SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Clay Meschke had seen the belt sit on a shelf at his local skate shop for a while.

It was like a fanny pack for beer, with six insulated holders across the front and snaps in the back. He knew he needed it, but for what? Though he wasn't sure, every time the 26-year-old went in, the belt was still there, untouched, unsold. Finally, one day he offered $10 for it. Sold.

"I kind of just kept it around for moments like this," Meschke said.

On Friday night, Meschke found a use for it, stocking it full of $1 Bud Lights at the Phoenix Rising's Dollar Beer Night, the popular promotion that has become a local legend not just because of the cheap beer but because of success that has followed.

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The Rising haven't lost in three years of Dollar Beer Night promotions, extending their record to 13-0-0 on Friday with a 4-2 win over Reno 1868 FC in a clash of the top two teams in the United Soccer League's Western Conference.

The Rising's win, which improved their hold on first place in the West, also extended two other streaks. It was their 14th consecutive win, which added to their league record, and increased their unbeaten streak at home to 15 games overall. And, in typical Dollar Beer Night fashion, it was done with a dramatic flare as they converted two penalty kicks and added a third goal from defender Mustapha Dumbuya all in a span of 20 minutes in the second half.

By then, most of the 7,036 in attendance were full of cheap beer.

Some 20,000 cans of Bud Light were sold Friday night, including four for Meschke and four to his friend, Tim Barron. About 12 minutes before kickoff at Casino Arizona Stadium in south Scottsdale, Meschke was walking outside the bleachers with his beer holster fully stocked and one can in his hand. That was Round 1, though it was too early for him to decide how many more beers would be in his future.

"Let's face it: dollar beer," Meschke said. "Everybody's kind of excited."

The Rising's Dollar Beer Nights have accomplished everything the franchise had hoped for when they were devised two years ago. Four minutes after the gates opened at 6 p.m. on Friday, the line at the largest beer stand closest to the entrance was already 16 people deep. At that point, temperatures were still 108 degrees and the sun was still more than an hour from setting. Though cheap, beer wasn't going to keep anyone hydrated. But it didn't matter. The flow of fans passing over single dollar bills in return for a 12-ounce can was constant. One mom used her can to cool down her young daughter, putting it on her forehead much to the little girl's satisfaction.

Fans had options, too. They could line up at that permanent beer stand, which smartly divided its lines into cash and charge. Or they could bombard the rolling beer carts, one of which was set up 45 steps in front of one stadium entrance to capitalize on the heat, the day of the week and the price. It worked. Fans made a beeline right to it, cash in hand. When that stand had to restock, it could barely make it back to its original position before getting stopped by thirsty supporters. Finally, cases were brought out to them so they could remain on the ground, those carts capable of holding eight 30 packs (or 240 beers) at a time.

At one point, there were three beer stands within a span of 50 feet.

The club's limit is four beers (48oz.) per purchase but no limits on purchases and most fans, at least early in the evening, carried one or two. But as the night wore on, more fans opted for convenience, buying three or four at a time. The trick, then, was how to carry them.

Seven minutes before kickoff, there were 17 people in line at the big stand. Inside the stadium, the Rising's official supporters' section at the south end was completely full by time the game started at 7:30 p.m., but not the other seats. The sections behind the benches were about a third and other sections across from them were about half-full. But that's become the norm on Dollar Beer Nights. Fans were streaming in, with lines at the entrances until the 27th minute.

As a heat wave -- yes, even Arizona has them -- engulfed Phoenix, the crowd Friday wasn't as large as it has been in the past but according to Phoenix winger Solomon Asante, it was every bit as mighty. Fans from multiple Phoenix groups, with names like Los Bandidos and the Red Fury, stood the entire game, most on the bleacher seating and sometimes two or three deep at the fence line. Despite the chaos, supporters were conscientious about the environment. Piles of cans laid together, ready to be picked up after the game, and bags of empty cans made it easy to recycle.

After Asante's second successful penalty to seal the Rising's 13th consecutive Dollar Beer Night win, red smoke bombs filled the air, floating across the field, thick enough to block out the lights.

"I only come to these games for Dollar Beer Night," said Sonya Spagnola, of Scottsdale.

It was September 2017, the NFL and college football were in full swing, temperatures in Arizona were still hovering around 100 degrees and Sam Doerr was trying to figure out how to get fans to show up at a midweek game in early October.

He was a few months into his job as the Rising's vice president of sales and marketing when he was sitting in the team's Scottsdale headquarters with his staff, comprised of mostly recent graduates from Arizona State University. The game Doerr was focused on was on a Wednesday night. Not ideal to get either group in the stands since it was a big youth soccer night or the casual fan, since it was in the middle of their work week.

Then he posed a question to his young coworkers: Is Arizona State in session? Of course ASU was in session -- it was September, after all -- but why did Doerr care? Its campus was about two miles from Casino Arizona Field. And Doerr had a thought: What do most college students like more than anything? Cheap beer.

Doerr knew what he needed to do.

Before moving to Arizona, Doerr worked for the Spurs Sports & Entertainment in San Antonio, Texas, which owned an American Hockey League team in addition to the NBA team. There, he had organized "dollar drink nights" that led to increased ticket sales and "a little bit of a different atmosphere." Doerr wanted to do the same in Phoenix, so he worked out the details with Bud Light and struck a deal with Lyft offering 20-30 percent discounts for fans at the games and giving the team "free credits" to use on fans in need of a ride home.

Other safeguards included and end to beer sales at the 80th minute plus a "Pub to Pitch" program in which shuttles pick up and drop off fans at local bars and the stadium. The free services averages 500 riders every Dollar Beer Night; the team also pays for additional law enforcement to make sure everyone stays safe at the games.

