Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco, the top prospect in baseball, and longtime star Jose Bautista plan to play for the Dominican Republic as the country tries to qualify for the Olympics later this month, sources familiar with their decisions told ESPN.

Franco, who turned 19 on Sunday, would strengthen a Dominican team jockeying for one of the remaining two qualifying spots in baseball's return to the Olympics after a 12-year hiatus. He and Bautista, 39, would round out a roster that faces strong competition at the Americas Qualifying Event on March 22-26 in Tempe and Surprise, Arizona.

Among the teams vying to win the tournament and its single qualifying spot: The Dominican Republic, the United States, Canada, Colombia, Cuba, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico and Venezuela. The winner will join host nation Japan, Israel, Mexico and South Korea, who already have qualified, while the second- and third-place teams at the event will have an opportunity to lock up the sixth spot at the final qualifying tournament. Originally scheduled to be held in Taiwan from April 1-5, the tournament was postponed Sunday because of coronavirus fears until June 17-21 -- barely a month before the Tokyo Games' opening ceremony.

The additions of Franco and Arizona Diamondbacks infielder Geraldo Perdomo, 20, to the Dominican roster will give the team perhaps the most dynamic middle infield in the tournament. Franco is a transcendent talent who evaluators believe could play in the major leagues today -- a powerful, speedy, contact-oriented switch hitter whose slick glove and strong arm allow him to patrol shortstop with aplomb.

While not as highly touted, the 6-foot-3, 190-pound Perdomo is an elite athlete whose eye and bat-to-ball talents were rare for someone who played all of last season at 19. A natural shortstop, he played about half his games during the Arizona Fall League at second base and will return there for the Dominican team.

Bautista is expected to play first base, a position he manned 30 times in more than 1,650 major league games during which he hit 344 home runs and drove in nearly 1,000 runs. He last played in the major leagues in 2018, though he spent this winter working out as a pitcher in hopes of returning as a two-way player, sources said. Bautista, who represented the D.R. in the 2009 and 2017 World Baseball Classic, may not pitch in the qualifier but is expected to play a significant role as the D.R. faces Puerto Rico, the United States and Nicaragua during the tournament's round-robin first round. The two best teams from each four-team pool will face off in a final round that awards the winner and keeps the second- and third-place teams alive.

Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association agreed last week to allow players who are on teams' 40-man rosters but not active in the major leagues to join their countries' qualifying-event teams. The potential infusion of talent could theoretically help a team like the United States, which suffered an embarrassing loss to Mexico at the Premier12 tournament in November that prevented Team USA from qualifying.

Baseball was an Olympic sport from 1988 to 2008, before the International Olympic Committee removed it from the Summer Games' program. Its return coincides with the Olympics' return to Japan, a baseball-mad country and winner of the first two World Baseball Classics.

Six Nations organisers said they "would not rule anything out" after reports the tournament would no longer be on free-to-air television from 2022.

The television rights are currently shared between the BBC and ITV, but a joint bid would not be allowed when the deal ends in 2021.

The Rugby Paper reported on Saturday that the championship will go behind a paywall on Sky.

But a Six Nations statement said any speculation was "highly premature".

"Six Nations are in the process of seeking bids for various sets of media rights but these are not due for some time," the statement read.

"All of this is highly premature and speculative as no proposals have yet been received by any interested party.

"We would not rule anything out at this stage and the unions will collectively review and make a decision based on the nature of the offers received."

England's home games were on Sky from 1997 to 2000, but Six Nations games have been free-to-air since then.

A BBC spokesperson said: "While we wouldn't comment on the specifics of an ongoing rights negotiation, terrestrial channels have brought unprecedented viewing figures to the Six Nations, ensuring that rugby remains a sport that is very much relevant and enjoyed by as wide an audience as possible and we very much hope that will continue."

In February, the Guardian reported that the deal to sell a stake of the tournament to private equity firm CVC is being held up by the home unions' desire to keep the Six Nations on terrestrial television.

Leader of Plaid Cymru Adam Price has written to the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Oliver Dowden asking for the tournament to be protected on terrestrial television on the grounds that it is an "integral part of Welsh culture and identity".

Under the Broadcasting Act 1996, a series of "Group A" sporting events were listed which must stay on free-to-air television. These include the FA Cup final, the Grand National and the Olympic Games.

A DCMS spokesperson said: "Our listed events regime strikes a balance between retaining free-to-air sports events for the public while allowing rights holders to negotiate agreements in the best interests of their sport. Negotiations on television rights are a matter for the sports authorities and broadcasters."

