LOS ANGELES -- The slow-moving disaster that ruined the Los Angeles Dodgers' season began at 8:31 p.m. local time Wednesday and concluded 52 minutes later. A future Hall of Fame pitcher whose postseason shortcomings had come to define him lived down to his reputation. A manager who had shepherded the team to 106 wins forgot how to manage. A year replete with success, swollen with promise, conflagrated in spectacular fashion. The Dodgers, the best team in the National League, the organization that does so much right, failed at the most inopportune time.

The fallout of their 7-3 loss to the Washington Nationals in a 10-inning, winner-take-all Game 5 of the National League Division Series bordered on difficult to watch. Clayton Kershaw, the future Hall of Fame pitcher, blamed himself and said: "Everything people say is true right now about the postseason." Dave Roberts, the manager, defended his shoddy decision-making but said: "If the blame falls on me, I've got no problem with it."

As the Nationals reveled in Howie Kendrick's go-ahead grand slam and their first postseason series victory since the franchise moved to Washington from Montreal, the Dodgers were left to ruminate on what-ifs and live with second-guessing. Which, in many cases, was actually first-guessing, because Roberts' string-pulling, even in the moment, resembled a marionette flailing about at the hands of an amateur puppeteer. On a night of stunning turnabouts, Roberts -- typically a savvy strategist -- turning in this sort of performance was the shock of shocks.

Kershaw played to type. After inheriting a jam in the seventh inning and escaping with a strikeout of Adam Eaton, the left-hander emerged in the eighth to face Anthony Rendon, the Nationals' MVP candidate, with left-hander Juan Soto looming on deck. The Dodgers led 3-1. They were six outs from a fourth consecutive NL Championship Series appearance.

Armed with a fastball and slider that register similarly on the radar gun, no longer the Kershaw of three Cy Young Awards and seven consecutive top-5 finishes, he succeeded this season on guile. Rendon and Soto scoff at guile. Rendon jumped on a low 89 mph pitch and lofted it over the left-center-field fence. Soto attacked the next pitch, also 89 mph, fat and in the strike zone, and ambushed it 449 feet into the right-center-field bleachers.

Never in the regular season had Kershaw given up home runs on back-to-back pitches, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. This was the second time he had done it in the postseason. Kershaw was yanked from the game and sat alone on the bench, confounded, befogged, stupefied -- saddened above all. The crowd of 54,159 at Dodger Stadium, so alive as the bottom of the hour hit, was stunned silent.

"I had one job to do: just get three outs. I got one out," Kershaw said. "Didn't get the other two and they went over the fence and it cost us the game right there. It's a terrible feeling. No excuses. Just didn't make pitches, and a guy hit it over the fence, twice."

Kershaw was in the game because his name was Clayton Kershaw. Roberts appreciates who he is as a person and what he has been as a pitcher. In this situation, though -- six outs separating the Dodgers from Game 1 against the St. Louis Cardinals, a bullpen full of superior matchups at his behest -- urgency needed to trump loyalty and trust and history. If the back of his jersey did not read KERSHAW, Roberts would have had an awfully difficult time making the case to use him.

The path to a victory had plenty of other routes. Roberts could have summoned Kenta Maeda, his high-leverage bullpen stopper, to navigate the heart of the Nationals' order. He could have called upon Pedro Baez, against whom right-handers hit .172 this season, to face Rendon, then mobilize left-hander Adam Kolarek, whose lone job all series was specifically to get Soto out. In a do-or-die game, if you don't do, you die.

Here was Roberts' explanation: "I felt good about Clayton right there. Eaton, and when you got Rendon and Soto, so I felt that I liked Clayton. He threw, I don't know what it was, a couple pitches, and we had Clayton ready for whatever today. So for Maeda to go through Soto, Kenta in this role, we really liked him against the right-hander. And the success that Clayton's had against Soto with the two-run lead, I'll take Clayton any day in that situation. I just think it's one of those where it was easy for me to get Clayton, with the low pitches to get Rendon and to go out there and get Soto. And to have Kenta behind him. That was my thought, and not have Kenta go through Soto."

This is a lot to digest. Much of it doesn't make sense. Kershaw's home run rate spiked to a career worst this year. Rendon, both this year and historically, hits left-handed pitchers better than right-handers. The idea of liking Kershaw against Soto with a two-run lead is fine. The Dodgers did not have a two-run lead by the time Soto batted. They had a one-run lead -- and a left-hander in Kolarek who had struck out Soto twice in the series and induced a ground ball in their other matchup.

The bungling did not end there. After Maeda replaced Kershaw and cruised through the eighth, Roberts brought in Joe Kelly, who worked a quick and easy ninth inning. Then he returned for the 10th. As recently as last week, Kelly was dealing with an unidentified injury. He had not pitched more than one inning since Aug. 24.

Closer Kenley Jansen was available. So was Baez. And Kolarek. And Dustin May. They were available when Kelly walked Eaton to lead off the inning. They were available when Rendon yanked a double to put runners on second and third. They were available when Roberts intentionally walked Soto to load the bases. They were available, and still Roberts hung with Kelly against Kendrick.

Here was Roberts' explanation: "Kelly goes in there, throws 10 pitches, and he's throwing the baseball really well. He's arguably our most rested reliever, and the way he was throwing the baseball, so I felt it was pretty easy. Don't have a lot of guys as far as behind Kenley. I liked Joe right there in that spot, I really did. After 10 pitches there was no stress. Ball coming out well. So for him to go out there and take down that inning and to have Kenley take down the other part of the order, I felt really good about it. And as far as that second and third, nobody out, you're in a tie ballgame, yeah, you could go to Kolarek, infield is going to be in, hope for a punch, but I just felt that Joe had a good chance to put Howie on the ground and potentially then get Kenley on Zimmerman. And so my thought was to try to get a ground ball right there. So now you're looking at potential effectiveness. And so I don't think anybody could have been more effective than Joe in that ninth inning. And so it was 10 pitches, the velocity, the command, the curveball. And so to go out there and send him out there again, I felt really good about it."