And so, Doerr had built the Rising's first Dollar Beer Night. All he had to was wait for them to come.

"We ran out [of beer] the first night," Doerr said. "We got a lot of grief for it, but we didn't expect it. It was a midweek game."

That night, the Rising sold about 5,000 Bud Lights just after halftime. To keep up with the demand, the team started selling Four Peaks, a local craft beer, for a dollar instead. "We didn't want to lose the fans or momentum," Doerr said. On night one of the run, October 4, 2017, the Rising beat the Tulsa Roughnecks FC, 4-3, in dramatic fashion in front of 5,681 fans -- almost 2,000 more than the previous midweek game. Six goals were scored in an 18-minute stretch in the first half alone.

Phoenix Rising midfielder Joey Calistri played for Tulsa back then and had three assists that night. In a weird twist of fate, Calistri, who didn't know the correlation between the match and the beer promo, almost single-handedly stopped the Rising's streak before it started. He scored what would have been the deciding goal in stoppage time but was offside.

"It was crazy," Calistri said of that first Dollar Beer Night game. "It was insane. People were hammered. You'd go to take a set piece and you got guys just screaming in your ear. It's awesome. And, obviously, now that it's our fans, it's even better because it's a huge advantage."

Said Doerr: "What played into our hands was the game was like it was drunk, too."

That game was a preview of what was to come. The Rising knew it was on to something but didn't quite know what. It took them until the end of last season to figure it out. When they looked back on Dollar Beer Nights in 2017 and 2018, they knew they were 9-0-0 but what stood out was the upswing in attendance. On Wednesday nights, the crowd never topped out above 5,939 and their final two Wednesday Dollar Beer Nights had crowds of 5,017 and 5,307. Friday nights, however, were quite different. Attendance on every Friday Dollar Beer Night in 2018 was more than 7,000.

Here's the catch: Capacity at Casino Arizona Stadium is 6,200 and any ticket sold beyond that is standing room only. The Rising's two highest-attended games were the playoff games last season, both of which fell on a Friday night. After looking at 2017 and 2018, the Rising knew there was only one thing to do. When it set the schedule for 2019, they put every Dollar Beer Night on a Friday.

"It's just kind of like folklore, almost," said Rising coach Rick Schantz.

The team has even made Dollar Beer Night merchandise. It wears its black Copper State-themed alternate jerseys on Friday nights, making the most of the "blackout" theme. Bud Light made a mockumentary about the promotion. "The Dan Patrick Show" has named the Dollar Beer Night shirts "best of the week" twice. At the last Dollar Beer Night, Bud Light sent the Bud Knight to enhance the fun.

The Rising sold between 18,000 and 20,000 beers at its July 19 Dollar Beer Night: about five times what it sells on any other night. Then there's the quality of soccer on display, too. Not only is the Rising 13-0-0 on Dollar Beer Night since 2017, but it has scored 44 goals and allowed only 11 with eight shutouts. Their average margin of victory is 2.58 goals.

"It's always exciting in the stadium, but Friday nights is a different level," Rising general manager Bobby Dulle said. "Anytime you can play in front of a very passionate, loud fan base like ours, you're going to have a home field advantage. Throw it on Dollar Beer Night and you even get more buzz in the stadium.

"Everyone just kind of maybe picks it up a notch or two."

The crowd gets goalkeeper Zac Lubin and some of his teammates buzzing on Friday nights quite literally. "I wouldn't be surprised if a bit rained on me," Lubin said.

Sometimes, it's directly poured on him and his teammates. After games, players walk around the fences high-fiving fans. In return, some fans try to pour beers into the players' mouths like the drinking game, waterfall. By the end of games, the supporters section smells like a "stale bar," Lubin said.

"[Our fans are] dancing and singing the whole game," he said. "You get that feeling of just like energy and they help us. Obviously, it shows when we're scoring so many goals and we're undefeated.

"I think other teams know coming into it, like, 'It's gonna be a battle tonight. We're going to have to battle the team but also like the crowd and fans.' When you're in front of that South End, man, you can't hear anything. So if you're the opposing goalkeeper, I can't even imagine. Like it's loud for me, but when they're shouting at you and talking smack to you the whole time, I can't imagine trying to organize your defenses. It's almost impossible."

There's also a practical benefit from the increase support and energy on Friday nights.

"We talk about it all the time," Schantz said. "When you look at the metrics of football and soccer, you're running 12 miles a game and some of these guys are doing upward of, you know, 1,500 sprint meters. When you're as tired as you can be, we always say, 'Imagine how tired the other team is.' Add the heat, but then add the fans on our side and that extra shot of adrenaline -- the fans just want that goal and they want you to win so badly. So, it's a massive advantage for us."

It's also helped keep the Rising relevant after Didier Drogba retired.

Drogba was a soccer legend when he arrived in Arizona for what proved to be the final stop in his 20-year playing career. Whenever the striker, who won multiple Premier League titles and the UEFA Champions League with English side Chelsea, did something notable on the field, Doerr said the social media impressions skyrocketed into the millions. When Drogba scored, Chelsea shared it.

"Dollar Beer Night has filled the void for Didier," Doerr added.

Before a recent game, Schantz walked into the locker room with an open Bud Light in his jacket pocket. With every step, beer spilled out and soaked his jacket. He pulled it out during his speech in dramatic fashion and asked his team what that can meant to them.

"Immortality," one player yelled out.

"We all kind of laughed that, on Dollar Beer Night, we're immortal," Schantz said. "We can't lose."

What could possibly happen next?

