Ireland coach Joe Schmidt insisted he was "really happy" with his side's 35-0 World Cup win over Russia despite criticism of the performance.

Ex-England star Matt Dawson told BBC Radio 5 Live after Ireland's bonus-point win that they have "no chance" of beating New Zealand on current form.

The All Blacks are possible quarter-final opponents for the Irish.

"If you look at the stats, I am really happy with it [the display] and the team," said Schmidt.

The Ireland coach accepted that fans and pundits "will maybe have expected more of a performance" but he preferred to accentuate the positive in his post-match news conference.

"Yes there were a number of errors but we created a number of pressure points."

With three first-half tries in the bag, Ireland securing a bonus-point score appeared something of an inevitability after the break.

But it took them 22 minutes to secure the all-important score as Andrew Conway raced clear after good work from Keith Earls and replacement fly-half Jack Carty.

The game against Russia, ranked 20th in the world, was seen as an opportunity for Ireland to showcase their firepower in the aftermath of the shock loss to Japan.

"I don't think we lost our way, we just didn't convert some chances," said Schmidt of the game's third quarter.

"When you look back, there were some really good chances both in the first and second half.

"I felt our maul got going really well and we didn't get anything on the back of it a few times.

"We were in control of the game albeit not necessarily scoring."

'Today we did a job' - Sexton

After the quick turnaround between their second and third games, Ireland now have nine days before their final group game against Samoa in Fukuoka.

If they can claim another bonus-point victory then their place in the last eight is assured, with two-time reigning champions New Zealand or South Africa set to be their quarter-final opponents.

While the starting line-up for any potential quarter-final is likely to be vastly different from the side that took to the field against Russia, the feeling is Ireland will have to drastically up their game to go beyond the quarter-finals for the first time.

"It's hard to say [where we are] after a game like that," said Johnny Sexton.

"After Scotland we we felt we were in a brilliant place, after Japan we were fairly low.

"Today we did a job."

Sexton, captaining the side from the start for the first time, was removed from the action at half-time, which Schmidt insisted after the game was a tactical move as opposed to an injury-enforced replacement.

For the latest rugby union news follow @bbcrugbyunion on Twitter.

CONCORD, N.C. – Five races remain on the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series schedule.

That means there are five more chances for points leader Brandon Sheppard to make history and get his 19th feature win of the year, which would break the all-time single-season wins record.

This weekend, when the Outlaws take on another tripleheader weekend at Lavonia Speedway, Cherokee Speedway and 411 Motor Speedway, there will be another driver by the name of Brandon in the field who has defeated the Outlaws twice already this season and will, no doubt, be a big contender to do it again. Commonly referred to by his nickname of “Big Sexy,” it’s the 2015 World of Outlaws Rookie of the Year, Brandon Overton.

The Evans, Ga.-driver slayed the Outlaws in the season opener back in February at Screven Motor Speedway and again in late May at Cochran Motor Speedway; two tracks in his home state that he certainly knows his way around. Armed with several super late model wins around the Southeast and a Schaeffer’s Southern Nationals Series championship, Overton has definitely shown what he’s capable of in his first year behind the Rum Runner Racing No. 2.

Those new trophies on the shelf look great to everyone involved in the shop, but Overton’s competitive spirit keeps driving him forward every week to make it to victory lane every time he’s on the track. In short, he can never have too much success.

“I feel like we’ve accomplished what we set out to do,” Overton said. “But I also feel like we could have done better. I think when I first joined the team, we all had really high expectations. We haven’t done bad, it’s just that we set the bar so high for what we thought we were going to do this year that we’re now still urgently searching every week to win more races.”

Team owner and former full-time World of Outlaws wheelman Joey Coulter brought Overton onto the team over the winter of 2018-19, where they had almost immediate success with the expertise of crew chief Harold Holly – a personal friend of Overton and former crew chief of Coulter in his NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series days.

The trio has spent lots of time at the track and in the shop working on both their cars and communication skills throughout the season, which Overton and Coulter agree has helped the development of their team immensely.

