ear in an Instructional League intrasquad game Monday in Tampa, Florida. Bird hit infield pop-ups in both of his at-bats. I felt like I was seeing the ball well, Bird said. Now its just about getting at-bats. It felt pretty good considering the circu

Alastair Cook looks like he could go on and on and on as England captain as he prepares to make his record-equalling appearance as Test skipper, says Michael Atherton. Cook will match Athertons own mark of 54 games as England captain when the second Test against Bangladesh begins in Dhaka on Friday - live on Sky Sports 2 from 4.30am.Speaking to the Sky Cricket Podcast Atherton says he has tremendous admiration for Cooks longevity in the role and offers an insight into the many and varied demands of the job. Cooks Captaincy Stats How do Cooks numbers compare to Athertons? I remember how beat up I felt at the end of the years that I did it due to a combination of things - the physical demands, which were intense at a time when we didnt play as much international cricket as they do now - but we played a lot of cricket in between for counties, says Atherton.Obviously the 1990s when I captained was not a particularly successful time comparative to now so that combination of criticism and getting beaten meant that I was very, very weary.A bit like Alastair, I was batting at the top of the order and I think that adds an extra layer of pressure; you do get a break when youre out but you are out there trying to lead from the front. For all those reasons four years did me in and I was really ready to pack up then. Having done it for four years I felt it was almost like having played for eight years - captaining and opening the batting was a double whammy.What Im getting round to is I have tremendous admiration for Alastair, having got to 54 games, and looking as fresh as a daisy. I saw him in the gym the other day; he was pounding out 5km in about 18 minutes, lifting weights and looking in fantastic physical nick.He looks as though he could go on and on and on. Generally I feel there is a bit of a shelf-life for captains - I did it for three-and-a-half to four years, Michael Vaughan did it for four years, Nasser Hussain did it for four years and all of us looked very, very beaten up by the end of it. Cooks captaincy journey We chart some of the highs - and lows - of Cooks spell as England Test skipper All of the factors that led to me being beat up are almost the opposite for him. England are doing well, now - they are pretty successful. He will feel very different now from how he felt at the end of the Ashes when England where white-washed, when he looked like a haunted man.Secondly, what I think was absolutely vital for him, was being removed from the one-day captaincy which he didnt like at the time but it means that he gets a fantastic work-life balance; it means that he can come to every Test match series focused on a pretty short period of time.The third thing is that he has a life away from cricket; hes got the other interest, which is farming. He gets away and hes not on social media so when he is away from cricket, he is away from cricket.The final factor is that the support network around the team now is so far removed from what it was in terms of the coaching staff, the physical support and the commercial support means that a lot of the load is taken off the captain. Alastair Cook talks Test longevity with Mike Atherton... Listen to the interview in full by downloading the Sky Cricket Podcast here, and get Athertons thoughts on how…Cooks ability to change, keep learning and listen to a wider range of advice has helped him to grow as a captain how the appointment of Trevor Bayliss and Paul Farbrace - and their almost hands-off approach - has helped Cooks confidence his thoughts on whether Haseeb Hameed is likely to stay on the sidelines while Gary Ballance gets another goWatch the second Test between Bangladesh and England live on Sky Sports 2 from 4.30am on Friday. You can watch Premier League and EFL Cup football, plus Englands tour of Bangladesh and the Mexican Grand Prix on Sky Sports. Upgrade now and enjoy six months at half price! Also See: Cooks captaincy stats Cooks captaincy journey Cook: Test record surreal Live cricket on Sky Teppo Numminen Jersey . 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TORONTO -- Yankees slugger Mark Teixeira had a night to remember in his final road game before retirement.Teixeira hit a tying homer in the ninth inning, adding an uncharacteristic bat flip, and Aaron Hicks added a game-winning blast as the New York Yankees avoided a four-game sweep, beating the Toronto Blue Jays 7-5 on Monday night in a testy game that saw two benches-clearing incidents.Leading 3-2 heading to the ninth, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons called on Jason Grilli (7-6) to close it out because Roberto Osuna was unavailable after pitching the previous two days.Teixeira tied it 3-all with a one-out homer. After pausing to admire his second-deck drive and casually flipping his bat, Teixeira yelled Blown save! at Grilli after returning to the dugout.Our team has been fighting all year, Teixeira said. Were probably not going to make the playoffs. Were just going to enjoy ourselves the rest of the year and keep fighting.Didi Gregorius singled and Hicks followed with a two-run homer.New York scored five runs in a bat-around ninth, matching their total from the 35 previous innings in the series.Teixeiras homer was his 408th, passing Duke Snider to take over 54th on baseballs all-time list. No better time to bat-flip, right?