OK. Kelly was rested because in his last outing he walked three, gave up a hit and two runs and didn't record an out. Coming off that, Roberts was asking him to do something he hadn't done in more than six weeks. Even if Kelly's ground ball tendencies -- and they're exceedingly strong -- match up well with Kendrick's predilection to hit the ball on the ground, sticking with him after a walk and a double, with Jansen ready to go, shows a fidelity to the numbers that does not match the moment.

Sometimes a bad result can be stomached if the process was sound. The process here was not sound, and when Kendrick hammered a ball over the center-field fence at 9:23 p.m., the deed was done. Then Roberts didn't even go to Jansen with Ryan Zimmerman at the plate, as he suggested he would have done, only calling upon his closer after Yan Gomes singled to right field.

It's impossible to say this entire debacle was preventable. Other pitchers might have blown the lead the same way Kershaw and Kelly did. But the Dodgers are where they are, with a roster built for now and the future, because of rigorous decision-making. The only rigor in Roberts' decisions was of the mortis variety, because it turned the Dodgers' season into a corpse.

What comes next is every bit as interesting as what befell the Dodgers on Wednesday. This is the sort of loss that could complicate Roberts' future with the Dodgers. He did sign a four-year contract extension in December, and in many ways -- from how the players feel about him to how well he represents the organization and brand -- he is an ideal manager for this team and market. No matter how well the Dodgers are set up going forward, though, the notion that a game of this magnitude can be mismanaged in such fashion invites scrutiny.

Further, team president Andrew Friedman, who built the 106-win team and turned the farm system into a player-development machine, has a contract that expires at the end of October. There has been mutual interest in him remaining with the Dodgers, and it is the likeliest outcome, but it's another box to check in an offseason rife with intrigue.

Do the Dodgers, for example, buck their trend of avoiding high-priced free agents and chase Rendon or Gerrit Cole? Can they use May and Tony Gonsolin, two high-ceiling rookies, to replace free agents Hyun-Jin Ryu and Rich Hill in the rotation? Even if Jansen doesn't opt out of his contract -- a possibility but by no means a certainty -- how do they improve their bullpen?

It was clear Roberts felt he didn't have the sorts of options other teams have, though neither did the Nationals, and Dave Martinez, their manager, made due. Coming into the series, Roberts was seen as the clearly superior tactician. It's not so much that he got outmanaged as he backed himself into a corner with self-owns.

And so went the Dodgers' season, spiraling from glory to gutter in less than an hour. Some Dodgers players were on the verge of tears afterward, and understandably so. They thought this was the year. They believed this was the team that was going to snap the 30-year championship-free streak. They knew they were special. Instead, they get to wonder what could have been -- what should have been. They'll never know. That's the hardest part.

Charlotte Arter and Charlie Hulson among the athletes heading to the series opener in the Welsh capital

Several former Cardiff winners and a host of other domestic champions will look to start their cross country campaign with victory when the British Athletics Cross Challenge meet takes place in the Welsh capital on Saturday.

Charlie Hulson was the winner 12 months ago and will return hoping to overcome the challenge from 2017 winner, Sam Stabler.

Hulson warmed up for the event with a 64:28 clocking at the Cardiff University / Cardiff Half Marathon last week but is perhaps best known for winning the English National in 2015.

Stabler has also recorded several podium finishes at the English National and Inter-Counties Championships and is a previous winner at the Armagh International Road Races.

Marc Scott is likely to feature following a season that saw him as the runner-up in the British Championships over 5000m, earning himself a place at the IAAF World Championships in Doha.

Scott proved his cross country pedigree last season with a ninth place Euro Cross finish in Tilburg.

Defending British Cross Challenge series champion Mahamed Mahamed was second in Cardiff in both 2017 and 2018 and the Southampton AC athlete will return a third time looking for a race win. Tom Evans of Lewes AC was a top 10 finisher from the Inter-Counties who will also be in action.

Ieuan Thomas, Mike Ward and Ciaran Lewis of Cardiff AC and Jon Hopkins of Swansea Harriers add further local flavour and are all likely to feature.

The senior women’s race was perhaps the highlight at the 2018 edition and it promises to be fiercely competitive once again.

Charlotte Arter took the British 10,000m title in 2018 and more aptly won the Euro Cross trial race in Liverpool. She will be joined by training partner and current UK Inter-Counties champion, Jenny Nesbitt.

The pair warmed up for the Cross Challenge opener by leading their Cardiff AC team to the outright race win at the ERRA National Autumn Road Relays last weekend. Clara Evans and Lucy Marland are the remaining members of the team and will also be in action on Saturday.

Phoebe Law is another UK Inter-Counties champion (2018) that will be racing. Iona Lake of City of Norwich AC is a notable athlete who is likely to feature along with Amy Griffiths of Aldershot, Farnham & District who was seventh in Tilburg last December.

Matt Willis will lead Welsh hopes in the junior men’s race as he faces Rory Leonard of Morpeth Harriers who was the runner up last time behind local star, Jake Heyward. Willis is the current Inter-Counties champion and led the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team home at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Aarhus earlier this year. Leonard is the English National champion and was the second British scorer in Denmark back in March.

Zakariya Mahamed is the current series champion and will again be in action in the junior men’s age-group.

Shannon Flockart was the series winner at U17 level last year and will race at U20 level in Cardiff. Amelia Samuels was the Midland Counties champion last season and a runner up at Loughborough. The Cross International winner from Elgoibar is likely to be hard to stop on Saturday.

Louis Small won the U15 title in Loughborough back in March and is another athlete of note that will move up an age group for the season opener in Cardiff.

Scarlett Livingstone was the series champion at under-13 girl category last year and will race at under-15 level in Cardiff.

After 10 days of IAAF World Championships action, Steve Smythe analyses how well we guessed the top eight placings in every event

Doha was a strange venue for the IAAF World Championships – the city effectively seemed to be a building site in a sauna as they prepared for the far more important World Cup. The Metro was not finished and most of the local population was not interested in athletics apart from seeing the high jump.

However, the stadium was superb as were the conditions inside the venue and the athletics was fantastic – it was the greatest quality athletics meeting in history.

Before the 10 days of action, we made top eight predictions and took a guess at the winning mark (men’s events here and women’s events here).

How did we do? We predicted 137 of the 149 medallists among our top eight and 24 of the 49 champions and you can read further analysis below.

