Essex 31 for 1 trail Warwickshire 517 (Lamb 173, Hain 82, Patel 51*) by xx runs

Essex have not conceded so many runs since Hampshire piled up 525 for 8 in the first innings at Southampton in the opening match of the season, when they lost by an innings and 87 runs. Having gone unbeaten since, chalking up eight victories and eyeing up a second County Championship in three years, this would not be a timely moment to become reacquainted with defeat.

Such an eventuality is some way off. Unless Jeetan Patel can coax a greater response from a slow pitch than Simon Harmer achieved in 60 overs of trying, the likeliest result is a draw. Nonetheless, with leaders Somerset building a considerable advantage against Yorkshire at Taunton, this could be a critical moment in the race for the title.

For Warwickshire's part, a draw and a handful of bonus points would do very nicely, almost certainly banishing any lingering anxiety about relegation with Nottinghamshire heading for yet another defeat.

At the heart of Warwickshire's rare prosperity was a magnificent innings from 23-year-old Matthew Lamb, who turned his maiden first-class century into a seven-hour marathon that eventually saw him out for 173, which is, after Dom Sibley's double-hundred at Canterbury in June, the highest score by a Warwickshire batsman this year.

Lamb's potential has long been waiting to blossom. Warwickshire identified his talent when he was only 11 and he made his Birmingham League debut at 13. His first-class debut for the county came in 2016 but although he made a couple of half-centuries the following year he has not been able yet to nail down a place. Although he made a good impression in T20, his first six first-class innings this year yielded just 29 runs in total and he would not be involved in this match but for four batsmen being injured.

There is a fair chance he will be picked for the next one, having batted with a solid technique and considerable maturity in the face of an Essex attack not helped much by a slow pitch but who nonetheless offer one of the bigger tests he will have faced thus far. Jamie Porter and Sam Cook had bowled well without much luck on the opening day and Simon Harmer, as he has demonstrated time after time in taking 200-plus wickets in three seasons with Essex, tests a batsman's skill in any conditions.

Lamb had some moments of fortune, although not before he had recovered from the setback of losing Sam Hain's company in the seventh over of the day and held his nerve to complete a 211-ball hundred with his 15th boundary. He was caught at slip off a Ravi Bopara no-ball on 104, survived a huge appeal for caught behind off Porter on 106 and was dropped on 110 in an incident that also saw Essex appeal for a run-out, which was upheld and then rescinded.

Alastair Cook, moving to his left at first slip, spilled the chance when Porter found the edge. Harmer, standing next to him at second slip, retrieved the ball and threw down the stumps. Lamb was well out of his ground but, after the umpires conferred, was invited to continue his innings, the apparent conclusion being that he had deserted his crease only under the misapprehension that he was out caught, in which circumstances under a recent tweak to the Laws, a batsman can be deemed to be not out.

Harmer said later that he had been happy to withdraw the appeal and Lamb confirmed that the Essex fielders had made it clear to him that, as far they were concerned, he should not be out.

How he made the most of that let-off, adding a further 10 boundaries and, having helped Hain add 150 in 49 overs for the fourth wicket, enjoying the benefit of another resilient partner in Henry Brookes, with whom he shared a 105-run partnership for the seventh wicket that was the key passage of the day in securing such a strong position for their side.

Immediately before they came together, three wickets had fallen for seven runs in the space of 22 balls. Michael Burgess had followed Hain in edging into the slip cordon, Harmer grabbing a superb catch low to his left at second slip, before the debutant Ethan Brookes - Henry's younger brother - popped a ball from Harmer into the hands of leg slip.

Brookes the elder proved to be the perfect partner, although Lamb ultimately repaid him by calling for a risky single to leg and running him out four runs short of what would have been his fourth career half-century. "I owe him an apology for that," Lamb said after Harmer had gathered and scored a direct hit with his throw. "It was my fault completely."

Patel further turned the screw with a half-century of his own before Harmer, who had only once bowled 50 overs in an innings for Essex and never 60, dismissed Olly Hannon-Dalby and George Garrett to finish with 6 for 143.

"It was a pretty frustrating day for us," Harmer said. "There is not much in the pitch. If we can bat well then you would expect the match to end in a draw but you never know what could happen when we get to day four."

The Essex reply, though, did not get the start they wanted in the 15 overs they had to negotiate before the close, Patel striking an early blow when Cook edged him to second slip.