Analysis

Huw Thomas, BBC Wales arts and media correspondent

When broadcasters were recently invited to bid for the rights to show the Six Nations, the tender document took the BBC and ITV by surprise.

It appeared to rule out a joint bid, the format which had previously allowed the two broadcasters to pool their funds in order to keep the competition on free-to-air TV.

I understand the BBC and ITV are still likely to attempt to strike a joint deal this time, regardless of the initial impression that it would break the rules.

But the rugby unions are said to be keen to increase the value of the deal, and will be hoping for significantly more than the approximately £65m per annum that the Six Nations TV deal secured last time.

If a pay TV channel is prepared to spend much more on the rights, it may suit the unions to take the cash.

But a significant price would be paid in the form of the TV audience, which would fall dramatically for any game played behind a paywall.

As a season of high turnover for NHL coaches heads down the final stretch -- seven head coaches have been fired thus far, and one resigned -- one person who has a front seat to the hiring process is calling for reform in how NHL teams go about their searches.

Neil Glasberg, the founder of PBI Sports, is one of the NHL's most prominent coaching agents. He has more than 50 clients across the AHL, NHL and European leagues, including Mike Sullivan, Gerard Gallant, Geoff Ward and Phil Housley.

And frankly, Glasberg is frustrated by antiquated hiring practices.

"The easiest way to frame it is an unwillingness to consider -- let alone listen -- to anybody who isn't widely known by the hiring manager, whether it's the GM, the AGM, owner, or whoever is running the search," Glasberg said. "Which I think is selling themselves short. Why wouldn't you want to talk to as many qualified people as possible? Instead, most NHL teams have this 'hire-a-friend' mentality. I hear this from my guys all the time: 'It's not the best candidate that gets hired. It's the candidate with the best network or who is the best known.' That's not how you build success. No company would ever be successful if they were just hiring people they knew."

Since 2005, NHL teams have made 162 head coaching hires; the number is 152 for NBA, 126 for NFL and 121 for MLB. And the NHL leads the other leagues in retreads. Of NHL coaching hires in the past 15 years, 60% have previous head-coaching experience. That's three out of every five hires.

Of NBA coaching hires, 58% have previous head coaching experience, while the number is 36% in the NFL and 45% in MLB.

"I know it's not a problem that's unique to hockey; all pro leagues work that way," Glasberg said. "But that doesn't make it right. There is a preferred candidate in most of these searches, and it's very hard to push the preferred candidate out. I'm just hoping teams wake up and consider a different process, that's not a waste of time. I look at it from a learning perspective: Why not open yourself up to hearing different points of view? It makes everyone better."

One potential stream Glasberg would like NHL teams to consider: European coaches. The NHL is more international than ever. More than 50% of the 2019-20 rookie class is European-born, and 30% of the league's players overall are European. There were 79 Swedish players on opening-night rosters this season, and many of them have been coached by former Swedish team national coach Rikard Gronborg, a Glasberg client.

"Gronberg has coached almost every big-time Swedish player in the league right now, and he has some big-time supporters," Glasberg says. "Nicklas Lidstrom in Detroit, Mats Sundin, Daniel Alfredsson. The Sedins. They're all Gronborg supporters."

When Gronborg's contract with the Swedish national team was expiring last year, Glasberg brought Gronborg over to North America and introduced him to GMs or assistant GMs of 16 NHL teams. "It was just, 'Hey, here's a guy who has had a lot of success that you might want to consider going forward,'" Glasberg said of the meetings. Gronborg had seven formal head-coaching interviews, though Glasberg became frustrated when it felt as if they were more of a courtesy sit-down. The feedback on Gronborg was positive, Glasberg said, though most teams critiqued him for never coaching a full season of pro hockey; his Swedish national teams were essentially All-Star rosters.

"I felt like that was just an excuse," Glasberg said. "It really came down to risk. No team wanted to risk doing something different. I think a lot of people in the NHL aren't secure in their own skin. There's so much pressure in the game today. In fairness, it's now a $120 million, $130 million asset for an owner, and the stakes are higher because the salaries have never been this high."

Gronborg was willing to become an associate head coach in the right situation, but no NHL teams were interested in that either. So the 51-year-old Gronborg took a head-coaching job in the Swiss National League this season with Zurich. His team finished the regular season in first place.