Men’s events

100m

Prediction: 1 C Coleman (1); 2 J Gatlin (2); 3 A Simbine (4);4 Z Hughes (6); 5 A De Grasse (3); 6 Y Blake (5); 7 Xie Zhenye (sf); 8 M Rodgers (sf). Winning mark: 9.74 (9.76)

A predictable prediction – Coleman and Gatlin were the obvious top two and all our first six all made the top six and the time was close.

200m

Prediction: 1 N Lyles (1); 2 R Guliyev (5); 3 A de Grasse (2); 4 C Coleman (dnc); 5 A Gemili (4); 6 Xie Zhenye (7); 7 M Francis (dnc sf); 8 A Quinonez (3). Winning mark: 19.36 (19.83)

Lyles was much slower than anticipated but still won easily with our expected second Guliyev not at his best.

400m

Prediction: 1 M Norman (sf); 2 F Kerley (3); 3 S Gardiner (1); 4 K James (5); 5 A Bloomfield (8); 6 M Cedonio (7); 7 V Norwood (sf); 8 M Hudson-Smith (dnf ht). Not chosen: A Zambrano (2). Winning time: 43.44 (43.48)

Norman was injured and did not make the final but would have struggled to beat Gardener who was faster than anticipated.  Silver medallist Zambrano was overlooked as he was not ranked in the top 10 but we were close on our time guess. 

800m

Prediction: 1 N Amos (DNC); 2 E Korir (sf); 3 A Kszczot (sf); 4 D Brazier (1); 5 F Cheruiyot (3); 6 C Murphy (8); 7 B McBride (sf); 8 A Tuka (2). Winning mark: 1:43.55 (1:42.34)

Our top three selection was a a failure as Amos did not run and Korir and Kszczot disappointed and did not make the final. We had the eventual top three further back though and Brazier, who was much better than anyone anticipated, was our top athlete from those who made the final. 

1500m

Prediction: 1 T Cheruiyot (1); 2 J Ingebrigtsen (4); 3 M Lewandowski (3) 4 A Souleiman (sf); 5 R Musagala (sf); 6 F Ingebrigtsen (sf); 7 J Wightman (5); 8 G Manangoi (ht). Not chosen: T Makhloufli (2). Winning mark: 3:35.35 (3:29.26)

Cheruiyot ensured the best man won with a very fast paced race and we had three of the top four. We wrongly missed out on Makhloufli, who was not ranked in the top 10.

5000m

Prediction: 1 J Ingebrigtsen (5); 2 S Barega (2); 3 H Gebrhiwet (dnc); 4 T Haile (4); 5 N Kimeli (8); 6 S McSweyn (12); 7 P Chelimo (7); 8 M Ahmed (3). Not selected: Edris (1). Winning mark: 13:11.45 (12:58.85)

Our top two prediction was the position 200m out but Ingebrigtsen faltered and Edris defended in style, having been overlooked by us as he was only 18th in Lausanne in his previous 5000m.

10,000m

Prediction: 1 Y Kejelcha (2); 2 J Cheptegei (1); 3 R Kipruto (3); 4 H Gebrhiwet (9); 5 L Lomong (7); 6 A Belihu (5); 7 M Ahmed (6); 8 R Chumo (4). Winning mark: 27:34.65 (26:48.36)

We would have had all the top eight had Gebrhiwet not struggled in and been caught on the line by Crippa, who broke the 30-year-old Italian record.

Marathon

Prediction: 1 M Geremew (2); 2 G Kirui (14); 3 M Wasihun (DNF); 4 Y Kawauchi (29); 5 S Mokoka (5); 6 T Abraham (9); 7 P Lonyongata (DNF); 8 S Kiprotich (18). Not chosen: Desisa (1). Winning mark: 2:15:45 (2:10:40)

Marathons are hard to predict, but though his 2019 best time was nothing special, the winner, a Boston runner-up, was a major omission as was superb fourth-placer Hawkins. The conditions were much better than in the other road events and the time much faster than predicted. 

3000m steeplechase

Prediction: 1 S El Bakkali (3); 2 G Wale (4); 3 B Kigen (6); 4 C Kipruto (1); 5 A Kibiwot (7); 6 L Bett (9); 7 C Beyo (DNF); 8 F Carro (5). Not selected: Girma (2). Winning mark: 8:11.35 (8:01.35)

Kipruto, in his first win of the year, showed his superb competitiveness when it matters and caught us and his competitors out. We had seven of the first nine but not runner-up Girma in his first major race. 

110m hurdles

Prediction: 1 O McLeod (dq); 2 G Holloway (1); 3 O Ortega (eq3); 4 D Roberts (dq ht); 5 S Shubenkov (2); 6 Xie Wenjun (5); 7 P Martinot-Lagarde (eq3); 8 R Levy (dq sf). Winning mark: 12.97 (13.10)

Three of our top eight got disqualified but those that survived the judges, made the top five. Holloway impressed with his victory and his ability to follow the rules.

400m hurdles

Prediction: 1 K Warholm (1); 2 R Benjamin (2); 3 A Samba (3); 4 K McMaster (4); 5 Y Copello (6);6 L Vaillant (sf); 7 T Holmes (5); 8 A dos Santos (7). Winning mark: 46.85 (47.42)

One of our better predicted events with the first four in order and seven of the top eight but we thought the winning time would be faster.

4x100m

Prediction: 1 USA (1); 2 JPN (3); 3 GBR (2); 4 CHN (6); 5 JAM (sf); 6 BRA (4); 7 NED (dq); 8 GER (sf). Winning mark: 37.66 (37.10)

We had five of the first six and Britain’s strong finish in a European record time prevented us from having the top three in order by 0.07 of a second.  As in most of the track events our prediction was too slow. 

4x400m

Prediction: 1 USA (1); 2 TTO (5); 3 JAM (2); 4 BOT (dq sf) 5 POL (dnc); 6 BEL (3); 7 GBR (dnf); 8 JPN (sf). Winning mark: 2:56.32 (2:56.69)

Two of the top three were in our choices but otherwise not one of the best selections but at least close in terms of winning time.

