James Anderson is convinced the increased influence England captain Alastair Cook now holds in the dressing room is paying dividends for the team. Under head coach Trevor Bayliss, Cook has been given a freer role and has been able to stamp his authority on the side, in the style of successful Australia skippers Allan Border, Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh. Englands Stuart Broad and James Anderson tell us their favourite Sky Sports moment from the last 25 years Cook has been among the runs for county side Essex and will now lead England in a three-Test series against Sri Lanka, which gets underway at Lords - live on Sky Sports - on May 19. Anderson is hoping they can avoid a repeat of the 2014 series, when a draw at Lords was followed by a 100-run win for the tourists at Headingley after Anderson was dismissed two balls from the end to give Sri Lanka a dramatic win and with it, a maiden Test series victory over England.I think Cookys done a fantastic job. Certainly since Trevors come in hes taken more responsibility, said Anderson. He is the figurehead in the dressing room, hes the guy that people look up to and hes in charge. Obviously Trevors given him that responsibility so, thats been good.All the teams Ive ever played in, its always been the coach at the forefront, so for the captain to be in charge, from what I hear thats the way the Australians did it all the way through their success.So far its working really well and hopefully that will continue this summer. Cork: England strong favourites Dominic Cork expects England to dominate against Sri Lanka With that extra responsibility its his team and I think him getting runs as well helps, it takes pressure away and its allowed his captaincy to flourish.As for the Sri Lanka series two years ago, Lancashire bowler Anderson admits it was frustrating to lose but feels they are in a strong position to emerge on top this time round on the back of the 2015 Ashes triumph and subsequent Test series win in South Africa.To get within two balls, I did feel crushed at the end of it, added Anderson. It had been a long game and we came so close. Anderson celebrates taking the wicket of AB de Villiers during the tour of South Africa Wed come close at Lords to winning that Test as well but didnt quite do it, so it was frustrating losing the series in that way.It was gutting really and hopefully well not be in that situation again this time.I think the way the team has progressed in the two years since has been far greater than anybody could have possibly imagined.With a change of coach and a few different players in there as well, the last 12 months have been a real breath of fresh air. Angelo Mathews is expecting a tough series against England Thats not only the way weve progressed but been allowed to progress - being given that freedom to just go out there and enjoy playing cricket.International cricket can be quite pressurised but I think the captain and the coach have done a great job in taking a bit of that pressure away from the players and allowing them to enjoy themselves on the field.Watch England v Sri Lanka on Sky Sports 2 HD. Coverage of the opening Test begins at 10am on May 19. Also See: England fixtures/results Sky Ashes coverage wins BAFTA Malinga doubtful for England tour WATCH: Root bowls out Stokes! Buy Adidas Basketball Shoes Online .com) - Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll knows about life in the NFL from other stints around the league. Cheap Yeezys Ireland . LOUIS -- The St. http://www.cheapnmdsneakersireland.com/a...reland.html.com) - Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price is set to return Tuesday against Nashville after sitting out the past two games because of a minor upper body injury. Wholesale Adidas Nmd . -- Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew practiced in a limited capacity Friday, a positive sign he might be able to play against the Tennessee Titans. Adidas Nmd Mens Clearance . On paper, it looks a little like Andre the Giant taking on a midget wrestler. It has all the makings of a rout with the Americans adding an eighth win in nine outings of this biennial event. The Yanks have eight players in the top 15 in the world while the Internationals have just one.AUGUSTA, Ga. -- The Masters is underway with three shots right down the middle of the fairway. Just not terribly far. Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus hit the ceremonial tee shots Thursday morning with fans already lining both sides of the first fairway. Still competitive even after all these years, Nicklaus went last and hit a drive that went about a yard past Players shot. The "Big Three" combined to win 13 green jackets, including seven in a row at the start of the 1960s. This Masters is far less predictable. Without Tiger Woods or a dominant figure, its seen as the most wide-open Masters in years. A bunch of brash Augusta rookies are eager to fill Woods shoes. And the last two dozen majors have been divvied up among 21 winners. Early Thursday, Stewart Cink, Ian Woosnam and Jonas Blixt were all 1-under-par, leading among the early starters. Ryan Moore, who won the Par 3 contest Wednesday, thinks it might be time to break the curse of that winner never winning the tournament. "You never know," he said. "Someone has got to break that (Par 3) curse at some point in time, so hopefully its me. Who knows? I might go shoot 8 under or something, make a couple of hole-in-ones." As unlikely as that sounds, pretty much everything else is up for grabs at this Masters. Recovering from back surgery, Woods is sitting out the opening major of the year for the first time since turning pro. Even as his dominance waned in recent years, he was always the clear-cut favourite coming into Augusta, where he has won four times. Now, as Moore said, who knows? Jason Day, Sergio Garcia and former Masters champion Zach Johnson are the only players from the top 10 who have won anywhere in the world this year. Only one of the past seven winners on the PGA Tour was ranked in the top 75. "I think if youre outside the top 50 in the world this week, youve got a great chance," U.S. Open champion Justin Rose said with a laugh. Woods is out of golf until the summer, but the show goes on at a tournament that rarely fails to deliver plenty of drama. "We miss Tiger, as does the entire golf world," Masters chairman Billy Payne said. "Nevertheless, this is the Masters. This is what we hope is the best tournament in the world, one of the greatest sporting events.dddddddddddd And I think we will have a very impressive audience and have another great champion to crown this year." That could be Phil Mickelson, who last year won the British Open at age 42 and now has a chance to join Woods and Arnold Palmer with a fourth green jacket. It could be Adam Scott, trying to take over as the worlds No. 1 player and join Woods, Nick Faldo and Jack Nicklaus as the only back-to-back winners. While Woods last won a green jacket in 2005, he had finished out of the top six only once since then. Thats what made him such a compelling figure at Augusta. He always seemed to be there. "Its a huge loss," Scott said. "But, as every year here, this event produces something special no matter what. It just has a way of doing it. Its not going to involve Tiger this year, but it will involve someone else and it will be a memorable event anyway." Rose falls on the side of experience -- knowing where to miss, knowing where you cant afford to miss, where the hole locations tend to be on the contoured greens and using the slope to get the ball close. "Always you can have the unknowns," he said. "But I would say 15 guys are pretty strong favourites." Fuzzy Zoeller was the last Augusta rookie to claim the green jacket in 1979, and the only other ones to do it were the first two: Horton Smith and Gene Sarazen. Then again, there are 24 first-timers in the 98-player field, a record (except for the first tournament), and none of them will concede an insurmountable learning curve. Besides, no one is dominating golf at the moment. Jimmy Walker has the most PGA Tour wins (three) this season, but this is his first Masters. Scott had a chance to go to No. 1 three weeks ago at Bay Hill, but he lost a three-shot lead in the final round to Matt Every, who had never won in his career. "Doesnt matter if youve played here once or if youve played here 50 times," said Patrick Reed, who has won three times in the past eight months. "When it comes down to it, its just going to be that whoever is playing the best is going to walk away with the trophy." Who knows? Maybe it will be Moore. Hes certainly not fretting over a supposed curse. "Im not afraid of it," he said. ' ' '