Despite being stunned by a lower-ranked Sri Lanka side in their last warm-up game, England captain Heather Knight has backed her team's "massive preparations", making it clear she is not worried about the mental make-up of her side heading into their T20 World Cup opener against South Africa on Sunday.
The runners-up in the 2018 edition of the tournament, and holders of the 50-over World Cup, England suffered an eyebrow-raising 10-wicket loss in that practice match in Adelaide. Knight conceded they were blindsided by the pace of the Sri Lanka spinners and a superlative all-round performance from opposition captain Chamari Atapattu, who took 3 for 21 and made 78 not-out after England opted to bat.
"It was a good leveller, to be honest," Knight said of the shock loss. "We were well off our best but Sri Lanka played really brilliantly. Their spinners bowled a lot quicker than we are used to. We probably didn't adapt very quickly and then Atapattu just played a brilliant innings, and that can happen in T20 cricket.
"It's that kind of a game; if you are not completely on it, you could bite your nails a little bit. Credit to them, they played brilliantly, but I am not too worried. We've had massive preparations, we've played really good cricket and we've been learning along the way as well, so it's about how well we start [the tournament]."
The defeat to Sri Lanka came after a comfortable win over New Zealand in England's first practice match two days prior, led by Knight's unbeaten 45 and a three-for from Katherine Brunt. That victory hauled the team back into winning ways after an up-and-down performance in a closely contested tri-series last month saw them finish last on net run rate, with India and eventual winners Australia reaching the final.
Despite their failure to progress, a Super Over win against Australia and then a reassuring four-wicket victory against India in Melbourne showed just why England remain strong contenders to make the T20 World Cup knockouts for the fifth tournament running.
"There were a lot of learnings," Knight said, looking back on the tri-nation series. "I feel we [have] really built up as a team since the start of that tri-series. The bowlers in particular have gotten used to the conditions and are really firing, which has been pleasing from where we probably were at the start of the tri-series. From where we were to where we have got to has been quite brilliant.
"And the close games, there were a few really close games which we were pleased with to get over the line against some of the best teams in the world. We have continued to improve: we have had some success and some low levels as well, which isn't the worst thing."
Much of the team's preparations in the lead-up to the World Cup, Knight said, have been focused on the responding to the call to "step up more" from newly appointed head coach Lisa Keightley. Now they have worked together for a while, Knight believes Keightley "goes about her business in a more relaxed manner".
What is Amy Jones superstitious about?
The England wicketkeeper answer more such questions
"She is quite chilled and wants players to take aim, which is exactly what we have wanted to do following the Ashes as well," Knight said. "We want to step up more as players, make more of an impact on how we want to do things. The players have responded well to that. I have enjoyed that. I have always enjoyed taking a leading role, so I guess I've taken a bit of a lead since the Ashes. Myself and Lisa, we share a good relationship and hopefully we can bring success.
"I've really enjoyed working with her. I know her very well from her stint in England [with the Women's Academy]. She is more of a quiet coach. She likes to go about her business in the background, build one-to-one relationships. As a squad, even before Lisa came in we did a lot of work [together]. We have had the chance to assess what we were about as a side, how we want to do things, how we want to go forward, things we want to keep going and things we want to change a little bit."
With a return on the cards for allrounder Nat Sciver, who missed the warm-ups due to a niggle, Knight underscored that England, currently ranked No. 2 in T20Is, are well poised to put up an impressive show on Sunday at the WACA, where the same pitch will be used as the one for Saturday's low-scoring double-headers.
Much of Knight's optimism stems from the prior experience of players like Sciver and Amy Jones, who are part of the WBBL franchise Perth Scorchers, and Keightley, formerly coach of the Scorchers and Western Australia.
"A lot of our players have played at the WACA, played for the Scorchers and then you've got Lisa, who used to coach there," Knight said. "So, she knows the conditions inside out. She has spoken a lot in terms of how to be successful at the WACA.
"They don't actually play a lot of games under lights there, because of the time difference. So, that's probably going to be slightly different. We are going to have to adapt to that and make sure we communicate as a side very clearly when we are around the pitch.