High jump

Prediction: 1 M Nedosekov (4); 2 B Bondarenko (nh q); 3 M El Dein Ghazal (25q); 4 I Ivanyuk (3); 5 M Przybylko (30q); 6 M Essa Barshim (1); 7 M Akimenko (2); 8 Wang Yu (10). Winning mark: 2.33m (2.37m)

Barshim was well in advance on all his previous 2019 form but we underestimated him and the crowd support and the eventual top two were only the sixth and seventh choices.

Pole vault

Prediction: 1 S Kendricks (1); 2 P Lisek (3); 3 A Duplantis (2); 4 R Lavillenie (15q); 5 T Braz da Silva (5); 6 P Wojciechowski (13q); 7 R Holzdeppe (6); 8 C Walsh (10). Winning mark: 6.00m (5.97m)

Though the minor medallists were in the wrong order, we had the top three and five of the top seven and we were close on the winning mark.

Long jump

Prediction: 1 J Echevarria (2); 2 L Manyonga (4); 3 M Tentoglou (10); 4 T Gayle (1); 5 J Henderson (2); 6 Y Hashioka (8); 7 R Samaai (5); 8 T Montler (9). Winning mark: 8.71m (8.69m)

We had the first two in fourth and fifth but all of our chosen eight made the top 10 and were very close on the winning mark but we thought it would be Echevarria who would win rather than Gayle who made a huge improvement.

Triple jump

Prediction: 1 W Claye (2); 2 C Taylor (1); 3 O Craddock (13q); 4 P Pichardo (4); 5 F Zango (3); 6 J Diaz (8); 7 D Scott (6); 8 B Williams (17q). Winning mark: 18.11m (17.92m)

Based on 2019 form we thought Claye may for once get the better of his eternal rival Taylor but superb competitor Taylor again had the edge. Six of our top seven made the top eight. 

Shot

Prediction: 1 T Walsh (3); 2 R Crouser (2); 3 M Haratyk (16q); 4 D Romani (4); 5 K Bukowiecki (6); 6 D Hill (5); 7 J Kovacs (1); 8 J Gill (7). Winning mark: 22.16m (22.91m)

We had the eventual top seven in our top eight but greatly underestimated Kovacs’ form and were well short of the winning mark in the best ever shot competition.

Discus

Prediction: 1 D Stahl (1); 2 F Dacres (2); 3 A Gudzius (12); 4 L Weisshaidinger (3); 5 P Malachowski (17q); 6 C Harting (14q); 7 O Isene (10); 8 T Smikle (15q). Winning mark: 68.86m (67.88m)

We had the predictable top two but struggled on the minor placings but were within a metre on the winning mark.

Hammer

Prediction: 1 P Fajdek (1); 2 W Nowicki (3); 3 B Halasz (3); 4 D Lukyanov (19q); 5 N Miller (10); 6 J Cienfuegos (7): 7 E Henriksen (6); 8 D Nazarov (dnc). Not chosen: Bigot (2). Winning mark: 80.44m (80.50m)

Our first three all medalled and we were very close on the winning distance but we under-rated Bigot who was not ranked in the top 10 prior to the event. 

Javelin

Prediction: 1 J Vetter (3); 2 M Kirt (2); 3 C Chao-Tsun (10); 4 A Hofmann (20q); 5 J Yego (nm); 6 T Rohler (23q); 7 A Peters (1); 8 E Matusevicius (22q). Winning mark: 88.90m (86.89m)

Two of the first three medallists were chosen but Peters surprised us in one of the weaker events and selections. 

Decathlon

Prediction: 1 K Mayer (DNF); 2 D Warner (3); 3 L Victor (DNF); 4 K Kazmirek (17); 5 N Kaul (1); 6 P LaPage (5); 7 I Shkurenyov (4); 8 T Duckworth (dns). Not chosen: Uibo (2). Winning mark: 8876 (8691)

Kaul pulled off one of the biggest advances in decathlon history on day two moving from 11th overnight with a record day two score of 4527 and caught us out too as we predicted fifth as a number of athletes struggled with injury or bad luck. We missed Uibo, who came so close to winning.

20km walk

Prediction: 1 T Yamanishi (1); 2 K Ikeda (6); 3 V Mizinov (2); 4 E Takahashi (dnc); 5 M Stano (14); 6 C Bonfim (13): 7 C Linke (4); 8 P Karlstrom (3). Winning mark: 1:21:32 (1:26:34)

Considering the length of the event and its unpredictably, the disqualifications and the very hot conditions, this was a surprisingly accurate prediction with five of the top six in our top eight. 

50km walk

Prediction: 1 Y Suzuki (1); 2 Y Diiz (dnf); 3 M Toth (dnf); 4 Wang Qin (dnf); 5 Niu Wenbin (4); 6 T Noda (dnf); 7 Luo Yadong (5); 8 H Haukenes (dq). Not chosen: Viera (2), Dunfee (3). Winning mark: 3:45:55 (4:04:20)

The heat caused a lot of drop outs and a very slow time but we did get the winner and three of the top five but missed the silver and bronze medallist.

Women’s events

100m

Prediction: 1 E Thompson (4); 2 S Fraser-Pryce (1); 3 Asher-Smith (2); 4 M Ta Lou (3); 5 T Bowie (dns SF); 6 M Kambundji (sf); 7 D Schippers (dns F); 8 T Daniels (7). Winning mark: 10.75 (10.71)

Thompson’s injury held her back to fourth but excepting her the top four were in the right order.

200m

Prediction: 1 E Thompson (dns SF); 2 D Asher-Smith (1); 3 A Annelus (4); 4 M Kambundji (3); 5 D Schippers (dns); 6 B Okagbare (dq ht; 7 S Fraser-Pryce (dns); 8 M Ta Lou (dns). Not chosen: Brown (2). Winning mark: 21.90 (21.88)

The timetabling with the 200m heats hot on the 100m final did not help the event but Asher-Smith would have won anyway from those who were entered. Consequently, getting three of the eventual top eight was the worst of our predictions but we were close on time.

We missed Brittany Brown who improved from 22.42 to 22.22.

400m

Prediction: 1 S Miller-Uibo (2); 2 S Eid Naser (1); 3 S Jackson (3); 4 S Wimbley (sf); 5 S McPherson (6); 6 P Francis (5); 7 K Ellis (sf); 8 W Jonathas (4). Winning mark: 48.65 (48.14)

Miller-Uibo was a huge favourite and ran a superb time but was still well beaten by Naser as we had the top six in our top eight.