Liverpool goalkeeper Adrian wondered that on Monday; a day without training or travel commitments afforded him the chance to catch his breath and reflect on everything that has happened during a "crazy" 14 days, which contained enough incidents -- including an awful gaffe at Southampton -- to cover an entire career.

Has more ever happened to a "backup" goalkeeper in such a short space of time? Instead of the usual spell of settling in, getting to know his teammates and learning the nuances of his new team, Adrian was pressed into action on the season's opening weekend due to Alisson's injury. Since then, he's picked up two league wins and was integral to the Reds' UEFA Super Cup victory, the first major trophy of his career. The stunning start to his time at Anfield has already made him a cult hero.

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During the early hours of last Thursday in Istanbul, Adrian stitched himself into the fabric of Liverpool's proud European history. He thwarted Tammy Abraham with a trailing right foot to win the Super Cup against Chelsea 5-4 on penalties, enabling the club to lift a second continental trophy under Jurgen Klopp following June's Champions League triumph.

In that match, the Spaniard squeezed the multiple highs and lows a goalkeeper can experience into a manic 120 minutes. He produced a crucial save at the feet of Mateo Kovacic on 32 minutes, before being beaten by Olivier Giroud's low finish, which skidded underneath him. Adrian did brilliantly to thwart Abraham with his feet in extra time, but then was harshly adjudged to have impeded the 20-year-old in the area and was sat down by Jorginho's cool technique from the resulting spot-kick.

Adrian then denied Mason Mount late on before his moment of glory arrived. When the 32-year-old saved from Abraham in the shootout, grabbed his towel and slid to his knees awaiting the celebratory scrum from his teammates, it felt as though he was living somebody else's life.

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Adrian's individual honour roll had read zero before that Super Cup trophy and only a few weeks earlier, he was training at semi-professional side Unión Deportiva Pilas in Spain's sixth tier, with personal goalkeeping coach Pedro Illanes and a physical trainer, to keep in shape after running down his contract at West Ham United.

He knew he would receive offers during the summer, especially from teams around Spain, and so made the decision to work out in his birthplace of Seville. Adrian was on the verge of accepting a proposal from Real Valladolid before a "bombshell" call from Liverpool considerably altered his trajectory.

By the end of last season it was clear that if Simon Mignolet departed Anfield in search of regular starts, the club would replace him with an equally experienced keeper to deputise for Alisson. Adrian was seen as the "perfect solution" (to borrow Klopp's description), having made 150 appearances during a six-year spell with West Ham. He was familiar with the demands of the league, had dealt with pressure situations and did not allow mistakes to affect him from week to week.

The club's homework on him was extensive: they had watched him at Real Betis and followed him with a closer eye when he moved to east London in 2013. They liked his anticipation, distribution and courage: he had huge character, which is an important element in an unforgiving position. When Club Brugge made Liverpool an offer totalling £8 million for Mignolet, a call was put into Adrian immediately to say he was the first choice to be Klopp's new No.2.

The "bombshell" conversation, as the keeper labelled it, came as a surprise: he was not expecting to return to England, especially to join the champions of Europe. There was no hesitation from Adrian once the offer came, only details to sort out: He offered apologies to Real Valladolid and two days before his Aug. 5 move to Merseyside, he informed Pilas' sporting director Jose Maria Moreno that he would no longer need to use their facilities. That goodbye was followed with a load of bags that contained his old kits, boots and other memorabilia as well as a handwritten letter and gift card.

"In gratitude for your hospitality and availability, I want to present UD Pilas with this voucher for sports materials and equipment to continue growing," it read. "Thank you so much for everything! I wish you all the best."

The gift certificate helped the club purchase 20 balls and other necessities for the season, the time spent with the goalie turning Moreno into a Liverpool fan. (The sporting director couldn't bear to watch the shootout against Chelsea, but went wild when his son told him Adrian had saved the decisive penalty to win the Super Cup.)

How Adrian performed in the Super Cup, despite not having time to prepare, was "incredible," according to the manager, who saluted him as a "proper personality in the dressing room as well."

A few hours later, however, Klopp was left sweating on his new "mentality monster," whose ankle was significantly swollen by the time he woke up. The keeper was immediately a doubt for Saturday's trip to Southampton; he'd been hurt when a spectator breached the barricade during the post-match celebrations in Istanbul and ran across the pitch to evade the security guards before slipping and clattering into the new Liverpool No.1.

On the four-and-a-half-hour flight back to Liverpool that Thursday afternoon, head physio Lee Nobes worked intensively on the affected area to ensure Adrian would pass a late fitness test to start at Southampton.

His hero status was eroded a little in the ensuing 2-1 win at St Mary's as his clearance from Virgil van Dijk's back pass ricocheted off Danny Ings' shin and into the net on 83 minutes after Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino fired the Reds ahead, leading to a tense finish on the south coast.

Yet Klopp wasn't concerned, having watched Alisson's big mistake early on for Liverpool against Leicester City last season. After Saturday's match, he revealed he'd already cleared the air with his new keeper.

"Yes. I told him, 'You finally arrived, welcome!' Ali did the same. Obviously it's a goalie thing at Liverpool, no problem with that as long as we win the games. All good.

"Adrian had a swollen ankle and we played too many balls back to him in that period. I was happy with everything he did today, all the saves, all that stuff. The other players have to then feel more the responsibility for the build-up and cannot give all the balls back to him and hope the pain killers still help or whatever.

"I don't think the goal was because of that, but a few other balls were. He is completely good with his feet. If you would have seen his ankle on Thursday after we left the plane then you would say even the pass before the Southampton goal was better than you would have expected! It is all fine."

Liverpool are confident it won't impact him much, something also evidenced by his time at West Ham.

