Similarities between Moeen Ali and Croatian music teacher Frane Selak may not, at first glance, appear obvious.But Selak has been dubbed both the worlds luckiest and unluckiest man. His first brush with death came when he was involved in a train crash that resulted in the carriage he was travelling in ploughing into an icy lake. His next came when he was sucked out of a plummeting plane but landed relatively safety in a haystack.If that wasnt enough, three years later, the bus he was in skidded off the road and into a river, while he has also been hit by a bus, seen his car catch fire twice and been thrown free from another car crash - he wasnt wearing a seatbelt - and found himself in a tree as his vehicle fell down a mountain side.In later years, however, he won more than $1m in a lottery. Which presumably has helped compensate for the difficulty he has trying to find travel companions.While Moeens close calls on day one of this series were, by comparison with Selak, relatively mundane they were, by cricketing standards, extraordinary.Three times in six Shakib Al Hasan deliveries, Moeen was given out leg before - each time by umpire Kumar Dharmasena - only to win a reprieve on each occasion thanks to DRS. No player has been reprieved so often in a Test innings. Moeen also survived two further reviews - both called for by Bangladesh after the umpires had declined leg before appeals - and an appeal when he had scored one which, had Bangladesh reviewed, would have been out.Whether that makes Moeen lucky or unlucky is debatable. It was noticeable that conversation between him and Dharmasena - the man whose advice revolutionised his bowling - evaporated in the afternoon session and Moeen could have been forgiven a smile when he saw Dharmasena call for a fresh pair of glasses (presumably sunglasses) midway through the afternoon session.We are normally pretty tight, Moeen said afterwards. But we didnt speak for a session. It was a tough pitch to umpire, but what can I say? The guy gave me out three times!Either way, Moeen responded with a vital innings. Coming to the crease with England reeling at 21 for 3 - their lowest score at the loss of their third wicket in the first innings of a Test in Asia - he recorded his highest score in the top six in Test cricket (he has batted in the top six 18 times and at No. 7, 8 and 9 32 times combined) to give England a foothold in this match. They may even have their noses in front. At one stage, they were talking of 250 as a good score. While the pitch will not necessarily deteriorate markedly, it is most unlikely to become easier to bat upon. The prospect of batting last is daunting for Bangladesh.It was, at times, a desperate struggle for England. On an unusually dry pitch - some in the England dressing room rate it the driest surface they have ever seen for the start of a Test - the ball spun sharply from the start and, in stifling heat and humidity, retaining concentration was tough and ball beat bat often.Ben Duckett looked talented but loose, Alastair Cook looked rusty and Gary Ballance was somewhat unfortunate to be adjudged leg before to a ball that just brushed the pad before meeting the middle of the bat. It is a dismissal that would have been unthinkable before the days of DRS.But Moeen, adopting the logic that served him well in the English summer, imagined he was batting at No. 3 for Worcestershire and approached the innings not as a bowling all-rounder but a specialist batsman whose side required him to fight through the tricky periods and provide what may turn out to be a match-defining platform. He did not allow the reviews to disturb his concentration, he did not lose patience when runs dried up and he did not miss out when the rare poor ball was delivered.We knew Moeen could score pretty runs. We knew he could come in down the order, time the ball sweetly and provide important contributions. But here he was asked to do more than that. He was promoted to No. 5 - one of five left-handers in the top six - and required to battle like a top-order player; not waft like a bonus batsman.The result may have been, as Moeen described them, dirty runs but from Englands perspective they were wonderfully dirty. It was not his most memorable or pleasing innings for England, but it was one of his most mature. It took a beautiful delivery, which drifted in to draw the stroke and spun to take the edge, to end it.It was very tough, he said. The hardest 60 Ive ever made. They bowled well; very accurately. I kept missing the ball and it kept hitting my pad. I couldnt figure out why. It was a massive mental challenge - especially with the reviews - but it was a good mental challenge.That positive mindset is obvious in every aspect of Moeens approach to this tour. While some players have declined to tour on security grounds, Moeen has brought his