st-innings lead became a deficit.It was a moment that goes a long way to summing up the current character of this England side. They are inventive and brav

WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- When rugby sevens was added to the rollcall of sports for the 2016 Summer Olympics, New Zealanders rubbed their hands in gleeful anticipation.Rugby, as a 15-a-side sport, had last been part of the Olympics program in 1924 when the United States defeated France in the gold-medal match. If any nation seemed well placed to benefit from rugbys return to the games after 92 years, even in its compact form, it was New Zealand -- home of the famed All Blacks.By 2009, when the IOC voted to include rugby sevens for the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, New Zealand mens teams had won the world series in eight of its 11 seasons since its creation in 1999. It has won it four more times since, hardening the belief that the gold medal in the mens competition was New Zealands to lose.And there was the exciting prospect also of a gold medal in womens sevens. To some degree these were uncharted waters for New Zealand and most other nations: womens rugby sevens barely existed in an internationally competitive form before it became an Olympic event.New Zealand had a well-established and successful womens rugby team -- the Black Ferns -- who had been almost as dominant in the womens international game as the All Blacks in the mens. But womens sevens was new and while it was expected players from the 15-a-side game would easily translate, it was also recognized new talent was needed.So New Zealand, and many other rugby nations which sensed an Olympic opportunity, sent out a rallying call to its best female athletes. New Zealand Rugby advertised open tryouts and invited the best from other womens sports.The result was a team drawn not just from rugby but from basketball, netball, touch -- rugbys non-contact form -- track and field, softball. It seemed a recipe for Olympic success.But all has not gone quite to plan for the New Zealand women. In the 2014-2015 season, they were clearly the best team in the world but in the season just ended Australia took over as No. 1 by reaching three of the five finals on the world series.New Zealands Sevens Sisters made only two of the five finals and failed to win a title at any tour stop, placing second overall, and dulling the bright confidence that the gold medal was within reach.Countries which had never previously adopted rugby with enthusiasm flocked to the game and sped their development. Nations that had played the game with limited success became more focused and competitive.At the end of the world series, Canada was ranked third in the womens game, Russia seventh and Spain ninth. The field lay more open than most could have expected.New Zealand captain Sarah Goss remains optimistic and says the team is approaching its potential as senior players return from injury and newcomers settle in.Were going to show were a pretty powerful side come Rio, Goss said. Weve done a lot of work and ... by August well come in fighting.Indicative of the women drawn to sevens by its Olympic inclusion is Niall Williams, sister of the All Blacks and sevens star Sonny Bill Williams. Niall Williams, a mother of two, was a touch rugby player before switching to sevens.A lot of skills transfer over from touch but the contact area was the hardest thing to pick up, Williams said. But I do have two big brothers to help out with that.The outlook for the New Zealand mens team is far less favorable than it appeared seven years ago. New Zealands grip on the world series title has slipped.Fiji has won the last two world championship titles and likely will start as favorite in Rio. In all, there were six winners in 10 world series tournaments including New Zealand (with three), South Africa, Samoa, Kenya and Scotland.England, Australia, the United States and Argentina the teams which could finish on the Olympic podium without causing any surprise.The 2016 season has been a tough one for veteran coach Gordon Tietjens, a famously hard taskmaster whose fitness sessions can reduce even the hardest player to jelly. But his program has been hampered by a heavy injury toll and the intermittent availability of Super Rugby players. When he put a call out to All Blacks players to join the team fpr Rio only Sonny Bill Williams and Liam Messam signed up. Williams made the final cut, Messam did not.Sevens has rejuvenated me, Williams said. My sister is in the New Zealand Sevens squad, too, so its massive for our family.Tietjens says sevens is much more globally competitive now, and while it has outstanding athletes such as Williams New Zealands pre-eminence cant be taken for granted.Contrary to perception, theres not massive sevens depth in New Zealand. Weve got a lot of rugby players but not a lot of sevens players, Tietjens said. When you get injuries like we had this year, its horrific.The New Zealand men have been drawn with Britain, Kenya and Japan in Pool C of the Olympics tournament; the New Zealand women in Pool B with France, Spain and Kenya. Mychal Givens Jersey . Instead of dwelling on the negative, Oates focused on what was good about the clubs recent play. It worked. Cal Ripken Jr. Jersey . 