DARLINGTON, S.C. – Kyle Busch stopped his older brother’s roll to claim the second stage of Sunday night’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.

The 2015 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion, who won the Southern 500 in 2008, beat Kurt Busch off pit road under caution at lap 160 and held serve for the remaining distance for his 10th stage win of the season.

Kyle Busch’s stage points put him in position to possibly clinch the regular-season title, after Joey Logano came to the pits with a flat tire on lap 172 and lost a lap as a result.

Meanwhile, Kurt Busch chased his brother to the green-checkered flag, coming in 1.734 seconds adrift after taking second place from Clint Bowyer on lap 188.

Denny Hamlin eventually finished third in the stage, followed by Erik Jones, Kyle Larson and Bowyer.

Jimmie Johnson, William Byron, Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick completed the points-scoring drivers in the top 10 at the second stage break.

Kurt Busch has led the most laps so far, running out front three times for 92 of the first 200 laps around the 1.366-mile, egg-shaped oval.

The second stage was slowed three times by yellow flags, including a stage-ending caution on lap 198 after B.J. McLeod spun with assistance from Matt Tifft in turn one.

Daniel Suarez sent fellow playoff bubble driver Ryan Newman around on lap 141 to bring out the first yellow of the second stage, while Corey LaJoie spun in turn two on lap 158, necessitating a caution that ultimately put Newman back on the lead lap with the free pass.

Notables deep in the field at the end of stage two included Martin Truex Jr. in 29th and Logano in 32nd. Both were one lap down to leader and stage winner Kyle Busch.

Stage 1 Report: Kurt Busch Dominates Opening Stage At Darlington

WEST UNION, Iowa – Two-time USMTS national champion Rodney Sanders kicked off the month of September on Sunday with a victory at Fayette County Speedway during the seventh annual War in West Union presented by KSE Racing Products.

Sanders, who garnered the 2012 and 2013 United States Modified Touring Series titles, was on a hot streak through the first half of the USMTS Hunt for the Casey’s Cup, but had been shut out of the winner’s circle for the last six events prior to Sunday’s weekend closer.

The win was the ninth of the season for the 29-year-old from Happy, Texas, while Dereck Ramirez recorded a second-place finish for the 11th time during the 2019 campaign.

Sanders started fifth on the grid and had to run down Ramirez, who led early from the outside of the front row. Once out front, Sanders was uncontested except for some late-race troubles with lapped cars that allowed his pursuers to narrow the gap.

Jake O’Neil finished third behind Sanders and Ramirez, Zack VanderBeek was a solid fourth-place finisher and Ryan Gustin rounded out the top five.

J.D. Auringer, Hunter Marriott, Blake Arndt, Travis Saurer and Jacob Bleess completed the top 10.

With his 95th career USMTS triumph, Sanders solidified his spot at the top of the points in both ‘The Hunt’ and Casey’s General Stores USMTS National Championship.

The finish:

1. (5) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, MBCustoms/Hatfield, 40, $2500.
2. (2) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., Hughes/Cornett, 40, $1500.
3. (7) 0 Jake O’Neil, Tucson, Ariz., LG2/Cornett, 40, $1000.
4. (6) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa, VanderBuilt/Stoen, 40, $800.
5. (3) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa, Hughes/TriStar, 40, $700.
6. (1) 00 J.D. Auringer, Waterloo, Iowa, Rage/KSE, 40, $400.
7. (12) 62 Hunter Marriott (R), Brookfield, Mo., Rage/KSE, 40, $550.
8. (18) 51a Blake Arndt (R), Brownsdale, Minn., Shaw/KSE, 40, $500.
9. (13) 21x Travis Saurer, Elizabeth, Minn., MBCustoms/ChevPerf, 40, $450.
10. (14) 21 Jacob Bleess, Chatfield, Minn., VanderBuilt/KSE, 40, $400.
11. (17) 23 Adam Kates, Tonganoxie, Kan., Jet/Speedway, 40, $375.
12. (15) 15w Alex Williamson (R), Rushford, Minn., SSR/KSE, 40, $350.
13. (11) 17 Mike Striegel (R), Wheatland, Mo., GRT/Eagle, 40, $325.
14. (19) 91 Shawn Ryan, Waterloo, Iowa, DirtHustler/King, 40, $300.
15. (16) 6 Dustin Kruse (R), Brandon, S.D., Sidebiter/ChevPerf, 40, $275.
16. (10) 51 Chris Oertel, Marshfield, Wis., MBCustoms/Mullins, 40, $250.
17. (4) 99 Josh Angst, Winona, Minn., MBCustoms/Stoen, 40, $250.
18. (8) 4h Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla., Hughes/Cornett, 40, $250.
19. (20) 22d Daniel Hilsabeck, Earlham, Iowa, Hilsabeck/Mullins, 40, $250.
20. (9) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo., GRT/Durham, 40, $250.