wife (who is from Bangladesh and who, he met here on tour a few years ago) and son and is relishing every aspect of the trip.He was not alone here. Not only did Joe Root score a polished 40 - easily the most fluent batting of the day - but he insisted Moeen utilise DRS on the second and third occasions he was adjudged to have been out leg before. While Moeen was confident he had some bat on the first such appeal - a view that was eventually vindicated by replays - he admitted he may not have called for a review on either of the other two occasions. Root saved me, he said.Later Jonny Bairstow and Chris Woakes also provided valuable runs. Bairstow, who might consider himself unfortunate to be moved down the order, contributed his fourth half-century in successive Test innings and his fifth in six. He fell one short of equalling Andy Flowers record for the most runs in a calendar year by a Test keeper but, with a maximum of 13 more innings to come this year, he will surely break that record by a huge margin. He has, at present, played only one innings more than Flower.It was another example of Englands strength in depth rescuing them. Here, for the first time since 1992, they have fielded a Test XI in which every man has scored a first-class century.It will be interesting to see how England respond tactically to what they witnessed on day one. Moeen reasoned that the spin was most dangerous with the new ball as some deliveries skidded on off the shiny surface and some gripped and turned. The ball continued to spin with the older ball, but just a little more predictably.So, will England take the same approach? Or will they conclude that would negate their strength in three seamers? Bangladesh bowled only 17 overs of seam on day one, conceding 4.35 runs per over from them and failing to take a wicket. The 75 overs of spin - yes, we had 92 overs in the day - brought seven wickets at a cost of just 2.21 runs per over despite the utilisation of two or three part-time bowlers.Bangladesh were not without fault, though. For a start, they dropped Bairstow at slip on 13 but, just as damaging was the introduction of Kamrul Islam Rabbi who conceded 5.12 runs per over and released the pressure almost every time he came into the attack. After one early over, he was reintroduced into the attack when England were 35 for 3 and Moeen was on 1. He conceded 10 in his first over back and 22 from the four-over spell.So England - and Moeen in particular - had some fortune. But they retained their composure and took advantage. It was a far from perfect day, but it could have been much, much worse. Frane Selak would understand.Dellin Betances Yankees Jersey . 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 York Yankees Pro Shop . It says Pocklingtons lawyer filed the appeal Friday in a California court. CTV Edmonton also says Pocklington gave a $100,000 cash deposit as part of the conditions of his bail, and that he will be out on bail until his appeal is heard. https://www.cheapyankees.com/1051g-gio-urshela-jersey-yankees.html . -- Playing time has been limited for Maxim Tissot this season, so the Montreal Impact defender made the most of his first scoring opportunity on Saturday. Masahiro Tanaka Yankees Jersey . Siddikur, whose previous win on the circuit came in Brunei three years ago, finished his bogey-free round with a birdie on the 18th for a total of 17-under 199. Indias Shiv Chowrasia, who has finished runner-up in this tournament twice, was in second place after a 66. Bill Dickey Yankees Jersey . Numbers Game examines the deal that sees Michael Del Zotto and Kevin Klein switch places. The Predators Get: D Michael Del Zotto.Former welterweight and junior welterweight world titleholder Marcos Maidana had not fought since the second of back-to-back decision losses to Floyd Mayweather in September 2014, but although he was enjoying the good life after those two enormous paydays, he recently hinted at a comeback.?In the months following the second fight with Mayweather, photos of Chino circulated on the internet in which he appeared to be pushing cruiserweight rather than welterweight. But when he attended younger brother Fabian Maidanas July 23 fight in San Antonio, he appeared in far better condition, leading to renewed speculation that he would make a ring return.But on Tuesday, the 33-year-old Maidana, who turned pro in 2004, won two world titles, made millions and fought in the kind of bruising manner that made him a fan favorite, announced his retirement.?After a long time out of the ring and after giving it a lot of thought since my last fight Ive decided to hang up the gloves for good, Maidana wrote in a letter addressed to boxing friends on social media. Probably my decision would not surprise much as I had given hints of it in the last few months. But at this time I am making it