Adam Gilchrist believes Tim Paine is still the best available wicketkeeper and captain for Australia's Test team.

Paine's batting form in the Ashes - one fifty from ten innings at an average of 20 - has led to concerns about whether he merits selection in Australia's first-choice Test XI, with Alex Carey waiting in the wings. Gilchrist's comments echoed those of Cricket Australia chief Kevin Roberts, who unequivocally backed Paine to "continue leading from the front the way he has done so far".

Speaking at an event in Mumbai, Gilchrist rated Paine as being "on par with anyone in the world as gloveman", and said he has done a "wonderful job [as captain]" since he took over from Steven Smith after the events in Newlands.

"[If you look at] what he took on, when he took it on, he in partnership with [coach] Justin [Langer] and all the players have done a remarkable job over the past 12 months to just get a nice, stable balance back. I can't see any rush to push him out, as long as he's still performing, like we all had to, to stay in the team. Like every other player, he's got a hold of his spot in the team as being selected as the best available option for that player type. I think he's doing a wonderful job [as captain]."

Gilchrist, who works as a Fox Cricket commentator, is also a notable mentor for Carey, who recently spoke to ESPNcricinfo about their relationship: "I'm fortunate enough to have a good relationship with him now and I guess through the Big Bash it probably started with him as a commentator and myself getting into the Strikers team. It developed from that. The funny thing with Gilly and I, we don't really talk a lot about cricket when we catch up, which I think is a good thing as well. We have a great relationship away from the game, talking about footy, talking about family, rather than the skill sets on the field."

Australia have had an unbeaten start to their home summer, winning all four of their T20Is so far, as they build up to the first-ever T20 World Cup on Australian soil, the only global tournament the men's side haven't won yet. Gilchrist is backing them to "start as one of the favourite teams" playing at home, "even though 12 months is a long time [and things can change]". Asked to stick his neck out and predict a winner, he named "the usual suspects like India, England, Australia and New Zealand", the same four sides from this year's 50-over World Cup to make it to the semi-finals.

"I think Australia are really well placed seeing how they've started the summer. They love the conditions, they play well in the bigger grounds. We've got everyone available now and probably for the first time, Australia are looking to pick their best XI regularly [for bilaterals] rather than just for the World Cups. They're probably still working out whether they should play two spin bowlers or one spinner with a batting allrounder like Mitch Marsh or [Marcus] Stoinis.

"Ashton Agar is doing a really good job, and if you look at all the successful bowlers in T20 around the world, they're all spinners. Nine out of the top ten I think are spinners". Australia have one of their own spinners, Adam Zampa, among the top ten, and Gilchrist is optimistic of their chances given "they've got a really well balanced squad" and "have time to work out" their ideal combination for the World Cup".

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray knows a Heisman Trophy winner when he sees one.

And he thinks one quarterback has started to separate himself from the pack thus far this season.

Murray, who won the coveted trophy in December, was asked Wednesday for his thoughts on this year's Heisman race, which still has about a month to be decided.

"Our guy (Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts) kind of took a hit with that loss," said Murray, the former Sooners quarterback. "I think right now, if somebody had to win, it'd probably be Joe Burrow."

Burrow, who's second in the nation with 2,805 passing yards, leads ESPN's Heisman Watch with 47 points. Ohio State defensive end Chase Young is second with 32 and Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is third with 29. Hurts is fourth with 26.

Burrow leads LSU, which debuted second in the first College Football Playoff rankings despite being the AP's No. 1 team, to Tuscaloosa on Saturday to face Alabama, which is No. 3 in the CFP rankings and second in the AP Top 25.

Burrow has completed 78.8 percent of his passes and averages 10.8 yards per completion. He's thrown 30 touchdowns against four interceptions while getting sacked 15 times.

Hurts, who transferred from Alabama and replaced Murray as Oklahoma's starting quarterback, has thrown for 2,469 yards and 21 touchdowns against three interceptions.

SALISBURY, N.C. – Micro sprint veteran Brian Carber picked up one of the biggest victories of his career with a wire-to-wire performance in the TRD Micro Showdown Wednesday at Millbridge Speedway.

Carber, who earned the pole with a perfect preliminary score of 600 points after leading his qualifying flight, winning his heat race and winning his qualifier, jumped out to the lead at the start of the 30-lap winged micro feature at the sixth-mile dirt oval and never looked back after that.