"We were training under lights yesterday, so it skidded on a little bit more than it probably did previously. It was a little bit tennis-bally when it was dark. We have prepared for it in our individual skillsets."
The fifth-place Philadelphia 76ers are underperforming, and the spiciest take surrounding the team right now is that its two young superstars can't play together. But is that true?
A quick look at recent Sixers history reveals that Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid can be an awesome duo. During 1,306 minutes with both on the floor in 2017-18, here's how Philly performed:
Offensive rating: 113.3
Defensive rating: 97.8
Net rating: 15.5
That's a better net rating than this season's league-best Milwaukee Bucks, who host Philly on Saturday (8:30 p.m. ET on ABC and the ESPN App). And of the 142 duos that played more than 1,000 minutes, no pairing posted a higher net rating. Not bad, right?
Now consider last season:
Offensive rating: 112.8
Defensive rating: 104.9
Net rating: 7.9
Not as dominant, but still pretty good. Now for this season:
Offensive rating: 104.7
Defensive rating: 103.3
Net rating: 1.4
What happened?
Embiid is 25. Simmons is 23. They're still getting better. Yet just when we would expect them to be jelling into a sustainable juggernaut, they're sputtering, especially on offense. But the biggest question in Philadelphia shouldn't be if these two fit. It should be: Why were their offensive numbers so much better two years ago?
Here's the thing: Ever since general manager Sam Hinkie left town four years ago, the Sixers have been in a perpetual state of renovation. Front-office executives Bryan Colangelo and Elton Brand both tinkered with the roster so much that Simmons, Embiid and Furkan Korkmaz are literally the only dudes left who suited up for the team in 2017-18. And some of these new ingredients aren't meshing that well.
While big names such as JJ Redick and Jimmy Butler have come and gone, championship expectations have stayed put, and Simmons and Embiid are making the best of never-ending incontinuity, both developing into All-Stars in spite of the roster flux.
Last summer, after the Sixers lost a heartbreaking seven-game series to the Toronto Raptors, the front office once again overhauled the entire team, with six of the top eight players in minutes departing. So the amount of condemnation that falls on this star pairing rather than the executives who drastically rearranged everything around them is strange.
"I think it's B.S.," Embiid said, "because when you look at the last couple years, the last two years that we've been playing together, it's not a problem. This year it's only been a problem because our offense has struggled."
Simmons is arguably the best young two-way playmaker in the world. He's 6-foot-10 and he can do it all ... well, except for that one pesky thing that's the most important backcourt skill in the game right now.
He can't shoot. He won't shoot. He doesn't shoot. Everybody knows that at this point. As a result, any team with Simmons running point is necessarily a team with a shooting deficit in its backcourt. Like the Bucks have done with Giannis Antetokounmpo, building around Simmons requires compensating for his lack of shooting elsewhere in the rotation -- something this current roster fails to do.
But anybody who labels Simmons as an overall detriment to team 3-point production is missing half the story. Yes, he's a non-shooter, but he's also one of the most gifted shot creators in the world.
So far this year, Simmons has created 130 more catch-and-shoot 3-point attempts via the pass than any other player in the league, according to Second Spectrum tracking data. By assisting on 221 made 3s, he's created more triples than only one shooter (James Harden) has made individually.
play
0:19
Simmons' no-look pass sets up Thybulle's 3
Ben Simmons grabs his own rebound and fakes out the defense before he sends the no-look pass to Mattise Thybulle for the 3-pointer.
This 3-point creativity is a major gift, but to fully leverage that gift, any team with Simmons running point is necessarily a team that needs to surround him with elite shooters. Two years ago, Simmons shared the court with off-the-ball, catch-and-shoot specialists such as Redick, Dario Saric, Marco Belinelli and Robert Covington. But this year's team is lacking in that department.
While Korkmaz has been a nice surprise, he's no Redick. Neither is Josh Richardson, who the Sixers were hoping could emerge as the starting group's new big 3-point threat. Instead, he's been a below-average perimeter threat. In fact, four of the team's six most active 3-point shooters convert their shots at below-average rates, despite playing alongside arguably the league's best 3-point shot creator.