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It will be of little consolation to an England team smarting from defeat in the short term but, in years to come, when they look back on this match, they may reflect with some gratitude that they were involved in one of the more compelling Tests of recent times.Four days of enthralling cricket, featuring patches of brilliance, moments of awfulness and several shifts in the balance of power were watched by full houses who applauded the achievements of both sides. In a country that has been divided and against a team that, on their last visit, made few friends, it was a hugely encouraging, restorative experience. In the grand scheme, these things matter a great deal more than results.Pakistan didnt just beat England: they charmed their supporters with their flair and joy. Responding to dropped catches and near misses with smiles, they demonstrated outrageous skills at times - Yasir Shah and Wahab Riaz, in particular, were wonderful on the final day - as well as unity and good humour. They may have left Lords in 2010 in disgrace. But their rehabilitation is complete. They are impossible not to like and admire.But while it is no disgrace to lose to such a side - a side who may well have the best bowling attack in Test cricket - England will know that their batting let them down in this match. Not for the first time, their vulnerability was exposed but this time, with no Ben Stokes and both Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root pushed a place up the order, they lacked the depth to rebuild. It has been an accident waiting to happen for some time.Alastair Cook called the batting naive. Reasoning that England were 100 runs light in their first innings, he blamed poor shot selection for his teams low totals and admitted frustration at losing six wickets to legspin on a first-innings pitch offering Yasir Shah little assistance.It was a 350 or 400 wicket, Cook said. So for a legspinner to get a six-for on day two is frustrating. We allowed Yasir to get six wickets when he wasnt turning the ball. It cost us.We played too many bad shots. There was some poor shot selection and we played some na?ve shots at times. Nobody scored a hundred for us in this game and you dont win too many games when you dont score hundreds.Perhaps the key moment - and certainly one of the defining moments - of the game came when England were well-poised at 118 for 1 in their first innings. With the opportunity to build an imposing first innings, Root attempted a slog-sweep and top-edged the ball to midwicket. Englands inexperienced middle-order was exposed and what could have been a first-innings lead became a deficit.It was a moment that goes a long way to summing up the current character of this England side. They are inventive and brave, for sure. And when it comes off, they are a joy to watch.But they are also, as Cook put it, naive. While the best sides show a ruthlessness to shut opposition out of the game,, England are still struggling to find the balance between the positive cricket that reflects the natural style of their game and the disciplined cricket that characterises the best sides.dddddddddddd Instead of seeing off bowling and accumulating, there is still a tendency to try to hit bowlers out of the attack. It was demonstrated again in the second innings. Root, ignoring the man placed for the stroke, fell pulling, Alex Hales went cutting and Moeen Ali was bowled after he skipped down the pitch to his fourth ball and attempted to hit Yasir back over his head. It was oddly reckless batting for a side that had almost 180 overs to score 283.While Gary Ballance looked reassuringly solid in contributing 43, James Vinces streaky 42 was less convincing. As well as being dropped on 9, the result of reaching for a drive well outside off stump, he survived a sliced drive off Yasir that flew just over point and another edge of Wahab that passed between slip and gully.Though his cover drive is pleasing, his inclination to play it against the swinging ball with limited foot movement is not. He is likely to win another chance at Old Trafford but, bearing in mind he has also dropped four chances (albeit tough ones), he might consider himself fortunate to be playing under the current selection regime.Despite the batsmen letting England down, it will probably be two bowlers who are dropped for Manchester. Steven Finn and Jake Ball are the most vulnerable as England look to make space for the return of James Anderson (whose absence here is a red herring; England lost because of weak batting not the absence of another good swing bowler) and Stokes.While there may be some concern about including two men coming back from injury in a four-man seam attack, the return of Stokes would lengthen the batting order. Chris Woakes emergence means there is no need to hurry him, though. Adil Rashid may also replace Moeen, or perhaps join him in the squad.Another option would be to select a solid top-order batsman in the mould of Cook. With the selectors unlikely to go back to Nick Compton - who is expected to return to cricket with Middlesex in the next few days - there might be some wisdom in looking to Sam Robson, who has been one of the most impressive batsmen in county cricket this season. That would allow Hales to move to No. 3 and Root back to No. 4 and provide a little of the ballast that England seem to be missing.It is unlikely to happen, though. This England team appears so committed to picking positive players and playing aggressive cricket, that it is in danger of overlooking players who might help provide the best chance of winning. The flair of Root et al is wonderful, but only if it is tempered by a bit of restraint and patience will it be fulfilled. ' ' '