WEST UNION, Iowa – The Arnold Motor Supply Iron Man Challenge invaded Fayette County Speedway on Sunday, with Mitch Hovden and Kris Jackson kicking off September the same way they ended the month of August.

The two drivers are the defending Summit USRA Weekly Racing Series national champions and are leading the current national points in their respective divisions. Both were winners in Saturday night’s show at Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn., as well.

Hovden continued his march toward an unprecedented sixth American Racer USRA Stock Cars world title with a spectacular victory from the eighth starting spot Sunday night at the semi-banked, three-eighths-mile clay oval.

Fellow Decorah, Iowa driver Kyle Falck settled for the runner-up paycheck, while Lynn Panos finished third. Thirteenth-starting Brayden Gjere clawed his way to fourth at the finish and 2017 Iron Man champion Derek Green rounded out the top five.

In Out-Pace USRA B-Mod action, Kris Jackson drew the pole for the start of the 20-lap main event and that was as close as anybody got to taking the top spot away from him.

The Lebanon, Mo., racer collected $500 for his efforts, while Dan Hovden – who sits second in the division’s national points race – took second place after rolling off seventh on the starting grid.

Ben Moudry was third, Josh Roney finished fourth and Iron Man points leader Jared Boumeester completed the first five to the checkered flag.

QUINCY, Ill. – Bobby Pierce survived late race motor woes and a mid-race exchange of slide jobs for the race lead on Sunday night to capture his fifth Lucas Oil MLRA win of the year.

The win, Pierce’s second at Quincy Raceways, netted him $5,000 in the inaugural Scottie 45.

At the drop of the green, polesitter Pierce picked up right where he left off back in May, jumping to the race lead and setting a blistering pace.

The races lone caution waved on lap 14 for the stalled car of Reid Millard at the top of turn three. The caution appeared to be a break for Pierce, as it saved him from having to navigate heavy lapped traffic with the No. 1v of Vaught closing in.

The move of the night came on the ensuing restart when Mitch McGrath darted from his 3rd position to the inside of Pierce at the entrance of turn one, stealing the lead with the first slide job of the night.

McGrath escaped the grasp of Pierce and was able to maintain a constant two to three car length advantage over the next 14 laps, with Pierce and Vaught in tow.

Just past the mid-way point, McGrath began running a lower line, opening up the top side for the “Smooth Operator.”

On the races 29th lap, Pierce returned the favor with a slide job for the lead in turns one and two, stalling the momentum of McGrath and allowing Vaught to slip by and into the second spot.

Vaught would pressure Pierce for the next ten laps, pulling along alongside in lapped traffic, but in the end it would be Pierce pulling away for the convincing win at the quarter-mile oval.

Vaught extended his championship lead after coming home in second, while McGrath settled for third at the line. Jason Papich collected his second top five of the weekend, coming home forth, while leading rookie candidate Logan Martin rounded out the top five.

In Lucas Oil Victory Lane, Pierce commented on the exchange of slide jobs for the lead.

“I didn’t really appreciate the move, so I wasn’t the friendliest giving it back to him. It is what it is, and luckily we got the job done,” noted Pierce. “Right when that happened, I went down a cylinder I think, maybe two. Something was really wrong and my oil pressure was pretty low so we will check it out, but hopefully it’s alright.”

“He (McGrath) capitalized on that restart,” continued Pierce. “I didn’t get a good start and that made me more motivated to get him back, because I really wanted that win.”

Pierce was hoping for congestion in order to pounce in the closing stages, and got it.