Sri Lanka's forthcoming tour of Pakistan has been thrown into doubt after Sri Lanka's government is said to have received news of a "possible terrorist threat on the Sri Lanka team".

The team was scheduled to leave for the tour in less than two weeks, but the tour now hinges on a "reassessment of the security situation in Pakistan". One security assessment - described as "meticulous" by an SLC official - had already been conducted, with the board formerly convinced that the tour was safe. But this new information about a specific threat on the team has sparked fresh fears.

"Sri Lanka Cricket today sought the assistance of the Sri Lankan government to conduct a 'reassessment' of the security situation in Pakistan ahead of the national team's planned tour to Pakistan," a board release said.

"The decision was taken following a warning SLC received from the Prime Minister's office, sent via the Ministry of Telecommunication, Foreign Employment and Sports.

"The warning highlights that the Prime Minister's Office has received reliable information of a possible terrorist threat on the Sri Lankan team, while touring Pakistan."

The new information had been received on Tuesday evening by SLC, who had named their ODI at T20 squads for the tour late in the afternoon. With 10 frontline players already having refused to tour Pakistan, this new perceived threat may create apprehension among even the players who have agreed to travel.

Cricket in Pakistan came to a halt in 2009, after the Sri Lanka team was attacked by gunmen on the way to the ground in Lahore.

The first match of the tour was set to be played on September 27 in Karachi.

Rassie van der Dussen believes Quinton de Kock will "lead by example" in the upcoming three-match T20I series against India. With regular captain Faf du Plessis rested, de Kock has been given the chance to lead the T20I side, as South Africa trial leadership options ahead of next year's T20 World Cup.

"Quinton is one of those guys who leads by example," van der Dussen said. "He doesn't always say a lot, but when he speaks he says really valuable things. You get some guys who talk a lot, and some guys who don't. Quinny is one of those guys who prefers to lead from the front in terms of action. Everybody respects him for that."

De Kock, 26, is a regular starter for South Africa across formats and has lead the team twice before in ODIs in du Plessis' absence during South Africa's trip to Sri Lanka last year. He will be in charge of a fairly young side post a World Cup shake-up.

"We obviously know what he is as a player and how many games he's won for South Africa, and what he brings to the team in terms of cricketing capability. I think having the leadership band around his arm is just going to bring more out of him. He really wants to do well in India, always. We as a team really want to walk away with a series win. Everything we do is gearing up to that."

The South African squad has been put through their paces during the course of two "very tough" training sessions since their arrival in Dharamsala, where they will play the first of three T20Is on Sunday. Van der Dussen said the conditions there were "just a bit worse in terms of humidity and heat" compared to that of Durban's.

"We had a disappointing World Cup campaign, so now we've got the opportunity to make a really strong statement and bounce back from that." Rassie van der Dussen

"The boys have really worked hard. But we're playing against India, so we know we have to be at our best and put the hard yards in," van der Dussen said. "A few years ago, the Proteas played here and we beat India by seven wickets, chasing down 200. So it'll be a very good wicket to bat on. It will be challenging for the bowlers. The boundaries are about 65 metres all around, which is not very big. We know what India is going to throw at us, and we're preparing accordingly."

Just two members of South Africa's squad - David Miller and Kagiso Rabada - were part of the playing XI that beat India at this venue the last time South Africa visited, but de Kock also has extensive experience of Indian conditions from his several IPL stints.

"Wherever you go, you've got to look at the conditions and the guys who know the conditions.

"Guys like Quinton and David Miller have played a lot of cricket here, so all of us that are having our first experience in T20 cricket here will look to feed off them and talk to them, and ask a lot of questions about how the conditions will play, the different bowlers. We've got to use everything we can to our advantage against a very strong Indian side, so we'll definitely look to do that."

The upcoming T20Is will mark South Africa's first international engagement since the World Cup in England earlier this year. Van der Dussen said that the games will allow South Africa to bounce back from their disastrous run at the tournament and also begin their preparations for the T20 World Cup in Australia next year.

"We had a disappointing World Cup campaign, so now we've got the opportunity to make a really strong statement and bounce back from that," he said. "There's a T20 World Cup in just over a year. We've got 20 T20 games before that, so this will show us exactly where we are, playing against one of the strongest teams in the world. If we win, we know we're on the right track. If we fall short in one or two of the games, we'll know exactly what we need to work on.

