Allan Donald has been appointed head coach of the Knights franchise, a job he will start at the end of the current season. Donald's tenure with the team, which is based in Bloemfontein where his own career began, will start on May 1, well in time for the 2020-21 season.

"We felt that the Knights needed someone with extensive international coaching experience, who has coached at the highest level of the game to take the team to the next level," Wayne Schonegevel, Knights' selection convener, said in a statement. "Allan is one of South Africa's greatest-ever cricketers and someone the players look up to, coupled with the fact that he has his roots in the central region, makes him the ideal person to achieve this goal."

Donald's appointment brings the number of former internationals in charge of domestic franchise teams to four, after Ashwell Prince (Cobras), Robin Peterson (Warriors) and Imraan Khan (Dolphins). Donald, the former South Africa quick and bowling coach, will take over the baton from Alan Kurger, who succeeded Nicky Boje on a one-year contract last April.

The 53-year-old has accumulated a wealth of coaching experience since retiring from the game in 2004, having worked with Sri Lanka and New Zealand, apart from South Africa, at the international level as well as Warwickshire, Kent, the Mountaineers and Royal Challengers Bangalore. His most significant role in the South African system was as bowling coach in the Russell Domingo era between 2013 and 2015, while his most recent post was at Kent, where he worked as assistant coach for two years. Donald has since returned home to South Africa, where he worked with Free State Cricket as a consultant first, before taking over the Knights' role. This will be Donald's first stint as the head coach of a team.

"I have had a sneak peek in most international dressing rooms, and I want to bring that international language to the Knights dressing room" Allan Donald

"I have wanted to do this coaching position for a long time and I look forward to this challenge," Donald said. "It is a big challenge. We have not had the best of seasons in the past years in terms of consistency and winning games, and most of all winning trophies. I have had a sneak peek in most international dressing rooms, and I want to bring that international language to the Knights dressing room."

Significantly, Donald's appointment suggests that at least one franchise - Knights - expects the domestic structure's status quo to remain in place for the coming season after the proposed restructure was rescinded by the Member's Council 11 days' ago. Last April, the 14 provincial presidents who form the highest authority in South African cricket put forth a plan to eliminate the franchise tier of the domestic game and put in place a 12-team provincial structure in its place. The South African Cricketers' Association (SACA) claimed they were not consulted about this and took Cricket South Africa to court over the changes. SACA withdrew their case when the plans were scrapped.

While there has been no formal announcement about the way next summer's domestic fixtures would be played, it appears that the four-day and one-day franchise tournaments will go ahead alongside the three-day and one-day Provincial Cup. The future of the Mzansi Super League, the franchise T20 tournament that has cost CSA more than Rand 100 million [US$ 6.6 million approx.] in each of its two years due to unsold broadcast rights, is yet to be decided.

The BCCI has reacted angrily to the ICC for bypassing the strong objections raised by the Indian board along with the ECB over the future set of events in the 2023-31 rights cycle. The divide is set to come out in open at the March ICC meetings, scheduled in Dubai, which is likely to be attended by the top brass of the BCCI.

Last week, the ICC had sent out an email asking all members, including Associates, to tender their expressions of interest for hosting any of the 20 global events in men's and women's cricket which form part of the 2023-31 cycle. That email came on the heels of ICC chief executive officer Manu Sawhney visiting several countries - both Full Members and Associates - to explain the details of the process model and the bidding process which would determine the hosts for the events. Although Sawhney visited all the major cricketing countries including England, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, and Zimbabwe, missing from that list was India.

On its part, the BCCI is annoyed that the ICC opted to overlook the strong reservations the Indian board had expressed last October. Back then, the BCCI's chief executive officer Rahul Johri had written to Sawhney, saying there would be "wide ranging repercussions on bilateral cricket" in case the ICC went ahead with its decision.

ALSO READ: T20 'Champions Cup' part of ICC events for 2023-2031

Johri had also pointed out that it would be prudent to wait for an elected BCCI administration to take the final call on the matter.

For its part, the ICC has stressed that the proposed set of events had been given the go-ahead from the ICC board in the October meetings. Incidentally, the BCCI representative at that ICC board meeting was Amitabh Choudhury, the acting secretary at the time, who attended the meeting without the approval of the Committee of Administrators, the Indian board's supervisory authority at the time. The ICC allowed Choudhury to sit at the meeting even though he did not give consent or object to any of the resolutions, saying the appropriate authority would be the elected BCCI administration.

