MEXICO CITY -- Estadio Azteca owners are set to take legal action against vendors who were caught watering down beers at the famous stadium by filling part of the cup with liquid from the ice-filled bath the beers are stored in.

A video purporting to show a beer seller employing the practice during Club America's 1-0 victory over Morelia last Saturday went viral in Mexico, where it is normal for vendors to wander around the stands during the game to sell food and beer.

El #EstadioAzteca no acepta prácticas que afecten a la afición. Circula un video que exhibe a vendedores alterando producto. Ya se retiró a los implicados permanentemente de las instalaciones. Estamos ejerciendo acciones legales. No permitiremos estas conductas.

— Estadio Azteca (@EstadioAzteca) August 18, 2019

"Estadio Azteca doesn't accept practices that affect fans," read a statement on the stadium's social media accounts. "A video is circling that shows vendors altering the product. Those implicated have been removed from the premises. We are starting legal action. We won't allow that behavior."

This isn't the first time the issue of diluted beer has made headlines in Mexico during the 2019 Apertura season.

A video taken during a Santos Laguna game in late July appeared to show beer sellers emptying out leftover beer into what appeared to be a dirty bucket on the floor and then re-serving it to customers.

Ousmane Dembele has been ruled out for five weeks with a hamstring strain to leave Barcelona short of forwards ahead of Sunday's game against Real Betis.

Dembele, 22, underwent tests at the club's training ground on Monday after ending Friday's loss to Athletic Bilbao with a slight problem.

The injury to Frenchman comes at an unfortunate time for Barca, who are already without Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.

Messi hasn't featured for the club since the end of last season after injuring his calf in his first training session back after a summer break earlier this month.

Suarez, meanwhile, was taking off during the first half of the 1-0 loss at San Mames last week, also with a calf problem.

The Uruguayan is not expected back until after September's international break, although coach Ernesto Valverde could potentially have Messi available for the Betis game this weekend.

Messi has not yet returned to full training with his teammates but has been doing recovery work at the training ground for the last week. Valverde opted not to risk him against Athletic.

Antoine Griezmann, therefore, is currently the only fit first-team forward. Rafinha can also play in a more advanced position, as have the likes of Sergi Roberto and Carles Alena in the past, while B team winger Carles Perez has also been training with the first team all summer.

Philippe Coutinho, though, has just completed a move to Bayern Munich and Malcom was sold to Zenit Saint Petersburg.

It leaves Valverde short in attack for the visit of Betis, a game which has grown in importance following a surprise opening day defeat in the Basque Country.

Dembele, a €120 million signing from Borussia Dortmund in 2017, has been plagued by injuries since moving to Camp Nou. He missed the majority of his first campaign at the club with muscle injuries and parts of last season with an ankle injury and a hamstring problem.

His latest in a number of fitness setbacks, coupled with Suarez and Messi both being 32, shows why the Spanish champions are so keen to bring Neymar back to the club.

Sources told ESPN FC on Monday that the club are preparing to make another offer to re-sign the Brazilian this week, firstly on loan with an option to make the move permanent this summer.

Coutinho's move to Bayern -- the ex-Liverpool man was offered in a part-exchange deal last week -- has made it difficult for Barca to sign Neymar outright before the transfer window closes.

Paris Saint-Germain are set to reject an expected loan offer from Barcelona for wantaway striker Neymar, according to ESPN FC sources.

Earlier on Monday, ESPN FC sources in Barcelona said that the Catalans were set to make a loan offer for Neymar with an option to buy next summer, but it appears that proposal would be dead on arrival in Paris.

The Parisians expect the loan offer to land on Tuesday or Wednesday, but that option does not suit the Ligue 1 holders, according to sources.

PSG's Qatari owners have been disappointed by the attitude of Neymar this summer and are ready to let him leave, but only if they can recoup as much of the €222 million they spent to bring him to Paris in the summer of 2017.

There is also the belief in Paris that Barcelona will not be able to pay the transfer fee in one lump sum next summer should they make the move permanent and would ask to pay in annual installments, which is not ideal for the French club.

PSG sporting director Leonardo is trying to get as much money in cash as possible for Neymar, hoping to recoup at least €200m. The situation is further complicated by Philippe Coutinho's loan move to Bayern Munich, making a potential deal for Neymar harder to pull off as PSG had hoped the Barcelona midfielder could be a makeweight in some kind of cash-plus-players deal.