Not only do the Sixers rank 21st in 3-point productivity, nobody on the roster can create his own shots from downtown. Unassisted 3s are among the fastest-growing shot types in the league, but through 55 games, Philly has made only 34 of them. That's by far the smallest number in the league, and it's fewer than 25 NBA players individually. Folks, that's not good.
Then there's Embiid, who at 25 is the most complete two-way big man in the game and the self-proclaimed best player in the world. Even with his injury history, he should be destined to thrive as the cornerstone center of the franchise for years to come.
He's the most active post player in the NBA, and like Simmons, he is at his best near the basket. In tandem, these guys demand spacing and off-ball complements capable of stretching the floor and knocking down open shots on the edges of the court. In other words, they need teammates who can just get out of the way.
The 2017-18 Sixers had those kinds of guys. Their most common five-man lineup included Simmons, Embiid, Covington, Saric and Redick -- a group that played over 600 minutes together and absolutely torched the competition, outscoring opponents by more than 20 points per 100 possessions. No other NBA lineup that played that many minutes was even half as effective. That spacey lineup yielded more than 115 points per 100 possessions. None of Philly's top three most-used lineups this season even exceeds 106. Uh-oh.
This team has too many high-usage cooks in the kitchen, and it's showing up in the food. One big reason the Sixers rank 20th in offense this season is that they get in each other's way. You might think a team including Simmons, Embiid and Al Horford would dominate the paint, but this one doesn't. The Sixers rank 20th in the NBA in points in the paint and 19th in free throw rate. They struggle inside, they struggle outside and they lack any signature offensive identity.
Championship teams not only have great players, they also feature great chemistry. That's the issue here, and the proof is in the numbers, which suggest the team's biggest offseason acquisition is not a good fit next to Philly's two phenoms.
There's no question that Horford is a great NBA center, but does his greatness fit well next to the best young center in the league? How many great centers do you need in 2020? At this point, it's fair to question the wisdom of paying more than $100 million for a 34-year-old center when your roster already features two of the league's largest, most overwhelming and challenging star pieces to build around.
In Thursday's come-from-behind overtime win over the Brooklyn Nets, Horford came off the bench for the second straight game. It didn't work. The Nets outscored the Sixers 59-33 in the 19 minutes Horford was on the court. Philly won because it outscored Brooklyn 79-45 when Horford sat. Yikes.
Thursday night was just another data point suggesting the Horford move isn't working. Check this out:
Philly has a negative net rating when Horford, Embiid and Simmons play together.
Philly is averaging a measly 98.8 points per 100 possessions with Simmons, Embiid and Horford on the floor -- worse than whatever is left of the Golden State Warriors this season (103.9).
But this is not an indictment on any of the individual players. This is a reminder that not all combinations of great talent result in great teams. How can anyone be sure that Simmons and Embiid don't work when the on-court environment works against them like this?
If there's any good news for Philly here, it's that it's still February. The defense looks great, and the Sixers are the best home team in the league. If they can figure out lineups and tactics that improve the offense even marginally, they still represent a legitimate threat to come out of the East.
If they can't, well, maybe another big dose of offseason tinkering can fix it.
British distance runner talks to The Times about coaches Alberto Salazar and Jama Aden during rare one-to-one in Ethiopia
Mo Farah believes he has suffered “financially and emotional” due to his links with Alberto Salazar. He admits he has known controversial coach Jama Aden for years and has, at times, behaved badly and struggled to express himself in media interviews.
These revelations appear in an exclusive interview published in The Times this weekend that reporter Matt Lawton did with Farah in Ethiopia recently. The article also sees the multiple global track champion criticising some of the athletes who blew the whistle on the anti-doping-related behaviour that led to the coach receiving a four-year ban last year.