The BCCI remains adamant that bilateral series need to be worked out before the ICC events are finalised. "We are very clear on that," a senior voice in the BCCI said. "Suppose if the important boards don't file any expression of interest, then… will ICC plan events on its own? By planning ICC event every year, it doesn't work for world cricket actually. The ICC needs to understand this. Bilaterals are more important. It will affect IPL, Big Bash, bilaterals - there will be no window. And how much can the players play?"

Holding a global event every year, this official said, would also potentially reduce the "value" and prestige attached to winning a World Cup.

"You lose the charm of winning the World Cup if you are planning to host it every year. Too much of something is not good. When you win a World Cup you look to the next one four years later, but if you host a world event every year then you could lose value of that tournament."

As for the argument that smaller boards, which don't have the luxury of a fat broadcasting revenue that the BCCI enjoys, can benefit from the extra revenues ICC can accrue by hosting eight global events in the next cycle, the BCCI official disagreed. "Look, have these smaller countries got better from the existing ICC revenue model? They are suffering."

This official said that for the BCCI, the majority of its revenues come from bilateral cricket. If that is affected, then it will suffer. "After all, how many broadcasters do you have? How much money can they put into all cricket?"

Another senior BCCI official argued that if the ICC does go ahead with the eight events, the World Test Championship would be affected too. "The World Test Championship will become a huge challenge. There will be no time for it."

Nonetheless, the ICC is likely to find support from member boards like Pakistan Cricket Board, Cricket West Indies, Sri Lanka Cricket and Zimbabwe Cricket along with the boards from Ireland and Afghanistan. All these countries have been struggling with their finances in the absence of lucrative broadcast deals. As a chief executive at one of the Full Member boards explained, their challenge has been that while the "costs of the cricket have been going up, the value of bilateral cricket has been going down". He concurs with the view that smaller boards are struggling to find buyers for their cricket rights.

"BCCI and few other boards want to stick to six events in an eight-year cycle as was the case in the 2015-23. If the BCCI wants to bring in a resolution to object then they should be able to do that within the framework of the rules at the ICC board meeting"

Consequently, a majority of these smaller boards rely on the ICC money that is split from the broadcasting pot. "The ICC have hosted an event year historically with the exception of 2018 when there was no global event," a senior official from one of the Full Member countries said. "In order for the ICC to give consistent cash flows to the members they need an event every year."

However, not everyone agrees with the ICC locking horns with the BCCI. One of the officials, who sits on the ICC working group on the future events, said the ICC's hostile approach towards the BCCI was "unnecessary". "I don't understand why they seem to be going against the BCCI and also the ECB. The ICC's whole approach has been unnecessary. I question that approach. The working group was still running through various options when the ICC went immediately to the board of directors with the proposal."

According to this official, no authorised person from the BCCI or Colin Graves, the ECB chairman, were present at the October ICC board meetings. He felt a better approach would have been to have further deliberations, which could have been tabled at the March meetings, before arriving at the final call.

The working group member said a full calendar should be agreed on by all parties. "Whether you are playing bilateral or ICC cricket first that doesn't really matter because until you have looked at the entire calendar. Then you juggle around events and remain flexible to strike the right balance. So to ink in the ICC events without even discussing or considering bilateral cricket is not appropriate."

Despite the BCCI and the ICC not seeing eye-to-eye at the moment, a key person who sits on the ICC board said the two bodies can work out their differences amicably during the March round of meetings in Dubai.

This person said that the BCCI has not backed the ICC plan only because it is comfortable with the set of events in the current cycle. He said the same applies to some of other bigger boards like the ECB and CA. "BCCI and few other boards want to stick to six events in an eight-year cycle as was the case in the 2015-23. If the BCCI wants to bring in a resolution to object then they should be able to do that within the framework of the rules at the ICC board meeting."

Temba Bavuma has been ruled out of South Africa's T20 series opener against Australia this Friday with a hamstring strain.

Bavuma sustained the injury while fielding against England at SuperSport Park on Sunday and will requite seven to 10 days rest. He will remain with the South African squad with a view to playing as early as this Sunday, in Port Elizabeth.