Neymar still wants to leave the Parc des Princes this summer and his preference is to go back to Barcelona where he played between 2013 and 2017.

Sources say the Brazilian superstar is trying to stay positive but he knows that a deal to see him returning to the Camp Nou is getting more and more difficult.

Neymar, who continues to train on his own away from the first team, has not played in either of PSG's two opening Ligue 1 matches so far this season, with Leonardo saying that he will not be involved until his situation is resolved.

WOLVERHAMPTON, England -- Paul Pogba had a penalty kick saved as Manchester United missed the chance to go top of the Premier League after a 1-1 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers on Monday night.

Pogba's spot kick was kept out by Rui Patricio after Ruben Neves' stunning 20-yard strike had cancelled out Anthony Martial's opener. It meant that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team had to settle for a point and missed the chance to go top of the Premier League table for the first time since September 2017 -- 695 days ago.

Martial's second goal of the season gave United a deserved lead at half-time before Neves beat David De Gea with a curling effort that kissed the underside of the crossbar as it went in. The goal was given by referee Jon Moss, but only after a protracted video review. United recovered from a shaky start to the second half to end the game on top, but Pogba's miss denied them a first win at Molineux since 2012.

Positives

It was a risk for Solskjaer to sell Romelu Lukaku without signing a replacement but, so far, Martial has justified his manager's faith as United's No. 9. He should have done more with a chance at the back post from Marcus Rashford's cross, but there was nothing wrong with his movement and finish for the opening goal. That's two in two after scoring against Chelsea, and his 50th for the club in little more than four years at Old Trafford. He should be aiming to add at least 20 to that total this season.

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- Marcotti's Musings: City unlucky vs. Spurs, but don't blame VAR

Negatives

After a controlled first half, United didn't start well after the break. Solskjaer was out on the touchline early in the second half trying to lift his players, but it didn't work and Neves scored soon afterwards. It is difficult for any team to stay on top for 90 minutes, but United cannot afford to go through periods of the game where they switch off. Chelsea didn't manage to punish them, but they weren't that fortunate against Wolves.

Manager rating out of 10

5 -- You have to wonder why Solskjaer has not chosen a designated penalty taker. Rashford scored from the spot against Chelsea after a conversation with Pogba, but here Pogba won the debate and his kick was saved. It was the fourth time the Frenchman has missed a penalty from 11 attempts since the start of last season.

Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best, players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)

GK David De Gea, 6 -- Lucky that Raul Jimenez's header didn't end up in the net after hitting him on the way back off the post. Could do nothing about Neves' equaliser.

DF Aaron Wan-Bissaka, 7 -- It's incredible how many times he wins the ball back in situations where he should get nowhere near it. His Spiderman nickname is well deserved.

DF Luke Shaw, 6 -- Played his part in the opening goal with a long burst forward from left-back. Different game for him when Adama Traore came on at half-time.

DF Victor Lindelof, 6 -- Nearly got himself into trouble with a sliced clearance that ballooned into the air on the edge of the box.

DF Harry Maguire, 7 -- Missed a challenge on Jimenez in the first half but won almost everything in the air. Defended well.

MF Scott McTominay, 6 -- Neves and Joao Moutinho dominated the games against United last season, but McTominay did enough to make sure they didn't have it their own way here.

MF Paul Pogba, 6 -- Great run forward from midfield to win the penalty but saw his kick saved by Patricio after taking the ball off Rashford.

MF Jesse Lingard, 6 -- Looks far more effective playing centrally than he does out wide. Puts in a lot of work off the ball that is key to the way Solskjaer wants to play.

FW Daniel James, 6 -- Making his first competitive start for United. Worked hard but didn't get much joy forward. Booked for diving.

FW Marcus Rashford, 7 -- Wonderful skill on the left to create the first chance of the night for Martial. Beautifully weighted pass for the first goal.

FW Anthony Martial, 7 -- Should have done better with an early chance from Rashford's cross but made up for it with a finish punched into the top corner with his left foot.

Substitutes

MF Juan Mata, N/R -- Replaced Lingard with nine minutes remaining.