"How he reacts to the mistake, I think that is more important than the mistake itself," midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum said, before reminding that the new recruit has been "in for not even two weeks, so we have to get used to each other." It hasn't helped Adrian that he is between the posts for a Liverpool side that have been atypically open, allowing the opposition to create a high volume of chances this season.

Chelsea had 20 shots during the Super Cup, with 13 inside the box, while promoted side Norwich fired in 12 in total at Anfield, with eight coming inside the area. Nine of Southampton's 14 efforts were also from the 18-yard zone. With Arsenal next up and given their attacking weaponry -- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang shared the league's Golden Boot with Mane and Mohamed Salah last season -- Liverpool will need to tighten up, but Adrian will know more than anyone that he needs to be prepared for everything.

As he put it himself after defeating Chelsea, "goalkeeper life is like this."

Loughborough Lightning 157 for 7 (Adams 50, Ecclestone 3-17) beat Lancashire Thunder 74 for 6 (Gordon 3-18) by 35 runs (DLS method)

Loughborough Lightning secured a third successive Kia Super League win with a 35-run victory over winless Lancashire Thunder on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method at Old Trafford.

The Lightning's victory was underpinned by a superb recovery with the bat. Having lost early wickets they scored at more than 10 an over after the Powerplay to make 157 for 7 - Georgia Adams the standout with 50.

After a bright start, the Thunder lost key wickets and were stifled by a strong bowling display and brilliant fielding by Loughborough, who eased to victory as the rain came. Lancashire are now mathematically unable to qualify for Finals Day.

Tahlia McGrath set about trying to make light work of the chase of 158, and crucially getting Thunder ahead of the DLS rate, smashing two huge sixes into the stands off Kathryn Bryce in the fourth over.

But Hayley Matthews hit back in the sixth over with two wickets. First McGrath fell for 26 to a superb one-handed grab by Chamari Atapattu at mid-off before Matthews took an equally spectacular caught-and-bowled effort to remove Sophia Dunkley for a duck.

Thunder were 34 for 2 after the Powerplay. South Africa allrounder Sune Luus batted well to guide her side to 60 for 2 at halfway, but two wickets fell in consecutive overs as Harmanpreet Kaur was caught in the deep for 7 and Emma Lamb was bowled for a duck.

As the rain began to pour down on Old Trafford, Lightning struck two decisive blows as Kirstie Gordon took wickets in consecutive balls with Luus caught for 30 and Sophie Ecclestone for a first-ball duck.

Gordon was deprived a hat-trick delivery as the weather cut the match short with Thunder 74 for 6 after 13.4 overs of their innings.

Having won the toss, Thunder enjoyed an excellent powerplay. Kate Cross trapped England team-mate Amy Jones lbw for a duck in the second over, before Ecclestone struck twice to remove Matthews and Atapattu.

Loughborough were 18 for 3 after six overs but Mignon du Preez counterattacked, launching Alex Hartley down the ground for six. Forty-one runs came in four overs after the Powerplay, as du Preez and Georgia Elwiss put on a 47-run partnership in just 31 balls.

Lamb struck to bowl Du Preez for 18 but Elwiss continued the aggression, smashing a huge six over midwicket. The England star fell for 38, brilliantly caught by McGrath as Cross claimed her second wicket to make it 72 for 5. But Loughborough's recovery was not stalled by the loss of wickets as Adams and Bryce took up the baton, reaching their 50 partnership in 29 balls.

Both were dismissed in the final over of the innings - Bryce bowled by for an 18-ball 32 and Adams run out for a superb 50 from 33 balls - but their partnership of 82 in 45 balls proved crucial.

Russell Domingo's appointment as the seventh Bangladesh head coach in eight years does suggest a somewhat rough next few months for the South African, but he sounded upbeat and up for the challenge in his first interaction with the media after reaching Dhaka. The theme was adapting to Bangladesh's ways, and not expecting the players to adapt to his style, while also stressing that "monitoring the players just beneath the national side" would be one of his targets.

No Bangladesh head coach has completed his tenure since Jamie Siddons left in 2011, and it has been a bit of a rough and tumble at the best of times. But, if making the right noises is a good start, Domingo played it well to begin with.

"We [the overseas coaching contingent, including new bowling coach Charl Langeveldt] can't expect Bangladesh cricket to adapt to us, we've got to adapt to Bangladesh cricket. And we've got to find a way to make our processes and our systems work with the cricket organisation and with the players," Domingo said. "So we might need to alter the way we go about things to fit in with the culture, more so than the culture changing to fit in with us.

"My immediate goal is to make some sort of connection with the players, to understand the players, build some relationships over the next week or two - I think that's massively important, to try and gain the players' trust, see how the players go about their work."

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With the domestic structure in a bit of a shambles, the emergence of quality new players hasn't always happened in an ideal manner. This was an aspect Domingo had also stressed on in his presentation to the Bangladesh Cricket Board.

"Because I have worked at a lot of different levels of cricket, from Under-15 to Under-17 to domestic cricket to international cricket, I think I am very aware of how important feeder systems are," he explained. "That's where your next tier of players come from. I want to place a lot of emphasis on monitoring the players just beneath the national side, and when there are opportunities to play some of those players, you need to take those opportunities.

"And it can't be for one or two games, you need to try and give players a little bit of a run. Young players especially, so they can find their feet in international cricket. We've got a good national side but it's important that we are evaluating the players just below the national side to sustain the success of Bangladesh cricket.