ALSO READ: South Africa pick du Plessis for Australia T20s, Rabada returns

Bavuma's diagnosis means that South Africa will go into the match one of the aspects of their game that worked best against England - their opening pair. Bavuma shared stands of 92, 48 and 84 with Quinton de Kock and started South Africa's innings with intent.

With no replacement named in the squad, it is unclear who will join de Kock at the top of the order. Jon-Jon Smutshas some experience in the role, having opened in his first eight T20I innings, while Faf du Plessis has spent the last two IPL seasons at the top of the Chennai Super Kings order. Rassie van der Dussen, Heinrich Klaasen and the uncapped Pite van Biljon are alternative options.

Du Plessis, who stepped down from the captaincy on Monday, makes a return to the squad along with Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje after being rested from the England white-ball matches as South Africa look to continue experimenting with combinations ahead of the T20 World Cup later this year.

AB de Villiers, who is set to make a comeback at the event, is not involved in these matches but could play for South Africa after the IPL.

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- After an entire offseason of rumors about a potential trade and constant speculation that his team will not be able to afford him, Cleveland Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor wanted to make one thing clear after his first official workout of spring training.

"I wanna win here. I wanna stay here," Lindor said Monday. "I wanna stay here in Cleveland. This is home. I'm not playing to get traded or to put myself in a good spot to get traded. I'm playing to win. I want to win here."

Lindor, a four-time All-Star and one of the game's best all-around players, is two seasons away from free agency and will undoubtedly command $30-plus million per year on a long-term contract once he ventures into the open market. The Indians have been trimming their payroll in recent years, going from $135 million in 2018 to $120 million in 2019 to an estimated $90 million in 2020.

Lindor, 26, could absorb about a quarter of the Indians' payroll, putting the franchise in a precarious situation similar to that of the San Diego Padres after they signed Manny Machado.

Lindor nonetheless thinks a long-term deal is possible.

"If the negotiations or whatever makes sense, it's gonna happen," Lindor said. "The team is not broke. The league is not broke. There's money."

The Indians reportedly shopped Lindor in the offseason, but some of the executives involved in the negotiations came away believing that the team wasn't all that serious about trading him. Despite sending Corey Kluber to the Texas Rangers, the Indians have a wealth of young pitching and remain hopeful of competing in the American League Central, a division in which the Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox loom as legitimate threats.

If the Indians fall out of contention over the summer, it's possible that they would trade Lindor in July -- or in the offseason that follows.

It seems that Indians president Chris Antonetti would prefer not to.

"We'd love for Francisco to be here long-term," Antonetti said. "I think Francisco shares that desire. We have, and our ownership has made, meaningful efforts to try and do that. And so has Francisco. And he and his representative, David Meter, continue to express to us, both publicly and privately, that he'd like to stay here and like to stay in Cleveland. And I think he's been consistent with what he shared with all of you. Now, how we make that happen is where it gets difficult.

"It's not because of a lack of desire on our part or not because of a lack of desire on Francisco's part. But more when you look at the economics of baseball and the realities of building championship teams in a small market, it gets really tough. The interest is there, the desire is there, on both sides, to try to get something done. And whether or not that's possible, we just don't know."

Antonetti first needs to determine whether he can get Lindor to sign the type of extension that would allow the Indians to remain competitive, conversations that are expected to continue during spring training. If nothing makes sense for either side, Antonetti must decide whether to trade Lindor -- and suffer backlash like the Boston Red Sox did when they traded Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers -- or try to win with him until he becomes a free agent after the 2021 season.

Antonetti said the latter is "certainly one of the paths we could pursue."

"I love it here," Lindor said. "The people are great. The city of Cleveland has been nothing but good to me. Why would I want to leave? If we have a team in Puerto Rico, that would be a little different. I'd be saying I want to get out of Cleveland and be in Puerto Rico. But that's not the case. I'm just enjoying the ride here. I'm blessed to be playing this game on a daily basis. And to be able to call this my job, it doesn't get any better than this."

‘All sports are evolving for safety reasons, and one day eyeguards will be just like wearing seatbelts’
By ALAN THATCHER – Squash Mad Editor

England captain Daryl Selby has pledged to wear eye protection at all times from now on after suffering a bruised retina during the National Championships in Nottingham a few days ago.

Selby, at 37 one of the most experienced professionals on the PSA World Tour, will sport some form of eye guard in his next tournament, the Troilus Cup in Canada from February 21-25.