“Sometimes, Joey helps Harold understand what I’m saying because they’ve been together for so long,” Overton said. “I can tell Joey something and then he’ll explain it to Harold a bit better than I can.”

“Once we all figured out how best to communicate with each other, Brandon adjusted to the way we run our program and we adjusted to the way Brandon drives the car, that’s when the wins started coming in,” Coulter said.

Overton and Holley’s friendship has remained the same, but the way they interact in the pit area has not. Overton said he’s had to make efforts throughout the season to work more professionally with his crew chief.

“Harold and I, we’ve been friends since I was about 13 years old,” Overton said. “He’s my crew chief but he’s been my friend for so long. Now he’s got a role to play with being my crew chief so it’s definitely different. I have to learn how to work differently with him than I used to.”

Coulter hasn’t forgotten the days of his time as an Outlaw in 2016 with Holley’s tutelage beside him. The things the two had become accustomed to while a part of NASCAR carried over into the new super late model team, which Overton eventually had to get familiar with himself.

“They’ve both raced at much higher level than I have,” Overton said. “I’ve never been a part of a team that operates like a NASCAR team does. They do things a lot different than I’m used to seeing, and that takes a little bit of time to get used to.”

At the end of the day, Coulter knows he made the right decision by putting Overton in the seat this year. He’s proud of the team he’s built since stepping out of the driver’s seat full-time and has nothing but positive aspirations for the road ahead. The consistency the team has shown over the past several months, he said, has been the biggest benchmark of success so far this year.

“Obviously, you can’t win every race. But when you can at least give yourself a chance to, night-after-night, from a car owner’s perspective, that gets everybody excited because it shows the strength and potential that your program has,” Coulter said.

With an eye toward the tracks ahead this weekend, both the driver and owner are confident in the team’s abilities to put it in victory lane at least once. Overton’s runner-up finish in the Southern Nationals event at 411 Motor Speedway back in late July showed just how close he could come to picking up a win at the Tennessee oval. But now, playtime’s over. He’s back with vengeance for a $10,000 check he just missed by one spot.

“I’ve actually gotten a little better at 411 the last few times I’ve raced there, so this is a good weekend to try and get another win,” Overton said.

“I think we’ve got a lot of good notes from running down there earlier this year, especially at 411,” Coulter added. “At this point, that place owes him a win. He’s been really close there the last few times and had some really strong runs. Obviously, he’s got a lot of great history at Cherokee. Lavonia might be the wildcard, but I know he’s been there before.”

INDIANAPOLIS — What hooked us all, I suppose, was the romance of racing, that weekly step into the unknown. And that is what brings us back, time after time.

Head out the door to a short-track evening full of excitement and mystery: Who’s going to be fast? Did so-and-so get his new car finished? Which outsiders might show up? Will our buddy remember to save us a couple seats? Man, I hope he saves those seats.

Sometimes, the buzz starts long before you reach the track. Up ahead on the highway, there’s a hauler. But whose? Go ahead, be an old grouch and complain that today’s enclosed trailers aren’t as cool as the ramp trucks of your youth.

That’s true; these unmarked toterhomes and box trailers are too plain for my taste, too. But even in that boxy, generic transporter, there’s a driver or a car owner, maybe both, with sweaty palms, wondering if this might be the night when it all comes together. They might have hauled across three states already to get where they’re going.

Among the thousands of fans who show up, some will have traveled as far as any race team. Others will be rabid locals. All are hoping that between the green flag and the checkered, they’ll see something special.

Yes, there is still plenty of romance in this game. The trick is to leave yourself open to it.

These days, every time you pick up the phone or wander into a race-town pub, someone wants to lecture you about all that is wrong with the sport. Blame that on social media; people are so used to posting their opinions that they now believe the world is dying to hear them. We’ve all got that friend who turns every conversation into his own depressing motorsports talk show.

If some of those mopes would get out more, something might remind them why they fell in love with this stuff in the first place.

Case in point: the eighth annual USAC Sprint Car Smackdown at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway, which had as many storylines as cars in the pits. For my money, the best two involved Thomas Meseraull and Tyler Courtney.