Another issue Glasberg has in the hiring process is how NHL teams fill out coaching staffs. While head coaches are often allowed to build their own staffs with assistants they feel comfortable working with, the process promotes groupthink, which Glasberg says he believes can be counterproductive. "In most cases, a GM won't even interfere," Glasberg said. "A GM will defer to his head coach and say, 'You can hire your assistants.' They're just going to hire people that they are comfortable with -- and they are going to hire people that are subservient. They are just going to be 'yes' people. How does that make your organization high-performing? And then they just cycle through the same people again and again. The paradigm needs to be broken."

Glasberg said he wanted to speak out in the hopes this could be a wake-up call to teams.

"The whole process is just frustrating, and it goes beyond just Gronborg and considering European coaches," Glasberg said. "It's an unwillingness to seriously consider other names, whether they are my clients or not. Someone will read this and say, 'That's not true, I interviewed five or six guys.' I'm not suggesting that doesn't happen. But to me, the retreads that are being hired don't have any competition."

Jump ahead:
What we liked this week | What we didn't like
Three stars of the week | Biggest games coming up

Emptying the notebook

If you're a hockey fan, you've probably heard of BioSteel, a Canadian-based company of nutrition and recovery products. Connor McDavid and Tyler Seguin are among its endorsers. BioSteel announced it was entering the U.S. market with a new CBD product line available at The Vitamin Shoppe. It's a significant move for the company, but I wanted to highlight it because it's a terrific post-playing success story for a recently retired NHL forward.

Many associate BioSteel with Matt Nichol, the former strength and conditioning coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs. However, Michael Cammalleri, a 15-year NHL veteran, is actually one of the founders -- and Cammalleri did it while he was still in the league. "I was the first endorser, alongside some other guys, but I didn't want anybody to know my specific involvement with the company that we had founded," Cammalleri said last week."So it was important to us, strategically, that Matt was going to be the face, and we did so at that time. And now it's obviously come out organically."

Cammalleri, who retired in 2018, had always been passionate about training and nutrition. At 11 years old, he was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, meaning he was highly sensitive to inflammation. He poured a ton of resources and effort into what he put into his body, but always heard a common refrain: "Be careful of the products on the market." In 2004, as he began to break in with the Los Angeles Kings, the NHL put stricter drug testing protocols in place. That made it harder to purchase items online. And a lot of the companies Cammalleri was using couldn't provide proper drug testing documentation. "I got really frustrated with that," he said.

And so, along with a childhood buddy, John Celenza, Cammalleri decided to start his own company that he knew could guarantee safe and effective products for athletes. Cammalleri always had an interest in business. When he attended the University of Michigan, his scholarship was endowed by Tom Kinnear, who was the dean of enterprise studies. At age 17, Cammalleri was tagging along with Kinnear to meetings with venture capitalists in Ann Arbor.

In 2009 -- by then an established NHL player, with the Canadiens -- Cammalleri spent his summer at his condo in Toronto drawing up business plans. He and Celenza drove all over Canada meeting with manufacturers and buying raw products. Cammalleri then began training with Nichol (who left the Leafs in 2009 when Brian Burke was hired as GM and cleaned house). Nichol had the same desires as Cammalleri, and had come out with a product specifically for the Leafs but didn't have commercial intent. Cammalleri and Nichol decided to join forces, and BioSteel was born. "It just took off like wildfire," Cammalleri said.

In 2019, Canopy Growth Corporation purchased a majority stake in BioSteel, and they began to work on a CBD line. Cammalleri was first introduced to CBD by one of his NHL team doctors. "I started using CBD, and experimenting with it, and honestly, one of my biggest regrets is not discovering it earlier in my career," Cammalleri said. "It had huge anti-inflammatory benefits, but also anxiety, recovery and rest benefits. I've been a daily user ever since."

Cammalleri had eyed entering the U.S. market for a while, and he's hoping success there can further expansion. "We have such an authentic, pure brand story," Cammalleri said. "So it's all about telling that story and finding an effective route to market that matches it."

What we liked this week

• There's no rule book on how to deal with viral fame, but I love how David Ayres is leaning in and embracing his 15 minutes with humor and humility. I also think we should give credit to the Hurricanes, who have ushered him through this every step of the way. This, in particular, is really neat:

Dave will be getting royalties, but we are also working with him to identify a kidney foundation that will receive a portion of the proceeds https://t.co/RwSNg12DA4

— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) February 23, 2020

• I went on a reporting trip to Seattle last winter, and a big takeaway was how obsessive the soon-to-be franchise was about being fan-centric. "I've always said when you listen to your fans, you can't go wrong," CEO Tod Leiweke said. "The fans are going to be involved in every decision." It has been cool to see the franchise follow through with it. This week, the franchise announced it would offer free public transit to fans attending games. Seattle's NHL team will be the third pro franchise in the U.S. to offer this, joining the Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns.