He will then wear them on court in his favourite “home” tournament, the St. James’s Place Canary Wharf Classic, from March 8-13, when he faces Joel Makin in a tough first round tie.

As well as pledging to wear eye protection at all times from now on, Selby also revealed that he has asked his wife Lucie to do the same when she plays in local league matches in Essex.

Selby counts himself lucky not to have been badly injured when a stray shot off the frame of opponent Ollie Pett’s racket caught him a glancing blow in the eye at Nottingham Squash Club on Thursday.

Following our Squash Mad article on his injury opening up a debate about eye protection, Daryl took to Instagram to post a message to his followers.

First of all, my spies at Nottingham got it wrong about Daryl sending a “mis-hit” shot down the middle of the court that led to Ollie playing the ball behind his own back.

Daryl explained: “I was in the front left corner and deliberately hit the ball down the middle, as a lot of pros do, to keep the ball off his forehand volley.

“Unfortunately, he caught it a little bit late. The ball struck the edge of the frame and, as I turned to watch what was happening behind me, I saw it coming towards me.

“I turned and looked at him and it was a bit like wearing 3D glasses at a cinema and stuff comes towards you … and obviously I saw a ball coming towards my eye.

“I just managed to lean back and turn my head enough to one side which meant that the ball hit the eye socket. That stopped it from going directly into the eye itself, which could have caused a lot of damage.

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“I saw a specialist and she told me there was no damage to the retina, which was obviously a big relief. On the flip side, she said I was fairly lucky because of where the ball hit me.

“Lucky or not, it made me think very deeply about the whole subject of eye wear and eye protection.”

Selby felt bad about being awarded a walkover against Pett and returned to court the next day against George Parker sporting a pair of goggles.

Parker won through in straight games and afterwards Selby refused to use his eye injury as an excuse. He did, however, admit that he felt the word “goggles” has a negative connotation.

He added: “When people say ‘goggles’, straight away the word is a massive turn-off. It sounds awful.

“I prefer to use the phrase ‘eyewear’ as they do in the US. They have it right by making all amateurs wear protective eyewear … and why wouldn’t you?

“In the US they think we are idiots for not wearing it, especially amateurs. It’s mandatory over there and because everybody does it nobody feels uncomfortable. When you pack your bag ready for a game you take your racket, shoes, ball and eyewear. Every time. But in the UK and Europe I think it’s time we discussed the topic in a serious fashion.”

Selby’s viewpoint has been influenced not only by his own experiences, but also by talking to leading coaches Nick Matthew and Phil Rushworth, plus a number of concerned players at Nottingham, who shared gruesome stories of injuries incurred by themselves or acquaintances.

According to Selby, both Matthew and Rushworth were hit with a ball in the eye as a result of innocuous incidents that occurred while coaching, Rushworth’s leading to a detached retina. A similar thing happened to his father (Paul) when a junior threw a ball back to him when he wasn’t looking, and it hit him in the eye and he suffered a torn retina.

He also heard horror stories about a number of self-inflicted injuries including that of a racketball player whose powerful shot rebounded off the front wall at close range straight into his eye and the injury resulted in a total loss of sight In that eye.

Selby added: “After my injury a lot of people spoke to me at the Nationals and the conversations I was having made me think about how we have all got used to wearing a seatbelt when we drive a car.

“I have never had serious accident after driving a car thousands of times and until last week I had played squash hundreds of thousands of times without being hit in the eye.

“You ride a bike and think you never need a safety helmet until that one time you have an accident. Then you change your whole thought process, especially as a parent.

“A big discussion is needed here in Europe and the UK about eye safety on court.

“It is looked upon as uncool, and certainly many juniors think it’s uncool. Some people are obviously impatient and don’t like the fact that it might take time to get used to wearing them, and it’s irritating when you have to deal with sweat and the goggles steaming up, but you do get used to it.

“At the Commonwealth Games doubles, every player has to wear eye protection and you get used to it in practice well before the event, even if it might be a bit annoying and uncomfortable to begin with.

“But by the time you get to the tournament we are all used to it. Everyone wore them at the event and nobody complained.

“At club level, there must be something seriously wrong if people don’t wear eye protection when they play doubles.

Closer to home, Selby added: “My wife plays local ladies league and I suggested to her six months to a year ago to wear glasses after doing a podcast on the subject with Cam Pilley. I remember saying that all amateur players should wear protective glasses of some kind on court.