800m

Prediction: 1 A Wilson (3); 2 H Green (ht); 3 N Goule (6); 4 E Sum (5); 5 L Sharp (ht); 6 R Rogers (2); 7 S Oskan-Clarke (sf); 8 C Bisset (ht). Not chosen: Nakaayi (1). Winning mark: 1:56.65 (1:58.14)

The winner, who was lucky to survive disqualification in her semi final, produced a superb finish and was one of the biggest shock winners in Doha. We had four of the top six but a number of expected high-placers struggled in the heats.

1500m

Prediction: 1 F Kipyegon (2); 2 S Hassan (1); 3 G Tsegay (3); 4 L Muir (5); 5 S Houlihan (4); 6 J Simpson (8); 7 R Arrafi (9); 8 W Chebet (7). Winning mark: 4:08.98 (3:51.95)

The fact that Hassan might not do the 1500m and run the 5000m instead clouded the selection but she won very easily in a fantastic European record time and shocked her opponents. The race did go close to form and all of top eight finished in the top nine but we were a mile out on the time.

5000m

Prediction: 1 H Obiri (1); 2 K Klosterhalfen (3); 3 L Gidey (dns); 4 M Kipkemboi (2); 5 H Feysa (8); 6 L Weightman (7); 7 E McColgan (10): 8 T Worku (dns). Winning mark: 14:48.65m (14:26.72)

Two of our top eight choices did not compete but the six who did, finished in the top eight. It is debatable whether Obiri would have won if Hassan competed but she ran a superb race controlling most of it and sprinting to victory.

10,000m

Prediction: 1 S Hassan (1); 2 H Obiri (5); 3 L Gidey (2); 4 S Teferi (6); 5 N Gudeta (dnf); 6 M Huddle (9); 7 R Wanjiru (4); 8 A Tirop (3). Winning mark: 31:06.54 (30:17.62)

Seven of our top eight made the top nine in a race which Hassan showed unprecedented finishing speed in any endurance race – 5000m or 10,000m.

Marathon

Prediction: 1 R Chepngetich (1); 2 L Salpeter (dnf); 3 R Aga (dnf); 4 S Demise (dnf); 5 R Dereje (dnf); 6 O Mazuronak (5); 7 S Eshete (dnf); 8 E Kiplagat (4). Winning mark: 2:30:45 (2:32:43)

The winner was a clear favourite but we struggled with the minor places and our next predicted four dropped out in the very high temperatures and humidity. 

3000m steeplechase

Prediction: 1 B Chepkoech (1); 2 E Coburn (2); 3 G Krause (3); 4 H Jepkemoi (8); 5 C Chespol (dnf); 6 C Frerichs (6); 7 W Yavi (4); 8 C Quigley (dnc). Winning mark: 8:55.55 (8:57.84)

The first three matched our predictions in one of our better selections that was also close to the winning time. Chepkoech was another endurance runner who showed their superiority by controlling the race at a quick pace, too much for her opponents.

100m hurdles

Prediction: 1 D Williams (3); 2 K Harrison (2); 3 N Ali (1); 4 B McNeal (dq ht); 5 J Brown (7); 6 T Amusan (4); 7 E Herman (sf); 8 C Roleder (sf). Winning mark: 12.31 (12.34)

The first three were chosen but not in the right order as Ali showed a big improvement on her previous 2019 form while Williams suffered  a rare off-day.

400m hurdles

Prediction: 1 S McLaughlin (2); 2 D Muhammad (1); A Spencer (6); 4 Z Hejnova (5); 5 R Clayton (3); 6 L Sprunger (4); 7 K Carter (dnf ht); 8 A Ryzhykova (7). Winning mark: 52.40 (52.16)

It was one of the greatest races in Doha and resulted in a world record and we wrongly chose the runner-up McLaughlin who fell 0.07 of a second short of the superb Muhammad who confirmed her No.1 position, for the moment at least. We had the first seven in our eight choices. 

High jump

Prediction: 1 M Lasitskene (1); 2 Y Levchenko (4); 3 V Cunningham (3); 4 K Demidik (6); 5 Y Mahuchikh (2); 6 A Palsyte (22q); 7 M Demireva (10); 8 I Herashchenko (23q). Winning mark: 2.03m (2.04m)

Our top five all made the top six as Lasitskene won as expected but was surprisingly pushed all the way by young Mahuchikh’s world junior records.

Pole vault

Prediction: 1 A Sidorova (1); 2 S Morris (2); 3 E Stefanidi (3); 4 J Suhr (eq7); 5 A Newman (5); 6 H Bradshaw (4); 7 Y Silva (11); 8 K Nageotte (eq7). Winning mark: 4.80m (4.95m)

In another high-quality contest, the first three were in the same order as we predicted and seven of our top eight made the top eight, with Silva the one exception.

Long jump

Prediction: 1 M Mihambo (1); 2 B Reese (13q); 3 N Mironchyk-Ivanova (5); 4 E Brume (3); 5 C Ibarguen (dnc); 6 A Rotaru (6); 7 M Bekh-Romanchuk (2); 8 T Bowie (4). Winning mark: 7.45m (7.30m)

There was no surprise in the winner or that she did not match our unlikely suggested distance but she came reasonably close in winning by a huge margin.

Of the seven in our predictions who competed, all made the top six except multi champion Reese who just made the final.

Triple jump

Prediction: 1 Y Rojas (1); 2 C Ibarguen (3); 3 S Ricketts (2); 4 K Orji (7); 5 L Povea (15q); 6 K Williams (4); 7 O Saladukha (5); 8 A Peleteiro (6). Winning mark: 15.50m (15.37m)

More proof that the women field events largely went to form as we had the first three (but not in the right order) and the top seven were in our top eight as Rojas was a class apart as expected.

Shot

Prediction: 1 Gong Lijiao (1); 2 C Schanwitz (3); 3 C Ealey (7); 4 D Thomas-Dodd (2); 5 M Carter (9); 6 F Roos (14q); 7 P Guba (10); 8 A Marton (5). Winning mark: 19.98m (19.55m)

Seven of our top eight made the top 10 in a competition that was the worst ever as opposed to the men’s which was the best shot ever!

