Cricket Australias chief executive James Sutherland has stressed the need to view proposed changes to the structure of international cricket in their entirety, after the BCCI expressed its opposition to the concept of two-tier Test cricket.ICC chief executive David Richardson has advocated what he calls a proper competition structure for Test cricket, which could see a top division of the seven highest-ranked Test nations and a lower division including the sides ranked eight to ten, as well as new Test teams from the Associate nations.The concept was discussed at the ICCs annual conference in Edinburgh in June, along with other potential changes to the structure of international cricket. However, the boards of both Sri Lanka and Bangladesh expressed their opposition to two-tier Test cricket, a stance that has now been backed by BCCI president Anurag Thakur.In the two-tier system, they will lose out on a lot, including revenue and the opportunity to play against top teams, Thakur said of lower-ranked Test sides. We dont want that to happen. We want to work in the best interests of world cricket and that is why our team plays against all the countries.However, Sutherland said nothing under the new proposal would prevent top teams such as India playing against the lower-ranked sides in bilateral contests, and the overall raft of proposed changes would add greater context to international cricket.I saw the headlines about that and I saw some comment that that was about India wanting to play against the other countries, Sutherland told ESPNcricinfo. Well, frankly theres nothing that Im aware of that stops India from playing against whoever they want to.But creating some sort of structure around Test cricket is one small part of whats a number of different components to a major review of the structure and format of international bilateral cricket, something that we believe is really important to ensure the sustainable future of international cricket.Whether there are two divisions is one small component. Theres a whole lot of other things about what the financial model looks like, how teams that may be in the second division are protected and supported to ensure theyre given the best financial backing and other opportunities to bounce back from the second division.But were only talking about Test cricket there. Thats one small component of the whole package or raft of things that includes T20 league, one-day league, and competition that adds context and structure to international cricket, and hopefully makes it more sustainable as a fan proposition, which is ultimately the most important thing.Sutherland said it was too early to speculate about the future of proposed ICC changes, despite the apparent opposition expressed by Thakur last week.Well have discussions about that in time, Sutherland said. Its hard to gather exactly what people are thinking from headlines or limited media reports. Until you actually get with people and understand what theyre thinking its very difficult to rationalise and probably inappropriate to make too much comment. Wholesale Jerseys . Pierce was ejected in the third quarter of Indianas 103-86 win Monday. George Hill stole a bad pass and was going in for a layup, and Pierce hustled back and appeared to be trying to wrap him up. 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Because its never been done before. -- Draymond Green on what the Warriors are trying to doMaybe the notion of adding the previous Most Valuable Player to the current MVP on a team that won 73 games is new, but that doesnt mean there isnt a template for superstar success, lessons to be learned from what has transpired in the past. Its all right there in Boston, where the Warriors play tonight (ESPN, 8 p.m. ET), where nine years ago the Celtics set the standard for quickly assembled star-filled teams by winning the championship in Year 1.And the secret to their winning? Losing.Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce each averaged more than 20 points per game the season before they joined forces in Boston. All of them missed the playoffs that year, though.We were tired of losing, Pierce recalled. Wed all put up big numbers the year before ... but we didnt make the playoffs.Thats why Garnett and Pierce were willing to see their scoring averages dip by about five points each, while Allens plummeted nine points. They had tasted individual success -- most notably Garnetts 2004 Most Valuable Player award -- but none of them had savored so much as a trip to the NBA Finals. So they adapted, learned how to get more from less, sacrificed for the sake of the team.We learned how to feed off each other, whoever had it going, Pierce said. We just kind of took turns. It wasnt like we said going into the game, OK this is your night. It was like once the game started, you saw it, you got a feel for it.Pierce was the leading scorer in the game 22 times that season, Garnett 15 times and Allen 10 times. While the Celtics rotated, the 2016-17 Warriors have been alternating, taking turns between Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. Each has been the game-high scorer four times this season. No other Warrior has had the honor.Durants arrival has meant more open looks for all four of their main offensive players. Only he and Curry are benefiting. Currys field goal percentage of .508 and 3-point percentage of .564 are both on track to be career highs. Durant, averaging one less shot per game than he took last season, is making a career-high 55.8 percent of his shots, bolstered by 61.8 percent of his two-point shots, a ridiculously high number for a perimeter player.In theory it should be Klay Thompson getting the boost. According to player tracking data on NBA.com, he gets 4.2 shots per game without a defender within six feet, the sixth-most wide-open shots in the league.But as Warriors coach Steve Kerr has pointed out, open looks arent the same as shots in rhythm. Sliding down a spot from second to third option can mean the shots come later in the 24-second clock and might be rushed. Or theyre taken under the duress that comes from uncertainty of when the next chance will arise. That could be why Thompsons field goal percentage is down to .441, (from .470 last season) and his 3-point percenntage is below .dddddddddddd400 for the first time in his career, at .313.Greens shooting numbers are down as well, even though 28 percent of his attempts are classified as wide open. But his defensive averages of 1.7 blocked shots and 2.3 steals per game are both career highs.I care nothing about offense, Green said.His defense has won games for the Warriors. At times its as if he is the only one putting in the work at that end of the court. The Warriors defensive drop-off over the past two-plus seasons has outpaced their offensive surge. While their points scored have gone from 110 points per game in 2014-15 to 115 last season and 117 this season, their points allowed have gone from 99 to 104 to 109.They lost their defensive anchor in Andrew Bogut, a salary cap casualty to create the space to sign Durant, and they have lost the collective buy-in on the defensive end. The scoring firepower of Curry and Durant is carrying the Warriors to victories, but they are not defending at a championship level. It might take more losing, even deep into the playoffs, to bring it out.After all, it was the loss to the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 NBA Finals that led to Dwyane Wade formally ceding the Miami Heat to LeBron James, a key step in their winning the next two championships.That was looking in my mirror and saying, At the end of the day, what do you want out of this? Wade said. I knew that Bron coming to Miami, that he was at times looking for me, trying to make sure I get the ball, trying to make sure I wasnt left out at times. The offense went to him, but he didnt want to step on my toes.Also Im a killer as well. I want it. So I decided to come in after looking at it over the summer [and say], Just go be great. Youre the greatest player in the game right now. And just go do that. And we will follow. And dont worry about us. At the end of the day, you be great. Were going to get what we want out of this. Sometimes youve got to do that. Sometimes it takes losing to get to that point. And we got there.Both Durant and the Warriors team he joined endured the sting of blowing 3-1 leads in the playoffs last year. But they havent gone through that pain together. Will the ups and downs of the regular season be enough to forge the bond and bring out the sacrifice, or will it take more suffering?Curry, for one, insists the quest for individual accolades is over and he only cares about championships.Thats all that really matters, Curry said. And having experienced success at that and obviously defeat at that, it makes it ... the only mission that Im on. Other stuff will come out of that.Personal glory comes from the team winning. And sometimes the teams winning comes from losing. If the Warriors need a reminder, they can look up to the Celtics 2008 championship banner. ' ' '