• Speaking of fans, this moment between Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers and a fan is extremely sweet:

BREAKING:

Nikolaj Ehlers has acquired Tic Tacs in exchange for a puck.

The trade is 1 for 1.

pic.twitter.com/jCiDzl6u1k

— Hockey Happiness (@HockeyHappiness) March 1, 2020

• Robin Lehner continues to be one of the most open players in the NHL today. His comments after getting traded from the Chicago Blackhawks to the Vegas Golden Knights were blunt but appreciated by anyone who wants a peek into what goes through a pro athlete's mind. Here's what he told Vegas media: "I went to Chicago to help them out and got promises of getting a fair chance to play. I came there with a good mindset to fit into the team. I mean, I didn't play much in the beginning or the middle-beginning of the season, even if I played really well and had a good camp. Eventually I took over, and I think I won like nine out of 10, 12 out of 15, and we walked up one point behind a playoff spot. Then all of a sudden, I found myself on the bench for no reason. That was tough. Plus, negotiations had totally died out. At the end of the day, we're players playing for our lives and playing for contracts. I felt for two years I've played really well and I still can't get something done, and I'm playing well and I can't play. It hits your motivation part a little bit, and I've got to do a better job of letting that kind of go away. I thought there was a future there and I did everything to get a future there, and I still couldn't get a future there. In the end, the last couple weeks were tough, mentally, to kind of find a motivation needed."

What we didn't like this week

• It has been a while since New York Rangers fans felt their team could realistically make the playoffs, but optimism was high after Monday's trade deadline, as the Rangers decided to not trade Chris Kreider, but instead re-sign him to a seven-year deal. New York -- after already setting a record with 11 wins in February -- entered the weekend two points behind Columbus for the second Eastern Conference wild-card spot. The Rangers were also riding a nine-game road winning streak. According to Money Puck, the Rangers' chances to make the playoffs increased from 9% at the All-Star break to 41% entering action Friday. And then it came crashing to a halt. Kreider fractured his foot in the first period of Friday night's game against the Flyers while blocking a shot. His timeline to return is unclear, but it's a huge loss considering he was third on the Rangers with 24 goals and had been a crucial player in this critical stretch. New York then got shellacked in back-to-back games against the rival Flyers, losing by a combined score of 10-5. The Blueshirts still have a chance at the playoffs, of course, but it's wild how quickly things can turn.

• It has been hard to watch Red Wings games this season, as they've clearly written off 2019-20 as a brutal but necessary step in the rebuild. Mercifully, it will be over soon. How historically bad is Detroit? The Red Wings are the first team to be mathematically eliminated from playoff contention before the trade deadline since the 2003-04 Penguins.

• Tough news for Lightning center Steven Stamkos. He had been managing an injury over the last month, but a setback led him to undergo core muscle surgery. He's now out for the rest of the regular season, and the earliest timetable for return is the first round of the playoffs. Tampa Bay is a deep team and should be able to keep it rolling without its captain, but it won't be easy. According to Evolving Hockey, Stamkos had the second-highest points per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 of any player since the All-Star break, at 4.48. Only Carolina's Sebastian Aho was better at 5.36.

• The Penguins are in decent shape for the playoffs, but it has been a rough stretch. They've lost six straight games, all in regulation. That's tied for the second most consecutive regulation losses for the Penguins in the Sidney Crosby era. They lost 10 straight games in regulation in Crosby's rookie season.

Three Stars of the Week

Bobby Ryan, RW, Ottawa Senators

There might not have been a better story in the NHL this week. Ryan missed three months while getting treatment for alcohol addiction. In his first game back, he scored a hat trick. Oh, and it happened on his 100th day of sobriety.

You can't write this stuff. pic.twitter.com/kEpw9VUsCJ

— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) February 28, 2020

Kevin Fiala, LW, Minnesota Wild

Remember earlier this season when Fiala was a healthy scratch? It's hard to fathom with the way he has been playing lately. Fiala has scored goals in four straight games, and added five assists in that span.

Mikael Granlund, RW, Nashville Predators

The Preds are fighting for their playoff lives, and Granlund gets them some serious style points with his efforts in an important win over the Flames. First, Granlund tied the score with 0.1 seconds left in regulation -- check out Nashville players reactions below -- and then sealed it with an OT winner.

