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SHANGHAI -- Hideki Matsuyama arrived at the HSBC Champions as the first Japanese player in almost two decades to reach the top 10 in the world ranking. His 19 birdies over 36 holes in biting chill and swirling wind helped explain how he got there.Even as the weather shifted dramatically Friday at Sheshan International, Matsuyama kept piling up the birdies. One last birdie on the par-5 18th gave him a 7-under 65 and a three-shot lead going into the weekend of the final World Golf Championships event of the year.He is playing very well, said Rory McIlroy, who was six shots behind. And hell be tough to catch.Matsuyama was at 13-under 131 and led by three shots over defending champion Russell Knox (68) and Bill Haas (67). He shouldnt have been surprised by the result because it was his eighth consecutive score in the 60s dating to the second round of the Tour Championship.What made this one so satisfying were the conditions.Rain the past two days gave way to a strong wind when Matsuyama was warming up, and the wind made the sharp dip of temperatures into the 50s feel even worse.I thought maybe just a couple under par would be a good score, Matsuyama said. So Im really happy with how it ended up today. It was windy and cold. The ball, its hard to control. It was tough out there today.It was plenty tough for Adam Scott, who had a pair of double bogeys on the par-5s on his way to an 80. Kevin Kisner, a runner-up at the HSBC Champions last year, made a 9 on the final hole for an 80.Fifteen players still managed to break 70 because of the rain-softened greens, and while Matsuyamas 65 was the best score of the second round, making it even more impressive was that he also had two bogeys. On Thursday, he had 10 birdies against four bogeys.Nineteen birdies ... thats really, really strong, Knox said.Matsuyama already is having his biggest year since he began playing regularly around the world in 2014. He overcame a two-shot deficit over the final two holes and beat Rickie Fowler in the Phoenix Open. He had another top 10 in the Masters. While he went into a summer lull of poor putting -- missing the cut in the U.S. Open and The Open -- the 24-year-old returned to form at the PGA Championship with his best finish in a major (T-4) and has been steady ever since.Two weeks ago, he won the Japan Open for his ninth victory worldwide. He was runner-up to Justin Thomas in Malaysia last week, pushing his PGA Tour earnings for the year to over $4.6 million and moving him to No. 10.The last Japanese player in the top 10 was Jumbo Ozaki during the week of the 1998 Masters.A better attitude has helped this week too. Matsuyama doesnt have much of a record in the World Golf Championships, with his only top-10 at the Dell Match Play a year ago in San Francisco when he reached the quarterfinals only to be blown out by McIlroy.In three previous appearances at the HSBC Champions, he withdrew twice and tied for 41st.I havent really played well here before, Matsuyama said. So before coming here, I was a little bit nervous again thinking, Well, maybe its not going to be a good week for me. But then I decided, Lets just have fun this week. Its made a difference.It didnt look like much fun on Friday, particularly the final hour when the temperature dropped and a light rain fell.This felt like a cold day at Pebble Beach, said Daniel Berger, who shot a 70 and was in the group five shots behind.McIlroy thrived, too, and at least got back into the mix going into the weekend. He figured a 66 would do the trick, and it might have felt like more of an accomplishment if Matsuyama had not gone one better in the second round.McIlroys only blemish came at the reachable par-4 16th, when his tee shot was just right of the green and in a hazard. He found the ball in the bushes and thought for the longest time about playing it, constantly rehearsing a swing to see if the branches would allow him to make contact.A wiser head, and advice from his caddie, prevailed. McIlroy took a penalty drop and got out with a bogey. He made up for it with a birdie on the final hole for a 66 that at least has him in range, though much depends on Matsuyama.Theres definitely some rust in the 71 yesterday. I feel like Ive shaken most of that off, McIlroy said. It should be a good weekend. Im just happy to be in the mix. Laken Tomlinson Jersey .875,000, avoiding arbitration. Clippards deal Monday means all eight Nationals players who filed for arbitration wound up settling before a hearing. J. T. OSullivan Jersey . Defenceman Yannick Weber scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and the Canucks breathed a sigh of relief with a 2-1 win on Saturday night. http://www.custom49ersjersey.com/custom-george-mira-jersey-large-828d.html . But Bourque, who has missed three games with a lower-body injury, wont be in the lineup when the Habs travel to Buffalo to take on the Sabres on Wednesday. Alex Smith Jersey .ca NBA Power Rankings, ahead of the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs. Larry Schreiber Jersey . Batiste, who briefly signed with the Eskimos in 2006, has spent time with several NFL teams including the Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Redskins. On Tuesday, beneath a purple south-coast sky, England completed the demolition of Sri Lankas cricketers. While England were brilliant with bat, ball and in the field, Sri Lanka were poor: a judgement that can apply to many of the days of battle between these two countries during the past two months. There is a sadness in saying that. Sri Lankans have hidden behind transition, a word that serves to highlight the impossible task of replacing great cricketers who have moved on to other fields and commentary boxes. It has been a wonderful ride, top and tailed by the twin departures of