"India is one of the strongest teams in the world. They're in their home conditions. For us, it's going to be a massive challenge. They've been together and played some cricket recently against the West Indies. That will give us the advantage of seeing who is in their squad and what they're likely to do."

That was the summer of cricket that was. Well, almost. England won the World Cup and lost failed to retain the Ashes, but there is still business to be concluded amid the mellow fruitfulness of an autumnal Kennington Oval.

For Joe Root, the final Test of the series offered the opportunity to give a rallying cry, of sorts. "It should be seen as a successful year," he said. "But we've got a chance to level this series and make it slightly better than it looks now." England's Test cricket under Trevor Bayliss has been the proverbial curate's egg, and Root suggested that he wanted to take the good parts and use them in a recipe for future success - in particular targeting the next Ashes series, in Australia in 2021-22.

There is also a desire to give Bayliss a send-off with, as Root put it, "a real big bang" after four years in charge. Victory at The Oval would enable to England to preserve their unbeaten record in home series dating back to 2014, as well as provide a potentially useful clutch of World Test Championship points.

"We are fully focussed on doing everything we can to finish the series 2-2," Root said. "In terms of my own captaincy, I know the direction I want to take this team and it is about starting that now and not after this series. It is important we win this game and have a really strong winter and move forward as a group."

So, with an opportunity for one last hurrah, and the chance to help Root produce his blueprint for winning back the Ashes in two years' time, what are the key issues for England to resolve (and do they stand a chance of resolving them)? Let's take a look.

Top order
The omission of Jason Roy, ostensibly due to Ben Stokes' shoulder injury limiting his ability to bowl, could well put a full stop on his Test ambitions. An average of 8.85 as an opener succinctly tells the story of his failure to transfer ODI belligerence into the longer format and while he could come again in the middle order, Root's appraisal was on the perfunctory side: "Jason has had an opportunity to come in and play Test cricket and get a feel for it and it has not gone quite how he would have liked. But I'm sure he will go away and work extremely hard and come again."

Rory Burns, on the other hand, has all but proven himself as steady hand at the top of the order, but who he is partnered by in New Zealand later this year may depend on whether Joe Denly can produce a significant score to back up his dogged showings against Australia so far (although they could, of course, shuttle him back down to No. 4).

Core players
In some ways, it feels as if the Test team is still in transition from the point Alastair Cook handed over the captaincy in 2017. The pillars of the team remain the same - Root, Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, James Anderson - although Burns and Jofra Archer might soon shoulder their way into that category.

With the possibility of players being rested for New Zealand (and a new coach unlikely to be in place), the four-Test tour of South Africa in December and January might well provide more significant pointers for the 2021-22 Ashes. "I think in terms of personnel, things might change as they have done for a while but we have to focus on the core group of players that can lead this team forward, both home and away, then build from that," Root said. "Build towards winning in Australia and use the next two years to focus on putting in a winning tour Down Under. That's a real incentive for everyone, to be part of something special down there."

Pitch battles
On the point about building a team that can win "both home and away", Root might need to discuss next summer's strategy with Ashley Giles. While Anderson described the surfaces used for this series as favouring Australia, and suggested more could be done to push home advantage, it is unlikely that a strategy of prevailing on green seamers is going to set England up for a winning Ashes tour.

Root, who has averaged 28.00 across the Tests against Ireland and Australia, admitted that the pitches had "not been pleasant to bat on" and indicated his team would have to be adaptable. "It's not always as simple as 'produce this perfect wicket for Test cricket'," he said. "You can look at that but ultimately whatever you play on you've got to win. That's the fundamentals. Whatever you play on you've got to find a way to win the game."

'Total cricket' and all-round strength
While the last 18 months of Root's captaincy have been characterised by a fluid (or is that chaotic?) batting order, and a reliance on runs from lower down thanks to a glut of talented allrounders, a change of tack might be required to produce more consistent success. Burns, Archer and, to a lesser extent, Jack Leach have shown the benefits of picking players based on a specialist skill - while the extra pace of Mark Wood or Olly Stone, for instance, may pay dividends in South Africa or Australia.

Can England afford to continue overlooking Ben Foakes' claims as wicketkeeper, while Bairstow - who will bat at No. 5 at The Oval - averages in the 20s? How many more opportunities will Jos Buttler be granted? Ironically, it will be another allrounder who gets the chance to restate his case, a year after being named Man of the Series against India, with Sam Curran coming in for a maiden Ashes appearance.