“I am well aware that the next question, of course, is should all pros wear glasses?

“It’s a tricky one because I have been playing squash for 33 years and can honestly say I have never been hit on the body above waist height in all that time.

“Then the one time I do get hit it is in the eye so that has made me think ‘Do I want to take that risk every time I go on court?’

“Do I want to risk my eyesight as the father of young children? If I was suddenly blinded in one eye what would happen? How would that impact on my life? Why would I not just put a pair of glasses on?

“I don’t think professionals should be made to wear glasses but should not be made to feel uncomfortable if they do wear them

“Why should it take one ball hitting me partly in the eye for that to change?

“But you experience things in your life and that makes you think, so from now on I think I will use eye wear every time I go on court.

“I have heard so many stories in the last few days of people being hit in the eye. Everyone seems to have a story about it.

“There were a lot of Masters players competing in the age groups at the Nationals and I must have spoken to at least 15 people in Nottingham and at least seven or eight spoke about being hit in the eye. People were also saying the same things on Twitter.

“Sure, I saw a few comments about people claiming how rarely it happens, but in the amateur game I have walked past so many squash courts and seen so many people hit balls inches past each others’ heads.

“If you are wearing glasses it would not matter so much, but if you don’t it is very important. Your eyesight is very important.

“I read a good article on Squash Mad the day after the injury and I am pleased that this is helping to spark some debate on this serious subject. An inch the other way and it could have been serious for me. And I don’t want that to happen to anyone else.

“At junior level we protect all our players but we should also try to protect all amateur players. It needs to be discussed.

“Many of those amateur players are very stubborn and don’t want to hear what I am saying, but I am campaigning for every club in the UK to take it seriously.”

Selby revealed that, little more than an hour before our telephone conversation, he had seen a child hit in the face by a ball during a junior training session.

He said: “I was watching the kids train and a small boy was hit in the goggles today. Luckily, he was protected by his goggles but he shook it off and within 10 seconds he was OK to carry on playing. I looked at that incident and could see that’s why the people in the USA think we are crazy for not making it mandatory.”

Looking ahead to his next two PSA tournaments in Toronto and Canary Wharf, Selby confirmed he would be using eye wear at each event.

He was also keen to discuss changes we have seen in other sports in relation to safeguarding from injuries and added: “In football we are having a debate about heading the ball because of so many high-profile cases of dementia being blamed on heading.

“In rugby they have changed the rules around tackling to stop head and neck injuries, and in cricket they have adapted the helmet design to protect the back of the head after one unfortunate fatality.

“That’s how sports evolve and if squash was to introduce compulsory eye protection, nobody will be talking about it in 10 years’ time.

“It will just be an automatic response, like wearing a seatbelt in the car or wearing a helmet when you ride a bike.

“Like I say, I hope this provides some background about what happened to me and sparks some debate on the subject.”

Pictures courtesy of England Squash and PSA 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Ryan Newman was seriously injured in a violent crash on the final lap of the 62nd Daytona 500 Monday evening at Daytona Int’l Speedway.

Newman was leading the field to the checkered flag when his No. 6 Ford was hit from behind in an attempt to push Newman to the win.

According to NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer, Newman is in serious but stable condition at nearby Halifax Health Hospital with “non-life threatening injuries.”

““Ryan Newman is being treated at Halifax Medical Center,” read the statement from Roush Fenway Racing. “He is in serious condition, but doctors have indicated his injuries are not life threatening. We appreciate your thoughts and prayers and ask that you respect the privacy of Ryan and his family during this time. We appreciate your patience and cooperation and we will provide more information as it becomes available.”

No other details will be announced and the Roush-Fenway Racing team requested that fans and media respect the privacy of Newman and his family.

“We’re grateful for the news about Ryan,” said Mark Rushbrook, global director, Ford Performance Motorsports. “We had been waiting for information just like everyone else, so to hear some positive news tonight is a relief. Ryan has been an important part of the Roush Fenway and Ford NASCAR program this past year, and he is so respected for being a great competitor by everyone in the sport. The entire Ford family is sending positive thoughts for his recovery, but our first thoughts remain with his family and his team.”

Ryan Blaney made the move to help fellow Ford driver Newman to the win, but when he made contact with the back of Newman’s car, it turned Newman’s car hard to the left. Newman’s car hit the outside wall heading to the tri-oval with the checkered flag waving. The impact sent Newman’s car flying into the air near the flagstand before landing upside-down at the finish line.