first Arjuna Ranatunga and Aravinda de Silva, then of Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, and exaggerated by Muttiah Muralitharans stellar career. But the ride is over and the mighty bump at its end is hurting like hell.Touring England in the early months of summer is a devilish business. Many are the strokemakers from the subcontinent to have perished at the hands of refreshed and voracious English swingers and seamers of the ball. Sending Angelo Mathews team to Leeds and Durham first up bordered on cruelty. Not that his team was as embryonic as perceived. Most were on the successful trip two years ago, but Mahela, Kumar and Tillakaratne Dilshan were with them to lean upon. Now that the pillars of the pre-transition days have gone, the immediate future of Sri Lankan cricket is a worry. A tighter and stronger first-class playing structure is urgently needed, along with calmer and more consistent governance. Like Barbados, Sri Lanka is a small island with a big heart and, seemingly, an unconditional affection for cricket. It would be wise not to push that unconditional affection too far.The score in the three series of matches was 20-4. Reasonably, you do not know what the heck that means. Suffice to say that in an attempt to heighten interest, the ECB introduced a points system for all the matches in the three formats - four for a Test match win and two for a white-ball win. So England smashed it, but then we do know that. Oddly, there was no prize. Come to think of it, neither was there an announcement of the triumph or even any form of acknowledgment. Caesar stopped Rome for his victories. It will be interesting to see if the idea is pursued or pushed quietly aside.Cricket needs context but then most of us know that too. Wade eight pages into the bowels of the Times sports section - a paper that genuinely cares for cricket - and you will find a seven-paragraph report on Tuesday nights match but no picture. Deemed more important than Englands T20 cricket fortunes are European Championship football - a tournament from which England were unceremoniously dumped by Iceland but in which Wales caused a stir; Wimbledon, which still has Andy Murray involved, and of course, the Williams sisters on a charge; lots of Jose Mourinho and Manchester United; and a little of Mark Cavendish in the Tour de France. On the front pages in these turbulent times, and destined to stay for a while yet, are Brexit and Boris, Theresa and Jeremy and all who sail in and around their political aspirations. Alastair Cook made the front page on May 31st for a personal aspiration of his own, his 10,000th Test match run, but that was crickets sole jump from one end of the ppaper to the other since Carlos Brathwaite shattered the English dreamers in the last over of the World T20 final back at the beginning of April.ddddddddddddThe point is that in the midst of summer, cricket is marginalised. Even diehards struggle to remember where the Sri Lankan games were played and what happened. Cricket must be very careful. Its hat is thrown in the T20 ring but only one T20 match was played between the sides. Five 50-over matches - the format of the game, apparently, that is on the bones of its bum - and one T20. Why? Three, three and three must be the way forward, with just enough of a gap between each to allow the marketeers their moment. And there must be a reason for it all, a tally towards something bigger and brighter that gathers momentum, reaches a crescendo and crowns a champion. I am playing an old record but we cannot expect the game to chug along in its present vacuum: the danger signs are clear and present. What have we learnt about England? Enough to encourage but little about which to become complacent. There are good young players, impressive determination, and an exciting athleticism in the county cricketers of the day. Very few appear fazed by their exposure to the big time - witness Liam Dawson and Tymal Mills on Tuesday - and most, if not all, are strongly driven by the possibility of England colours. The limitations of the county game, it seems, have kept expectation in check.There appears to be favour for the multi-dimensional cricketer, and for a kinder face. The fear so evident in the eyes of Englands footballers on the dreadful night they were humiliated by Iceland is nowhere to be seen on the faces of the cricketers. Rather there are signs of the clear thinking that empowered the rugby players to win so well in Australia, and of the modesty that has long prevailed in that fine sport.This is a good period for the English game, indicated by fine leadership, strong management and uncomplicated coaching. Subtly, there has been a destructuring of general affairs that has allowed the players freedom of thought and expression. It is less than three years since an unnamed England player said: It can feel as if there is no escape, as if everything you do is being assessed and analysed and stored away. If you are not careful, it can wear you down. It is incredibly difficult to come to terms with. Much, if not all, of that pressured team environment has been stripped way. The emphasis of the moment is on enjoyment and stability, the consequence of which is a dressing room of smiles.Having said that, Pakistan have the ability to wipe away smiles. At Lords next Thursday, a true test of Englands progress will begin in a Test series that is hard to call. There are four Test matches, the seemingly obligatory five one-day games, and a T20 - all against feisty opponents who boast a fine and varied bowling attack to make good the unpredictable nature of batsmen whose minds and feet move in the shadows of the wind. If Englands cricketers are still unbeaten after September 7th, the curtain call will reflect a magnificent performance rather than simply a job well done. ' ' '