However perhaps the most surprising thing about the piece is the fact no PR people or media officers were involved. Representatives from Freuds, the PR firm that has attempted to protect Farah’s reputation in recent years, was not involved. Instead, Lawton and photographer Marc Aspland simply met with Farah and his coach Gary Lough while Farah was training at altitude, mainly on a bike due to a recent Achilles injury.
Farah and Lough believe the fall-out from the Salazar scandal has led to him being unable to cash in fully on his 2016 Olympic triumphs. “There’s been a lot of stuff, financially and emotionally, where I have suffered a lot,” he told The Times.
“I didn’t have a clue,” he says. “For me [when news broke of the ban last September] it was like, wow, four years. I was thinking, ‘Oh my God’. I know I never did anything. I know he was my coach. But to put up with this year after year, it’s not you, it’s the coach, but it’s you it is aimed at, is quite frustrating.”
Farah also explained why he didn’t leave Salazar more swiftly. When he was still with the Oregon Project, Farah says Salazar “hadn’t been found guilty”, adding: “And it wasn’t just about me. As a single man I could have just said ‘move’. But I had three kids — actually I think my son was just born — I had four kids, three at school, my wife’s there, we’d bought a house. I’m not just going to say, ‘There’s been some allegations, we’re going.’”
Lawton however says in the article that Farah did not give “one word of criticism for his former coach”. The athlete also defended Neil Black, his long-time physiotherapist who resigned as UK Athletics performance director last autumn after having previously praised Salazar’s coaching work.
On Aden, the Somalian coach who has been investigated for doping offences, Farah admitted that previous denials that they did not know each other were “not the reality”.
As for Salazar, when news of his ban broke last year Farah was training in Arizona. “We were completely blindsided by it,” Lough says, while Farah adds: “I’m not named in the reports and none of the witnesses are saying ‘I saw Mo Farah do this’.”
BBC’s Panorama programme is due to focus on Farah and UKA’s relationship with Salazar in its latest episode on Monday but Farah and Lough insisted that the timing of their interview with The Times had nothing to do with that.
By Hannah RichardsonEducation and social affairs reporter
It's the ultimate in male bonding, a group of men head down in the rugby scrum, all pushing for the team.
Now a new mental fitness scheme, using lessons from the rough and tumble of the pitch, is helping boys open up and talk about their feelings.
Funded by men's health charity Movember the programme teaches boys about mental health in the familiar surroundings of their local rugby club changing rooms.
The aim is to stop unhappy adolescents becoming the suicide cases of tomorrow.
Suicide is the leading cause of death of men aged 15 to 49, and there is a growing awareness of the risks young men can face, if they do not learn to be open about their mental health.
The mental health programme, Ahead of the Game, uses trained ex-players from rugby union and league to work with teenage members in community rugby clubs.
They teach the young players how to spot when a friend may be suffering, and how they can support them.
'Open up'
Taking a man-to-man approach works to sidestep the cultural expectations that boys and men should "man up" rather than open up and risk seeming weak, the charity says.
The programme is being expanded over the next 18 months to 8,000 teenagers, athletes and coaches in 21 cities - mainly in northern England - as part of the Rugby League World Cup 2021.
It comes at a time when there is growing awareness of the serious risks young men face if they do not look after their mental well-being.
Rather than talking directly about depression and anxiety, the programme uses the language of elite sport to stress how mental fitness is as important as physical fitness.
'Rollercoaster'
England international and Harlequins scrum half Danny Care says life has thrown him many curve balls during his highly successful rugby union career.
"Rugby is the ultimate team game. It needs all 15 of you doing your very best all the time," he says.
"If one man is not doing his job properly - it lets everyone down.
"It's a rollercoaster ride and this can put a lot of pressure on boys playing at the community club level, right through to those playing for their country," he adds.
"I've had times when I've got injured before the World Cup and wasn't able to play.
"I snapped a bone in my toe and had to have surgery, and missed the 2011 World Cup.
"There was this big build-up to it for so long, and then it's taken away from you at the last minute. So you have to be resilient.
"Fortunately, four years later I got to have another chance."
'Heavy state'
The idea behind the programme, is that these boys learn to use the resilience they build up on the pitch, and the mental fitness training they get in the changing rooms, and apply it more widely in their lives.