Un freaking real. #Preds pic.twitter.com/LdCAQyc84E

— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) February 28, 2020

Games of the Week

Tuesday, March 3: St. Louis Blues at New York Rangers (ESPN+)

The Blues have been one of the steadiest teams in the NHL this season, and the Rangers had been playing exciting hockey before back-to-back clunkers this weekend. So this is a good litmus test for New York: a win against the defending Stanley Cup champs could get them back on track.

Thursday, March 5: Boston Bruins at Florida Panthers

It's crunch time for the Panthers, who spent a ton of financial resources this summer so they could finally make the playoffs. They're currently on the outside looking in, and could use momentum from a win over the talented Bruins.

Saturday, March 7: Washington Capitals at Pittsburgh Penguins

Caps versus Pens -- especially this late in the season -- is appointment television until further notice. Both of these teams added reinforcements at the trade deadline, and it's our first chance to see Patrick Marleau and Ilya Kovalchuk take part in the rivalry.

Quote of the Week

"I think the mascot is wearing it, and I didn't want to get him a Rolex, so ..." -- new Oilers winger Andreas Athanasiou, on why he didn't stick with the No. 72 he wore in Detroit following his trade to Edmonton.

La Liga has announced it will donate five tonnes of disinfectant gel to Wuhan, the Chinese city at the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak.

League officials invited Chinese Super League team Wuhan Zall FC to their headquarters in Madrid on Sunday as a show of solidarity.

"We wanted to have this symbolic gesture to express and share all of our support and courage to the Chinese people, especially that of Wuhan, just as the rest of the other countries that are being affected," La Liga's director of business and development Oscar Mayo said.

Wuhan FC, coached by Jose Manuel Gonzalez Lopez, arrived in Spain in January for preseason training, but he and the team have been unable to return to China.

"The team is eager to return to Wuhan so that, through football, we are able to do one's bit to recover the spirit following this health crisis," Gonzalez said.

La Liga outfit Espanyol, owned by China's Rastar Group, donated 450,000 masks last month to China while Real Madrid and Barcelona have also displayed their support after the outbreak of the coronavirus.

The Wuhan FC team attended Sunday's Clasico between Madrid and Barcelona at the Bernabeu after being invited by both La Liga and Madrid.

The Chinese Super League side will also be given a tour of the Madrid's stadium on Monday.

Neil McKenzie, Bangladesh's batting coach, has said that Tamim Iqbal's game is in need of a slight adjustment. The left-hander has not given any hint of being out of form after returning from his short hiatus from international cricket, but his anchor role has, in some quarters, been misinterpreted.

In the first ODI against Zimbabwe, for example, Iqbal took 43 balls to make just 24 runs. While that suggests he is slowing down at the crease, in the end, Bangladesh got to a total of 321 for 6 which proved plenty more than enough. McKenzie, who has worked closely with all of Bangladesh's frontline batsmen in the last two years, stressed that Iqbal is an important cog in laying the platform for a big total, but perhaps needed to hit a couple of more boundaries in the Powerplay to give himself a better strike-rate.

"Tamim knows what he needs to do," McKenzie said. "It is boiled down to the specifics. We feel he needs two more boundaries in the Powerplay. Where he is going to get it, and what he is going to do, is his approach. No one is going to bat for Tamim, he will bat for himself. I don't see it as batting too slow or quickly.

"We know how important he is for the platform. He plays good shots to quality bowling. We probably just want an extra shot or two in the Powerplay. He has that covered; we know what he can do. We saw in the BPL last year, when he got that big hundred."

McKenzie said that Iqbal is well aware of his role in the team, and doesn't need any guidance on how to construct an innings. "He knows his gameplans. We are not school masters here. We don't tell anybody what to learn or what to do. We give opinions, thoughts and technical advice, and then it is upto the player to implement it into his game. We are not talking about a young guy. We are talking about a senior man. Believe me, he knows it before you guys or any of us do that he has made a mistake.

"Tamim puts a lot of pressure on himself. He values his wicket a lot. It is what has made him successful. Maybe it is about trying to loosen him up for one or two balls. If he can get one or two more boundaries, all you guys will get off his back."

ALSO READ: Can in-form Bangladesh look past Mashrafe retirement drama?

McKenzie was also pleased with how Liton Das understood that he needed to curb his shot-making in order to bat longer periods. "We didn't tell him to play less shots. We have given him ideas of how we want the team to play. We don't want to take away his natural instinct as a player. It is heartening for me to think that he has gone away and thought, 'you know what, I have to match up risk versus reward. I keep getting out for twenties and thirties, I have to put that shot away.'