MF Andreas Pereira, N/R -- Came on for the final minute plus stoppage time in place of Rashford.

FW Mason Greenwood, N/R -- The second of a double substitution in the 89th minute, taking James' place.

Middlesex 75 (Robinson 8 for 34) and 149 for 4 (Robson 61*) trail Sussex 309 (Wells 62, Carey 56, Beer 77, Roland-Jones 5 for 70) by 85 runs

A quorum of former Guardian cricket writers had descended upon Hove by pure happenstance on the second day and after much reminiscing about Great Stories We Have Known nobody had the faintest idea how to best write this piece. For much of the day nothing hugely newsworthy had happened. Which, in a funny sort of way, was exactly what Middlesex needed.

When you are bowled out for 75 on the first day, and suffer a heavy first-innings deficit as a consequence, about the best you could hope for in Middlesex's position was that the pitch quietened, the match became a backdrop for spectators' idle chatter and the second-innings score mounted quietly without anybody really noticing.

Sam Robson, a good player, slight yet judicious, and eminently capable of going about his work with barely a murmur, made an admirable to maintain that mood until the close. He closed on 61 from 140 balls, a selective knock with 10 boundaries, but Middlesex, at 149 for 4, still trailed by 85.

Middlesex's first task if they were to get back into the match, was to subdue Ollie Robinson who had returned 8 for 34 - the best figures in the Championship this season - in the first innings. Robson did so admirably, taking 26 from 42 balls from Robinson without much sign of risk. On this occasion, he met the medium pace of Tom Haines more cautiously, finding release only once in a drive down the ground.

By the close, however, Robinson's match tally had swollen to 10 wickets. Stevie Eskinazi was bowled through the gate in the first over and Paul Stirling, who made a third-ball nought, was to fall in identical fashion on a floodlit evening. Jared Warner had Nick Gubbins caught at second slip, although his most dangerous ball came late on when he had Robson leaping in self preservation.

That left Dawid Malan, a prize wicket, an excellent first scalp for the debutant left-arm spinner, Elliot Hooper. Malan was unfortunate as his dead bat could not prevent the ball from running into the stumps. He has had a fine season for all that and one senses that in a parallel universe, with England clearly needing an uncompromising character in the middle order, he would be batting against Australia in the Ashes.

If Middlesex's descent to 74 all out was galling enough on the opening day, at least it owed much to the excellence of Robinson on a surface that seamed little and often. But their concession of a first-innings lead of 234 must have been more exasperating for their coach Stuart Law as they dragged them back into the match only to throw it all away in a careless half-hour before lunch.

Sussex resumed at 128 for three with a lead of 53 and, although Luke Wells and Alex Carey both registered half-centuries in extending their fourth-wicket stand to 125 in 38 overs, the loss of four wickets for 11 runs in 37 balls thrust Middlesex back into the match.

Toby Roland-Jones took three of them, running in long and languidly from the Cromwell Road End, a bowler with an approach so extensive that it might have a bus stop en route. He did not find the movement that Robinson had on the first day, but he finished with a creditable 5 for 70, removing Wells with a chip into the leg side, Carey to an on-drive that flew to second slip and David Wiese, caught at the wicket for nought. Ben Brown perished, too, for nought, cutting at Tim Murtagh.

With Sussex's lead 76, and three wickets to get, Middlesex were back in the match, only to cast aside their recovery in a dreadful half hour before lunch when Steven Finn and James Harris leaked 57 in six overs down the slope - and one of those was a Finn maiden.

There were 13 boundaries in that spell and, as well as Robinson and Will Beer counter-attacked, many of them were gifts. As another half volley was dispatched to an invitingly short leg side boundary, the opening line of Amy Winehouse's song, "Me & Mr Jones", came to mind.

Ever since he made a century on debut for Sussex, Robinson's danger with the bat has been apparent and Beer, primarily a legspinner, has busied himself over much of the past decade as Sussex 2nd XI's most reliable batsman. Nevertheless, as a soft period that exemplified why Middlesex why lie sixth when many expected them to be comfortably in the top three it took some beating.

By the time Robinson tapped back a full toss from the legspinner Nathan Sowter immediately after lunch, Sussex were running free. Even at nine down, Middlesex were not free from self-inflicted wounds, this time quite literally as Beer slapped Sowter's long hop to long off where Finn was struck in the face as the ball ran through his hands.