Meseraull, 38, is a NorCal guy who’s been kicking around Indiana for several years. His driving style is hammer-down. Nine nights out of 10, he’ll charge hard, and on the 10th he might charge too hard. He may be the non-winged world’s answer to Jac Haudenschild, bouncing in and out of different rides, making them all go fast and occasionally pushing one too far.

At Kokomo, Meseraull was in a local car belonging to rookie owner Tom Eades. On Thursday, opening night of the three-act Smackdown, he started the feature outside the front row, passed pole man Brady Bacon on lap nine and turned the rest of the 30-lapper into a driving clinic. Not even Meseraull’s own rim-riding exuberance could beat him. He was thrilling.

The Smackdown format is simple: Points earned on the first two nights lock the top eight drivers into a series of one-on-one “King of the Hill” duels that set the first four rows of the Saturday grid.

Meseraull’s Thursday victory and a seventh on Friday made him one of those fortunate eight and after he won his first runoff — theoretically locking himself into the first two rows — it looked like he had a real shot at the Smackdown’s $11,000 top prize.

But in the second round, an ambitious lunge for the lead put Meseraull on his head, turning Eades’ Cinderella sprinter into a smashed pumpkin. When the Smackdown finale lined up, “T-Mez” started last in a borrowed ride that went nowhere.

But that was low-grade drama compared to Courtney’s saga. The 25-year-old from Indianapolis had already won five USAC features this year. His runner-up finish on Thursday appeared to set him up beautifully for Saturday. But on Friday, Courtney did a most unusual thing: He made a mistake. His first time-trial lap was seventh fastest, but on his second he bicycled hard into the concrete wall. The impact sounded like the ringing of a chassis builder’s cash register.

His Clauson-Marshall Racing team had already unloaded its backup car when someone studying the wreckage said, “Hey, wait a second.”

Yes, the front axle and all the bolt-on suspension pieces were junk, but the frame looked kinda-sorta OK. The right-side downtube was bowed and the left-front shock mount bent, but weighing all that against the cons involved with a backup car — especially the loss of that qualifying lap — they gambled on a hasty rebuild.

That’s one of the great things about sprint cars: For all of their high-tech, expensive parts, they remain just crude enough that “close enough” can be just enough, as long as you’ve got a Tyler Courtney in the seat. He won the B main and hustled to fourth in the feature.

Come Saturday evening, Courtney beat Kevin Thomas Jr., Meseraull and C.J. Leary in his “King of the Hill” matches, earning the pole for the Smackdown. Forty laps later, he was in victory lane.

No honest man could tell you that he saw these storylines coming: Meseraull and his young team briefly looming as favorites and Courtney forced into an underdog role.

But that’s why the flagman waves the green flag and that’s why we show up: Because you never know.

AFTON, N.Y. – American Racer and Lias Tire Company have teamed up once again to spice up the Short Track SuperNationals at Afton Motorsports Park.

Match Races will be held for both the Modified and Sportsman divisions during the Columbus Day weekend event at the fairgrounds facility through the support of American Racer Tires, Lias Tire Company of Indiana, Pa., Sunoco Race Fuels and Insinger Performance of Dushore, Pa.

The 12th annual Short Track SuperNationals takes center stage at Afton Oct. 11-12.

Champions of the American Racer Cup are invited to take part in the one-on-one Match Race events.

On Friday night, each of the individual Sportsman (Open or Crate) track champions are invited to participate in the Match Races. The winner will take home $1,500 cash and all participants will receive a certificate for a free American Racer tire.

Saturday features the Modified One-On-One Match Races will $2,000 being reserved for the victor and free tire certificates going to all other participants.

Eligible competitors will draw numbers prior to the start of the Match Races. The low number will start off and then pick an opponent. The winner of each round selects the next opponent until the final round.

Competitors will start at a Sunoco start zone at the midway point of the backstretch and complete a lap-and-a-half.

All year-end tire certificates will be available for pick-up at Afton and American Racer/Lias Tire will have representatives on hand.

A reminder that the Match Races are established by the American Racer Cup standings (10 best finishes), not the track’s full season.