Root's role
Root remains adamant about his ability to lead England, even as he juggles the demands of being the premier Test batsman, an automatic pick in ODIs and aspiring to further his T20 opportunities. "I have a clear direction of how I want to take this team forward and I'm fully focused on doing just that," he said. Root described himself as having "thrown everything into [the captaincy] and given absolutely everything I can" and it certainly looks like could do with a rest come the conclusion of the Oval Test. One thing that might help straighten out his Test game is a move back down to No. 4. Asked if he saw himself continuing at three he said, "I am going to this week." And in future? "We'll see."

Who comes after Bayliss?
It's not one that can be resolved this week, admittedly, but England's World Cup-winning coach has reached the end of his tenure, and the identity of his successor will be integral in how all of the above comes together.

When told that Bayliss himself had marked himself as a 5 out of 10 for his time as England coach, Root laughed and said he would give him a "slightly higher mark" than that, before praising his revamp of the limited-overs sides in particular and saying the Australian would be "sorely missed".

"I think that sums him up really," Root said, "quite a modest bloke, sort of wants to slip under the radar, doesn't like any fuss or attention and tries to put it back on the players. What he has done for all teams - he has been a part of some very special wins in Test matches, some series home and away which he should be extremely proud of as a coach, and then the way he has transformed white-ball cricket and been a part of that journey is incredible really.

"He has really rejuvenated how we look at the white-ball game in this country and laid some really solid foundations for us to kick on and develop. He has had a massive influence in his tenure here and he will be sorely missed by all the players that have had a chance to work with him."

Rory McIlroy beat Brooks Koepka in the final round of the 2018-19 PGA Tour season, shooting 66 over the final 18 holes to win a $15 million bonus at the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta in August.

After a somewhat surprising vote by PGA Tour members, McIlroy also edged Koepka for PGA Tour Player of the Year honors on Wednesday. It is the third time McIlroy has won the Jack Nicklaus Award.

"I couldn't be more proud of what I achieved this year," McIlroy said. "I wanted to try to bring my best every single week that I played, and I feel like I did that to the best of my ability. I think the greatest compliment you can receive is that your peers feel like you've done something pretty special. For this award to be voted on by my fellow players, I'm very humbled and very honored. I think it says a lot about what I've put into this year and some of the decisions I made starting off the year."

Sung-jae Im, the only rookie who qualified for the Tour Championship, was voted PGA Tour Rookie of the Year.

PGA Tour members who played at least 15 official FedExCup events during the 2018-19 season were eligible to vote for the awards. Voting ended on Sept. 6.

Last month, Koepka was named PGA of America Player of the Year based on points. It is only the third time player of the year honorees were different: Nick Faldo (PGA) and Wayne Levi (PGA Tour) in 1990 and Corey Pavin (PGA) and Fred Couples (PGA Tour) in 1991 were the other occasions.

"Look, Brooks has had an incredible year, an incredible two or three years, whatever it is," McIlroy said. "He's the number one player in the world in the World Golf Ranking. I think this speaks volumes about what PGA Tour players feel is important. I've harped on this a little bit over the course of the year: I think players don't just feel four weeks a year are important, it's more than that. We play for a lot more. Why do we play 25 times a year when only four weeks are really important?

"I think it's a huge vote of confidence from the players that we play for more than just what maybe the narrative suggests. I thought maybe Brooks winning the PGA Championship this year was going to be the difference-maker, but the other players thought differently."

McIlroy and Koepka were the only PGA Tour players to win three events this past season. McIlroy won the Players Championship, Canadian Open and Tour Championship. Including his FedEx Cup and Wyndham Reward bonuses, McIlroy won $24.3 million last season, the most in Tour history.

McIlroy also won the Byron Nelson Award for adjusted scoring average (69.057) for the third time in his career and led the PGA Tour in top-10s (14) and total strokes gained (2.551 average).

After one start in the fall of 2018, McIlroy opened the 2019 calendar year with top-six finishes in his first five starts before winning the Players Championship. He became only the third player to win The Players, a major championship, the FedExCup and a World Golf Championships event in his career, joining Tiger Woods and Henrik Stenson.

