supposed to have one of the strongest defensive lines in the league.Obviously, we arent getting to the quarterback the way we should, said defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, who has no sacks in the past eight games.Whe

Chris Gayle’s brutal power rendered Zimbabwe’s attack powerless as he smashed his way to the highest ever World Cup score, says Mark Butcher.Gayle – who had registered just one fifty in his previous 19 ODI innings – cut loose to score 215 off just 147 deliveries as the West Indies ran up 372-2, Marlon Samuels contributing 133no.The opener smote 16 sixes – the joint-highest ever in an ODI innings – as he registered the third highest ODI score ever and the best in the World Cup, eclipsing Gary Kirsten’s 188no for South Africa against UAE in 1996.“If ever Chris Gayle was going to show the ball-striking that we know he can produce, then it’s going to be against a bowling attack that at times was absolutely hapless,” reflected Butcher.“There was nothing they could do against it – they simply didn’t have the talent to be able to stop him. Once the ball started finding the middle of the bat on a regular basis, it was a case of ‘how many?’“There’s no better player to watch in full flight than Chris Gayle, simply because of the pure power of the man. He has an extraordinarily brutal way of hitting the ball, which renders bowlers powerless.“The confidence that the rest of the team will gain from the fact that it has not just been the guys at six, seven or eight that has dug them out of trouble, or lifted their scores past 300, will be enormous.“All of the rest of the teams in that group – and perhaps in the quarter-finals if they get there, which is looking increasingly likely – will be very, very concerned about the West Indies batting power.”Gayle was slow out of the blocks after the West Indies chose to bat, surviving a strong lbw shout off his first ball, bowled by Tinashe Panyangara.Umpire Steve Davis gave it not out and Zimbabwe’s subsequent review failed – the replay showing the decision should stay with the umpire’s call on the basis of height.Gayle then eased into his work, scoring just 12 runs off his first 18 balls – a fact that did not surprise Butcher.“If you follow Chris Gayle’s batting, particularly in Twenty20 cricket over the last one or two years, it is no shock that he takes a little while to get himself in,” he said.“He quite likes his partner at the other end to go out and take a few risks; he might chew up as many as 15-20 deliveries in a T20 game before he plays his first shot in anger and then he decides that he’s going to go big and play all of the expansive shots that we’ve seen.“The difference has been that in 50-over cricket he hasn’t been able to get in – he’s been taking his time but then getting out without making any runs.“Looking at the bowling attack you thought ‘if he gets himself in today, it could be the day’ - but it could have be all over after just one ball.“In real-time, looking head on, it looks as though he’s plumb lbw first ball but Gayle, batting against bowlers of very little pace, decided to take his guard outside of the crease; he took a stride forward and that’s why Steve Davis gave him the benefit of the doubt.”Gayles record-breaking knock came days after he was inadvertently caught up in a Twitter gaffe committed by West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) president Dave Cameron.“He’d been poked by Dave Cameron – the president of the West Indies Cricket Board – who re-tweeted somebody suggesting that Gayle ought to be sent for retirement,” explained Butcher.“This innings was a great answer to that particular accusation. If you are being questioned by people who are running your board, there ought to be a little bit of a sting there.“I don’t think that Chris Gayle has lost the ability to play like that over the years – perhaps what has been questioned is his desire to do it on a regular basis for the West Indies in longer form cricket or whether it was earning the bucks around the world in Twenty20 cricket that was floating his boat.”Gayle shared a partnership of 372 – the highest in ODI history - with number three Marlon Samuels, whose 133no came off 156 balls and featured 11 fours and three sixes.Butcher said it was a curious innings, reflecting: “He tried to give Gayle as much strike as possible – while trying to show the power that he has.“But to end up playing 53 per cent of your deliveries as dot balls against a bowling attack of this type - and basically having a strike-rate of about 50 per cent up until beyond the end of the 35th over – was quite extraordinary.