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Jonny Bairstow looks ahead to the first Test between England and Pakistan at Lords, discusses Mohammad Amirs return, revels in England Rugbys series win in Australia, and tries his hand at fencing… I got the opportunity to try a bit of fencing this week down at Team GB headquarters. Andre Drummond Jersey .I was alright. I managed to get a couple of points off a couple of the guys, but its safe to say its probably not my next gig after cricket.It was fantastic to see the people there preparing for the Olympics, though - the fitness and skill on show was truly remarkable. I wish them all the best for Rio.Weve got a big game to prepare for on Thursday. We know how important it will be to start the series well, but well try to treat it no differently to any other, just look to prepare in the same way, with the same intensity.Theres been a lot of talk about external factors in the build up to the Test but we try to take all of that out of the equation. Sure, its bound to still be there, but in the periphery of our minds.I have no idea what kind of reception Mohammad Amir will get on his return. Whatever happens, happens. All we know is he is a quality bowler. Pakistan seamer Mohammad Amir is looking forward to bowling at England’s captain and ‘backbone’ Alastair Cook when he makes his return to Test cricket At the same time, we have batsmen that are capable of countering his threat. Were in good form and have exceptional skills ourselves.He has talked about wanting to become number one in the world. Its hard to judge given I havent properly faced him - other than once or twice in under-15s cricket! He is coming back after a long period of time out of cricket, so Id imagine he has a long way to go for that.Look at Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad; both have performed day in, day out, for a number of years and only recently have they reached number one. Its not something thats going to happen overnight for Amir.We have Gary Ballance back in the squad, and Toby Roland-Jones linking up with us for the first time. Who is Toby Roland-Jones? All you need to know about the Middlesex quick called into Englands Test squad to face Pakistan Ive played for the Lions before with Toby. He has obviously done really well in county cricket recently and has rightly been rewarded with a call up into the Test squad.Gary is a class act. Everyone has enjoyed having him back in the squad; were all behind him, and Im sure he will score plenty of runs.He is someone who has scored four hundreds already in 15 Test matches. You dont have those stats and average over 50 with 28 hundreds in first-class cricket, if youre not a proven player. England batsman Gary Ballance admits he was surprised to be called back into the Test team for their series with Pakistan He also played really well for Yorkshire against Middlesex last week, hitting a hundred, so will come into the game on Thursday with his confidence on a high.Were back at Lords for the first Test. I got a hundred there last month against Sri Lanka, and while its always nice to score runs for the team, to get onto the prestigious Lords honours board made it particularly special - something Id always wanted to do.Hopefully I can get my name back up there again this week, although its not going to be easy. Jonny Bairstow is hoping for similar celebrations at Lords to when he reached three figures against Sri Lanka Left-arm seam is obviously not something we faced against Sri Lanka and it will play a big role in this series.There are some things we learned from playing Pakistan the UAE last year in terms of facing some of their bowlers, but it will be completely different conditions here, both overhead and with the pitches, compared to that tour.Pakistan have got a strong side all the way through. We know it is going to be a tough challenge, but hopefully playing with home advantage can help us.It served Andy Murray alright this week - you saw how much it meant to him to win Wimbledon again.It was great too to see England win 3-0 in Australia in the rugby union. Obviously, its always special to go to Australia and win. The way the guys performed in all three Test matches was brilliant to watch. Englands rugby team celebrate after their 3-0 Test series triumph in Australia There are a lot of rugby fans in the squad that took enjoyment from that - Cookie is a big rugby fan, Broady, too. Everyone kept a keen eye on those games while they were going on.Theres a lot of guys that take a keen interest in football too and watch that religiously, so by contrast, it was obviously disappointing to see England go out earlier than expected in the Euros.But thats part of sport sometimes - Im sure the team will move on, bounce back and come back stronger.Watch the first Investec Test between England and Pakistan from Lords, live on Sky Sports 2 from 10am on Thursday. Or watch from £6.99 with NOW TV, no contract. Also See: Pakistan v England: Story of 2015 Bairstow can be one of the best Amir: Life ban or second chance? Get Sky Sports Tobias Harris Jersey . Wade is posting a short film on his website next week, with a sneak preview scheduled to come out Wednesday. Custom Detroit Pistons Jerseys . - Buffalo Bills running back C. http://www.basketballpistonsauthority.com/isiah-thomas-pistons-jersey-c-14/ . -- At the beginning of training camp, Andrew Bogut set a goal to play all 82 regular-season games and regain his place among the NBAs best centres.LOS ANGELES -- The Lakers have been giving playoff-contending teams more trouble over the past week than clubs that are way out of contention -- like themselves. Chris Kaman had a season-high 28 points along with 17 rebounds while starting at centre for the vertigo-stricken Pau Gasol, Jodie Meeks scored 22 points, and Los Angeles snapped the Phoenix Suns six-game winning streak with a 115-99 victory Sunday night. It came just five days after the Lakers put a crimp in the New York Knicks post-season plans with a 31-point drubbing at Staples Center. In between that game and this one were a pair of road losses to the league-worst Milwaukee Bucks and the Minnesota Timberwolves, who beat the Lakers by 36 points Friday night. "Were trying to be the player-haters of the year. Thats definitely what were trying to do, and we embrace it," said point guard Kendall Marshall, who had 13 points and 11 assists. "We want to keep teams out of the playoffs and mess up seedings. Thats our motivation right now. Any type of motivation we can get to grow as a team is good for us right now." The undermanned Lakers shot 53 per cent from the field, avoiding what would have been Phoenixs first season sweep over them since 2004-05. The Suns won the first three meetings by an average margin of 13.3 points, including a 117-90 rout on Dec. 23 at US Airways Center. This was the first meeting between the teams in 2 1/2 months. "I dont know if we had a single guy who came with the energy that they usually have," coach Jeff Hornacek said. "Weve had games like this before, where they think theyre just going to show up and win a game. Were not good enough to do that. These guys have been winning games lately because theyve been focused in, but tonight they just werent." The 25-48 Lakers beat a team with a winning record for only the eighth time all season. Gasol missed his fourth straight game because of his ailment, joining Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Xavier Henry and Jordan Farmar on the inactive list. Gerald Green scored 22 points off the bench and Goran Dragic added 17 for the Suns, who missed their first 11 shots from 3-point range and finished 8-for-36 from behind the arc against a defence that came in having allowed an average of 119.1 in their previous 16 games and 108.9 overall -- second-worst in the league behind Philadelphia. The Suns shot 38.5 per cent overall. "Theyre not shooting them to miss them," an agitated Hornacek said. &quuot;They all thought they were going to make them, and its not always going to be there. Chauncey Billups Jersey. So at that point, quit shooting them and drive to the basket." The Suns first loss since March 17 at Brooklyn dropped them to 44-30 and put them into a tie with idle Dallas for seventh place in the Western Conference standings, a half-game ahead of Memphis. "Our schedule gets a lot harder after this," Hornacek said. "Play all the top teams now in the next six or seven games, so thats why this game was so important. I mean, if this happens against Oklahoma City or the Clippers, then fine. But this team is not a playoff team, so thats why its disappointing." Kaman, an 11-year veteran in his first season with the Lakers, secured his sixth double-double of the season before halftime with 18 points and 10 rebounds to help Los Angeles build a 61-43 lead at intermission. "Chris can do that. He has talent, and he came ready to play," coach Mike DAntoni said. Dragic, who came in with a team-best 20.6 scoring average, got seven of the Suns first 13 points -- but didnt get another until his driving layup with 8:39 left in the third quarter trimmed the Lakers lead to 70-48. The Suns, who came in fifth in the league in 3-point shooting at 37.7 per cent, didnt get their first one until Markieff Morris ended their drought with 8:45 left in the second quarter. His brother Marcus drained another one 34 seconds later and Green made a three-point play with 7:41 left in the half, tying it at 31 after Suns trailed by 13. But the Lakers responded with a 28-9 run that included nine points by Meeks, and Ryan Kelly capped the rally with a pair of free throws to give Los Angeles a 59-40 cushion with 1:06 left in the third. The Suns got no closer than 11 points with 3:43 to play. "They made a few runs and killed us. We didnt know how to stop them," Dragic said. "I think our intensity was really bad. Its like no one wants to play in the playoffs -- or at least it seems like that. " NOTES: The longest winning streak in Suns history was 17 games in 2006-07, under DAntoni. ... Kaman received a technical foul from referee Derrick Stafford after getting called for an offensive foul with the Lakers leading 80-55. ... The last time the Lakers hosted Phoenix on Dec. 10, they lost 114-108. That game was one of only six that Bryant has played in this season. ... The Suns are only 16-19 when Dragic is their high-point man. The rest of the time, they are 28-10. 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