Haynes, Hoare, Lewis, at a stretch, Jack Nel. Er… thats it. The list of Desmonds in Test cricket is short but, with over 7500 runs between them, still rather splendid.That can be said of another select, though rather different, list of Test Desmonds. For out of the 55 four-Test series to date, the England-Pakistan series was only the second occasion that the scoreline ended on two-all. The only other four-match 2-2, the 1999 Frank Worrell Trophy, was a famous battle for the ages, as the accelerating Australian juggernaut was held at bay by the eminence of Brian Lara.England-Pakistan bore a number of points of similarity with that series. Off-field selection debates over a strike bowler raged, with Australia omitting Shane Warne and England leaving out James Anderson, although both bowlers protested that they were fit to play. The way the results played out also ran along similar lines: the visitors batted first and won the first Test, only to comprehensively lose the second by a huge margin, thanks to a double-century by the oppositions star. The third Test of each series saw the visitors squander a first-innings lead of over a hundred runs on their way to losing the match in the final session; however, they emphatically levelled the series in the final encounter, with their legspinner collecting five wickets. Nevertheless, despite the echoes, England-Pakistan didnt quite scale the heights of its precursor, and doesnt merit the same level of wonder. Its many thrilling passages of play ensure, however, that it goes down as one of the best to grace these shores in recent years. Few would have demurred had a fifth Test been added. There were calls for a decider.Yet a decider - something of a misnomer, since the possibility of a draw means that there would have been no guarantee that it would decide anything - would have been quite unnecessary. The Desmond has a beauty and rarity all of its own. Leave them wanting more, as the famed entertainer PT Barnum is supposed to have said, perhaps apocryphally. Regardless of the author, it can still be viewed as one of the key rules of show business.The symmetry of a 2-2 is as beguiling as it is uncommon. If one includes five- and six-match series, there have still only been 11 Desmonds in 220 series: a one-in-twenty return. The only other example this millennium, thus far, is South Africas 2003 tour of England, notable for Makhaya Ntinis Lords ten-wicket haul. It has not been possible to verify whether the MCC member who lends his name to the colloquialism was present on this occasion; it would have been particularly appropriate, assuming he was correctly attired, of course. There has only ever been one Ashes Desmond, Englands successful 1972 defence. Classic examples of the genre include the New Zealand tour to South Africa in 1961-62, which featured their first overseas Test wins. Back on Englands fields, there was the 1995 West Indies tour, an outstanding one for another Bishop (Ian, rather than arch), but a series perhaps most famous for Dominic Corks hat-trick. A mitre might have been a suitable award in the circumstances.It is certainly the case that Pakistans four-Test tour outshone all of Englands recent five-match series, including the three Ashes contests between 2013 and 2015. That also goes for Indias tour of 2014, wherein the visitors started brightly, being 1-0 up after two, but subsequently suffered three massive defeats, two being by an innings and one by 266 runs. Wisdom comes easily in hindsight, but in retrospect a four-match series would have been a better spectacle - especially when one considers that earlier in the year, Sri Lanka had only played two Tests, both of which went down to the last over.Five-match series might appeal more to a traditionalist, but outside Ashes tours, theres much to be said for making a pair of three- and four- Test series the default option during the English summer, as indeed will be the case in 2017 for the visits of South Africa and West Indies. Time, also, to dispense with the rarely satisfying two-match brace that so often is employed as an early-season warm-up. Sri Lankas aforementioned tour deserved an extra Test.While this flaw was rectified in their most recent visit, it was unfortunately after their two greatest batsmen had retired, meaning the spectacle was that much poorer and the competition that much weaker. New Zealands 2015 tour of England was a similar disappointment in duration, despite providing wonderful entertainment, and proving to be a much tighter battle than the Ashes that followed. Its possible to take PT Barnums maxim too far.On the other hand, although cricket would be blessed with more Desmonds, perhaps their rarity makes them something to cherish rather than covet. Surely the Archbishop would agree. Geoff Swaim Jersey . Jason Zucker and Matt Cooke also scored for Minnesota, which has won five of six. Kuemper made five saves in the first, nine in the second, and nine in the third. 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Organizers poked a little fun at the now-infamous opening ceremony gaffe that saw only four out of five snowflakes open up into rings, leaving the Olympics logo one ring short. INDIANAPOLIS -- Klay Thompson kept his shooting touch in sync Monday night.All he needed was a trip to his second home.The All-Star guard again dazzled Indiana Pacers fans with a knockout performance. He scored 25 points in 26 minutes and took the entire fourth quarter off, leading the Golden State Warriors to a 120-83 rout for their eighth consecutive victory.It was the worst home loss for Indiana in its NBA history.Breakout games at Bankers Life Fieldhouse are becoming the norm for Thompson. He scored 16 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter and made a last-second shot to beat the division-leading Pacers 98-96 in March 2014. The next two times he came to town, Thompson scored 39 points in each game.This time, he went 10 of 18 from the field and 4 of 10 on 3-pointers.Hes a professional shooter, teammate and two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry said. Theres no two ways around it. Its the same process -- getting in the gym, getting shots up, never losing confidence and sticking with it.Especially when Thompson plays in Indiana.Curry finished with 22 points. Kevin Durant, the 2013-14 MVP, had 14 points, 11 rebounds and six assists for the Warriors.Indiana (7-8) looked tired after earning its first road win Sunday night in overtime at Oklahoma City. The Pacers also played short-handed, with three-time All-Star Paul George, starting center Myles Turner and backup forward C.J. Miles all out with injuries.The difference showed in Indianas most lopsided home defeat as an NBA franchise, breaking the previous mark set by the Los Angeles Clippers in a 102-68 rout.Rodney Stuckey led the Pacers with 21 points, Thaddeus Young had 14 and Indiana was never close after the first quarter.Tonight we just didnt have it, Pacers coach Nate McMillan said. It seemed like our legs were gone and we basically couldnt keep up with them.Golden State took control with an early 15-4 run, pulled away with a 13-4 spurt late in the second quarter and extended its 61-42 halftime lead to 100-71 after three. All the Warriors starters stayed on the bench in the fourth.ddddddddddddTHE HALFTIME SHOWAfter starting the game with four consecutive misses, Curry put on quite a show. He scored 12 in the first half and the rest of his points in the third quarter. But it was the 3-pointer that didnt count that drew the loudest roars from the crowd. A 70-footer dropped through the net as the buzzer sounded at the end of the first half. The shot prompted a replay review that showed the original call was correct -- the ball left Currys hands after the horn.UNWELCOME WAGONA couple of Pacers fans provided a not-so-warm welcome to the Warriors -- with some help from Reggie Miller. As one person held a sign using an altered version of Millers No. 31 jersey, which read Yall blew a 3-1 lead (hash)Dudnation, the fan next to him gave the choke sign Miller popularized during one of the Pacers memorable playoff series against the New York Knicks.TIP-INSWarriors: Finished 13 of 36 on 3-pointers, with six players making at least one. ... Golden State had 31 assists on 40 baskets. ... The Warriors grabbed a season-high 60 rebounds. ... Former Pacers forward David West drew a few boos when he made his first basket, early in the second quarter.Pacers: Point guard Jeff Teague left in the third with a sprained right ankle. McMillan said Teague could have played but the team opted to hold him out. ... Al Jefferson had four points and Glenn Robinson III added eight as the replacements for Turn