But McIlroy wasn't nearly as good as Koepka in majors. McIlroy finished tied for 21st at the Masters, tied for eighth at the PGA Championship, tied for ninth at the U.S. Open and missed the cut at The Open Championship at Royal Portrush in his native Northern Ireland, after shooting 79 in the first round.

Along with a second straight PGA Championship title, Koepka also won the C.J. Cup and WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. He led the Tour money list with nearly $9.7 million.

Koepka was the most consistent player in golf's biggest events for the second season in a row. He has finished in the top five in the last five majors championships, including all four this past season. He finished tied for second at the Masters in April, won the PGA Championship for the second straight year at Bethpage Black in May, finished solo second at the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach in June and tied for fourth at the Open Championship in July.

Koepka is only the fifth player to finish in the top five in all four majors in one season during the Masters era (since 1934); Nicklaus (1971 and '73), Woods (2000 and '05), Rickie Fowler (2014) and Jordan Spieth (2015) were the others.

Kopeka finished in the top 10 in 18 of the last 19 rounds in major championships. He shot in the 60s in 11 of 16 rounds in major championships this season, joining Spieth (2015) for second most in the Masters era. Only Woods (12 in 2000) had more in majors in a single season.

Im, from South Korea, was the top Tour rookie in FedEx Cup points last season and was the only one to advance to East Lake. He had 16 top-25s and seven top-10s in 35 events.

COSTA MESA, Calif. -- Los Angeles Chargers tight end Hunter Henry has once again been bit by the injury bug, suffering a tibial plateau fracture to his left knee during Sunday's game against the Indianapolis Colts, the team announced Wednesday.

The Chargers expect Henry will miss four to six weeks, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter. No official timetable has been given for his return, and the team will continue to evaluate the injury.

"He's taking it tough, but he's doing fine," coach Anthony Lynn said. "He wants to be here with his teammates. He wants to play. And not being out there with them, he feels like he's letting them down. But he's not. You can't control these things. You can only control what you can control.

"He'll be back, though. He'll be OK."

Henry suffered the injury when a Colts defender hit him in the legs to bring him down during the second half of the Chargers' 30-24 victory. Henry eventually returned to the game, playing 55 of 59 snaps in Week 1.

The 2016 second-round pick out of Arkansas has battled injuries throughout his career with the Chargers. He missed all of the 2018 regular season with a torn ACL, playing just 14 snaps in the AFC divisional playoff loss to the New England Patriots.

Henry also suffered a lacerated kidney that forced him to miss the last two games of the 2017 season. He also missed a game his rookie season due to a knee injury.

Despite the injuries, Henry leads the Chargers with 12 touchdown receptions since the start of the 2016 season.

"It's obviously disappointing," quarterback Philip Rivers said. "You hate it for him. You saw how excited he was to be out there this year and how hard he worked to get back. From an offensive standpoint, you saw how big a part of it he is and what it was going to be from last week here as the season gets going."

Lynn said the Chargers will count on backups Virgil Green and Sean Culkin to "step up."

The Chargers worked out former Seattle Seahawks tight end Luke Willson this week, most recently released by the Oakland Raiders during final roster cuts. The Chargers also signed tight end Stephen Anderson to the practice squad.

Antonio Gates also remains available and has not ruled out a potential return to the field. The Chargers signed Gates right before the season began last season due to Henry's ACL injury.

T. Boone Pickens, the billionaire oil tycoon whose money helped put Oklahoma State football on the map, died Wednesday. He was 91.

Pickens had been battling a series of strokes and head injuries as a result of a fall he took in 2017, according to his spokesman, Jay Rosser.

Pickens' penchant for philanthropy and love for Oklahoma State football dovetailed in 2006 when he donated $165 million to the athletic program, the largest single gift in NCAA history.

"The greatest Cowboy of them all has taken his last ride," athletic director Mike Holder said in a statement. "It will never be the same again. We could never thank him enough for all that he did for our university. He gave us everything he had -- and all that he asked in return was that we play by the rules and dream big. He was living proof that anything is possible if you're wearing orange. 'Great ride Cowboy, great ride!'"

Pickens graduated from Oklahoma State in 1951 with a degree in geology when the university still went by Oklahoma A&M.

He wound up giving more than $300 million to Oklahoma State athletics.

Pickens' initial contribution bankrolled several state-of-the-art athletic facilities, as well as a new football stadium, which was named after him.