official.Before anything else, I must say that I leave very proud and deeply thankful to boxing and everything that I have achieved. Ive really never imagined getting this far when I put on a pair of gloves for the very first time when I was 15 in my native Margarita City. I think I was able to put the name of my country Argentina very high after winning two world titles, winning and losing against the best fighters of the world.I had a tough career and I fulfilled many of my dreams. I am a very happy man with my family and friends by my side these days. I know many of you think that I still have things to do and battles to fight. And I respect them. That is something that I had in my mind in the last few months. But only those who really know what a real challenge is, like the ones I always had, may understand that you have to be absolutely motivated to approach them.Only through a great physical and mental effort you can mix in the ring with best of the world if winning is your goal. And I always wanted to win. Today I do not feel motivated enough, do not have the fire inside me to intend to climb those mountains again. That is why I announce my retirement. At this time when I take a look back at my career I want to thank so many people that helped me to have what I call a successful career.Maidana gave thanks to the many people who helped him along the way, among them: Ricardo Linari, who discovered him; trainers Ricardo Ferreiro, Robert Garcia, Rudy Perez and Rafael Liendo; longtime adviser Sebastian Contursi; adviser Al Haymon; strength coaches Raul Robles, Cruz Garcia, Alex Ariza and Cicilio Flores; promoters Golden Boy and Universum; and his family.To my parents, Olga and Americo, to my wife Mariana, to my son Nahuel and my daughter Emilia, to all of them, thanks for standing by me for such a long ride, he said. Last but not the least, to my dear fans, who always suppported and cheered me either from their homes or from the stands of all the arenas where I fought.dddddddddddd. I will never forget that chanting: Chi-nooooo, Chi-nooooo!Maidana (35-5, 31 KOs) fought the first two years of his career exclusively in Argentina before signing with now-defunct German promoter Universum and fighting on its cards in Germany, including his first world title opportunity, a split-decision loss to Andriy Kotelnik for a junior welterweight belt in February 2009.But in his next fight, in June 2009, Maidana made his American debut with Golden Boy in rock em, sock em style. Headlining a card at Staples Center in Los Angeles, he was the underdog against rising star Victor Ortiz. But in a wild, frenzied fight of the year contender, Maidana survived three knockdowns in the first two rounds, dropped Ortiz in the first and sixth rounds and made him quit in the sixth to win a vacant interim junior welterweight belt in an epic fight.Maidanas fights became must-see TV. He won his next three and then found himself in another barnburner, albeit it a close decision loss to Amir Khan in a world title bout in December 2010?that was voted fight of the year by the Boxing Writers Association of America. He then beat future Hall of Famer Erik Morales in another slugfest for a vacant interim title and was later elevated to a full titleholder, defending once against Petr Petrov in an Argentina homecoming bout.When Maidana moved up to welterweight he suffered a controversial 10-round decision loss to Devon Alexander. But then Maidana won his next four fights, including exciting battles against Jesus Soto Karass and Josesito Lopez and the biggest win of his career, a punishing decision in an upset of Adrien Broner, whom he knocked down twice and embarrassed, to win a welterweight world title in December 2013.It was the superb showing against Broner that drew the attention of Mayweather, whom he first fought in May 2014 in a welterweight title unification bout. Maidana gave Mayweather one of the toughest fights of his career, but Mayweather won a majority decision, prompting him to give Maidana a rematch four months later.Maidana had his moments against Mayweather again, but lost a unanimous decision in what turned out to be his final fight, assuming the retirement sticks.At this time I start a new stage in which I will remain close to boxing, advising and unconditionally supporting Team Maidana, aiming for new generations to reach the highest levels, Maidana said. I will be there for our (featherweight titlist) Jesus Cuellar, for new great prospects like Brian Casta?o, my brother Fabian Maidana (and) Alan Casta?o, who are already making some noise internationally; for Javier Maciel. Also I will be there for the new kids like Neri Romero and Luis Veron. And most likely I will be there for many others who will join us along the road looking for great challenges. My goal is to pass the baton over to them now. ' ' '