And those taking part at Old Ruts rugby club in Wimbledon certainly seem to be doing just that.
Daniel, 15, says: "Two years ago I was in quite a heavy state, as I'd been bullied for 10 years straight. I was having panic attacks.
"I have autism and dyslexia - and it's particularly hard for people like us us to say how we feel.
"This programme has shown me that there are people out there who can help, and that people are able to get through what hurts."
And it seems Daniel has learned to talk and lean on friends like Sasha, who has also experienced bullying
"Now, if someone insults me, then I get over it quicker.
"I just say to myself 'so be it'. It's really helped me to improve how I deal with things like that." he says.
What's normal?
And Sean, 15 says the programme has helped him develop deeper friendships.
"We talk to each other more, and when we're in a bad situation we learn to get things off our chests."
Parents, rugby club coaches and officials also take part, and are equipped with the skills and awareness to spot when someone is feeling down.
"It's about understanding what is normal teenage behaviour and when it might be something else," says Tracy Herd, who manages the charity's suicide prevention work.
For tips on how to "spot a bro who's feeling low", check the Movember website.
Andrew Cotter speaks to family and friends of French scrum-half Antoine Dupont about his life growing up and what makes him such an 'exceptional' player.
Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has labelled the Premier League's VAR team's acceptance they should have issued a red card to Giovani Lo Celso during their 2-1 win over Tottenham as "not good enough."
Spurs' Lo Celso appeared to stamp on Cesar Azpilicueta and, despite the incident having been reviewed by VAR, referee Michael Oliver took no action.
However, it later transpired the VAR team accepted mid-game they had made an error, but Lampard -- whose Chelsea side saw two goals overturned for this side in their 2-0 defeat to Manchester United -- did not accept the explanation.
"It is not good enough, that is two VARs in two games, it is hard to shout about it when you have lost but today everybody saw that," Lampard said after the match. "It is a red.
"I hate to call for red cards but that is a leg breaker. I am not saying about referees on the spot, VAR is here to clear things up and it is not good enough."
Spurs boss Jose Mourinho was also asked about the incident and said VAR should have the same explanation for a variety of other missed incidents this season.
"I hope the noise is the same noise as when VAR kills us," he said. "Against Liverpool, [Andy] Robertson should get a red card.
"Watford, [Etienne] Capoue should get a red card twice with the same referee. Why didn't they say when they made a mistake vs. Liverpool?"
For the first time this summer, South Africa have lost the opening match of a series. Given that they went on to let all three series before this one slip following their early success, the hosts may choose to see their defeat at the Wanderers as a good omen - except that it was not just any defeat. Unlike the T20Is against England, which were competitive, close encounters, the match against Australia was as one-sided as they come. South Africa's bowling bled, their batting appeared more broken than it has all season, and the depth of their problems is clear for all to see.
Unless they win at St George's Park, South Africa will face the reality of going a full year since their last series triumph (against Sri Lanka in March 2019) and patience in the new regime could start wearing thin. Although Mark Boucher said he knew it would be tough and has asked for time as the team rebuilds, the results suggest they are going backwards. That's a heavy burden for new captain, Quinton de Kock, to bear, especially since his predecessor is now back in the change-room and was doing a fair amount of mentoring (and also top-scored) on Friday night. De Kock will have to develop a thick skin if he is to keep going in the position.
He can't do it alone, either. He needs his team-mates, especially the seniors to step up. There aren't too many of them around these days but David Miller and Dale Steyn, in particular, have been involved through the recent white-ball matches and understand how pressing the need is for experienced players to take a lead.
Australia have none of those concerns. Bar Glenn Maxwell, they are at full strength and already look like an outfit that has peaked. Steven Smith made a triumphant return to South Africa and punished the hosts for a blunder in the field while Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins showed the advantage of combining pace and control, something South Africa seem to have forgotten. And if South Africa needed more salt rubbed in the wound it came from the opposition spinners. Ashton Agar's hat-trick and five-for at the Wanderers was a painful reminder of one the hosts' biggest weaknesses - facing spin - and another sign that Australia are close to the complete package.