Vijay Shankar and Shardul Thakur are set to return to top-flight cricket with the upcoming five-match one-day series against South Africa A in Thiruvananthapuram. The BCCI named two India A squads - one for the first three matches and another for the last two games - and Vijay and Thakur were named in both of them, with Manish Pandey and Shreyas Iyer sharing captaincy duties.

Thakur returns to competitive cricket after recovering from his foot surgery right after the IPL. Vijay, meanwhile, had his maiden World Cup campaign brought to a premature end by a Jasprit Bumrah toe-crusher in the nets, only three games since his tournament debut. His recent outings at the TNPL fetched him only 10 runs and three wickets in three games for Chepauk Super Gillies.

Nitish Rana and Sanju Samson, whose last appearances in competitive cricket came during the IPL, were also among the 22 players who were picked for the series, which will run from August 29 to September 6.

While Rana, the Kolkata Knights Riders batting allrounder, also made it to both squads - each comprising 15 players - Samson was assigned wicketkeeping duties for only the fourth and fifth games, in which Iyer will lead the side. Ishan Kishan, meanwhile, will keep wickets for the first three matches, under Pandey's captaincy.

Samson and Iyer were among the seven players to have been named only for the last two games, alongside quick bowlers Tushar Deshpande and Ishan Porel, batsman Prashant Chopra, and spinners Washington Sundar and Rahul Chahar who were both part of the T20I side that played against West Indies recently.

India mainstay Yuzvendra Chahal, meanwhile, featured in both squads, so did Shubman Gill, Shivam Dube, Anmolpreet Singh, Ricky Bhui, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, and Rana. Krunal Pandya, Khaleel Ahmed, Deepak Chahar and Pandey were the absentees from the squad for the last two matches.

Gill, the top-scorer during India A's four-match one-day series against West Indies, might be the first-choice opener for all five matches, with Ruturaj Gaikwad, who finished second on the run-scorers' list during the same series was picked only for the first three games against South Africa A, as his opening partner.

A squad for first three one-dayers: Manish Pandey (capt.), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Anmolpreet Singh, Ricky Bhui, Ishan Kishan (wk), Vijay Shankar, Shivam Dube, Krunal Pandya, Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Khaleel Ahmed, Nitish Rana

A squad for last two one-dayers: Shreyas Iyer (capt.), Shubman Gill, Prashant Chopra, Anmolpreet Singh, Ricky Bhui, Sanju Samson (wk), Nitish Rana, Vijay Shankar, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Rahul Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Tushar Deshpande, Ishan Porel

Two Tests into a pulsating Ashes series, and the notion of "redemption" is already becoming very tedious. One journalist at Lord's even added the word to his listed of muted phrases on Twitter on Sunday afternoon, at the moment that Ben Stokes clipped Nathan Lyon off his toes to jog through to his seventh Test century and - lest we fail to notice the elephant in the room, let alone ignore it - his first since the events outside Mbargo nightclub on September 25, 2017.

Before the Fall. After the Fall … can't we all just move on? Just as Steven Smith is still being expected by some to keep apologising for events that occurred close to two years ago now, in spite a series of on-field performances that confirm that the sport is so much richer for his involvement than his banishment, so Stokes too can't help but be judged by his returns in the context of that incident.

And yet, it is clear that for Stokes in particular, that terrible night in Bristol and its career-threatening aftermath remain as enduringly relevant as ever, not because he feels he deserves to be punished for evermore, but because of his desire to bury those lingering bad memories between a mountain of new accolades.

And so it wasn't enough for Stokes to light the flame of the 2019 World Cup with that extraordinary outfield catch in the tournament opener at The Oval. Or to carry the team's batting when the wheels started to wobble in defeats against Sri Lanka and Australia. Or to dig deep and refuse to falter when New Zealand surged in the early stages of England's run chase in the final. Or to go beyond even his own exhausting limits, and do it all again minutes later in the Super Over.

No, that was just the start for Stokes as he enters, at 28, his prime as an international sportsman. Speaking to ESPNcricinfo's George Dobell in Jaipur earlier this year, Stokes said that his personal motivation for winning the World Cup was to ensure that the feat became the first paragraph of his rewritten player profile. That objective duly achieved, he's making a play for the rest of the word-count.