“I was kind of waiting for lapped traffic. We weren’t catching them super fast, so I really had to get up on the wheel,” Pierce said. “When he started changing his line, going a little bit lower on the top, it let me have the cushion. It’s hard when you get in the dirty air; you don’t want to push and shove off the track.

“At least this place doesn’t have walls, so you won’t hit concrete, you just go off.”

DARLINGTON, S.C. – All year long, Erik Jones has been surrounded by questions of when he would join his three Joe Gibbs Racing teammates as a 2019 winner in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

Sunday night, Jones gave an emphatic answer to those queries and in the process, etched his name in history as a winner of one of stock-car racing’s crown jewel events.

Jones captured the 70th annual Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, leading the final 41 laps after a late cycle of green-flag pit stops en route to his first victory at the 1.366-mile, egg-shaped oval.

The Byron, Mich., native – piloting a throwback No. 20 Toyota Camry which hearkened back to his rookie year in an asphalt late model – fended off a series of advances from Kyle Busch in the closing laps, only securing the victory for good after Busch slapped the outside wall while giving chase with three to go.

From there, Jones raced away to the checkered flag, beating Kyle Larson to the stripe by 4.058 seconds.

The win made Jones the 11th different driver this season to top a Cup Series race. All four Joe Gibbs Racing drivers have now visited victory lane at least once this year, combining for 13 victories.

Jones wasn’t worried about all of his teammates on Sunday night, however. He was just focused on one – Busch – and making sure he played perfect defense down the stretch to keep Busch behind him.

He did just that, but it left him exhausted after climbing from his car on the frontstretch.

“I’m wore out, both mentally and physically,” said Jones. “It’s more mentally than anything. Kyle was really running hard, and he’s one of the best guys out there. Our SportClips Camry was good, but man, I was pedaling as hard as I could. I’m just glad to hold him off and to finally get to Victory Lane, because I feel like it’s been coming for us for a long time.

“Man, it just feels really good to get the job done here.”

The race, which started four hours later than scheduled and actually ended in the early hours of Monday morning, was a topsy-turvy affair that didn’t actually see Jones rise into proper contention until the second half.

Kurt Busch and Kyle Busch split the stage victories, but it was a six-car accident in turn four with 93 laps left that changed the complexion of the race and catapulted Jones to the front of the field.

After Daniel Hemric blew a tire and spun in front of a pack of frontrunners in turns three and four, collecting top-five runners Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin, Jones and the remainder of the lead-lap cars came down for their penultimate round of pit service, with Larson winning the race off pit road.

Jones joined him on the front row for the ensuing restart, and when the green flag waved with 86 to go, the hunt was on for the lead and the Southern 500 trophy.

Larson and Jones traded sliders in back to back corners on the first lap after the restart, but Jones powered underneath Larson again with 85 to go to take control of the top spot, trying to motor away.

Larson didn’t let Jones get very far, however, keeping him within arm’s reach all the way until Jones made his final stop from the race lead with 47 laps left. When the round of service concluded seven circuits later, Jones found himself back out front – but this time with Busch’s No. 18 hot on his heels.

For 40 grueling and intense laps, Busch tried to pressure Jones into making a mistake. But other than a brush with the outside wall with five to go, Jones never blinked, and Busch finally did on lap 365.

That sealed the deal for Jones, who charged away to a 1.6-second margin and gained more ground when Busch socked the SAFER Barrier hard coming off turn two on the second-to-last revolution.

“Several times in those last 80 laps, I really felt in control and thought to myself, ‘I don’t know why we can’t win this thing,’” Jones explained. “You have to believe, and I just kept my focus on the goal at hand. We’ve struggled to close the deal a few times this year and just missed out, but we did it tonight.”

Larson slipped past Busch in the closing moments to finish second, while Busch limped home in third and secured the regular-season championship with a 64-point margin over Joey Logano, who cut a tire on lap 172 and finished one lap down in 14th.

The Ford pair of Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski completed the top five, followed by Clint Bowyer, Kurt Busch, Matt DiBenedetto, Paul Menard and Austin Dillon.

Polesitter William Byron never led a lap and finished 21st, two laps of the pace of the leaders.

As he reflected in the minutes after celebrating in victory lane, Jones let the impact of winning one of NASCAR’s biggest events wash over him, knowing he’d accomplished something momentous.