Form guide
(last five completed matches, most recent first)
South Africa LLLWW Australia WWWWW
In the spotlight
Kagiso Rabada was suspended for the final Test against England and given a break for the white-ball series but returned looking out of sorts. He was the most expensive bowler at the Wanderers, where his three overs cost 45 runs. Like most of the attack, he erred on the side of too short and too wide but unlike them, he carries the expectation and the experience to know better. Rabada needs to find his rhythm quickly or risks being overtaken by some of those looking to seal to a spot for the T20 World Cup.
After last playing a T20 in 2016, Matthew Wade was recalled to the Australia team on the back of his performances in the BBL. He was one of three centurions and averaged over 50 for the Hobart Hurricanes - where he opened the batting - and continued with an aggressive in his approach after being deployed at No. 4 at the Wanderers. He survived an early chance and was ultimately foxed by a Steyn slower ball but his disgust at his dismissal and his desire to accelerate suggests there's much more to come.
Team news
Temba Bavuma will undergo a fitness test to determine if he has fully recovered from his hamstring injury to take his place at the top of the order. If he does, Rassie van der Dussen will drop down, with Pite van Biljon and Jon-Jon Smuts vulnerable. Heinrich Klaasen remains a doubt after hurting his hip during warm-ups at the Wanderers, but South Africa may give an opportunity to Anrich Nortje, who could displace one of Lungi Ngidi or Rabada.
South Africa: (possible) 1 Quinton de Kock (capt, wk), 2 Temba Bavuma, 3 Faf du Plessis, 4 Rassie van der Dussen, 5 Jon-Jon Smuts/Heinrich Klaasen, 6 David Miller, 7 Andile Phehlukwayo, 8 Kagiso Rabada, 9 Dale Steyn, 10 Tabraiz Shamsi, 11 Lungi Ngidi/Anrich Nortje
After the dominance of their performance in the opening game, Australia are likely to try to close out the series with the same XI.
Australia: (possible) 1 David Warner, 2 Aaron Finch (capt), 3 Steven Smith, 4 Matt Wade, 5 Mitchell Marsh, 6 Alex Carey (wk), 7 Ashton Agar, 8 Pat Cummins, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Kane Richardson
Pitch and conditions
Although the Port Elizabeth pitch is known as South Africa's most spin-friendly, it is unlikely to take too much turn in a T20. After a scorcher on the Highveld, temperatures are set to be cooler on the coast, with the forecast suggesting a day in the early 20s Centigrade and low humidity.
Stats and trivia
There have been only been two previous T20 internationals played at St George's Park, a rain-affected affair in 2007 that South Africa lost to West Indies and a full match eight years ago in which the hosts beat New Zealand.
Aaron Finch is 80 runs away from becoming the second Australian after David Warner to reach 2,000 T20I runs.
Dale Steyn needs one more wicket to take 700 international wickets.
Quotes
"There's not so much you can do at practice but it's a mental thing. As long as the boys come back strong and not too disappointed [from the first game], we have to come and fight." Quinton de Kock admits there's no time for skills work but wants South Africa to have a positive mindset
If Wanindu Hasaranga kept his nerve in the frenzied finish, it's becuase he's been a similar situation before. If he batted cleverly with the tail, and measured the last Sri Lanka push to perfection, it's because memories of triumphing in arguably tougher circumstances are fresh.
Sri Lanka needed 28 off 27 balls, with only two wickets in hand, when Hasaranga had to really take control of the chase against West Indies. In the end, his 42 not out off 39 balls took Sri Lanka home with one wicket and five balls to spare. Just a month ago, however, Hasaranga had produced a similarly impressive knock, on the same ground, in the final of Sri Lanka's club T20 competition. On that occasion, his 60 not out off 34 balls, had occasioned a last-ball victory for Colombo Cricket Club.
It was that experience, that birthed this cameo.