And so, in that context, a first Test century since Bristol feels very significant indeed. Not to mention, a first Test century at Lord's since his riotously carefree 101 from 92 against New Zealand four years ago. And his first against Australia since in December 2013 when, in only his second Test, he went toe-to-toe with Mitchell Johnson on a Perth flier, scoring 120 from 195 in an exhibition of pugnacity that was entirely at odds with the timid tone of England's overall campaign.

Self-evidently he's not the same cricketer that he was before his life choices became tabloid fodder. Prior to his recall in New Zealand in February 2018, Stokes' international career been rattling along at a strike-rate of 98.74 in ODIs and 63.77 in Tests (or 3.82 an over, brisk by any standards). Now that he has placed a greater premium on his wicket, those numbers have slipped to 87.16 and 48.45 respectively. And if, in doing so, he has sacrificed a few top-notes of destruction, then he's also sent self-destruction packing at the same time. That run of ODI form in early 2014, for instance - 0, 5, 5, 4, 0, 4, 0, punched locker, broken hand - isn't going to be replicated in a hurry.

And so it was fitting that Stokes' first Test century of his new era was a hard-fought grind. He could have been out three times in his first six balls as Lyon ragged it out of the rough outside the left-hander's off stump, and would have been out for 6 from 13 balls had Lyon again reviewed an lbw appeal that was hitting leg.

But somehow, he found a means to endure, by sliding ever deeper into his crease, watching the turn and shelving the sweep, and taking it upon himself to be the sheet-anchor that this England batting line-up so desperately needs, as it attempts an urgent and cruelly abrupt metamorphosis from pro-active, hard-handed white-ball bullies to soft-power Test survivors.

And on that note, it is also telling how Stokes' name has been exempt from the mutterings of post-World Cup burn-out that have afflicted so many of his team-mates in that glorious campaign. Jason Roy looks lost at the top of the order, Joe Root's form is in freefall, Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow are fighting against instinct to make that transition. Moeen Ali has been canned, and is currently bowling seam-up for Worcestershire in a losing cause at Northampton. Aside from Stokes, only Chris Woakes and the new boy Jofra Archer seem genuinely unaffected by what's gone before, though Archer may be facing exhaustion issues of a different type if 44 overs per Test becomes the norm.

ALSO READ: Archer could be the weapon that turns the series - Root

"It was a dogged hundred," Stokes admitted of an innings in which his first fifty came from 106 balls, a notch below that post-Bristol strike-rate. "I'm proud of how I managed to get through from not feeling great to playing my shots. That comes from experience and knowing all kinds of situations, Tests, ODIs, just finding a way to get there, keeping an eye on how many overs, how many runs to get us there."

"I looked at the score at 60-70 and I had no idea how I was still there," he added. "I was speaking to Graham Thorpe [the batting coach], saying 'nothing is working', and he said 'just find a way'. I know the bigger picture but sometimes you get annoyed. When it got to the stage where I could start playing my shots, everything felt a bit easier."

And it's a measure of Stokes' exhaustive groundwork that, once the time came to flick that switch, with England suddenly 200 runs to the good and scenting an opportunity to square the series with an aggressive declaration, he was able to up the tempo as surely as he had done in the World Cup final, powering Lyon out of the rough for consecutive sweeps for six, before calibrating his angles and options with a thinking-man's swagger to rattle through to his second fifty from 54 balls.

And in doing so, Stokes left a dent in one of Australia's key weapons in the series. Lyon began the innings level with Dennis Lillee on 355 Test wickets, and ended it on the same number after an admittedly luckless but nevertheless expensive analysis of 26-3-102-0.

"We kept out Nathan's good balls and when we attacked we really committed to doing it," said Stokes. "He could have had me five or six times to be honest, but I thought attack was the best form of defence by the end because every time I defended one I kept nicking it but finding the gap which was remarkable.

"I was running down the wicket and laughing at some points, thinking I can't be placing it any better. From a five-fer to none for 100 will give our batting unit a lot of confidence, especially on a pretty helpful wicket from spin. Not taking anything away from him, he bowled really well and probably didn't deserve none for 100."