“It’s going to feel pretty special,” Jones said of his Southern 500 win. “There’s a lot of great names on this trophy, and this is one – this race for me has always held a special place.

“When you think of NASCAR, for myself, I think of Darlington and this tough place. We tamed it tonight.”

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

Mason Toye scored his fifth and sixth goals of the season, the latter on a stunning strike well beyond the penalty area, and visiting Minnesota United pulled off a surprising 2-0 victory over Supporters' Shield leaders LAFC on Sunday night.

The effort was Toye's second multi-goal performance of the season in just his fourth start. He's now only two goals behind team leader Darwin Quintero following a victory that lifted Minnesota (13-9-6, 45 points) up to third place in the Western Conference standings.

Vito Mannone made eight saves to preserve his 10th shutout this season for the Loons, who became just the second away team ever to win at Banc of California Stadium.

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They beat the runaway Western Conference leaders five days after falling to defending MLS Cup champions Atlanta United 2-1 in the U.S. Open Cup final.

It was the second time LAFC (19-4-5, 62 points) have been held scoreless at home, on a night when their leading scorer Carlos Vela was held out with a hamstring injury picked up in last week's 3-3 draw against the LA Galaxy.

LAFC fell to 11-1-2 at home this season while seeing its overall six-game unbeaten streak end.

Toye put Minnesota in front in the 25th minute. Starting from the left side of midfield, he connected on a give-and-go with Jan Gregus to play into the right side of the penalty area. Then from a tight angle, he curled a left-footed shot around goalie Pablo Sisniega and inside the far left post.

The 20-year-old doubled the lead only four minutes later with a stunning effort that nearly completely silenced the home crowd.

After Quintero worked hard to win a contested loose ball, Toye found himself in space a bit beyond the penalty area. Quintero continued his run into the box, which bought Toye the time to unfurl a blistering 25-yard, left-footed strike that raced beyond Sisniega's dive and into the top right corner.

Mannone's most important saves came after halftime. In the 59th minute, he easily got his body behind Lee Nguyen's curling free kick from a dangerous position a couple of yards outside the box. Then he denied Adrien Perez twice, on a dive to his right in the 76th minute and then a point-blank stop in second-half stoppage time.

A back of a length ball darting into the batsmen's chest. A mean bouncer that sent the neck guard of the helmet flying. A rapid delivery nearly brushing the outside half of the off stump.

Day three saw Jasprit Bumrah bowl from both ends - and mix it up. He didn't pick up wickets, but everything he did looked calculated, pre-planned, well thought out.

There is a reason for that. After day two, during the interview with captain Virat Kohli, Bumrah said there is a lot of communication between the bowling team. He reiterated that point at Sabina Park where West Indies were already two down in a chase of 468.

"Ishant [Sharma] has played a lot more cricket than all of us, [Mohammed] Shami has played a lot of cricket, I am the new guy, so I try and ask questions," Bumrah said on Sunday. "I ask them, they've played here before, so 'what works in different conditions?' 'If the wicket is not doing anything what should we do?' 'what different plans are to be there,' so all these different communication goes on including the captain and the vice-captain, everybody discusses, everybody has their own plans, so all of these things are going on when you play."

Though he has run through the West Indies line-up twice in this series, Bumrah predicted tougher times ahead.

"Now the wicket has gotten a little better. So, movement has gotten less than the previous innings. We have to bowl well, create pressure from all ends, so that will help us to be in [a good position]," he said.

That India have dominated this game is in part due to Bumrah's hair-raising form. He took 6 for 16 in the first innings, including a hat-trick, which was a credit to his ability to assess conditions quickly.

"So in bouncy wickets," he said, "you can be greedy and you look to bowl short but you should not do that - you should bowl in good areas, create pressure and try and bowl full, so that was the plan going into the first innings. We were just trying to assess the situation as soon as possible and try and bowl accordingly."

"First innings I changed my end because the breeze was going from this end to that end and we wanted to use the inswinger and see how it goes. We tried to do that and it worked. We pitched the ball up."

At a point during the over when Bumrah got his hat-trick, the stump mic picked up Kohli reacting to one of his deliveries with, "what a bowler, man! What a bowler." In response to that, Bumrah said: "The captain gives you a lot of confidence, that gives you a lot of self-belief. When you bowl, you can express yourself, you can try whatever you want to do. That gives you a lot of confidence, not only me but each and every bowler is being backed by him so much. As a bowling unit we are very happy and then we have the freedom to do what we want."