"I know how to win. I have won before. And I win every day in the business I am in," Pickens told ESPN in 2006. "I don't find sports a helluva lot different than business. ... I want us to be competitive."

With sparkling facilities to attract recruits, that's exactly what Oklahoma State football became under Mike Gundy, whom Pickens had urged Holder to promote to head coach after Les Miles left for LSU in 2004.

Gundy paid tribute to Pickens on Twitter.

Mr. Pickens is a big part of our success and we're all thankful for the lasting impact he's had on Oklahoma State. It would have been difficult for us to climb as high as we have without him. He'll be missed, but his legacy here will live on for a long time to come. pic.twitter.com/1jYVwBcHo0

— Mike Gundy (@CoachGundy) September 11, 2019

Before Pickens' donation, the Cowboys had reached double-digit wins only three times in their history. Since, they've won 10 or more games in six seasons. In 2011, Oklahoma State captured its first Big 12 title and just narrowly missed out on playing LSU for the BCS National Championship.

"We have some added advantages that we've never had," Gundy said in 2008, when his team climbed into the top 10 of the polls for the first time since Barry Sanders' Heisman Trophy season in 1988. "It would have never happened without [Pickens]. There's just no way. It couldn't happen."

Yet as Oklahoma State rose to prominence behind Pickens' and Gundy's contributions, tensions rose between them. Pickens would become irritated when Gundy entertained job overtures. And on multiple occasions, Pickens publicly criticized Gundy for having a poor record against rival Oklahoma.

But in 2017, the two made amends, and Pickens tweeted a letter of support to Gundy after Oklahoma State's 62-52 loss to the Sooners.

"Over the years, him and I have butted heads a lot, but we do think a lot alike and we have a common goal," Gundy said a week later. "He wants to win every game. He's a competitor."

Pickens made his fortune founding Petroleum Exploration with just $2,500 in 1956. Over the following three decades, the company he renamed Mesa Petroleum ballooned into one of the largest oil companies in the world. Pickens later became famous for being a corporate raider of other oil companies. In 1985, Time magazine put him on its cover with the headline "The Takeover Game."

At 68, Pickens left Mesa and founded the hedge fund BP Capital Management, which bet heavily and successfully on natural gas, turning him into one of the richest people in America, while laying the groundwork for his involvement in Oklahoma State athletics.

"He was the ultimate Cowboy,'' Oklahoma State University president Burns Hargis said in a statement. "It is impossible to calculate his full impact on Oklahoma State. His historic gifts to academics and athletics not only transformed the university, they inspired thousands of others to join in the transformation.''

Pickens was born Thomas Boone Pickens Jr. on May 22, 1928, in Holdenville, Oklahoma. After graduating from high school in Amarillo, Texas, Pickens spent one year at Texas A&M on a basketball scholarship. When that scholarship was not renewed, he transferred to Oklahoma A&M.

Pickens was married and divorced five times. He is survived by five children and 11 grandchildren.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Antonio Brown took part in his first practice with the New England Patriots on Wednesday afternoon, a day after his former trainer filed a civil lawsuit in the Southern District of Florida accusing him of sexually assaulting her on three occasions.

Brown, who has worn the No. 84 throughout his career, was wearing No. 1, his temporary number, at practice.

Coach Bill Belichick declined to comment on additional questions about Brown before the practice, including his status for Sunday's game at Miami. Belichick repeatedly said "We're working on Miami" during his brief news conference.

In the lawsuit, a copy of which was reviewed by ESPN, Brown's former trainer, Britney Taylor, accuses the newly signed Patriots receiver of sexually assaulting her on three separate occasions in 2017 (in the Pittsburgh area) and 2018 (both in the Miami area).

Taylor is willing and planning to meet with the NFL next week. She is getting married and can't meet before then, sources tell ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Ed Griffith, the public information officer for the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office, said in a statement that, "having reviewed our records, we found no prior police investigative contacts regarding these allegations or these individuals.

"We will be reaching out to the pertinent police agencies to determine if they had any prior contacts or investigations. If such police investigations exist, we would certainly be interested in those reports and any related evidence gathered," he said.

The Allegheny County District Attorney's office told ESPN "as a matter of course" it reviews "information in a federal lawsuit whenever that information references potential criminal activity, even if that activity had not been previously known to law enforcement."