And as the teams regroup and head for Headingley with the series at an apex, Stokes' quiet authority begins to take on an altogether new significance, especially if - as anticipated - Smith is deemed unfit to take his place in Australia's line-up.

In case it needs restating, Stokes missed the last Ashes due to those events he'd sooner not remember. He could be about to reach this series' make-or-break moment as the most prized wicket on either side.

Ben Stokes believes that "the sky is the limit" for Jofra Archer after his remarkable display on Test debut at Lord's, but admitted that the aftermath of his thunderous bouncer to Steven Smith caused "a pretty scary few minutes" as the medical teams assessed Smith for concussion following a direct hit to the side of the neck during his innings of 92.

Stokes, whose reduced workload with the ball played a part in his promotion to No. 5 in England's second innings - from where he scored a hard-earned seventh Test century - also confirmed that Smith had been in good spirits since the incident, with the pair and Archer all knowing each other well from their time together at Rajasthan Royals.

"I messaged him last night [Saturday] to see how everything was," Stokes said. "We've got a good relationship from playing together at Rajasthan and so does Jofra. I had a little giggle with him, which was good, saying Jofra's a good shot to hit that pea-head!

"I think he was as in good a fettle as he could have been but yeah it was good to see him get back up and walk of the pitch."

ALSO READ: Miller: Archer evokes Jonah Lomu on 'frightening' debut

The incident occurred during a remarkable eight-over spell from Archer in which he exceeded 90mph with 16 consecutive deliveries, and also struck Smith a painful blow on the left forearm which later required a scan to rule out a fracture. With England on the attack, Stokes had been posted at leg gully so was at close quarters to witness and hear the impact.

"It just hit flesh," he said. "[It was] not one of the nicest things to see on a cricket field, seeing someone go straight down like that was a pretty scary couple of minutes for everyone out there, but it was great seeing him get back up.

"Marnus [Labuschagne] took a heavy blow [in the second innings] but the difference was he got straight back up and was ready for the next ball. In that moment it's never nice but you look for the reaction - Steve stayed down so that was the scary thing, he laid flat and we weren't quite sure where everything was out there."

Despite the unease in the moment, Stokes has no doubt that Archer's use of the short ball had not crossed any line, and that England wouldn't hesitate to unleash him again at Headingley next week, where Australia could be without Smith once again as he recovers from delayed concussion.

"It's part of the game and a big part of Jofra's game, being aggressive, not letting batsmen settle," said Stokes. "That bouncer of his is a huge asset and he's going to keep on doing it. When someone takes a nasty blow, no bowler is going to say 'I'm not going to bowl that again because I don't want to hit them again' - the concern is always there when someone takes it but next ball, when you get back to the mark, it's 'I'm going to keep doing it'."

Despite watching Archer at close quarters both with England and at Rajasthan, Stokes admitted he too struggles to pick up the short ball, because, he says, Archer's rhythmical approach to the crease gives no hint of what's to come.

"He doesn't have any tells," said Stokes. "Some bowlers you get a tell when they're going to bowl a bouncer or a different ball, but because everything is so rhythmical with Jofra it is tough to see when that bouncer is coming. He's very tight to the stumps as well. Everything looks just so languid, you wonder if he's loose and then he fires one … watching he ball fly through, it was very impressive to watch.

"He gives another dimension to our bowling attack and what we are able to do. The first innings he bowled 29 maybe 30 overs, but his last spell of eight overs was one of the best out-and-out fast bowling spells I have seen since I started playing.

"We've seen Mitchell Johnson do it to us, especially in 2013, but Jofra just makes it look so easy … like he's walking in to bowl. And I'd rather have him on my team than have to face him. He's a frightening talent and he's announced himself on the world stage, just in a different format again this year. Literally the sky is the limit for him and he's a great addition to our Test team."

One area of concern, however, revolved around Archer's workload in his maiden Test, which his match tally of 44 overs being exactly twice as many as that of Chris Woakes, and four times as many as Stokes was called upon to deliver. Stokes, however, insisted that the rain-reduced nature of the contest - as well as England's desire to claw back their 1-0 deficit - played a part in Joe Root's tactics.

"A lot played into the fact we lost two days to rain," he said. "Jofra was the biggest threat and you're going to throw the ball to your biggest threat, and that's Jofra and Stuart [Broad]. I'm easy whether I'm not bowling or bowling long spells. I just do whatever Joe says to be honest."