The car skidded on its hood before Corey LaJoie’s Ford hit Newman’s window net on the driver’s side. With only the window net protecting Newman’s cockpit, the massive second impact further destroyed Newman’s car.

It continued to skid down the frontstraight before coming to a stop near the exit of pit road. As it was upside down, gasoline began to spill from the fuel tank with Newman trapped inside of the race car.

“I heard he (Newman) went straight to the hospital,” LaJoie said. “That’s obviously scary. I got a big push there that last coming to the white. I don’t know who was pushing me and I kind of stalled out and I don’t know who hooked Newman. I was hoping he would kind of bounce off the fence to the left, but he didn’t and I hit him. I don’t know exactly where I hit him.  I haven’t seen a replay.

“It was some scary stuff. Don’t get me wrong. My car was on fire. My seat belts grabbed all sorts of areas. I hope Ryan is OK.”

As Denny Hamlin was circling the track further ahead after winning his second-straight Daytona 500, AMR Safety Workers arrived at the scene of Newman’s crash to first extinguish the fire and tend to the spilled gasoline.

The AMR Safety crew eventually brought out a black curtain to shield the wreckage from the spectators. Newman was taken by ambulance to Halifax Health, located less than one mile from Daytona Int’l speedway’s fourth turn.

Hamlin, who was running third on the inside, raced past Blaney to win the second-closest finish in Daytona 500 history. The margin was just .014 of a second.

“We pushed Newman there to the lead, and then we got a push from the 11 (Hamlin), and I made a move off turn four on Newman and he blocked it,” Blaney explained, before word of Newman’s fate was announced. “I went low and he blocked that, so then I was committed to just pushing him to the win and trying to have a Ford win it.

“I don’t know, we just got bumpers hooked up wrong and turned him. I hope he’s all right. I was definitely trying to push him to a win.

“I really feel bad about it. I hope Ryan is all right.”

Victory lane was suddenly subdued as the grim events were being played out by safety workers on the frontstretch.

This was not a victory the winning team could celebrate.

“When everything happened at the end of the race, I knew that there was a race, but I never even focused over there (the crash), I was focusing on our car, and everybody started celebrating around us,” said Joe Gibbs, Hamlin’s team owner. “Some people may have saw us and said, well, these guys are celebrating when there’s a serious issue going on, apologize to everybody, but we really didn’t know.

“We got in the winner’s circle, and then that’s when people told us.

“It just makes it so hard. Such a close‑knit community. You know everybody. This is one thing, kind of like what Denny was saying, if you think about all the wrecks that we’ve had over the last, I don’t know, how many number of years, and some of them looked real serious, we’ve been so fortunate.

“So now it’s hard, we’re all waiting.”

Gibbs is a man of deep religious faith and conviction. He was asked by SPEED SPORT to put the day into perspective.

“I certainly don’t have those kinds of answers,” Gibbs told SPEED SPORT. “I know that for a lot of us, participating in sports and being in things where there’s some risk, it’s just what some people are‑‑ that’s what they’re‑‑ in a way, that’s what they get excited about, and certainly racing for us, we know what can happen. You just don’t dream that it would happen.

“And that’s kind of the way I feel about it. We’ve been so fortunate for such a long time, and we’re just all praying now for the outcome of this.

“I don’t think somebody has that answer. I don’t think we have an answer. It’s just living life. Certainly you are depending in a lot of ways for the Lord, and you’re looking up to Him.

“But I wouldn’t want to get too philosophical for anybody here. I’d just say it’s a time that we’re all searching deep and praying, and we’re all praying for the right outcome.”

SPEED SPORT will update this story.

Nikita Kucherov stole the puck from Nathan MacKinnon and scored 3:03 into overtime, sending the Tampa Bay Lightning to a franchise-record 11th straight win 4-3 over the Colorado Avalanche on Monday.

Tampa Bay's 11th straight victory -- the longest winning streak in the NHL this season -- broke the franchise mark of 10 set last season. Tampa Bay is the second NHL franchise to record a pair of double-digit winning streaks in a season, joining the Boston Bruins, who did so in 1929-30 and 1970-71.

Despite the milestone, Kucherov was disappointed in the Bolts' puck possession.

