New Zealand legspinner Ish Sodhi has said that learning to expect less from himself helped him forge a successful comeback to the Test team. Sodhi had spent nearly two years out of the Test side, before earning a recall for New Zealands two-Test series against Zimbabwe on the back of impressive performances in limited-overs cricket, most notably in the World T20 in India earlier in the year.Sodhi played an important role in New Zealands 2-0 sweep over the hosts, picking up eight wickets in the two Tests at 24.87. With New Zealand now gearing up for the next leg of their African sojourn - a two-Test series against South Africa - Sodhi reflected on his successful comeback while addressing the media in Durban, where the first Test begins on Friday.It was obviously very nice to win two Tests away from home, in pretty flat conditions. To take 20 wickets on those surfaces is obviously a very good effort for us, and, personally, Im pretty happy with the way the ball came out, mainly in the second Test, he said. I think I tried to lose a bit of the expectations I had on myself being away from the Test side for a couple of years. To be able to do that was pretty pleasing.Sodhi further felt improving his fitness was an important step, and along with a change in approach, helped him hit the right areas more consistently. I think Im trying to keep it a lot simpler. I guess thats probably why I played a little bit more white-ball cricket for New Zealand , because I was able to be a lot more consistent with my lines and lengths. But also, I think its something to keep reinforcing, because in the first Test match, I was a little bit nervous and I didnt stick to those processes as well as I could, he said. But, grateful that I got another opportunity and I was able to do that, so just a good reinforcer to keep things simple and put the ball in decent areas for long periods of time.And I got a lot fitter. I dont think I was fit enough to be able to bowl in the second innings when I first started playing cricket. I feel like now - still got a way to go - but definitely getting a bit closer to that now.In the last few months, Sodhi, along with left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner, has established himself as a vital cog in New Zealands bowling unit. The two were among the driving forces behind New Zealands march to the World T20 semifinal, exploiting the conditions to good effect. Weve played a lot of cricket together. If you look back at domestic cricket, we played a lot of T20 tournaments and one-day tournaments. Havent played a lot of four-day cricket together, so its quite nice having him at the other end here as well, he said.But, yeah, I really enjoy working with Mitchy, on and off the park. Hes a good friend of mine as well, so look forward to continuing that partnership. Again, its about keeping it simple as much as we can and he helps me with that with his bowling as well.Weve got myself and Mitchy at 23 and 24, and Pidgy (Mark Craig) is 29 or 30 years old now, so hes got a pretty wise head on his shoulders. Even while he wasnt playing the last game, he was always giving me some advice if he felt it was needed. Mitchy is a simple bowler, so I take both of those things and put them into my work and its pretty nice to have those ideas to bounce off.New Zealand had a couple of days off upon arriving in Durban, with some of their members enjoying a stint at the golf course, while others headed off for some shark-cage diving, but Sodhi said theyre ready to get back to training. Totally different challenge, something that were really looking forward to, he said of the conditions in South Africa. Being able to adapt to different conditions has been a strength for us for the last few years, and well look to do the same. When we see the wicket tomorrow, it could be low and slow, it could be a little bit zippy for the pace bowlers, but weve definitely got all the players to take those conditions on.New Zealand will take on a slightly weakened South African side that will be without AB de Villiers, who is out with an elbow injury, and Morne Morkel, who has been sidelined for four to six weeks due to a bulging disk in his back. He (de Villiers) is an amazing player, one of the best, if not the best, in the world in all formats. But you can never take a team like South Africa lightly, Sodhi said. Theyve got runs from the top order, to even the lower order and theyve got the bowlers that can back them up in any conditions, so its just about how much we prepare over these next three days of training, and if we put in the work, hopefully we can put up a good performance.Sodhi said that while hes still learning what it takes to succeed in each of the three formats, hes enjoying his time playing all of them. Yeah, loving it, its definitely something that I always wanted to do, which is play all three formats for New Zealand, and its just interesting finding out the dynamics. Still figuring out my game in all formats as well, whats successful in which format, but it just comes down to how simple I can keep it for as long as I can. Its definitely something I want to get better at, and if I can do that while Im here, if I play or if I dont, I think Ill have a successful tour. Wholesale Air Max Plus . 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Howard Ganz, an MLB lawyer, said in a letter to U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos that Rodriguezs claims do not come "remotely close" to what is needed to overturn an arbitration decision in federal court.LEXINGTON, Ohio -- AJ Allmendinger led 73 of the 94 laps and survived a late challenge after a restart to win the inaugural NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Allmendinger improved his record to 2 for 2 this year in the Nationwide Series, adding a victory to the one he picked up for Penske Racing in his only previous start at Road America. The 31-year-old Allmendinger, rebounding after being suspended a year ago for failing a random drug test, took the lead for good on the 64th lap, then had to weather a late sprint when a car spun out just before his final lap on the twisting road course. Pole-winner Michael McDowell was second, with native Ohioan Sam Hornish Jr. third, Max Papis fourth and Brian Vickers fifth. Hornish took over the season points lead, 13 points ahead of Elliott Sadler. The race was plagued by spin-outs and fender benders. The last one almost changed the outcome. With everyone racing to the finish and Allmendingers Discount Tire Ford comfortably ahead of McDowell by a couple of seconds, the car driven by Kenny Habul spun out on Turn 11. Out came the yellow flag, with Allmendinger and most of the other leaders having to conserve fuel to prevent running out before the re-start. When the pace car finally pulled off, Allmendinger sped away to the lead and held it throughout the final lap to take the checkered flag. Absolutely no one was surprised there were lots of caution flags, with 40 large, powerful cars racing around a layout with a variety of elevations and hairpin curves that is a maximum of 40-feet wide. The first 18 laps were clean but then things started getting messy. Justin Allgaier -- who would bounce back to briefly challenge for the lead later -- found the sand off Turn 9 for the first yellow. Trevor Bayne and Regan Smmith were among the drivers who had their cars spun, either through contact, aggressive driving or in the heat of the race.dddddddddddd. By then, however, with just 15 or so laps left, the top two had separated themselves, several seconds ahead of third-place Hornish. Almendinger held onto the lead -- not pulling away but not losing any ground -- as they made it a two-car race. The late caution almost erased what had taken place for the previous 30 or so laps. The victory served as a payback from Allmendinger to team owner Roger Penske, who stood by the driver throughout his suspension and filled out his schedule with drives. Rounding out the top 10 were Sadler in sixth, Marcos Ambrose, Allgaier, Bayne and Jeremy Clements. It was only the second Nationwide Series pole of McDowells career, following Road America in 2011. The Sprint Cup driver, ninth at the 2013 Daytona 500, hadnt finished better this year than a 22nd at Richmond. That was also the only other time in his four previous races that he had cracked the top 10 on the starting grid. Two drivers raced at Mid-Ohio and also planned on being in the middle of the action at Sundays NASCAR Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway. Ambrose was set to start 26th in Brooklyn, Mich., with Austin Dillon set to start a notch behind him. Both were expecting to helicopter between the two tracks. Dillon came into Mid-Ohio leading the Nationwide drivers standings but is now tied for third with Smith. The race was contested under perfect conditions: no rain, light wind, temperatures around 80 and an overcast sky. A dozen or more injured, ill or sick kids from the events namesake hospital in Columbus were represented in the paintwork on cars and some were introduced along with the drivers before the start. ' ' '