Discus

Prediction: 1 S Perkovic (3); 2 D Caballero (2); 3 Y Perez (1); 4 Feng Bin (5); 5 V Allman (7); 6 C Vita (9); 7 Chen Yang (4); 8 N Muller (8). Winning mark: 69.84m (69.17m)

We had the obvious top three but in the wrong order as we incorrectly anticipated that Perkovic would return to her best form. Perez, with a poor championships record, finally got it right and we got it right as all our top eight made the top nine and we were close with the winning mark.

Hammer

Prediction: 1 D Price (1); 2 Wang Zheng (3); 3 G Berry (nm f); 4 M Kopron (13q); 5 A Tavernier (6); 6 J Fiodorow (2); 7 B Andersen (20q); 8 H Malyshik (10). Winning mark: 75.98m (77.54m)

Not as good as our other field predictions but we had four of the top six in an event that saw USA gain their first hammer success since the 1956 men’s Olympics.

Javelin

Prediction: 1 Lu Huihui (3); 2 S Kolak (7); 3 C Hussong (4); 4 K Barber (1); 5 T Kholodovich (6); 6 N Ogrodnikova (11); 7 B Spotakova (9); 8 Liu Shiying (2). Winning mark: 68.20m (66.56m)

All our top eight made the top 11 but we did not predict the surprise Australian win for Kelsey Barber.

Heptathlon

Prediction: 1 N Thiam (2); 2 K Johnson-Thompson (1); 3 E Bougard (4); 4 K Williams (5); 5 A Vetter (dnf); 6 X Krizsan (dnc); 7 V Preiner (3); 8 I Dadic (dnf). Winning mark: 7018 (6981)

The eventual top five were all in our top seven. We wrongly predicted a Belgian win (as did most experts) but Johnson-Thompson had her ideal competition and excelled in every event while Thiam was slightly below her best.

20km walk

Prediction: 1 Liu Hong (1); 2 Yang Jiayu (dq); 3 G Morejon (25); 4 Qieyang Shenjie (2); 5 A Palmisano (13); 6 Yang Liujing (3); 7 S Arenas (5); 8 E de Sena (4). Winning mark: 1:28:50 (1:32:53)

On a very hot evening, we had the eventual top five in our top eight but the conditions did cause a few upsets.

50km walk

Prediction: 1 E Giorgi (3); 2 J Takacs (8); 3 I Henriques (dnf); 4 Li Maocuo (2); 5 Ma Faying (5); 6 Liang Rui (1); 7 V Myronchuk (dnf); 8 P Perez (9). Winning mark: 4:10:23 (4:23:26)

Four of the top five were included in our top six but the conditions made predictions difficult and we were again way out in the winning time.

4x100m

Prediction: 1 JAM (1); 2 USA (3); 3 GER (5); 4 GBR (2); 5 CHN (dq f); 6 NED (sf); 7 SUI (4); 8 FRA (dq sf). Winning mark: 41.45 (41.44)

The eventual top five were in the top seven and Britain did better than we predicted as Jamaica won surprisingly easily considering their team was not at full strength. The winning time was one of our best predictions though, being just 0.01 of a second out. 

4x400m

Prediction: 1 JAM (3); 2 USA (1); 3 POL (2); 4 GBR (4); 5 CAN (dq F); 6 ITA (5 ht); 7 FRA (7 ht); 8 NGR (8 ht). Winning mark: 3:19.45 (3:18.92)

Jamaica were not as good as in the sprint relay as we predicted and were beaten by USA and Poland and should have been disqualified for lining up wrongly on the last leg. We had the top four in the wrong order but otherwise it was a bad selection.

Mixed 4x400m

Prediction: 1 USA (1); 2 POL (5); 3 GER (7 ht); 4 JAM (2); 5 GBR (4); 6 CAN (5sf); 7 UKR (7sf); 8 FRA (6sf). Not chosen: BRN (3). Winning mark: 3:12.45 (3:09:34)

We predicted four of the top five but underestimated Bahrain. The event has potential but was wrongly put at the start of the programme and most top individuals therefore did not take part.

Check out our reports on all of the action on the dedicated Doha 2019 section on our website here.

Head coach Eddie Jones says England are upset by the cancellation of their World Cup match against France but back World Rugby's decision.

Organisers called Saturday's game off on Thursday with Typhoon Hagibis set to bring violent winds and torrential rain to Tokyo and Yokohama at the weekend.

"Everyone's disappointed - we wanted to play against France," said Jones.

"We have put a lot of physical work, emotional, tactical work into it, but the situation is one we don't control."

With the game now to be recorded as a scoreless draw, giving each team two points, England will top Group C and are likely to meet Australia in the quarter-finals on 19 October.

What has been announced?

'We're just getting on with it'

Rumours emerged on Wednesday night in Japan that England's game might be switched to Oita, on the southern island of Kyushu, and be played behind closed doors.

But with the situation deteriorating and concerns growing about the safety of players, spectators and volunteers, tournament director Alan Gilpin and his team made the call to cancel both England's game and New Zealand against Italy, with Scotland's must-win game against Japan on Sunday also in doubt.

Jones said: "You can't help typhoons. The Japanese have a saying - 'shikata ga nai' ('nothing can be helped').

"We all like to think we've got power above and beyond what's on the world at the moment, but we don't - these things happen and you just ride with it.

"World Rugby has made a decision and we've got no issue with it and we're just getting on with it now."

England will now fly to Miyazaki, in the southern island of Kyushu, where they were based for their pre-tournament training camp.

They will train there over the weekend before heading to Oita on Monday, a three-hour journey by coach.

Tens of thousands of fans have been arriving in the Japanese capital for what was expected to be the biggest weekend of the tournament so far, with organisers pledging a full refund for those who had tickets for the 70,000-capacity Yokohama stadium.

Jones said: "I've just been walking around the streets and there are lots of people with disappointed faces.

"It's difficult for them, because this was going to be a special occasion, and we feel for them. We're lucky to have such great supporters.

"We found out officially this morning. There were rumours flying around last night so we were glued to our phones last night.

"We were preparing for the game, and when the game was on we were in game mode, and when the game was off we were on preparation mode.