"After our [triangular T20I] series against Zimbabwe and Afghanistan, I'm hoping to go to Sri Lanka to watch the 'A' side play. It's impossible to watch all the cricket, there's no doubt about that. I've got to make sure I surround myself with people I can trust, selectors who are going to give me good inputs, connect with the high-performance coaches, with the 'A' side coaches, and find out who they think the best players are that we can invite closer to the national side."

"The test for me is going to be to find seamers that can bowl outside Bangladesh, that can bowl in conditions in South Africa, Australia" Charl Langeveldt

Bangladesh are a team on the ascendance, especially at home, where they have had some excellent results in the last few years. But an eighth-place finish at the recent World Cup - where Shakib Al Hasan almost single-handedly drove their fortunes - and then a 3-0 ODI series defeat in Sri Lanka has hurt the team and their legions of fans.

"I don't think they are a bad team because they lost to Sri Lanka. Touring straight after a World Cup is always going to be hard. Sri Lanka probably had a bit more to gain from it with a few players leaving, it was the last game for Lasith [Malinga], [Nuwan] Kulasekara was given a farewell, they had a bit more to prove," Domingo said. "The World Cup performances, I thought they played really well. They were really close to winning some of the games that they lost.

"You think of the game against New Zealand, maybe a missed run out [of Kane Williamson, by Mushfiqur Rahim] cost them the game. The margins of winning and losing international games are minimal, so … I think the team is really close to becoming a real force in world cricket. If they just make the right decisions, at the right times, on the right days, I don't think they are really very far off other sides at the moment.

"The log will say they ended in seventh [eighth], I think they played better than that. And I've been in international cricket long enough to know that sometimes the results can hinge on a decision here and there, so it's not always a fair reflection of where you are as a team. There were a lot of positives to come out of the World Cup that they can build on going forward for sure. There are a lot of areas they can improve in, but there were a lot of positives in the World Cup."

While Bangladesh have shown promise in 50-overs cricket, results in Test matches and T20Is have largely been disappointing, and that's something Domingo is aware of.

"It's hard to get any sort of rhythm in your Test match cricket if you're not playing that many Test matches. With the new Test Championship, that allows a team to focus a lot more on Test match cricket. We know often Bangladesh play one- or two-Test series. Hopefully now there will be three-Test series, four-Test series, which gets them more into that format," he said. "A lot of that focus now needs to move away from the World Cup and the 50-over format into Test match cricket. So it will be a good start to put a lot more focus and emphasis on our red-ball skills in the next couple of months.

"It's a massive opportunity for Bangladesh to compete regularly in Test match cricket. Their last Test match was maybe six months ago, we can hardly remember when it was. The more you play the better you're going to get in the format. That's probably where they have been lacking, they haven't played a lot of Test match cricket. If you look at England, Australia, India, and weigh those up against the number of Tests Bangladesh have played, you can understand why they are the leading sides in the world in that format."

To be a leading side, however, there are many creases to iron out, and a big one is the country's fast bowling. And that's where Langeveldt comes in.

"That's a challenge. When I was coaching in Afghanistan, it was a challenge there too. If you can rectify that, if you can strike with the new ball, it will make life easier for the spinners, and you will compete a lot more in 50-overs and Test cricket," he said. "It could be a small thing, a technical thing. The new ball is important in one-day cricket, even in Test cricket, especially in these conditions.

"The test for me is going to be to find seamers that can bowl outside Bangladesh, that can bowl in conditions in South Africa, Australia. If you look at India now, they've got three seamers and they are winning games in South Africa and Australia. We've got to find somehow seamers, so when we go abroad, in those conditions we can compete."

Big Picture

Chaos has been a constant in Sri Lankan cricket in 2019. Captaincy change - check; coach sacking - check; interim committee - check; sports ministry interference - check; contract terminations - check.

Yet, quite incredibly, Sri Lanka are on a three-match winning streak in Tests, on the verge of consecutive Test series wins against South Africa and New Zealand. If results go their way in the Ashes, they could end up above either Australia or England in the Test rankings.

Team selection and captaincy quandaries don't seem such a big issue anymore as the selectors have seemingly stumbled upon a winning combination. A broken clock is indeed right twice a day. What does this mean for New Zealand?

A series that began as a nice little warm-down from the emotionally and physically draining madness that was the World Cup final is now in must-win territory, with 60 World Test Championship points at stake. This isn't to question New Zealand's professionalism, but merely an indication of the resolve and fight shown by the hosts.

New Zealand however do have history in their corner. They won at the P Sara Oval in 2012 to record their first Test win in Sri Lanka in 14 years. Their only other game here was drawn. Add to this, Sri Lanka have won less than half their matches at this ground.

Both Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor registered tons in that 2012 win, and with the captain having had an underwhelming outing in Galle, he is due a big score. On a surface that is likely to offer more pace and bounce, Sri Lanka's top order will also need to be more wary of the visitors' pace threat.

Form guide

Sri Lanka WWWLD (last five completed matches, most recent first)
New Zealand LWWWD

In the spotlight

Trent Boult picked up seven wickets in his only match at the P Sara Oval. Having already troubled Sri Lanka's batsmen on as pace averse a pitch as possible in Galle, he'll be licking his lips at the prospect of squaring up to Sri Lanka's top order again.

Dimuth Karunaratne could not have asked for a better start to his Test career as captain. Three wins out of three, and a team that is fast gelling under his leadership. But he will know better than most how fragile a foundation this new found success has been built on. On a surface on which scores in excess of 400 and sub-200 are all possibilities, Karunaratne's guiding hand at the top of the order will be crucial to the overall productivity of Sri Lanka's batsmen.

Team news

Fit again, Dilruwan Perera will very likely come into the side in place of the still green Lasith Embuldeniya.