The Short Track SuperNationals began at Afton back on Columbus Day weekend in 2006 when then rookie event promoter Brett Deyo teamed with Pat and Janet Jordan to produce a two-day program geared for weekend racers. Over time, the SuperNationals evolved into the traveling Short Track Super Series and the event has prospered over a decade-plus at three different facilities.

The ’19 edition will again feature two days of short-track action on the racy Afton oval.

Saturday’s (Oct. 12) program is headlined by the 50-lap ‘Working Man’s Race’ Short Track SuperNationals for the Modifieds paying $5,500 to win for 50 laps, with $1,000 reserved for 10th and a minimum of $400 to take the green flag.

This event is Race No. 7 of the Bob Hilbert Sportswear Short Track Super Series (STSS) Fueled By Sunoco Halmar International North Region.

Modifieds will also take part in the aforementioned Match Races.

The Short Track Super Series Crate 602 Sportsman are on the docket for Saturday in the sixth and final round of the North Region. The 25-lap feature will pay the winner $1,500 and a champion will be crowned.

Also on the Saturday card: Street Stocks (20 laps, $750 to win) and a special appearance by the Mohawk Valley Vintage Dirt Modifieds in a pair of feature events.

Friday night’s (Oct. 11) event is topped by a Sportsman Challenge allowing both Open and Crate 602 Sportsman to take part. This 30-lap event pays $1,500 to win and an increased $2,000 to win if a driver posts the $20 “Gambler’s Fee” pre-race.

Sportsman Match Races are a Friday night highlight.

The Super Gen Products with Champion Power Equipment CRSA 305 Sprint Cars take part in the Friday program (25 laps) in addition to the Slingshots in a 20-lap, $350-to-win program.

Modifieds will have track time for practice in advance of Saturday’s event in addition to a Dash offering a redraw for Saturday’s 50-lap main.

AUSTIN, Texas – With a season-high number of entries and multiple championships at stake, the Trans-Am Championship presented by Pirelli descends on Circuit of the Americas to stage the penultimate race weekend of the national championship as well as the final event of the Trans-Am West Coast Championship season.

One of the most modern circuits on the Trans-Am schedule will play host to the thunder as the largest field of the year takes to the Texas track with a mix of 54 TA, TA2 powered by AEM, SuperGT and GT class machines.

The Trans Am Series will present two 102-mile (30-lap) races at the 20-turn, 3.427-mile circuit. The Trans-Am 100 race, featuring the TA/SGT/GT classes, will take place on Saturday, while the TA2 powered by AEM class will have the Muscle Car Challenge on Sunday.

The largest TA2 powered by AEM field of the year will look to get up to speed with a pair of test sessions on Friday, with qualifying set for Saturday.  With 33 TA2 cars entered for the weekend staked with season veterans like NASCAR star Mike Skinner and Texas-natives vying for the Southern Cup Championship, Virginia Int’l Raceway round winner Marc Miller can relax a little bit knowing he only has to take the green flag on Sunday to clinch the national TA2 championship.

“I absolutely love COTA,” said Miller. “It has a bit of everything and I have a lot of great friends in Austin and the racing environment is great. It would be nice to continue podium runs or have a shot at the pole there so my focus will be to keep the pressure on. SMR has done a great job preparing fast and reliable equipment for our team all year. As a driver I want to be able to reward them with race wins, podiums and a championship. Overall it would be great to see all of our full-season entries make it into top-10 results this year and bring home a Team Championship for SMR.”

With six top-10 finishes and one top-five standings so far this season, Lawless Alan has the opportunity to secure the Rookie of the Year award in TA2. While Alan could take top rookie honors at COTA, the NASCAR K&N Pro Series part-time driver is on the hunt for his first podium of the year.

“The competition in Trans-Am is world class,” said Alan. “You have drivers that have competed in IndyCar, IMSA, different European series, previous Trans-Am champions and some of the best road course drivers in the world. So to come in and be challenged with new tracks from week to week and then to also be running up front with this level of talent is just really fantastic.”