"We can't control it. We're told what to do. We're participants in the tournament so we're told what to do."

The cancellation means England will go into the quarter-finals relatively untested after two straightforward wins over Tier Two nations in Tonga and USA and a thumping of 14-man Argentina.

They will also have a 14-day gap between matches, but Jones said his side would not arrive in the knockout stages undercooked.

"We've got a fairly exceptional record in two-week preparations. I think we're batting at about 95%, so we've got to find 5% from somewhere," said Jones.

"Our players have got the opportunity now to build the tank up and then empty it on Saturday week against whoever we're playing, so that's a fantastic opportunity for us.

"We're not concerned at all. We've absolutely excited.

"Who would think we would have two relatively easy games, one tougher one and then have two weeks to prepare for a quarter-final?"

The typhoon is expected to clear by Sunday morning, when tournament bosses will stage a comprehensive review to see if the four scheduled games - including Scotland's crunch clash with hosts Japan - can proceed as planned.

The deadline for a decision is six hours before kick-off.

Scottish Rugby wants World Rugby to devise "contingency plans" in the event Scotland's crucial final World Cup Pool A fixture against Japan is called off.

Gregor Townsend's side face being eliminated from the tournament as they currently lie third in the group.

Two Saturday fixtures have already been declared draws on safety grounds with Typhoon Hagibis forecast to hit Japan.

"We will work to ensure our fixture against Japan on Sunday can be played as planned," the SRU stated.

But a final decision on Scotland's game in Yokohama will not be made until the morning of Sunday's match, seemingly ruling out any rescheduling.

Scotland, whose head coach, Gregor Townsend, will speak at a Thursday media conference at 08:00 BST, lie third in their group and need to defeat Japan - and take four more points than the hosts - to progress to the knock-out stage.

Each team in Saturday's cancelled matches - New Zealand v Italy and England v France - have received two points.

Such a scenario would almost certainly see Scotland knocked out of the World Cup, with Ireland - should they beat Samoa - and hosts Japan advancing to the knockout stages.

While Scotland's governing body's statement added that "public safety is the clear priority," it stated: "Scottish Rugby fully expects contingency plans to be put in place to enable Scotland to contest for a place in the quarter-finals on the pitch and will be flexible to accommodate this."

Scottish Rugby strongly believes there are other avenues to be explored and the integrity of the competition should be protected.

Those could include playing Sunday's match later in the day, the following day, or changing the venue of the match.

While the matches already cancelled have been declared draws, there are provisions in the tournament participation agreement on "force majeure", which includes a "storm or tempest", concerning matches that cannot be played.

World Rugby's statement earlier on Thursday gave no indication that any alternatives were being considered other than the match being staged in Yokohama on Sunday.

"The decision to cancel matches has not been taken lightly and has been made in the best interests of public, team, tournament personnel and volunteer safety, based on expert advice and detailed weather information," the statement said.

"Every effort is being made to ensure Sunday's matches will be played as scheduled. A thorough assessment of venues will take place after the typhoon has passed before a final decision is made ‪on Sunday morning.

"Based on the advice of government authorities and experts, World Rugby and the Japan Rugby 2019 organising committee are advising fans in the Tokyo, Yokohama and City of Toyota areas to stay indoors on Saturday, not to travel."

Real Madrid's Gareth Bale said anger over his treatment and media speculation about his future at the Spanish club had not distracted him from giving his best on the pitch.

The 30-year-old forward was involved in a tense stand-off with coach Zinedine Zidane in the offseason, with the Frenchman stating he was keen for Bale to leave, although a reported move to Chinese club Jiangsu Suning in July was scrapped.

Bale has since forced his way back into Zidane's plans and helped Real go to the top of the league -- scoring two goals and providing two assists in six matches -- but reports continue to link the Welshman with a move away from Santiago Bernabeu.

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"You play with a lot of emotion, and anger comes into it, but I'm just trying to play football, enjoy it as much as I can and give my best," Bale told reporters ahead of Wales' Euro 2020 qualifier in Slovakia on Thursday.

"Whenever I step onto the pitch I give 100% to help the team ... I love meeting up with Wales. I haven't got anything to clear my mind about."

Wales manager Ryan Giggs suggested Bale's situation at the club had improved.

"It would have unsettled him because it was apparently very close for him going," Giggs said.

"Things do change quickly in football and now he's playing, he's loved, he's happy, and I expect him to carry on doing what he's doing for Real."

Wales are fourth in Group E with six points, but have a game in hand over leaders Croatia (10 points), Slovakia and Hungary (nine points each).

Welcome to ESPNcricinfo's live updates on the Pune Test. If the blog doesn't load for you straightaway, please refresh your page.

There will be a major change in the New Zealand broadcast landscape next year after NZC entered into a six-year deal with streaming service Spark Sport to show all home cricket ending a relationship with Sky that dates back to 1995.

Spark is showing the current rugby World Cup and will add New Zealand's men's and women's internationals as well as the T20 Super Smash competition and the domestic one-day final after the current deal with Sky ends in April 2020.

There will also be a small amount of cricket on free-to-air with TVNZ to show the first T20I of each men's and women's series along with a collection of Super Smash matches.

"This is a deal which future-proofs the whole of cricket in New Zealand," David White, the NZC CEO, said. "Live streaming is the future. It allows viewers to free themselves from fixed linear schedules to watch live, delayed, highlighted or clipped content when and where they choose, and on a wide range of devices.

"Together with the free-to-air component provided by TVNZ, this accord means more cricket games than ever before will be broadcast live. It's timely that we make this move now, at a time when more New Zealanders than ever - and especially young Kiwis, consume their sports content through digital devices."

There have been some challenges for Spark during the rugby World Cup with users complaining about the quality of the streaming while there are rural areas of New Zealand that do not have the internet connectivity available to access the service.

Sky currently retain the rights to New Zealand's overseas tours.

Sri Lanka coach Rumesh Ratnayake lavished praise on Pakistan upon the conclusion of his side's tour, calling the hospitality Sri Lanka had received "a privilege to be appreciated". Speaking to the media after the visitors beat Pakistan by 13 runs to complete a 3-0 T20I series whitewash, Ratnayake said the tour had gone very smoothly, and made him confident his side soon wouldn't be the only ones to have visited Pakistan.