Sri Lanka: 1 Dimuth Karunaratne (capt), 2 Lahiru Thirimanne, 3 Kusal Mendis, 4 Angelo Mathews, 5 Kusal Perera, Niroshan Dickwella (wk) 7 Dhananjaya De Silva, 8 Dilruwan Perera, 9 Akila Dananjaya 10 Lahiru Kumara 11 Suranga Lakmal

For New Zealand, fast bowler Neil Wagner could come in, though it remains to be seen if it'll be at the expense of one of the spinners or the quicks.

New Zealand: 1 Jeet Raval, 2 Tom Latham, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Henry Nicholls, 6 BJ Watling, 7 Mitchell Santner, 8 Ajaz Patel, 9 Will Somerville/Neil Wagner, 10 Trent Boult, 11 Tim Southee

Pitch and conditions

The pitch traditionally has more in it for the quicks, with a fair amount of pace and bounce, and back-bending effort is more often than not rewarded. However if the rain stays away and the pitch dries up, expect the spinners to come into play as the Test wears on.

Stats and trivia

• Sri Lanka's Test record of nine wins and seven losses at the P Sara Oval is their second worst at any home venue with at least 10 matches played, the worst being at Asgiriya in Kandy (seven wins, nine losses)

• The win in Galle meant Sri Lanka won three successive Tests chasing for the first time in their history

• Currently placed second in the rankings, New Zealand will drop a place (or places, based on results in the Ashes) if they don't level the series

• With 972 runs, Kane Williamson needs a further 56 to become the second-highest run scorer in bilateral ties between the two sides, going past Mahela Jayawardene. Stephen Fleming tops the list with 1166 runs

Quotes

"I think this pitch will suit the batsmen and fast bowlers more than the Galle surface did. I think there will be more runs here from both teams than there was in Galle."
Niroshan Dickwella knows a thing or two about the P Sara pitch

"In these conditions if you get yourself in you need to keep going and take the game as deep as possible. We're probably guilty of that throughout the [first] Test match. Hopefully we can go a lot bigger here."
BJ Watling rues letting the initiative slip in the first Test

Jason Roy has come through a concussion test following a blow to the head while batting in the nets on Tuesday, but will be assessed once more before he is cleared to play in the third Ashes Test at Headingley.

Roy sustained a blow directly on the stem guard when facing throwdowns from Marcus Trescothick. He was assessed both at the time - he was cleared to carry on batting - and again on Wednesday morning before training but will undergo one more test on Thursday morning before he is deemed eligible for selection.

While he is thought highly likely to be declared fit to play, it is understood England will have Ollie Pope on unofficial standby should Roy display any symptoms of delayed concussion. If that happens, and Roy misses out, Joe Denly would be promoted to open the batting alongside Rory Burns and Pope would slot into the middle-order. Pope and Dominic Sibley were on unofficial standby during the second Test at Lord's in the understanding that Sibley would come in for a top-order batsman and Pope for a middle-order batsman.

In years gone by, it is probable the blow sustained by Roy would have gone largely unnoticed. But with concussions very much in the news and a growing awareness of the seriousness of the condition, the cautious approach taken by England here is likely to become the norm. Roy batted in training without any apparent discomfort on Wednesday.

England will play 18 games in their 2020 home summer against four different opponents, the ECB confirmed on Wednesday.

The home summer begins later than usual, with the first of three Tests against West Indies starting at The Oval on June 4.

They will then play three T20Is and three ODIs against Australia, before a two-week window in which centrally contracted players will be made available to play in the early rounds of The Hundred. The new competition will begin on Friday, July 17, the day after the final ODI against Australia.

ALSO READ: The Hundred window in England's international schedule

Pakistan will then arrive for a tour comprising three Tests and three T20Is, before the summer ends with three ODIs against Ireland in September.

As reported by ESPNcricinfo, the later start to the summer will not necessarily mean that England's Test stars are available for the whole IPL season. There will be scant opportunities for their all-format players like Joe Root, Ben Stokes, and Jos Buttler to play first-class cricket between the West Indies Tests and the Pakistan series, and with central contracts set to become more lucrative, it is expected that the ECB will encourage them to play at least some early-season County Championship games.

There are more T20Is than in recent years, as England continue their preparations for the T20 World Cup in Australia in October-November 2020.

Edgbaston will continue to host Finals Day of the T20 Blast, which will remain the longest T20 competition in the world. Finals Day will take place on September 5, with the opening rounds likely to start at the end of May.

As expected, Lord's will no longer host the showpiece one-day final, with the 50-over competition's climax set for Trent Bridge.

The ECB has also hinted that the Finals Day format - in which at least one semi-final is held directly before the final - will be continued for The Hundred, though the date and exact format remain unconfirmed.

Tom Harrison, the ECB's chief executive, said, "The ICC World Test Championship will add significance and context to the Test Series against West Indies and Pakistan. Where every Test matters, there will be lots of points to play for as England continue their efforts to reach the inaugural World Test Championship final in June 2021.

"Alongside the red-ball matches, England's ODI contests against Australia, and Ireland will see the World Champions return to home soil with big crowds expected at all venues. With further interest in T20I cricket, the six matches against Australia and the world number one side Pakistan will offer a fascinating guide to form ahead of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in Australia during the autumn of 2020."

Zakir Khan, the PCB's international cricket director, said, "A tour of England tests the skills and limits of the visiting sides and I anticipate this tour to help Pakistan furnish their red-ball skills and also prepare them for the all-important ICC T20 World Cup in Australia later in 2020."