"You saw yesterday how many times he kept the ball on the ground, and he got a hundred. It is good for Liton."

McKenzie dispelled the idea that Bangladesh are having it too easy against Zimbabwe, and won't be tested against this bowling attack. He said that kind of complacency is what he wants the Bangladesh players to avoid at all costs.

"You have to be hungry. You have to look for the badge or country you are playing for. Whether it is Zimbabwe or Australia, it is international cricket. These guys are hungry to do well for Bangladesh. You can only play against the opponent in front of you. There's no opponent you can take lightly," he said.

"I think as soon as you are talking in that attitude, we don't want that in Bangladesh cricket. Whether we are facing Australians, South Africans, Zimbabweans or the Afghans, you are playing for Bangladesh, representing millions and millions of people."

World Cups have become an albatross around New Zealand women's neck. For a third straight time, under three different captains and two coaches, have they now failed to make the knockouts of world tournaments. The most recent of those came down to a four-run defeat against hosts Australia at Melbourne that dashed their hopes of reaching the last four of the T20 World Cup.

After exiting in the league stage at the 2017 ODI World Cup in the UK under former captain Suzie Bates, and the T20 equivalent the following year in the Caribbean under Amy Satterthwaite, a change in captaincy in light of Satterthwaite's pregnancy break led to senior allrounder Sophie Devine taking over the role in mid-January.

An overhaul in the coaching staff, meanwhile, lead to Bob Carter replacing Haidee Tiffen as head coach, the latter stepping down from the tour of Australia in 2019 following a review into New Zealand's disappointing 2018 T20 World Cup, before she decided against reapplying for her position.

With Carter's contract running up to the 2021 ODI World Cup home in February-March, and Devine taking up the captaincy, New Zealand had hoped a restructuring in the domestic set-up - considered long overdue before the NZC finally carried it out in August last year - could help them turn their fortunes around in world tournaments. That, however, was not to be as a three-run defeat to India last week and Monday's loss in Melbourne against their Trans-Tasman rivals shoved them into the bottom three in Group A, with India and Australia proceeding to the knockouts.

"We took them within five or six runs. It shows that we are not far but we have got to do things maybe slightly differently in New Zealand because we don't have the same amount of depth, resources"

"I think skill-wise we are there; everyone knows we are a really talented side and we've got the depth," Devine said when asked to assess their inability to qualify for semi-finals. "We've seen today that despite me not firing, Suzie and Rachel [Priest] not firing, we came really close to chasing down a strong Australian side.

"Whether it's a mindset, whether it's a mental thing, whether it's game awareness, whether it's just experience of playing in those pressure situations. We haven't played too much international cricket together in the last 12 months, whether that's something, but when we get back home, we'll certainly go through everything and nitpick at it because it is a crappy feeling to miss out again. It's really raw. But we certainly want to keep pushing and showing that we deserve to be there."

In the lead-up to the tournament, a 0-3 defeat to South Africa at home in the ICC Women's Championship ODI series marked the start of Devine's tenure as captain, although New Zealand produced an emphatic turnaround in the five-match T20I series that followed, winning 3-1 with the last game abandoned.

Heading into the World Cup, the environment around the squad, Devine underlined, had been "positive", with the coaching staff - including Carter, Jacob Oram (bowling coach), and Rob Nicol (spin bowling coach) - focused on helping the players to convert potential into performance.

In addition, a wider pool of contracted players and a significant pay hike for centrally contracted New Zealand women assured by the Women's Master Agreement, which was reached in principle by NZC and the New Zealand Cricket Players Association (NZCPA) last August, inspired hopes of a more promising performance at the T20 World Cup in Australia.

"There was a big overhaul and it wasn't just the top group at the White Ferns [New Zealand women]; it was the domestic stuff as well in New Zealand cricket," Devine said. "And we have also seen in women's cricket globally, it is coming up by leaps and bounds and we're no different. To get Bob involved has been huge. [But] we've only played two series in that time with him at the helm. We still certainly are trying to figure each other out a little bit, me and Bob. But I think there have been really positive signs there.

ALSO READ: The irresistible rise of Amelia Kerr, New Zealand's 'once-in-a-generation' prospect

"As I said, we were actually really close. The India game and now here [against Australia]; we were really close to [beating] sides with a lot more money, a lot more resources, a lot more player depth, and we took them within five or six runs. It shows that we are not far but we have got to do things maybe slightly differently in New Zealand because we don't have the same amount of depth, resources; but we certainly have things in our favour and that's what we keep working with."

