to just be a leader," Rielly said. "I think if youre playing well every night and youre a huge part of the team, I think that can help the confidence." Rielly got a chance to make a cameo appearance with the Marlies late last season, playing 14 regular-season and eight playoff games. He didnt play alongside Gardiner but got a chance to speak to the 23-year-old defenceman whose twisting path in Toronto could serve as a cautionary tale. Gardiner is expected to be a Leafs fixture next season after spending most of 2012-13 with the Marlies. "Hes obviously a great player, and he has a whole lot of years of pro hockey to play still," Rielly said. "If I can play like him one day Ill be pretty happy." Rielly would like that one day to be this fall. The Leafs could keep him around for up to nine games before returning him to his junior team without using a year of his entry-level contract, something that would give him a taste of the NHL. It could also serve as a test of the puck-moving defencemans readiness. Any other avenue would continue to test his patience. "Obviously I want to play pro hockey, thats a goal, but I think you kind of have to appreciate the players that are also competing against you, that Im only a teenager now," Rielly said. "You have to be patient with it, and thats often pretty hard. I think youve just got to be smart with it and appreciate the opportunity that I have to even have that chance. Its tough, but you have to do it, I guess." ' ' '