Richard Holdsworth, performance director for Cricket Ireland, said, "We ran the World Cup champions close at Malahide this year in a hard-fought ODI, and expect that as this side further evolves, it will be highly competitive come September 2020 backed by some great travelling and UK-based Irish support. The recent Test match at Lord's demonstrated the interest in Irish cricket, and the series will be played across three iconic Test venues, so promises to be a great experience for all."

England Men's home international schedule, 2020

v West Indies

June 4-8 - First Test, The Oval
June 12-16 - Second Test, Edgbaston
June 25-29 - Third Test, Lord's

v Australia

July 3 - First T20I, Edgbaston
July 5 - Second T20I, Old Trafford
July 7 - Third T20I, Headingley
July 11 - First ODI, Lord's
July 14 - Second ODI, Ageas Bowl
July 16 - Third ODI, Bristol

v Pakistan

July 30 - First Test, Lord's
August 7 - Second Test, Old Trafford
August 20 - Third Test, Trent Bridge
August 29 - First T20I, Headingley
August 31 - Second T20I, Cardiff
September 2 - Third T20I, Ageas Bowl

v Ireland

September 10 - First ODI, Trent Bridge
September 12 - Second ODI, Edgbaston
September 15 - Third ODI, The Oval

Domestic Finals

September 5 - T20 Blast Finals Day, Edgbaston
September 19 - One Day Cup final, Trent Bridge
tbc - The Hundred Finals Day

Gennady Golovkin and Sergiy Derevyanchenko agreed to terms on Tuesday to meet for a vacant middleweight world title on Oct. 5 at Madison Square Garden in New York, multiple sources told ESPN.

The sides had been locked for three weeks in an acrimonious negotiation before overcoming the issues and agreeing on all points.

The paperwork is with both sides, and according to the sources, as long as that paperwork reflects what was agreed to, the contracts are expected to be signed on Wednesday, with a news conference scheduled to take place to formally announce the bout on Thursday at Madison Square Garden.

Running the news conference and the front man for the event will be a new member of Team GGG: Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn, whose company has close ties to DAZN, which will stream the fight, and helped get the deal done.

Derevyanchenko and Golovkin will be fighting for the IBF 160-pound world title stripped from Canelo Alvarez on Aug. 1, when he failed to finalize a deal to face Derevyanchenko, the mandatory challenger. That left Derevyanchenko to face the next leading contender in the IBF's rankings, which was Golovkin, who used to hold that belt.

The IBF gave the sides until Sept. 4 to make a deal, or it would order a purse bid, but they needed to get the deal done before that to have the fight on Oct. 5, the date DAZN wanted it and a date that Madison Square Garden was available.

Golovkin preferred to face Alvarez for a third time following a controversial draw in September 2017 and a majority decision loss in September 2018 that cost him his unified title but will instead face Derevyanchenko because Alvarez refused to face Golovkin. There was heavy pressure from DAZN, which has Alvarez and Golovkin under exclusive contract, for Alvarez to fight GGG this fall, but when he refused, DAZN reluctantly approved Derevyanchenko as Golovkin's fall opponent.

Derevyanchenko (13-1, 10 KOs), 33, of Ukraine, lost a vacant IBF world title fight to Daniel Jacobs in October. Jacobs went on to lose the belt to Alvarez in May, and Derevyanchenko earned another mandatory shot at it when he rebounded from the loss to Jacobs to outpoint Jack Culcay in a world title eliminator on April 13.

Golovkin (39-1-1, 35 KOs), 37, a Kazakhstan native fighting out of Santa Monica, California, tied Bernard Hopkins for the record for consecutive middleweight title defenses at 20 before the close loss to Alvarez. Next he will look to begin a second title reign against Derevyanchenko following a brutal negotiation.

The camps had agreed on the financial terms of the bout nearly two weeks ago, as well as random drug testing to be handled by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (though that will get a late start due to the protracted negotiations), but the fight was held up while they argued over secondary elements of the deal such as how many hotel rooms Derevyanchenko's team would receive, his allotment of tickets and the parameters of fines associated with either man missing the 160-pound weight limit or the IBF's weight check on the morning of the bout.

FRISCO, Texas -- It wasn't a contract extension for Dak Prescott or Ezekiel Elliott or Amari Cooper, but Jaylon Smith's seven-year deal with the Dallas Cowboys that was signed Tuesday allowed owner and general manager Jerry Jones to feel happy.

"Y'all have been badgering my ass to get a contract done for the last three weeks. This is a contract story," Jones said. "And this is a contract story that is not just this year or not just next year, this has it all. It has overcoming. It has talent. It has rewarding an ambition. Or it just has the beginning of what ambition will get you in the future. That's the biggest, most exciting thing about this."

When the Cowboys took Smith in the second round of the 2016 NFL draft, they did not know if he would be able to come close to the level of player he was while at Notre Dame before suffering a significant knee injury that included nerve damage. Fourteen months into his time with the Cowboys, Smith could not lift his right foot without the aid of an orthosis.

After missing his rookie season, Smith has played in 32 straight games with 22 starts and signed a five-year extension that is worth $64 million and includes $35.5 million guaranteed, according to Cowboys executive Stephen Jones.

"You took a risk, a $4.5 million risk, had I never been able to play again," Smith told the Joneses, who were sitting next to the linebacker at the news conference. "So me understanding that, it was my duty for them to get the return on their investment. They've been able to do that. And now I'm fortunate enough to really be a Cowboy for life, [which] is what I want. I'm thankful to be here, for sure."

Smith also shared his thoughts on his long journey back from injury on social media on Tuesday.

