off to the side of the green or off to the side of the shot, youve done everything you can do, and you know that your player is about to mess the shot up, because youve seen enough shots an

Theres no other way to say this. Australias cricketers are presently in the grip of the kind of slide that has historically ended careers.A fourth consecutive defeat, sealed with more than a session to spare by a South Africa side minus AB de Villiers and Dale Steyn, is Australias worst run of losses since six in a row in 2013. The coach Mickey Arthur was sacked by Cricket Australia between the fourth and the fifth.To find another instance of four or more consecutive losses the clock must be wound back all the way to 1984, when the Australian Cricket Board (in its infinite wisdom) scheduled 10 consecutive Tests against West Indies at their mightiest. Kim Hughes led Australia through five straight defeats before resigning in tears at the Gabba. Allan Borders first Test as captain was a sixth loss in a row.Venture further still into the past, to the divisive days of the World Series Cricket split, and another loss of five Tests in a row - four to Mike Brearleys England and one to a Sarfraz Nawaz-inspired Pakistan in 1978-79. Graham Yallop - having predicted a six-nil Ashes victory - was relieved of his command after a 5-1 series defeat. Hughes was duly in command for the Pakistan loss at the MCG, during which time Kerry Packer and the board chairman Bob Parish met to discuss a much-needed truce in the cricket war.What does all this say? That the system can only take so much strain before it breaks. Another recent example of course is the summer of 2010-11. Three innings defeats in the one Ashes series, while not consecutive, humiliated Australian cricket at home. those results ushered the end of Ricky Pontings captaincy, Tim Nielsens coaching tenure and the breaking up of the selection panel chaired by the part-timer Andrew Hilditch. Those changes were wrought by the Argus review, a major undertaking that enshrined numerous alterations to how the national team was run.Five years on, and that document still takes pride of place in the personal collection of the team performance manager Pat Howard, among others. But as already discussed, the mixed priorities illustrated by the move of the first Test of the summer from the Gabba to the WACA, and the scheduling of a solitary Sheffield Shield match - under lights with a pink ball at that - place fresh scrutiny on decision-making in the halls of CAs Jolimont headquarters.Intriguingly, the CA board recently hosted a presentation by the New South Wales chairman John Warn and chief executive Andrew Jones on how they turned around the fortunes of the games most populous state. Independent governance at director level should ensure CAs CEO, James Sutherland, is kept on his toes. So too should a mood for change at senior executive level - Kate Banozic and Mike McKenna have gone, while the former board director Kevin Roberts has come in, alongside a newly promoted head of finance in Todd Shand. Pressure, too, must fall on the coach Darren Lehmann, despite his recent signing of a renewed deal to see him through to 2019. Earlier in this match, he offered up familiar homilies to ABC Radio about the quality of the individuals currently in the dressing room, how hard they were working and how great their attitudes were. This extended not just to the players but also to support staff including David Saker, Graeme Hick and Lehmanns old state team-mate Greg Blewett - nominally the fielding coach.They do all the prep, theyre great young men, theyre trying to do as well as they can for Australia each and every time, its just a case of making little mental lapses at times, Lehmann had said. Collectively were always pretty positive, but stats will show we havent batted as well as we would have liked the last few Test matches. Theres no hiding the fact weve got to bat better.Theres always pressure when youre coaching your country or playing for the country, thats why the guys have got to where theyve got to. Theyve been brilliant doing all the work behind the scenes and playing at the level below, now theyve got to do it at this level.True as this all is, the fact is that the Australian team is not a club side defined by how well everyone gets along with each other. It is a representative team brought together to win matches. As one former captain said recently: If you ask me to choose between a happy team and a winning one, Ill take the winning one every time.Australia have passed the point where they can keep whistling merrily towards defeat. There should be consequences, and soon.Draymond Green Warriors Jersey . Vokoun departed practice on Saturday morning after discovering swelling in his thigh. He was taken to a local hospital where the clot was revealed. The club announced the surgery following a 5-3 exhibition loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Kevin Durant Jersey . Pence singled in the winning run with no outs in the ninth inning to give the Giants a 7-6 victory over the San Diego Padres on Sunday. https://www.warriorsrookiesshop.com/Kevon-Looney-City-Edition-Jersey/ . The defending champion beat Gael Monfils of France 7-6 (6), 6-3, while second-seeded Andy Murray of Britain dispatched Edouard Roger-Vasselin, also of France, 6-3, 6-3. Making his first appearance since injuring his wrist a month ago, Del Potro had difficulty with his service games in the first set. Klay Thompson Warriors Jersey . In the response filed Wednesday to the complaint by 30-year-old Alexander Bradley, attorneys say the former University of Florida player is invoking his Fifth Amendment right that protects people from incriminating themselves. Draymond Green Jersey . Tests earlier this week revealed a Grade 2 left hamstring strain for Sabathia, who was hurt in last Fridays start against San Francisco. Its an injury that will require about eight weeks to heal. He finished a disappointing