With Satterthwaite expected to return to the side ahead of the ODI World Cup, for which New Zealand have gained automatic qualification by dint of being hosts, the team management must decide whether to persist with Devine or hand the captaincy back to Satterthwaite. Devine, whom Jacob Oram described as an "attacking captain", though, is game for more.

"Yes, certainly," Devine said when asked if she would be keen on continuing in the role. "That's another discussion that needs to be had when Amy returns and what it all looks like. At least for me, I have always been an aggressive player, and I sort of continue that with my captaincy. We've had a great role model in Brendon McCullum a couple of years ago, who always took the game on, and I don't want to be any different with this bunch of female athletes.

"We do want to be really attacking and aggressive and how we go about things - whether it be putting things under the lid or bouncing people out - whatever it might be. We've always talked about stepping forward rather than stepping back and that's certainly what I am going to do with my leadership."

March 3: Lahore Qalanders vs Quetta Gladiators in Gadaffi Stadium

Our XI: Azam Khan, Chris Lynn, Mohammad Hafeez, Jason Roy, Ben Cutting, David Wiese, Samit Patel, Shaheen Afridi, Dilbar Hussain, Mohammad Hasnain, Anwar Ali

Captain: Chris Lynn

A curtailed game in which you could berserk from ball one was probably what Lynn needed to get amongst the runs. He scored a 15-ball 30 against the Zalmi in the 12-over game. It was again just a cameo but a big one is just around the corner. Lynn strikes at 163.58 against pacers in T20s but against spin in the powerplay, he strikes only at 107.38.

Vice Captain: Jason Roy

Roy has scored 170 runs in 4 innings this season. It is definitely a good punt to have him as your vice-captain. Roy strikes at 147.55 against the pacers in the powerplay in T20s. Even if the Qalanders decide to use the left-arm spinner against him in the powerplay, Roy can strike at 130.03. He gets dismissed by left-arm spinners only once every 23 balls in the powerplay in T20s.

Hot Picks

Mohammad Hafeez

Hafeez will be happy to be back to the ground where he averages 39.47. The last time Hafeez played at the venue, he scored an unbeaten 98. He is a must-have.

Ben Cutting

Cutting has had a huge impact on two of the three games he has played this season. He has picked up 5 wickets and scored 76 runs off 41 in 3 innings. As an all-rounder, he is a big impact player and should not be left out.

David Wiese

Wiese is another big-hitting all-rounder, much like Ben Cutting. His stronger suit is bowling though and he has picked up 4 wickets at an economy of 7.5 and a strike-rate of 12 this season. He cannot be underestimated with the bat as well. He has a strike-rate of 143.96 in T20s since 2019.

Value Picks

Dilbar Hussain

Hussain played a game in the Big Bash before even making his PSL debut. He didn't have the best of games down in Australia though. But in the last game, he picked up 4 wickets against the Zalmi in just 3 overs. He recorded the third best bowling figures so far in the tournament.

Anwar Ali

Ali has played only two games for the Gladiators in the season so far and hasn't done much of note either. But he is capable of bowling his full quota of overs and also tonking a few in the death. In the last 3 T20s Ali played before the PSL, he had picked up 7 wickets at an economy of 7.54. His batting SR in the format is an impressive 143.7.

Points to note

● The average 1st innings score at the Gadaffi Stadium this year is 161 but in all 3 games season, the team batting second has won.

● At Gadaffi Stadium this season, pacers have picked up 25 wickets and have gone at 8.60 an over while the spinners have picked up 10 wickets and gone at 8.11 an over.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jaguars will use their franchise tag on defensive end Yannick Ngakoue, league sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Monday.

The tag will allow them to try to trade him if that's what they decide or are forced to do.‬

The franchise tag carries an approximate salary of $19.3 million in 2020. Ngakoue, who turns 25 on March 31, indicated late last season that he was unlikely to play under the tag, which would mean a potential holdout if he and the Jaguars are unable to come to terms on a long-term contract.

Ngakoue wanted a new deal before last season but negotiations broke down and he skipped most of OTAs as well as the mandatory minicamp. The Jaguars reportedly offered a deal that averaged $19 million annually while Ngakoue's camp was seeking something similar to the $22 million that quarterback Nick Foles signed for.

He held out of the first 11 days of training camp and was fined $528,650, which included $88,650 for skipping the three-day minicamp in June. Ngakoue made $2.02 million last season.