3 and a half years ago on Jan 1st, 2016,
Tears in my eyes,
My life changed forever.
I embraced each moment.
I had a focused vision, determined belief and now I have earned one of my dreams!  #ClearEyeView | #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/xqNDGFNSFS

— Jaylon Smith (@thejaylonsmith) August 20, 2019

Almost immediately, however, the question became: When will the Cowboys sign their three Pro Bowl offensive stars?

Stephen Jones said the talks with the agents for Prescott, Elliott and Cooper have increased more than what they had while in Oxnard, California, for the first portion of training camp. He is "very optimistic" deals can be worked out for all three.

"It just takes getting in the ballpark, then usually these things roll," Stephen Jones said.

The Cowboys have made offers to Prescott, Elliott and Cooper that would rank in the top five in terms of average per year at their positions. Stephen Jones said the talks with Smith took a week and a half to finish and believes it would not take long to get the others signed if they had earnest discussions.

Smith's deal does not directly impact how much the Cowboys can pay Prescott, Elliott and Cooper, but, Jerry Jones said, "There's less pie, make no bones about it."

"I wouldn't say (plenty of pie is left)," Stephen Jones added. "We've obviously got a feel, and we still do want to get Amari and Zeke and Dak signed. That's still huge for us. Very optimistic. I know they're no different than Jaylon. They want to be here. They want to be Cowboys. I still stand by we want to get them contracts that they're having their happy moment like (Smith) and it's still good for the team."

From the start of training camp, if not earlier, the Cowboys have been consistent in preaching they want to do deals that allow them to keep their core players together for the long term.

"The team takes precedent at a point over the opinion or the demand of the individual," said Jones, who turns 78 in October. "The team takes precedent. This was a team move that we are talking about today. A real team move. The team takes precedent. And I've got the backbone to keep it that way."

After the Cowboys' preseason win against the Los Angeles Rams in Honolulu in which rookie running back Tony Pollard had 51 total yards and a touchdown, Jones joked, "Zeke, who?" Elliott's agent, Rocky Arceneaux, told ESPN's Chris Mortensen that he and his client found the joke "disrespectful."

Jones has not talked to Elliott since the joke, but added, "Look, I've earned the right with Zeke to joke. Period. I've earned it."

The Cowboys believe Smith earned this extension. In the past two seasons, he has been credited by the coaches with 249 tackles. Last season, he was second on the team in tackles to go along with four sacks, five tackles for loss, 13 quarterback pressures, four pass breakups, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

"He has never complained," Jerry Jones said. "He has never wavered, never missed a workout, and he's never quit. Not one time. He is admired by his teammates. He is admired by the people he competes against. His story is one that I would have done anything to be sure that it could be a Dallas Cowboys story."

LOS ANGELES -- The gravity of all this will hit Clayton Kershaw at some point, perhaps on a day long removed from this one. On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Dodgers' longtime ace earned his 166th career victory, moving him past the Dodgers' ultimate ace, Sandy Koufax, the man Kershaw has so often been compared to.

Kershaw was respectful of the milestone but also quick to move past it, as is his custom.

"It's just hard for me to take big-picture perspectives on things," he said. "Someday, I hope to do that."

Kershaw is now the fifth-winningest pitcher in franchise history, trailing only Don Sutton, Don Drysdale, Dazzy Vance and Brickyard Kennedy, greats from other times. Among those in the expansion era, which began in 1961, Kershaw sits in a four-way tie for 25th place in wins for pitchers through their first 12 seasons. With three more W's, an attainable number given the health and success of his 2019 campaign, he will settle into the top 20.

But Koufax, who dominated the first half of the 1960s before arm injuries forced him to retire at age 30, is the enduring link.

"It's an honor for me just to be mentioned in the same sentence as Sandy," Kershaw said after the team's 16-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. "What he was able to accomplish in his career -- he would've gone a lot longer if he was playing today, probably, because he could've gotten healthy. Just a special thing, man."

Kershaw was at his best as he prepared to face the lowly Jays for the start of a six-game homestand, posting a 1.40 ERA with 59 strikeouts and 13 walks over his previous 45 innings. Then he got hit around. Bo Bichette took him deep twice, first on a 90 mph fastball to open the game and then on a flat slider to open the sixth. Derek Fisher also homered to lead off the third. But Kershaw navigated through trouble, just as he has so often this season.

"That's something that all great ones have -- the ability to limit damage," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "It's that short-term memory, where when something does happen or you're in a big spot to still have that ability to focus on executing your pitch."

Kershaw gave up three solo home runs but nothing more on the scoreboard. He allowed three other hits and issued three walks but was able to complete six innings for the 22nd time in 22 starts this season. He improved to 13-2 and put his ERA at 2.71, fifth lowest in the majors despite continuing to rely more heavily on breaking balls than ever before.

The slider -- a pitch opponents slugged just .194 against over his past seven starts -- continued to feature the depth that is necessary to differentiate it from Kershaw's fastball, forcing hitters to go 1-for-10 in at-bats that finished with it on Tuesday.

Kershaw dismissed all that. He felt he often got "bailed out," citing the double play that Randal Grichuk lined into in the fourth. The lefty would've asked to come out for the seventh, with his pitch count only at 89, but said, "I didn't earn it."

Earlier, Roberts said it's "certainly fair" to compare Kershaw to Koufax, who went 97-27 with a 1.86 ERA from 1963 to 1966 (and put up a 0.95 ERA in 57 career postseason innings).

Kershaw will think about that another day.

"Being given an opportunity to get to do some of this stuff is really special, and I try not to lose sight of that," Kershaw said. "But I think somewhere in my brain I can't [fully appreciate the moment] and continue to be successful every fifth day, because you think you're better than you are, you know? So you just gotta keep going.

"Maybe someday I'll look back on it and think it's pretty awesome."