In the wake of the Euro T20 slam tournament being cancelled, the Federation of International Cricketers' Association (FICA) is working with the players to see if "any potential recourse is open to them".

Two weeks before the tournament was due to start, the organisers of the Euro T20 slam had pulled the plug citing financial problems. This left several players from Scotland, Netherlands and Ireland - including marquee picks like Rashid Khan and Eoin Morgan - out of contract and with little hope of securing the wages promised to them.

This isn't new though. A FICA survey of almost 400 current men's and women's professional players conducted in 2018-19 suggests over 34% of them have experienced late payment or non-payment under a cricket contract. The Euro T20 slam was set up by the same group of people that ran the Global T20 Canada where too there were issues of players not being compensated on time.

"Some players had foregone other opportunities to commit to the league," FICA head Tony Irish said in a press release on Monday. "And we also believe the league has an obligation to players to demonstrate some goodwill given the expectation created, especially if there is a genuine plan to go ahead with the event in the future.

"FICA had been in the process of assisting SCA (Scottish Cricketers' Association), ICA (Irish Cricketers' Association) and the players to put in place some basic contractual protections, in particular relating to player payments specific to the Euro T20 Slam. What has happened now simply emphasises the need for these protections.

"Separately, FICA is also aware of numerous cases of players not being paid what is owed to them under their playing contracts for other previously completed domestic T20 leagues."

That the players themselves - many of them from Associate nations who don't normally get jobs at IPL or BBL level - were looking forward to the competition was made clear by Scotland captain Kyle Coetzer earlier this week.

"Let's be honest, pretty much every one of the players was going to earn more in that space of time, to what they would earn in a full year playing cricket," he told ESPNcricinfo. "You have to look at the impact it may have on some guys and certainly there's a couple of boys that were potentially looking to go away at some time during the winter and now they probably need to get a job. It would have created giving guys an opportunity to feel an element of security in what we try and do."

Irish sympathised with them saying, "The players also play a critical role for the sport globally, and it's time for enforceable protections to be put in place for players too. They should not be left to exercise leverage or litigate in various part of the world to enforce basic contractual rights, especially when they've delivered the value that they've been contracted for. Like employees in all other industries, players make life decisions based on what is owed to them.

"This is an issue that we are working in global regulations discussions with the ICC and member Boards and FICA has proposed proactive solutions to non-payment issues. We will continue to advocate for appropriate protections to form part of the game's regulatory framework, including minimum contract standards, payment enforcement mechanisms, and a fit for purpose dispute resolution body. There is precedent for similar measures in progressive sports around the world."

Paris Saint-Germain are set to reject an expected loan offer from Barcelona for wantaway striker Neymar, according to ESPN FC sources.

Earlier on Monday, ESPN FC sources in Barcelona said that the Catalans were set to make a loan offer for Neymar with an option to buy next summer, but it appears that proposal would be dead on arrival in Paris.

The Parisians expect the loan offer to land on Tuesday or Wednesday, but that option does not suit the Ligue 1 holders, according to sources.

PSG's Qatari owners have been disappointed by the attitude of Neymar this summer and are ready to let him leave, but only if they can recoup as much of the €222 million they spent to bring him to Paris in the summer of 2017.

There is also the belief in Paris that Barcelona will not be able to pay the transfer fee in one lump sum next summer should they make the move permanent and would ask to pay in annual installments, which is not ideal for the French club.

PSG sporting director Leonardo is trying to get as much money in cash as possible for Neymar, hoping to recoup at least €200m. The situation is further complicated by Philippe Coutinho's loan move to Bayern Munich, making a potential deal for Neymar harder to pull off as PSG had hoped the Barcelona midfielder could be a makeweight in some kind of cash-plus-players deal.

Neymar still wants to leave the Parc des Princes this summer and his preference is to go back to Barcelona where he played between 2013 and 2017.

Sources say the Brazilian superstar is trying to stay positive but he knows that a deal to see him returning to the Camp Nou is getting more and more difficult.

Neymar, who continues to train on his own away from the first team, has not played in either of PSG's two opening Ligue 1 matches so far this season, with Leonardo saying that he will not be involved until his situation is resolved.