The Pipersville, Pa., native mastered lap traffic in the second half of the event, holding off a pair of determined Bright brothers down the home stretch to bank the $5,000 winner’s share.

Carber, whose brother is a front-end mechanic on the No. 9 NASCAR Cup Series Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 of Chase Elliott, crossed under the checkered flag .824 seconds in front of Tuesday night victor Alex Bright.

“I guess I can afford to live here for the week now,” Carber joked in victory lane. “Man, I’m just happy to be out here. Gable’s Service Center, Evo Fuel Injection, Hyper Racing and Factory Kahne gave us a great package here tonight, and we hit on a lot of great things that I think will help us going forward.

“Hopefully we can get to Tulsa (for the Shootout) and we can get something going there in January.”

After the race, Carber stopped short of calling Wednesday’s score the biggest win of his racing career, but admitted that it’s “right up there.”

“I’m pretty excited; all my buddies are here, along with my brother and my family,” Carber noted. “That all combines to make this really special. Last year we went out and won the Non-Wing World Championship, and now to come here and win this deal is amazing. Everyone behind me let me run wild this week and we made it all pay off tonight to take home the big payday.”

Brenden Bright passed his brother Alex for the runner-up position just past the halfway point of the 30-lap main event, but tagged the outside wall off turn two on the final lap to give the spot back up.

“It was lap traffic,” said Brenden Bright, who finished third, of what cost him a shot at the win. “I don’t know what they were doing trying to race everyone, but it’s just the way it happens sometimes. We were fast, but congrats to Brian. He was fast all night and he deserves this. He runs good everywhere he goes and this was awesome for him. I just wish we could have pulled it off for our team owner Bob Hummer. He gave me an awesome car to come down here with.

“I tried to make most out of this one, but it just didn’t happen the way we wanted it to tonight.”

Austin Quick crossed the line fourth and 15-year-old Indiana young gun Emerson Axsom was fifth.

Jaxon Bishop, Ryan Timms, Scotty Milan, Daison Pursley and James Morris, who rebounded from a wild Tuesday night flip and barely stole a B-main transfer spot to make the show, completed the top 10.

To view complete race results, advance to the next page.

Your assignment this week is a pleasurable one.

Stop what you're doing and imagine you are Lionel Messi. Full-on, please. Turn your attention to "intense" and answer me this: "If indeed you were Messi, would you be planning to leave Barcelona in the summer?" Serious question. And if not, why not?

The question arises for a number of good reasons.

Exhibit A: the performance in the 3-1 defeat to Levante at the weekend. Set aside the fact that Paco Lopez's side has either beaten Barca or tested them to the absolute extreme in four of their last six meetings. This was, by a distance, the most miserable of all those Levante experiences for Ernesto Valverde and his players.

Without taking anything away from the Levante coach's clear understanding of how to damage Spain's champions, and his knowledge of where their soft underbelly lies, Barcelona's performance at the Ciutat de Valencia stadium resembled one of two things. Either the humiliations in Paris, Turin, Rome and Liverpool that haunt the last few seasons of Luis Enrique and Valverde's European campaigns, or some of the gutless, lifeless performances at the end of 2007-08 when Frank Rijkaard's reign withered on the vine and they collected just 13 points from the last 39 available to them in La Liga that season.

Face the facts: On Saturday, the Spanish champions, in defeat to a Levante side against whom they led 1-0 with only 29 minutes left, showed the same lethargy, lack of competitive spirit and lack of intensity as in the months prior to a revolutionary overhaul of the entire playing and coaching environment at Camp Nou and the introduction of Pep Guardiola.

What about Messi? As is routine, he was his team's most threatening player and could have scored a hat trick, but looked disenchanted, repeatedly got caught in possession and, in fact, looked utterly dispirited with what was happening around him.

Yes, it's true that other results leave them top of La Liga. And sure, despite how threateningly Slavia Prague played when the Czech champions ripped into Valverde's team for the second time in two weeks, Barca refused to succumb to their first home defeat in the Champions League for six-and-a-half years and stayed top of Group F with two matchdays remaining.

After Tuesday's 0-0 draw, Valverde stated that things weren't so bad, while Gerard Pique talked about only a "little patience" being needed before things go well. If you were Messi, would those be the key things on your mind? I don't think so.