“He’ll turn round and say ‘look, I ended up with 133no and we scored over 360, where’s your problem?’”Watch highlights of West Indies v Zimbabwe on Sky Sports World Cup at 1pm, 3pm, 5pm and 8pm.Philadelphia 76ers Store .05 million next season unless Graham and the Saints subsequently agree on a long-term deal. The designation was released Monday after the deadline passed for NFL teams to use franchise or transition tags on players becoming free agents. Philadelphia 76ers Shirts . Carey Price didnt, but he still came out on top against one of his rivals for the No. 1 job at the Sochi Games. The Anahim Lake, B.C., native was stellar in making 39 saves in his home province and Lars Eller got credit for a bizarre short-handed winner as the Canadiens defeated the Canucks 4-1. https://www.cheap76ers.com/ . Luis Suarezs double powered Liverpool to a 4-0 victory over Fulham, and Southampton easily overcame Hull 4-1 to continue the south coast clubs impressive start to the season. Liverpool and Southampton sent Chelsea down to fourth place as the west London club was held to 2-2 at home. Wholesale 76ers Jerseys . The 26-year-old Ireland striker, who has four goals this season, has signed a three-and-a-half year contract with his new club. 76ers Jerseys 2019 . Miikka Kiprusoff had just announced his retirement after a decade-long run in Calgary and it would be up to Berra and Ramo to fill the void.PHILADELPHIA -- Carson Wentz and the Philadelphia Eagles are going backward.The rookie quarterback had his worst game in Week 13. So did the defense. The coaches also deserve blame because players were undisciplined and uninspired.A third straight double-digit loss -- 32-14 at Cincinnati -- has Philadelphia reeling down the home stretch. After a surprising 3-0 start, the Eagles (5-7) have lost seven of nine.This was supposed to be a rebuilding year and its turned out that way.However, the Eagles arent making progress. Theyve regressed since a promising first month.The losses are looking worse each week. The Eagles were a play away from winning in their first four losses.But the past three havent been close. The margin of defeat has been 14.3 points per game.Were still on track, coach Doug Pederson said Monday. Now, do we expect to go out and play like weve played the last couple of weeks? No, we dont. Do we expect to be down 19-0 at halftime? No, we dont. I know where we are as a football team. We are playing with some young guys on offense. There are some younger guys on defense.Wentz was flawless in September. He didnt commit a turnover, completed almost 65 percent of his passes and posted a 103.8 passer rating in three games. He tossed a career-high three picks against the Bengals and has thrown six interceptions in the past three games.Its strictly mechanics, Pederson said. Its the fact that we have to get him off his back foot and get him stepping into the throws and trusting the decision down the field.The Eagles were missing top receiver Jordan Matthews and top rusher Ryan Mathews against the Bengals, so the offense already was at a disadvantage from the start.Right tackle Lanee Johnson is serving a 10-game suspension and his backup Halapoulivaati Vaitai is injured.ddddddddddddObviously we dont make plays, we have a lot of mistakes, weve got to clean up some of our discipline, Wentz said.The defense has no excuses. It continued a run of disappointing performances despite playing against a team that didnt have receiver A.J. Green and running back Giovani Bernard. Cincinnati scored on its first six possessions and racked up 412 yards.Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartzs unit played so well the first month that many people expected the former Lions head coach would be a hot commodity after this season.However, the defense has steadily declined and Schwartz is taking heat for it.The Eagles havent had a sack in the past two games, a remarkable stat considering they had 20 in the first six games and theyre supposed to have one of the strongest defensive lines in the league.Obviously, we arent getting to the quarterback the way we should, said defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, who has no sacks in the past eight games.When teams have success of dinking and dunking us, they see the previous teams. Its a copycat league. Teams are going to that and get rid of the ball quick. When theyre ready to go deep, they seven-man protect. Were rushing four, so you do the math.The good news for the Eagles is three of their last four games are at home, where theyre 4-1. Theyll host the Redskins (6-5-1) this week.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Rob Maaddi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP-RobMaaddi ' ' '