Belichick deferred to the Patriots' statement late Tuesday, which said they were aware of the lawsuit and "take these allegations very seriously."

"On Antonio's situation, both Antonio and his representatives have made statements, so I'm not going to be expanding on any of those. They are what they are. We've looked into the situation. We're taking it very seriously, all the way through the organization. I'm sure there are questions, but I'm not going to be entering a discussion about that today," he said.

Brown has denied the allegations. Darren Heitner, a lawyer representing Brown, said his client plans to countersue.

Drew Rosenhaus, Brown's agent, told ESPN on Wednesday that he and his client were "anticipating this possibility" that a lawsuit would be filed, but he declined to say whether the Patriots knew of the looming lawsuit before signing Brown.

Rosenhaus said he has been in contact with the NFL Players Association, which has spoken to the NFL.

"What I want to emphasize to everybody is, please allow the situation to play itself out. Antonio will cooperate. He will cooperate with the Patriots, with the NFL, with any investigation, with the NFLPA; and in time, Antonio will be cleared," he said.

The NFL has declined comment but will begin its investigation into the matter on Wednesday, ESPN's Dan Graziano reports.

The lawsuit caught the Patriots by surprise, sources told Schefter, and the team will have to decide how to proceed with Brown. One possibility is that Roger Goodell will place Brown on the commissioner's exempt list, sources said, which would mean Brown will not be counted on the Patriots' active list while the league investigates the allegations.

Brown was originally traded from Pittsburgh to Oakland in the offseason. But a bizarre foot injury, fights with the NFL over his helmet, skipped practices, multiple fines, a run-in with Raiders general manager Mike Mayock and his inflammatory social media posts ultimately led to the decision to release him.

He agreed to a deal with the defending Super Bowl champions hours after the Raiders granted his request and let him go.

ESPN's Mike Reiss, Jeremy Fowler and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Hornets owner and six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan is pledging $1 million to organizations assisting with Hurricane Dorian relief efforts in the Bahamas.

Jordan said in a statement Tuesday on Twitter through his spokeswoman, Estee Portnoy, that he's "devastated" at the destruction in the Bahamas, adding "my heart goes out to everyone who is suffering and to those who have lost loved ones."

Jordan, who owns property in and frequently visits the Bahamas, says as the recovery and relief efforts continue he will be tracking the situation closely and working to identify nonprofit agencies where the funds will have the most impact.

Jordan added that "the Bahamian people are strong and resilient and I hope that my donation will be of help as they work to recover from this catastrophic storm."

SHANGHAI -- Patty Mills scored 24 points and Australia moved into the World Cup semifinals with an 82-70 victory over the Czech Republic on Wednesday night.

Chris Goulding scored 14 and Andrew Bogut added 10 for Australia, which will meet Spain in Friday's semifinals. France and Argentina will play in the other semifinal on Friday.

France ousted the two-time defending World Cup champion U.S. 89-79 in another quarterfinal earlier Wednesday.

The first half was back and forth, with Australia leading 33-30 at the break. But a 30-18 third quarter was the difference for the Aussies, who led by as many as 17 in the second half. Patrik Auda scored 21 points for the Czech Republic. Tomas Satoransky was one rebound shy of the first triple-double in World Cup history -- he finished with 13 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds.

Australia, which beat the U.S. in an exhibition last month while tuning up for the World Cup, improved to 6-0 so far in China this summer.

TIP-INS

Australia: The win assures Australia of no worse than a fourth-place finish at the World Cup -- the program's best showing in this tournament. The Aussies were fifth at the world championships at 1982 and 1994. Czech Republic: Pavel Pumprla scored 10 for the Czechs. ... The Czechs were outscored 33-21 from 3-point range, and those 12 points matched the game's 12-point margin.

WELCOME BACK

Australia and Spain are the only semifinalists from the 2016 Olympics to make the final four at this World Cup.

PLAYOFF FORMAT

All eight quarterfinalists have two games remaining. Serbia, the U.S., the Czechs and Poland will play to decide fifth through eighth place -- with those spots decided on Saturday in Beijing. The semifinal losers of the Spain-Australia and France-Argentina games will play for third place Sunday in Beijing, immediately before the title game.

UP NEXT

Australia: Faces Spain in the semifinals on Friday at Beijing. Czech Republic: Faces Poland in a consolation playoff game on Thursday at Shanghai.