Looking ahead, he said the Indian bowling unit is in sync and working very well together - something he hopes will help them improve and bring more success as a team.

"We have done a lot of hard work and last year we played a lot of away matches, so lot of camaraderie is there, a lot of backing is there, we back each other whenever things are not going well - even if things are going well we discuss what can we do better, so that was the plan going forward. We got a good relationship all of us, we want to get better every year. It's a good relationship and we are working hard and hopefully these processes will bring more results."

Two balls. Two edges. Two wicket-keeper catches. Kemar Roach had taken out struggling opener KL Rahul for 6 and Indian captain Virat Kohli for his fourth ever Test duck.

And when Ajinkya Rahane edges the hat-trick ball towards the stumps, Roach is sure the ball is going to hit the stumps. But it doesn't. It misses by an inch and the fast bowler slumps to the ground. He sits there for a minute unable to believe his luck.

"Of course!" Roach exclaimed when asked if, for a second, he thought he'd got the hat-trick. "Inside edge and missing the stumps - a bit unlucky but I am pretty happy with what happened

"It was a good feeling. Obviously, the Indian batting line-up is very strong, so to be on a hat-trick against those guys is obviously a good feeling. I'd have liked to get it, but a little more luck the next time it hits on the stumps and it will go my way, but I am pretty happy for what happened.

"I think as a bowling group there is satisfaction in how we have done so far. Kudos to the guys. Happy for myself to be, obviously, be among some of the greats, so it's a great achievement for me as well."

The focus is on West Indies' batting now with India setting them a massive 468 to win. But Roach has a plan. "There is more than enough time," he said. "Two days left in the Test match. Just bat. Nothing more to be said about that. The guys haven't had a good score in this Test series so far, so it's about guys just applying themselves and going out there and being positive and put some runs on the board."

West Indies can take heart in conditions becoming a little better for batsmen but Roach said it will still be a challenge with bowlers like Bumrah and Ishant Sharma conjuring near-perfect deliveries.

"It's flattened out a bit more. It's not as bouncy as it was the first couple of days. There is still enough there for the bowlers. Still have to apply yourself as a batsman and have to grind and get that score, but I think once you get in it gets way easier - so it's all about the guys being positive and grinding and obviously getting the score."

Roach is eager to help out in that regard as well. "Yeah, obviously I am pretty confident with the bat recently. Just backing my ability, trust my talent and go there and hit the ball. I have been doing it pretty well and pretty proud of that. I just keep it simple for me - I know my shots and I just wait for the balls to come in that area."

Speaking about the West Indies bowling unit including his relationship with captain Jason Holder and Shannon Gabriel, Roach said they've been performing exceptionally well in the last two years, and are communicating well as a unit.

"I think it's about bowling in partnerships. I think all teams do that - the Indian team does that very good as well. I think with us we have been together for a while, so we understand each other, so we understand when it's time for us to hold and when it's time for us to attack and give yourself a break and let someone else get involved. I think we have been doing it very well, we are very in sync and we are communicating very well with what we want to do.

"I think the trick about it we stick together a lot, communicate very well, so we know what we are about, what roles we have to play when it comes to certain sessions, so our clarity is very clear when it comes to bowling. So, I think that's what has been working for us for the last two years. If we stick together and stand apart, I think we have big things coming for us in the next couple of Test matches."

As they fight to recover from the setback at Headingley and seal the Ashes with victory at Old Trafford, Australia's tourists have called back Steve Waugh to help mentor the team after he was conspicuously absent during the Leeds Test.

Originally scheduled to be with the team for only the first two Tests of the series, Waugh toyed with rushing back from a prior commitment in Australia to be around for Headingley, but in his absence the touring team got to the brink of an Ashes victory before throwing it away in a mad hour up against a rampant Ben Stokes.

It is a measure of how much Waugh's presence was valued, but also how desperate Australia are to finish this Ashes series on the winning side, that he has been flown back into camp, arriving late on Sunday night in Manchester to help oversee the team's preparations for the fourth Test. He will also stay on for the final match at The Oval.