In just four seasons, Ngakoue, a former third-round pick, is already second in franchise history with 37.5 sacks -- Tony Brackens holds the record with 55 -- and has forced 14 fumbles, which is fourth in the NFL over that span behind Khalil Mack (17), Chandler Jones (17) and T.J. Watt (15).

Ngakoue set a career high with 41 tackles and tied his career high with 13 tackles for loss in 2019.

MESA, Ariz. -- What's different about spring training for players compared to the regular season? How about everything.

It starts with being in the same place for six weeks, getting up daily before dawn and then playing half of a game before heading to the pool or golf course. None of that happens once the games mean something beginning later this month.

"You don't have to act as serious," Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant summed up. "Of course we're preparing for the season and we care about that, but you can have more fun because it doesn't matter. Like towing people's cars because they're not supposed to be parked in certain spaces or putting them on blocks. If we did that during the season, people would be like, 'What is this team doing? They're a joke.'"

In that vein -- and in advance of their playing an "all-access" game Monday afternoon on ESPN -- we asked some Cubs and Los Angeles Angels for stories unique to spring training. In other words, what can happen only in spring?

Mike Trout, Angels CF: "Driving to the wrong ballpark is a good one. Every time we get into a car, you double-check that address to get to the park. It's not a good feeling when you go to a different ballpark, especially when it's further away than you expected. I've done it, but I caught myself in time. Like when the Cubs moved to their new complex a few years ago."

Anthony Rizzo, Cubs 1B: "When we played in Las Vegas. I hit a leadoff home run to start the game. I told Joe Maddon, 'If I hit a homer, I'm coming out of the game.' I hit a homer and came out. You can only do that in spring. No, I didn't go to the Strip."

Tommy La Stella, former Cub, now the Angels' 2B: "Certain pranks, like when I parked in [Cubs GM] Jed Hoyer's spot, and he took my uniform and replaced it with khakis. I had to practice in them. So next time, I had a bounce house for kids set up in his and Theo Epstein's parking spot. Only in spring."

Jason Heyward, Cubs RF: "My first spring training in Arizona [2016]. A swarm of bees while I'm out in center field. I noticed them coming from right field. But you can't really tell what they are because I really wasn't thinking of bees at the time. Now I'll never not think of bees when I see a swarm of anything. I see the right fielder moving out of the way. We're in the middle of the at-bat, but it's two outs, two strikes, I'm like, 'OK, we'll finish the inning.' Then foul ball, foul ball. Then I started getting stung. So then I ran back and jumped up on the wall thinking I'm going to be good, but then they make a turn and follow me. Then they went toward our bullpen, and it settled down. That's my random and crazy spring training story. Now I know for now on: Hit the deck."

David Fletcher, Angels INF/OF: "Last year, we were playing at the Cubs and I forgot my jersey. We were on the bus, and I realized I had my batting practice top on. I told our clubby, and he said they had brought three extra jerseys in the bag in case someone forgot. They always do. And so they're about to tell the media that I'm wearing a different number, but when I go to get an extra jersey, it's mine. They picked three extra jerseys and one was mine. I was very lucky. Only in spring."

Javier Baez, Cubs SS: "My first spring, I was following Alfonso Soriano's routine and hanging out with him, and Matt Garza thought I was big-leaguing everyone. So they got my car and put a big sticker and stuff on it. It said, 'Rookie on board.' I had to ride my car like that for a week. It was fun, to be honest."

Andrelton Simmons, Angels SS: "You start driving, and as you're getting closer you notice your team is not playing in that stadium. You might have misheard something or saw the schedule wrong. You drive confidently, then realize it's wrong. One time, I was getting close and saw a bunch of Giants fans wearing jerseys, and I thought, 'We're not playing the Giants.' So I double-checked and turned around. Yeah, that can only happen in spring training."

Bryant: "Everyone is bringing their kids through the clubhouse, because it's not as serious and we always have a bunch of stuff to sign during the spring. So one of Jon Lester's kids ends up signing a 'W' flag. I mean, it was supposed to be just the team and they ended up selling it later at an auction. They have him on video signing it. That was so funny."

Trout: "I golf a lot. There's been a few times where I get two, three at-bats and end up watching the end of the game on my phone on the golf course. You can only do that in spring training. I had a hole-in-one two years ago in spring, but that was on an off day."

Baez: "Being in Arizona is different. It's a whole separate world. That's why I love being here. Spring is great."