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The manner of the loss in Levante didn't just resemble the fin de siècle listlessness of 2008 or the recent list of European hammerings: Rather, it was a repetition of the first half in San Mames this season, the defeat at Granada and the bookends of drawing 2-2 at Osasuna when Valverde's team opened limply and finished as if they had better things to be getting on with. Barca's sluggishness and helplessness in the face of pace, intensity and self-belief is happening more often.

I've given you Messi-like freedom to total all these factors up and start to think as he might. Do I want to waste the last two or three great years of my career while the people in charge make a continued hash of regeneration and revitalisation in order for us to win in Europe? Win a Treble?

What would you do if you were him? If he called you and asked you, what would you advise him?

At this point in the assignment, let's be practical. Messi has recently been emphatic that it's not currently in his plans to play elsewhere, that his intention is to make Barcelona European champions again. He's pointed out that his three kids are happy and settled in Barcelona and underlined how important that is to him. But in the spate of recent interviews he's given, each one an extremely good, relaxed and informative discussion, there have been other clues.

It's patently clear that he has no intention of hanging around Camp Nou, fiddling while Rome burns, simply because his salary is stratospheric. I believe the players and coaches, competitive animals all of them, who warn me that they've never experienced anything like Messi's hunger to compete and win. For example he himself told RAC1 radio: "Obviously, I want to win and I want to win at this club ... but I want to keep competing and winning."

But other reasons for asking you what you'd do in Messi's shoes aren't just concerned with what's been revealed about his contract, but the very simple fact that the news came out at all, the fact that someone actively leaked such details and what it all signifies -- both for Barcelona's greatest-ever player and the hawks (the world's great clubs) who are watching greedily from the sidelines.

The fact is, as of Jan. 1, Messi's contract allows him to negotiate with rival football clubs and, in the most extreme hypothesis, sign a deal that commits him to leaving FC Barcelona next June. So, I ask you: "In his position, would you go? And which clubs would you push your representatives to contact?

It's an important subject not just because of the impoverished nature of what's going on around Messi. And mark my words, it's around him rather than about him.

Taking into account the injury that kept him sidelined at the beginning of the 2019-20 season, Messi has already rescued/carried/inspired his team on a variety of occasions since turning 32. And in what must count as one of the most humiliating defeats in the club's entire history, at Anfield last season, Messi played sensationally, tormenting Liverpool, creating a hatful of chances to give the Catalan club their vital away goal and leaving Virgil van Dijk still convinced that Messi's not only the greatest player ever but that he merits the 2019 Ballon D'Or.

However, stop to consider this. Who leaked the details in Messi's contract to El Pais newspaper in September? FC Barcelona? Messi's entourage?

There is, as physical laws teach us, no action without an equal and opposite reaction. Whoever leaked the fact that, as of June 2020, Messi is free to choose to leave Barca without a transfer fee did so with an agenda. If someone at the club leaked it then it's because they want to test whether, without them looking culpable, they could rid themselves of a salary commitment of tens of millions of Euros. (Some would tell you that between his salary and what Barcelona must pay in tax to give Messi a net income, the total outlay would be in the region of €65 million.)

If it was someone from Team Messi then it's a kite-flying exercise. Essentially, what, precisely, is out there for Leo in the unlikely event that he chooses to leave?

Please note that once the other media picked up the remarkable story and ran with it, first Pique confirmed it, then President Bartomeu attempted a "nothing to see here, keep moving on folks" tactic. In an interview with leading Catalan editors, Bartomeu confirmed the clause exists, said it was no big deal because of Messi's loyalty to the club, stated that Xavi and Carles Puyol had had similar clauses, but he spoke openly about it.

I think it's significant that he chose not to "plead the Fifth."

When asked about it, Messi very pointedly said: "I can't confirm anything because there are confidentiality agreements in our contracts. I want to be at Barcelona as long as possible. I've said throughout my career that this is my home. But I also don't want to have a long-term contract and only be here because of it.

"I want to be here because physically I'm fine, to play and be an important member of the squad.

"And as I said before, I need see there's a winning team because I want to keep winning things at this club.

"For me, money or a clause don't mean anything. Other things motivate me and the most important thing is having a winning team."