campaign just 14-13 with a career-worst 4.Lets start the 2016-17 season off with a bang!Tiger Woods did the Hokey Pokey with the Safeway Open. We know what effect it caused in the media, but what about the guys inside the ropes?This weeks caddie drops opinions on Tigers withdrawal, the Safeway Open course and the fans.Remember how this works: We get the truth and inside access, the caddies get anonymity. Enjoy!Collins: How different is the vibe since Tiger isnt playing? Caddie: Well, they moved the tee box up on (the 10th hole) I had heard to alleviate some congestion from the fans. Thats not going to be an issue anymore. I think amongst the players, I havent heard a whole lot of chatter about him not being here. I think its definitely made an impact with the fans and the people in the area. A lot of people I talked to were excited to see him play and dont get the opportunity to now.A couple [of] people were like, I dont even care if he showed up and didnt play well. I just wanted to see him play. So its interesting, the dynamic [and] the difference between what Tiger is thinking about relative to his game and what the fans want.Obviously everyone wants to see him play well. But I think the fans just wanted to see him play. Thats been the biggest difference. The fans are disappointed he isnt here. For the players, its business as usual.Collins: Whats your opinion on how Tiger withdrew? Caddie: It was very interesting that he used the word vulnerable to describe his golf game. Ive never heard a golfer use that language. It would be something that, maybe, a golfer would say to his wife if he was in a moment of despair. Its a very telling word that he used and he definitely did it on purpose. I mean, all his words are very calculated.So I dont know if hes kind of letting everybody know, Hey, Im being truthful. This is where Im at. Dont have too many expectations for me right now. Im not ready yet. I think its tough for Tiger post-scandal. ... He sees all the eyeballs now. He used to have that tunnel vision. He used to own the entire golf course and everybody that he played with. He was the man.Without knowing him well and without trying to speak for him too much, he might [still] have some embarrassment from that. Its hard to play golf. You need to have an ego out on the PGA Tour. All of the players do. When that gets compromised, for whatever reason, then it becomes more difficult to perform at a high level.A major-winning player that I spoke with about it thought that Tiger might not be interested in playing golf on the PGA Tour if he knows that he cant compete at the highest level that hes used to. ... I still think he can win! Im a little less confident that he can win a major now, but I still think he can win. ...If I had any advice for him, youd look at some of these players in other sports that have made comebacks in their careers. I would say, Hey man. Youre not going to be the same guy you used to be, but you can definitely reinvent yourself. Youre still a champion. You might just have to figure out a different way to do it.Colllins: Is there anything the caddie can do to help his player when they have a case of the, I wont say the word, but it rhymes with hips? Caddie: [Big sigh.dddddddddddd] Thats an interesting thing. One of the things youre always trying to do is instill as much confidence as possible in your player. Another thing that you can do is take your players mind off the task at hand, so to speak. Be somewhat of a distraction.Those are two things some of the top caddies on tour do very well. And they dont always do both. You do one or the other. It depends on your player. An example of being a distraction would be, maybe if youre walking up to a shot that you know your player has been struggling with, that might be a time when you get in your players ear and change the subject. You gotta know your player, obviously. ...I think the other [example] would be just to instill as much confidence as possible in practice situations and as the round is unfolding, too, because the player has to do a good job of almost tricking himself in those situations. As much as you [the caddie] can do that without him knowing youre doing it, [that] could be helpful.Collins: How helpless of a feeling is it (caddie starts laughing before I even finish the question) when you know there is nothing you can say or do to prevent disaster for your player? Caddie: Yeah, that is a helpless feeling. Sometimes you get in situations as a caddie where youre off to the side of the green or off to the side of the shot, youve done everything you can do, and you know that your player is about to mess the shot up, because youve seen enough shots and youve seen your player enough out on the golf course that you know, oh no.It happens a lot with short putts. Putting is one where youre not in there talking to your player as much. Like a lot of times on approach shots or drives, you can kind of get that last word in there. Its not really as easy to do when it comes to putting. ... Yeah, it is a helpless feeling because you want to help him out, but you know hes got to figure it out on his own.Sometimes when you jump in there and it still goes wrong, its worse than sitting off to the side and having it go wrong! Versus, you sit off to the side and it goes right. Its kind of a catch-22 there. It is the most helpless feeling when you know your player just doesnt have it in that particular moment.Collins: Lets talk about the golf course. Theres weather, of course, in the forecast. Will that make this particular course easier or harder? Caddie: My first instinct is that its going to get harder. The [golf] ball doesnt go as far up here in this cool air. The rough is just long enough where you can get a club on [the ball], but you cant quite control it. The greens were firm, so theyll get a little bit softer but -- if its going to be gray, windy, rainy and overcast, I just dont think that can be easier in any circumstance. ' ' '