Defending TA class title holder and current points leader Ernie Francis Jr. is hoping to fend off Chris Dyson, as the duo are separated by 16 points leading into the penultimate round for the national TA class championship.  The event marks the second season that COTA sets the stage for the championship shootout between the two, as the Texas circuit saw Francis claim the 2018 victory ahead of Dyson on his run to the championship.

The championship in the SGT class was sealed up by Mark Boden three rounds early, therefore, Boden’s Porsche 991 GT3 Cup decided not to make the Texas trek for the penultimate round. Watkins Glen Int’l winner Aaron Pierce and three-time runner up Ken Thwaits are drivers to keep an eye on this weekend.

In the West Coast Championship, Simon Gregg clinched the TA class championship over rookie Michelle Nagai one round early at Portland Int’l Raceway. Gregg opted to enter just the National championship at COTA with a focus on keeping his top-five standing, leaving the West Coast Championship podium open for a new contender to take the top spot.

In the TA2 West Coast Championship finale at COTA, the stakes are even higher. There is no margin for error and every point matters as Anthony Honeywell and Brad McAllister enter the weekend just two points apart, having exchanged victories all season long.

After a two month break, Trans-Am West Coast Championship GT Class leader Roger Eagleton is looking forward to getting back in action at the Formula One Grand Prix Circuit to close up what has been a breakthrough year for the DIG Motorsports rookie.

WHEATLAND, Mo. – Kyle Slader piles up thousands of highway miles a year, sometimes bypassing tracks closer to his Oklahoma home, to pursue his racing endeavors.

“I like to go out and see a lot of different race tracks,” Slader said. “That makes it a lot more fun. If you get tied down to one race track, I think that kind of burns you out. You aren’t gonna get faster racing at one track every week, so I like to venture out, learn some stuff and try to get faster to help our program.”

For example, four times this year the 24-year-old Slader made the four-hour haul from Muskogee, Oklahoma to Lucas Oil Speedway in south-central Missouri. Each trip had a purpose.

“We were trying things for this weekend,” Slader said of the sixth annual Big Buck 50 Presented by Whitetail Trophy Hunt, one of the nation’s elite races for Street Stocks.

The three-night event – which includes full Warsaw Auto Marine & RV ULMA Late Model programs Friday and Saturday – opens Thursday with practice for both divisions and time trials for the Street Stocks. Qualifying heat races are set for Friday along with dashes for the top two finishers in each heat, before the alphabet mains and 50-lap main event on Saturday.

Slader’s four test sessions, during Lucas Oil Speedway’s Big Adventure RV Weekly Racing Series season, produced two wins, one second-place finish and one DNF.

“Each time, I went with a different set-up on the car,” Slader said. “I was lucky enough to win two of them. The one that I ran second, the car was out of balance and way too tight. But the reason for the different setups when I was there, in different track conditions, was to see what the car was going to need.

“We were trying stuff and I know what worked and what didn’t work. We won’t have to second-guess anything for a $10,000 race.”

Slader, who also races a B-Mod about once a month, said he’s spent the last several days going over every nut and bolt on his car.

“We have a pretty good weekly program, but for this race a lot goes into it,” Slader said. “We disassemble the car and go over every detail just to make sure there’s nothing we need to replace.

“I mean, between this and Batesville, it’s the biggest races of the year for Street Stocks. You have to make sure that you have your stuff right.”

Ninety-six Street Stocks entered the Big Buck 50 two years ago, when it was a $5,000-to-win race. Last year’s event was rained out and Slader said the anticipation – plus the bigger prize money – has everyone amped.

He expects at least 100 cars with quality to match quantity.

“You have a lot of really fast, good drivers in the Street Stock class,” Slader said. “It’s really competitive and you have to stay on your game and do your homework to be able to run up front with those guys.”

Driving a Tony Jackson Jr.-built car owned by Shannon Scott of Muskogee’s Henryetta Ford, Slader said it’s been a solid season.

A third-generation racer, Slader said a key will be securing a good starting position for Saturday’s 50-lap finale with a good performance in qualifying.

“You really want to qualify for the front row of your heat so you don’t have to do so much hard work driving through the field in the heat races,” he said. “You want to get locked into the show if you can.