Reading between the lines, the use of "confidentiality agreements" implies that Messi was probably not impressed at Bartomeu confirming the news. Not to mention the use of phrases like "physically fine" and "the most important thing is having a winning team."

In another interview, Messi very pointedly absolved Valverde for the defeat at Liverpool and blamed "the players," not excluding himself from that self-analysis.

That, in itself, is an extremely pointed message to the club. The message is: "Renew the squad, find better, elite and winning footballers ... or else."

And don't worry, whether or not they are jockeying him into assessing a move away, whether to Manchester City, Inter Miami, joining Neymar at Paris Saint-Germain, FC Barcelona's power brokers still pore over every Messi declaration with fervor, examining and interpreting every nuance.

Messi's message is that a certain core of this Barcelona squad was "blocked" by memories of their listless, limp thrashings in Paris, Turin and Rome when Anfield came around. Now the defeats at Granada, San Mames and Ciutat de Valencia are starting to hint that the malaise is spreading domestically too.

At a time when your best-ever playing partner (Luis Suarez) is slowing down, increasingly bothered by injuries, in the middle of a four-year away-goal drought in the Champions League, when "fresh bloods" like Ousmane Dembele and Antoine Griezmann have yet to light the blue touch paper ... wouldn't it be natural for Messi to be looking around and just making damn sure that there isn't greener more succulent grass elsewhere?

In his shoes, what precisely would you do?

Stay and accept your lot? Stay but start to give a series of long, clear, informative interviews until fans and sponsors picked up the message and started to demand changes at the club? Stay but adopt a diva's attitude to the transfer market and demand that specific key players were brought as reinforcements and certain underperforming players moved out?

Or would you weigh up a "repatriation" with Pep, a reunion with Neymar or an elopement with Suarez to David Beckham's Miami project?

It's a lovely dilemma, albeit hypothetical, and one where we who argue it have nothing personal at stake. However, it's a tough, draining, frustrating, risky one if you're a 32-year-old who yearns to win two or three more Champions Leagues in order to compensate for the World Cup that now seems unlikely to ever be passed into your eager hands.

What should he do?

76ers guard Ben Simmons did not return for the second half Wednesday at Utah because of what the team called a minor sprain in his AC joint in his right shoulder and will be re-evaluated Thursday in Denver.

Simmons appeared to injure the shoulder in the first quarter when he collided with Jazz forward Royce O'Neale while turning with the ball in the post. Simmons passed it back out after the contact and then immediately grabbed at the shoulder.

He ended up playing 10 minutes, scoring two points with two assists and a rebound.

Utah led at the break 58-56.

LOS ANGELES -- Paul George is slated to go through his first full-contact practice with the LA Clippers on Saturday.

George has not played this season as he makes his way back from surgeries on both of his shoulders. Once he participates in a full live practice, barring any setbacks, the All-Star swingman could return to action sometime next week.

George had surgery in May to repair a partially torn tendon in his right shoulder. A month later, he had a partial tear of his left labrum repaired.

"I mean, I haven't felt this good," George told ESPN in early October during Clippers training camp. "My shoulders haven't been this good in a long time. I shot the ball pretty well last season, so I'm excited for what's to come."

Clippers coach Doc Rivers said George is getting "close."

"He's still doing just skeleton work," Rivers said. "I think live is coming up soon. Which I can't wait for. You can see he's very eager. He tried to slip in the last couple of practices, he tried to sneak in one possession unsuccessfully. You can see he's worked all this time. He wants to play. He's eager. He's close."

INDIANAPOLIS – Anton Hernandez will team up with car owner Ken Baldwin to run the full 2020 AMSOIL USAC National Sprint Car Series and pursue rookie-of-the-year honors.

Hernandez, a native of Arlington, Texas, is a veteran of midgets and sprint cars with and without the wing, but this will mark his first foray into the realm of USAC sprint car racing, a culmination of a dream for the 21-year-old driver.

“On a scale from 1-10, I’m at 11,” Hernandez exclaimed. “It’s a dream come true. When I was little, running micros and go-karts, I always dreamed of running USAC. Now, it’s come true. I’m excited and can’t wait to get at it in February.”

Baldwin has been one of the most successful car owners through the decade of the 2010s, most notably with driver Chris Windom.