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"He was supposed to come until the end of the second Test but he enjoyed it so much and we saw such great value in having him here," coach Justin Langer said. "Guys like Punter [Ricky Ponting] and Steve Waugh, not only do they have a great presence in the group, but they are great psychologists. They've been in the cauldron before, they've seen it all, so to have that those type of guys, we are talking about developing leadership in Australian cricket, to have our guys to learn from people of that calibre is very important short term.

"Longer term there is huge value in that (too). He's been like a kid at Christmas, to come back after such a long time away from the game, his passion and enthusiasm for the game has been brilliant. We asked him to stay for the third Test but he had to go back for a function, he was actually going to fly there, do the function and fly back the next day. That's how much he is enjoying it and we see great value."

"Any chance we have for our guys to rub shoulders with them is a huge benefit short and long term, but whether that's the difference between us winning or losing a Test match like the other day, you can never tell" Justin Langer

Asked whether or not Waugh's presence had been missed at Headingley, Langer said that while it was hard to quantify, he was in little doubt that the presence of great former players alongside the current group was a significant encouragement to the team.

"You can't measure it. Would it have made any difference in those last 60 or 70 runs? Who knows," Langer said. "These things I've always felt throughout my whole time in Australian cricket to learn from the Dennis Lillees and the Allan Borders and the David Boons and the Ian Chappells and the Greg Chappells, the list goes on. So any chance we have for our guys to rub shoulders with them is a huge benefit short and long term, but whether that's the difference between us winning or losing a Test match like the other day, you can never tell.

"Certainly the way we have gone about our business for the first three Tests, there's a bit of steel there and having those sort of people around helps. I don't think he'd do it full time, a bit like Punter, they have got so many other things in their life, but anytime we can have them with the group... If you could have Punter one day a year you would have him because he has such an impact on the group, same with Tugga."

Having Waugh involved, much like Ponting fulfilled an assistant coaching role during the World Cup, was a priority for Langer after he faced many testing moments during his first home summer as coach. Neither Waugh nor Ponting have come cheaply for Cricket Australia, but there is clearly a desire to have them involved in a semi-regular capacity, especially around major assignments such as the World Cup, the Ashes, or next year's Twenty20 World Cup in Australia.

"We are setting up this mentoring system where we have these great players coming in and being with the guys," Langer said. "It's unsustainable doing it full time, we are seeing that throughout coaching around the world really, but when we can have them we will have them as much as we can.

"This is my chosen profession, you feel it as journalists, it's hard work being on the road all the time but that is our profession, Steve Waugh or Ricky Ponting haven't chosen to become career coaches whereas this is my job. You ride the highs and lows of that and you learn along the way, that's why it's important from a personal point of view to have great friends like Steve Waugh or Ricky Ponting or any of my old team mates, like the other assistant coaches, they share the load if you like."

Waugh inspired part of how Australia tackled the aftermath of Headingley, as Langer insisted upon a ruthless approach to the tour match against Derbyshire while also keeping the whole squad together rather than allowing for those not playing in Derby to take brief breaks elsewhere.

"Steve Waugh's talked about, we've talked about the great Australian teams have been pretty ruthless in winning games of cricket," Langer said. "Before the toss, we said, 'it's not a practice game, it's not a centre wicket hit out, we're going to play a proper game of cricket; we're going to try and win the game no matter what'. They won the toss and batted, usually it's a bigger challenge to do that (win) in a three-day game. The way our guys won the game in two-and-a-bit days was that's a guide to me they're up.

"They were all together, they trained together, sometimes it can become a bit fractured. It's not going to be fractured here for the next few weeks. I thought the attitude of the last few days was really good. Because on the back of a World Cup, you've got to try and give guys as much mental rest as possible. The physical rest is fine; they're all fit now except for some of the fast bowlers at stages. It's always been a philosophy and theme of my coaching is we've got to do things together as much as we possibly can.

"It might be right, it might be wrong, that's just a strong belief I have. Everyone was in Nottingham. They were all together, we'll stick together. There's only a few more weeks of this tour. It's been a long hard tour, we'll stick together as much as we can. Hopefully it'll give us the right outcome."

The Australians will be without one member of their support staff, though, with assistant coach Brad Haddin returning home to Sydney for personal reasons.