"I was able to finish a match like this today because the T20 club final innings that I had played," Hasaranga said. "Also in the practice matches I'd played well from lower in the order. That's where I will bat in the national team, so even in the club matches I made sure to bat Nos. 6, 7 and 8. Yes, they were club matches, but it did have an effect on my mind. I had the confidence that I can play these kinds of innings. As far as I know, someone who can finish matches is the kind of player who can have a long career. I wanted to be someone who could do that for the team."
Hasaranga had initially played a supporting innings to Thisara Perera, who made 32 off 22 to get Sri Lanka's requirement down to significantly less than a run-a-ball. Hasaranga revealed, however, that during that partnership with Thisara, Sri Lanka had one eye on the Duckworth-Lewis par score, as the skies had darkened at the time. This would explain Thisara holing out in his attempts to hit a six, even when Sri Lanka needed only 37 off 45.
"When I went to bat we still had 75 to get. Thisara aiya was batting at the time - he had 10 or 15 at the time. He can play the big shots any time. I managed to get a four and a six early on, without too much effort. So I tried to support Thisara when he was batting. I tried to stay in the wicket until it was necessary for me to take a risk.
"When Thisara and I were batting, it also looked like there was a bit of rain in the air. We wondered if the match would stop for bad light or whatever. It was almost 5.30 at the time. But we wanted to be 10 runs in front of the Duckworth-Lewis par score. We didn't want to throw wickets away. It was because we had tried to get ahead of the rate at that time that I was able to take my time and finish like I did."
On Friday, on the eve of the match, new coach Mickey Arthur had been glowing in his appraisal of Hasaranga's all-round ability, marveling at the control in his legbreaks, as well as the energy and efficiency he brought to his batting and fielding. After playing his match-winning innings, Hasaranga touched on the confidence Arthur's words had prompted.
"The coach is constantly talking to me about things that are expected of me and what I can do for the team - bowl dots in the middle overs and get wickets, do well in the field, and finish a match when we get to situations like this. What he's told me is that I'm a player who can do all of that."
Andre Russell and Oshane Thomas have been recalled to West Indies' T20I squad, with Shimron Hetmyer also declared fit. All three are part of a Kieron Pollard-led 14-man squad that will face Sri Lanka in two T20Is, on March 4 and March 6, after the ongoing three-match ODI series between the two concludes.
Russell hasn't played for West Indies since pulling up short midway through the 2019 World Cup in June 2019, though he has taken part in other matches, most notably in the Bangladesh Premier League in December and January.
Thomas, who turned 23 earlier in the week, has been selected after making a full recovery from a car accident in Jamaica.
Hetmyer, who is not part of the ODI squad completed a fitness assessment earlier in the week and successfully reached the minimum required standard for selection.
Navy offensive lineman David Forney died late Thursday night after he was found unresponsive in his dorm room, Naval Academy officials announced Saturday morning.
Forney, from Walkersville, Maryland, was found by a fellow Midshipman. He was transported to Anne Arundel Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 11:28 p.m. ET. He was 22.
A cause of death hasn't been announced.
"Words cannot express our pain and sorrow," Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said in a statement. "First and foremost, our deepest condolences to the Forney family. The Navy football brotherhood is not a team, we are a family. We are devastated to have lost one of our brothers. We all loved -- and will always love -- David. We pray for strength during this most difficult time."
Forney, who played at Georgetown Prep in Washington, D.C., was a three-year letterman and played in 39 straight games during his final three seasons at Navy. As a senior in 2019, he started all 13 games at left guard and was named All-AAC.
Navy led the FBS in rushing with 360.5 yards per game.
"The entire Naval Academy family -- the Brigade of Midshipmen, the faculty, staff and coaches -- are heartbroken over the tragic and unexpected loss of Midshipman David Forney," said Vice Adm. Sean Buck, superintendent of the Naval Academy. "On behalf of the Naval Academy family, my wife, Joanne, and I extend our deepest condolences and heartfelt sympathies to the Forney family, their friends, as well as to David's extended Naval Academy family."
Forney would have graduated on May 22 and been commissioned as a cryptologic warfare officer.
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