“Two years ago, the first time they ran the alphabet mains (on Saturday) I broke in the heat race. I can’t remember if I was in the C or the D, but I came through all of them and got into the A Main, where I broke. So if you qualify good, it starts your weekend out right. If you don’t qualify good, you’re behind the 8-ball.”

No matter where he might start in the feature, Slader said his strategy will be the same. While some talk about extra patient being required for a longer-than-normal feature, Slader said he will be in full-go-mode from the start.

“Lucas is not hard on tires,” he said. “As long as you have a good set of tires, you can get away with driving hard all 50 laps without hurting the tires.”

Two days after a cellphone incident boiled over and led to a three-year suspension for a player on the Korean Tour, the PGA Tour warned its members of possible cellphone interruptions during the circuit’s upcoming Asian swing.

A memo was sent to Tour players Wednesday explaining that “it is illegal in South Korea and Japan for any mobile phone manufacturer to sell a phone that allows the user to silence the faux shutter sound on their mobile phone camera.”

The CJ Cup in South Korea and the Zozo Championship in Japan will be played later this month.

At last week’s DGB Financial Group Volvik Daegu Gyeongbuk Open, Bio Kim lost his temper after a cellphone camera shutter went off during his downswing on the 16^th hole on Sunday. Kim flipped off the crowd and slammed his club into the ground.

The Korean PGA announced Tuesday that Kim was suspended for three years for making the obscene gesture.

In an attempt to avoid similar situations at the CJ Cup and Zozo Championship the Tour explained in Wednesday’s memo that marshals at both events “will instruct spectators not to distract players on the tee boxes, in the landing areas and around the greens by taking pictures during a swing.”

Andre Russell, Glenn Maxwell and Harbhajan Singh are among the 165 overseas players to have registered for the inaugural draft of The Hundred, ESPNcricinfo can reveal.

The first handful of overseas stars who have signed up for the tournament were released on Tuesday, and included many of the biggest names on the T20 circuit, including Rashid Khan, Chris Gayle, David Warner, Aaron Finch and Babar Azam.

The full list of overseas players ahead of the main player draft on October 20 includes players from 11 different countries, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Ireland and Nepal.

The most notable absentee comes in the form of AB de Villiers, who had previously expressed his interest in playing in the competition. De Villiers said in January that he was open to playing in the tournament, but ESPNcricinfo understands that he has no plans to do so.

It is understood that de Villiers' primary concern is not about money - the top band of draft picks will be paid £125,000 for their involvement in the tournament - but instead scheduling, with each team's eight group games spread out over the course of a month rather than a shorter time period.

He is due to play in the Big Bash League this winter for Brisbane Heat, and remains one of the most sought-after figures on the global T20 circuit, so his non-involvement represents something of a blow to the competition.

As anticipated, India's white-ball stars like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah have not entered the draft, in line with the BCCI's refusal to allow active internationals to play in overseas domestic leagues that rival the IPL. Harbhajan is the only Indian player to have registered, and may have to announce his retirement from international cricket if he is picked up.

ALSO READ: Harbhajan enters player draft for The Hundred

That said, the full list of overseas players still includes the vast majority of the world's top T20 players, and the tournament comes during a quiet period in the Future Tours Programme.

Eight players have set their reserve price at the highest possible salary of £125,000 (USD155,000). They are the Australian trio Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc and David Warner, South Africans Quinton de Kock, Lungi Ngidi and Kagiso Rabada, and T20 legends Lasith Malinga and Chris Gayle.

Seventeen overseas players have entered with a reserve price of £100,000 (USD124,000), including Harbhajan, Russell, Maxwell, Rashid Khan, Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Sandeep Lamichhane, Shahid Afridi, Dwayne Bravo, Sunil Narine and Kieron Pollard.

Players with a £75,000 (USD93,000) base price include Dale Steyn, Babar, Marcus Stoinis and Mohammad Hafeez. Nicholas Pooran, Martin Guptill, Faheem Ashraf and Shaheen Afridi have £60,000 (USD74,000) base prices.