The Windom and Baldwin pairing won 16 USAC National Sprint Car features together, as well as the 2017 driver and owner championships.

At the end of the 2018 season, Baldwin sold all his equipment and exited racing altogether.

“I sold everything and said I’m never racing again. That didn’t last,” Baldwin admitted. “I just couldn’t stand it. I had to get back in. We were sitting around the house one weekend and looked at each other and said, ‘we shouldn’t have quit.’ So, here we go.”

The combination of Hernandez and Baldwin came out of left field, in a sense. It was a suggestion from another that got the ball rolling.

Baldwin acknowledged he had never heard of Hernandez just months ago. The two got in contact with each other, but Baldwin said he couldn’t put a driver in his car without seeing him run. In turn, Hernandez sent Baldwin about 30 videos of himself racing.

Baldwin, along with sponsor and friend Bob Fox, watched the videos and said, “This kid can drive. We’ve got to get him in a car.”

Baldwin flew Hernandez to his Lafayette, Ind., shop and a deal was made to tackle the full USAC campaign next season.

The cars and engines for the team were recently ordered to prep for next season’s run, which will include a full slate of USAC racing complimented by several local Indiana shows.

Having championship-caliber equipment right off the bat has Hernandez both thrilled and comforted.

“Knowing that you can trust the car 100 percent and being able to focus more as a driver than about what’s going to happen to the car, that takes a lot of stress off,” Hernandez said. “I’m going to be seeing a bunch of new tracks and a bunch of new faces next year and I’m ready for it.”

Five years after participating in the 2014 U.S. Women's Open as an 11-year-old amateur, Lucy Li has turned professional.

First reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, the 17-year-old Li informed the USGA of her decision on Tuesday night, opting to surrender her amateur status and shift her focus to the paid ranks. Li, who tied for 72nd last month at the second stage of LPGA Q-School, has her Symetra Tour card for next season.

"So excited for the next step in my golf career, on and off the course," Li tweeted following her completion of second stage.

Li was not listed in Wednesday's latest update of the World Amateur Golf Ranking. She previously was ranked fifth in the world.

Highlighted by her memorable major debut at Pinehurst, Li's list of amateur accomplishments is lengthy. She played in the 2013 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links at age 10 and three years later made her U.S. Women's Amateur debut. She advanced to the quarterfinals in each of her final three U.S. Women's Amateurs.

She also was low amateur at the 2017 ANA Inspiration and a year later made the cut at the U.S. Women's Open. She also played for the 2018 U.S. Curtis Cup team.

Earlier this year, the USGA extended a warning to Li after she violated Rules 6-2 of its rules of amateur status by appearing in an Apple Watch advertisement. Li apologized and was allowed to keep her amateur status.

For Ernie Els, this was about form, not experience.

Els named Joaquin Niemann and Sungjae Im – 20 and 21 years old, respectively – along with Jason Day and Adam Hadwin, 32, his four captain’s picks for this year’s International Presidents Cup team.

The four picks, which were announced Wednesday evening, round out what is the youngest International team with six rookies, but Els didn’t see that as a drawback following more than two decades of futility in the biennial matches for the International side.

“I didn’t go looking for Joaquin who is 20, or Sungjae who is 21, but they made themselves a lock on this team,” Els said. “I definitely wasn’t that good at 20, 21, but these guys are world-class players and they’ve proven themselves. I’m excited by the new blood that’s coming in.”

Chile’s Niemann solidified his spot on the team following his victory at the season-opening Military Tribute at The Greenbrier. Im won the 2018-19 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year Award and got off to a solid start this season with a playoff loss at the Sanderson Farms Championship in September and a tie for third in Japan two weeks ago.

“I think we’re going to bring a lot of energy. It’s going to be nice for us to grow up as a player,” Niemann said.

For Day, 31, it will be his fifth start in the Presidents Cup and his second at Royal Melbourne, where he also played in 2011 when the International side lost to the U.S. team. The Australian’s record in the event is 5-11-4.

“I’ve spoken to Jason through the year quite a few times. He absolutely is 100 percent in. He wants to rectify a lot of things, but I told him this isn’t a one-man-show. He’s a world-class player and a player who can play under pressure,” Els said. ‘That’s what we need, players who can play under pressure.”

Els also announced that the event will begin with four-ball play on Thursday.