James Sutherland, Cricket Australias chief executive, has claimed the national team had near identical preparation to South Africa despite the facts telling a rather different story.As the hosts came to terms with another disastrous batting display on day one of the Hobart Test, Sutherland said that Steven Smiths team could not blame their preparation for the poor results achieved so far this summer, following on from a 5-0 ODI defeat in South Africa and a 3-0 away pasting at the hands of Sri Lanka before that.Ive heard a little bit of commentary around preparation and I think its interesting. The first thing is that every summer is a little bit different, Sutherland said on ABC Radio. If we cast our minds forward to next year there will be more opportunities for Shield cricket, thats a different schedule again because the season will start later.But also that criticism around the preparation, I dont think the preparation is anything that Australian cricket can complain about because South Africa have had the same schedule in terms of preparation as we have. We have both played each other in one-day matches in October, came through here, had various forms of long-form or other preparatory matches.They played a game in Adelaide under lights as Shield cricket played under lights. So if you draw that comparison the team we are playing against hasnt had any different preparation. So yes, ideally you might have a different preparation but the fact of the matter is you cant.In contradiction of Sutherlands words, Australias players did not get the chance to play even a single match with a red ball in between the Sri Lanka and South Africa Test series. By contrast, many of South Africas players - those not taking part in the ODIs at home - were able to play first-class cricket during this period, and then had two warm-up matches in contrast to the one (pink ball) Shield game played before the Perth Test.Sutherland noted that there was a wider effort currently being undertaken at ICC level to reduce the amount of international cricket played while adding the context of league structures across each format. Such a move would in turn allow more room for domestic schedules to breathe.The reality is the future tours program requires us to play a certain amount of cricket at home and whatever we play at home weve got to reciprocate away, he said. So the complexity around that is greater because most countries share the same season as us. So we have to find ourselves playing matches like we did this year in October against South Africa. We couldnt play them earlier because thats not their season, their season is October. We are having them and then Pakistan later in our peak season.From that perspective the schedule is difficult and at ICC level its something were working very hard on to try and get more structure to refine the way in which international cricket is played and to be honest ultimately play less international cricket so that its more valuable and is not these random series that crop up all the time. That we have context through some sort of a league structure. The hope is there will be less international cricket which allows gaps in preparation but also ideally for international cricket to be more valuable and precious.Responding to criticism directed at the captain Steven Smith, Sutherland said that while all were impatient for immediate success, there was a strong belief within CA that Smith was the right man for the job - as evidenced by his steely innings while the rest fell around him on day one at Bellerive Oval.Were certainly very conscious of the fact that Steve has come into the role much younger...than any of his four or five predecessors, Sutherland said. I had a look the other day - you go back to Border, Taylor, Waugh, Ponting, Clarke...between 29 and 34 I think they came into the captaincy of the Australian team. Steve was 26. All of them came in being world-class batsmen. But I dont think if you look back in history, certainly in my time [as CEO], none of them have made an easy or smooth transition into the job.Its a big step up and its a real challenge and even more so if you dont have the players around you that are performing as well as they might or could or whatever. So that added challenge is there. But we have a very high regard for Steve Smith as a person, as a leader, and obviously as a cricketer and we think that with his support and as he builds the team around him and they perform hes got a very bright future as a leader for a long time. Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic . Uniteds eighth defeat of a wretched campaign means Liverpool, which currently occupies the fourth and final Champions League place, could go nine points clear of its fierce rival by beating West Bromwich Albion on Sunday. 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Each week during the 2016 college football season, I will offer my picks and best bets for the biggest games and highlight a handful of other key matchups.Last year my selections went 104-33 (76 percent) picking the straight-up (SU) winners during the regular season and 74-61-2 (55 percent) against the spread (ATS).Here are my selections on this weeks big games, including Alabama vs. USC, Oklahoma vs. Houston and Notre Dame vs. Texas.Note: All times Eastern. Lines courtesy of Westgate SuperBook as of ?Wednesday morning.CFB PickCenter | Top 25 previews | Betting guide: Best title, Heisman betsSaturdayNo. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide (-11) vs No.dddddddddddd20 USC Trojans8 p.m., ABCThis is a great matchup between two of the most storied programs in NCAA history. USC is a very talented team with its running backs, receivers, offensive line and defensive backs all ranking in my top eight units in the country. The biggest question marks are on the defensive line and special teams. Alabama has the best defense in the country and the best set of receivers to go along with my No. 4 rated offensive line and No. 10 special teams unit. ' ' '