(The Blue Jays) do it all the time, Teixeira said. They have fun with it. Its the first time Ive ever done it, so Ill have fun with it too.Chase Headley called the Blue Jays The Kings of Fun for their emotional reactions to home runs and strikeouts.Youve got to take some of your medicine, Headley said. They certainly have no shortage of emotion and, if you play like that, youve got to expect to get some it back.The Yankees were still steamed at Toronto after four New York players and coaches were ejected following two benches-clearing incidents in the first two innings.New York starter Luis Severino was ejected in the second after hitting Justin Smoak, sparking the second melee.The scrap came after Toronto left-hander J.A. Happ threw consecutive inside pitches to Headley in the top of the inning, hitting him with the second. That led to a warning from plate umpire Todd Tichenor.If they feel like they need to protect their guys, I respect that, Headley said. But if you do that, youre accepting the consequences.Yankees manager Joe Girardi was ejected for arguing the warning. New York pitching coach Larry Rothschild and bench coach Rob Thomson were ejected along with Severino following the second melee.I was mad because Happ hit him on purpose and he had one shot, Girardi said. You throw it behind the guy and you miss, I mean, hes got to be tossed. Thats terrible, its terrible.Donaldson, hit on the elbow by a pitch from Severino in the bottom of the first, walked in from his position and exchanged words with the New York dugout after Headley was hit.Both benchhes and bullpens cleared that time, too, but no punches were thrown.ddddddddddddSome teams have been taking pot shots at us all year long and some guys just got tired of it, Gibbons said.After Dellin Betances loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the ninth, Tommy Layne, the eighth Yankees pitcher of the game, came on and got Donaldson to fly out. Edwin Encarnacion walked to drive in a run and pinch-hitter Dioner Navarro delivered a bloop single, making it 7-5. Layne forced Darwin Barney out at home plate on Russell Martins grounder, then wrapped up his first save by getting Troy Tulowitzki to foul out.Unbelievable job by Tommy, Girardi said.Adam Warren (7-4) worked two innings for the win.Toronto still leads the AL wild card race, one game ahead of Baltimore. The Orioles were off Monday.Making his first start since Aug. 14 in place of injured right-hander Masahiro Tanaka (right forearm), Severino was on a limit of 50 pitches. Instead, he was ejected after throwing his 34th. Severino allowed one run and one hit, walked two and struck out one.New Yorks late rally denied Happ his 21st win. Happ allowed two runs and six hits in 7 1/3 innings.BIRD BACK IN ACTIONWith New York managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner in attendance, Yankees 1B Greg Bird (right labrum surgery) played for the first time in a year in an Instructional League intrasquad game Monday in Tampa, Florida. Bird hit infield pop-ups in both of his at-bats. I felt like I was seeing the ball well, Bird said. Now its just about getting at-bats. It felt pretty good considering the circumstances.POWER DISPLAYMinor league OF Clint Frazier, acquired by the Yankees in the trade that sent closer Andrew Miller to Cleveland, has joined the Instructional League team and hit several homers in batting practice over a 30-foot high screen in center field.TRAINERS ROOMYankees: After sitting out the past seven games with a sore right hamstring, 2B Starlin Castro pinch hit for Ronald Torreyes in the eighth. Donovan Solano replaced Castro in the field. ... Tanaka will be examined by team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad when the Yankees return home Monday. Tanaka has not thrown in the past five days.UP NEXTYankees: LHP Luis Cessa (4-3, 4.30) starts against Red Sox LHP David Price (17-8, 3.91) as New York begins its final homestand of the season. Cessa has lost his past three starts and is winless since Aug. 26.Blue Jays: RHP Aaron Sanchez (13-2, 3.12) starts Tuesday as Toronto opens a pivotal three-game series against wild card rival Baltimore. RHP Kevin Gausman (8-11, 3.57) starts for the Orioles. Sanchez has not received a decision in any of his past three starts, with Toronto losing all three. ' ' '