"This tour is a message for the whole world, and especially a message for future Sri Lankans," Ratnayake said. "This has gone very smoothly. Us playing here will encourage so many other countries to also to be here.

"To experience the hospitality of Pakistan is a great thing; I've experienced it after a long, long time, and if anything, it's got even better. It was a lot of hard work for the whole system to have us here.

"You've done a great job in having us here and the security has been impeccable. I've enjoyed every moment of it even though some of us came in doubt. But the doubt has been taken out now so I would like to thank you all for making it happen."

Sri Lanka were originally scheduled to visit Pakistan for a two-match Test series, but with several first-team players opting against travelling, the PCB and the SLC agreed to have Sri Lanka over for a limited-overs tour. The Test series the sides are drafted to play against each other will form part of the World Test Championship, with wins and losses particularly significant in smaller series like this one. That is understood to be one of the major stumbling blocks for the series taking place in Pakistan, as Sri Lanka would not have their full-strength side to choose from.

However, with Sri Lanka cleaning up the T20I series in surprisingly comfortable fashion with the players available to them, and the general sense of safety Ratnayake said they felt over the fortnight, he sensed the prospect of his side playing Test cricket in Pakistan had increased. While admitting the board couldn't force anyone to come who wasn't willing, he suggested those watching at home would have seen "it is safe to be here".

"We'll certainly explain that to them and they'll have seen it as well. We'll try and convince them as much as we can, but we cannot enforce anything. Hopefully, they've changed by seeing this series be so successful.

"The crowd has been the same as 30 years ago; it hasn't changed," Ratnayake, who played seven Tests and 16 ODIs in Pakistan over the course of his career, said. "It was very touching when they were holding up signs saying 'Welcome Sri Lanka' and it was very moving to see that affection from the people."

"If you remember the first press conference I did here, I said we'll be playing against giants. We were the midgets then, so to speak, but now these boys are on par with anybody." Rumesh Ratnayake

But while the words off the pitch were friendly enough from the visitors, Sri Lanka haven't exactly been apprehensive guests, especially since they arrived in Lahore. A 2-0 ODI series win for Pakistan in Karachi suggested this might be the sort of tour on which Sri Lanka gained experience rather than having results go their way. But Lahore saw a remarkable turnaround, with the supposedly weakened hosts putting Pakistan to the sword in all three games, and sealing their first-ever 3-0 T20I whitewash in the process. Ratnayake said calling them a weak unit would be inaccurate.

"It was not the weakest team. We chose the best team. In Sri Lanka we have about 30-40 good players, so whichever we chose we were most confident of. We believed they could do something at the highest level. We emphasised being fearless and having that belief and also the confidence to take good decisions. Good decisions give you the chance of winning a match. They were fearless and they executed our game plans brilliantly.

"This performance will bring about a huge effect on the spectators, on our supporters, and on the players themselves. Our school system is a very good system. And those [young] players who are watching, the future players will certainly take heart from this and take courage and you'll see a huge impetus in the growth of the game in the future.

"What we were looking for is consistency. We won here, but as a coach what I'd like to see is do we have consistency in the future? This is just T20, there are two other formats, and we should not be over-awed by this. But certainly, we need to take a leaf from this and that should help us take it to another level in all aspects of the game."

It wasn't just that Sri Lanka didn't have their full quota to choose from. By the third T20I, they got downright funky with team selections. Having stuck with the same XI for the first two games, they decided to give the entire bench a run out for the final contest, making five changes. That, as some noted, effectively made the playing XI a third-choice side, but it wouldn't prevent the visitors from beating Pakistan by 13 runs. Indeed, the Players-of-the-Match in the second and third T20I were two Sri Lankan batsmen who had never played a single T20I game before this series.

"Some of them [the players] we wouldn't have seen if Asantha de Mel [chairman of selectors] hadn't taken the bold decision of playing the five players who hadn't been part of the side today. We weren't even sure what combinations we would play, but you saw Oshada Fernando and Bhanuka Rajapaksa in this series because of that."

West Indies captain Stafanie Taylor and legspinner Afy Fletcher have been named captains of NLCB Revellers and Courts Gladiators respectively, the two sides that will contest women's T10 exhibition matches in the lead-up to the final two CPL games of the season on October 10 and 12 in Trinidad.

Taylor is set to captain the Revellers, which will feature players from Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago and Leeward Islands, which has internationals Anisa Mohammad, Stacy-Ann King and Britney Cooper in the mix. Fletcher will lead the Gladiators, which will have players from Barbados, Guyana and Windward Islands and features Hayley Mathews, Kycia Knight and Kyshona Knight among others. The notable absentee from the squads is allrounder Deandra Dottin, who had been missing from West Indies' T20I squad to face Australia in September as she was still recovering from an injury.

"It is very pleasing to have an initiative such as this that the CPL has done for Women's cricket in the Caribbean," Taylor said. "It's a long time coming to potentially have a women's T20 franchise tournament here in the West Indies, bringing international players here to our conditions and pitches, just as we go to their leagues. No doubt this will aid Cricket West Indies in growing women's cricket in the region."

The two matches will take place before the second qualifier and final of this season's CPL, and ticket holders for those matches will be able to attend the women's games at no extra cost at the Brian Lara Stadium, according to a media release.

"Women's cricket is rapidly growing so kudos to the persons for taking the initiative to find different avenues to expose the talent of the ladies of the Caribbean," Fletcher said. "Knowing that we have a small pool of female cricketers, I strongly believe that this is a stepping stone to move forward and also a way of attracting the eyes of the young girls across the region."

NLCB Revellers squad: Stafanie Taylor (capt), Anisa Mohammed, Chinelle Henry, Natasha McLean, Chedean Nation, Jodian Morgan, Stacy-Ann King, Reniece Boyce, Britney Cooper, Felicia Walters, Karishma Ramharack, Caneisha Isaac, Shawnisha Hector

Courts Gladiators squad: Afy Fletcher (capt), Kycia Knight, Kyshona Knight, Hayley Matthews, Aaliyah Alleyne, Qiana Joseph, Akeira Peters, Erva Giddings, Shabika Gajnabi, Kaysia Schultz, Cherry-Ann Fraser, Sheneta Grimmond, Shakera Selman.