Imad Wasim, D'Arcy Short, Evin Lewis and Mitchell Santner headline those with a £50,000 (USD62,000) base price, while Thisara Perera, Alex Carey, Lendl Simmons and Shimron Hetmyer could get picked up for as little as £40,000 (USD50,000).

Sixty-seven players have not set a reserve price, meaning that they could be paid as little as £30,000 (USD37,000) for their involvement in the competition. Potential moneyball-style picks without a reserve price include Chris Green, Ashton Turner, Fabian Allen and Adam Milne.

The ECB's attempts to bring the game to a new audience could be furthered if some of the six Afghanistan players or the six Bangladeshis are selected. Both teams' World Cup games were well-attended, and the ECB's research suggested that the "demographic profile" for ticket-buyers is wider for international than domestic fixtures.

The Afghanistan players in the draft are Rashid, Qais Ahmad, Zahir Khan, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman, while Mohammad Mithun, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mustafizur Rahman, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib and Tamim are the Bangladesh players on the long list.

Several players, including Lamichhane, Lynn and Narine are beneficiaries of the ECB's decision to change their visas regulations. Until this season, players had to have played at least one Test or 15 white-ball internationals in the preceding 24 months for an ICC Full Member to qualify for a 'governing body endorsement' from the ECB, necessary for any player hoping to apply for a visa.

But with The Hundred in mind, the ECB successfully lobbied the Home Office to change those stipulations, with a clause added allowing those who have played at least 20 T20 games in the past 24 months to secure an endorsement.

Paul Stirling is the lone Irish representative in the longlist, as he now qualifies as an overseas player. Stirling is in an unusual situation as a British passport holder but an Ireland international, and recently told the Telegraph that he was "baffled" about the fact he would have to play as a non-local.

Each team will be permitted three overseas players in their squad and in their playing XI.

Harbhajan Singh is the solitary Indian player to enter the draft for the inaugural season of The Hundred, which starts in July 2020. Harbhajan, who last played for India during the 2016 Asia Cup, has put his base price at £100,000.

Senior off-spinner Harbhajan is one of the 25 overseas player on the longlist with a base price of £100,000 (US$124,000) or more with the draft scheduled for October 20 in London.

The development is likely to raise eyebrows in the BCCI considering no Indian player can participate in overseas T20 leagues without having retired. Recently Harbhajan's former India and Punjab team-mate Yuvraj Singh featured in the Global Canada Twenty20, but that was possible only because the allrounder had retired.

ESPNcricnfo understands Harbhajan, who is 39, is keen to feature in The Hundred, but he is yet to approach the BCCI, which he will only do if he is picked in the draft. The tournament rules dictate only three overseas players are allowed in the squad as well as the team. In the extreme case where the only option left to him is to retire, it is understood that Harbhajan would not be shy to take that step.

Harbhajan's 417 Test wickets puts him as the 13th-highest wicket-taker overall and the third on the all-time Indian list in the longest format. In ODI cricket, Harbhjan is fifth on the all-time India list with 260 wickets. Despite having featured in the inaugural World T20 that India won in 2007, Harbhajan has only played 28 T20Is.

However, his stock in the IPL has always soared, where he is joint-third on the all-time list grouped with legspinner Piyush Chawla at 150 wickets. After a long and successful stint at Mumbai Indians, Harbhajan was bought by another multiple-IPL winner, Chennai Super Kings, led by old friend MS Dhoni in 2018. In the last two years, Harbhajan has been used by Dhoni mostly in the Powerplay where he has taken 11 wickets at an economy rate of 8.4 and average of 25. Overall he has 23 wickets in the last two seasons of the IPL in 23 innings at an economy rate of 7.67 and an average of 25.30.

Although Harbhajan waits in expectation for an India call-up, he is at the same time well aware that he has a limited shelf life as far his playing career is concerned. In 2020 he will be 40 and he will believe he still has at least two years left in him to play the shortest formats. For the past few years he has only featured regularly in the IPL. He stopped playing domestic cricket last year as he did not want to take up a position that could go to a young player.

Realistically the chances of the BCCI relaxing the rules remain highly unlikely. That would put the onus on Harbhajan, who would then need to retire to feature in the overseas leagues.