"I don't know. I don't think we played well today ... We have to improve a lot in our game because we have a lot of good teams ahead of us. I don't think we had a good effort today," Kucherov said after stealing the puck from MacKinnon and scoring in overtime.

Kucherov did have praise for Tampa Bay's Curtis McElhinney.

"We had a great goalie today," Kucherov said. "He had a heckuva game getting hit, but he stuck with it. He made some huge saves for us."

The Lightning have outscored teams 36-13 at even strength during their win streak, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

The game between two of the league's top teams had the feel of a playoff showdown, complete with momentum swings, hard hits and short tempers.

"It's not a team we play often, but when you have a good team like that and both teams want to win, it's going to boil over," said Cameron Gaunce, who scored one of Tampa Bay's three goals in the second period.

Gaunce scored 16 seconds after Alex Killorn's goal, and Tampa Bay built a 3-1 lead before Colorado came back to force overtime, despite losing forward Mikko Rantanen to a left shoulder injury.

"He'll be out weeks," Avs coach Jared Bednar said.

Steven Stamkos had a goal for Tampa Bay in the second period that erased a 1-0 deficit, and McElhinney stopped 24 shots despite being bowled over by Colorado's J.T. Compher midway through the third period. That sparked the first of two brawls in a tense ending.

McElhinney crumpled awkwardly and lay motionless for a moment before he rose slowly. He was visited by a trainer but stayed in the game. Compher was called for interference.

McElhinney said he was fine physically and held no grudges.

"Honestly, I was kind of tied up. My arms were folded up under me. It wasn't a hit to the head or anything," he said. "It's a good hockey play. I like it when guys drive to the net, and I like the response from our team standing up for me. It's nice to see. It's hard hockey play on their part, and I don't have anything against that."

Another scuffle broke out after MacKinnon leveled Ondrej Palat cleanly in front of Tampa Bay's bench.

"I like the way that we hung in there. Good penalty kill at the end. In overtime, it comes down to a key save here and there and a big-time play from one of our big players," McElhinney said.

The Avalanche lost Rantanen when he was tripped into the boards at full-speed by Erik Cernak in the second period. Rantanen immediately left the ice and headed inside before the Bolts killed the power play.

Francouz stopped the first 11 shots he faced starting in place of Philipp Grubauer, who suffered a lower body injury in the Avs' 3-1 loss to the Kings on Saturday in the NHL Stadium Series at the Air Force Academy.

Palat sent a pass through the slot to Killorn as he skated toward the crease, and Killorn redirected the puck into an open net at 4:54. Gaunce scored his first goal since March 24, 2017, just 16 seconds later, with a shot from the point that beat Francouz on the short side.

Stamkos made it 3-1 when he came from behind the net and tapped in the loose puck sitting behind Francouz in the crease.

Colorado pulled to 3-2 on MacKinnon's goal with 94 seconds left in the second period, and the Avs tied it up when Cale Makar's shot deflected off Valeri Nichushkin with 12:43 left in the third.

The Avs are without Grubauer and three key forwards -- Rantanen, Matt Calvert and Nazem Kadri -- for several weeks.

"Other guys have to step up," Bednar said. "It's a great opportunity. We have to carve out wins like we did earlier in the year. It's going to be tougher and tougher, but hopefully we can get those guys healthy and back to rejoin our team as soon as possible."

"It's pretty surreal this run we've been on the last couple of months," McElhinney said. "This 11-game run has been a lot of fun. It's special. It seems like we're going about our business, and it's not really so much about the streak."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

The Vancouver Canucks acquired Los Angeles Kings winger Tyler Toffoli, one of the NHL trade deadline's most sought after wingers, for a hefty price tag on Monday night. How did each GM do in the swap?

The deal:

Canucks get: F Tyler Toffoli

Kings get: F Tim Schaller, F Tyler Madden, 2020 second-round pick, 2022 fourth-round pick (conditional)

Vancouver Canucks: B

Australia coach Justin Langer has hailed Steve Smith and David Warner's "brilliant reintegration" into the national team, and suggested that last year's tour to England had been a "great dress rehearsal" ahead of his side's return to South Africa for the first time since the Newlands scandal in March 2018.

Langer replaced Darren Lehmann as coach in May 2018 at a time of uncertainty, with Cricket Australia seeking to improve the game's image and the national team's culture amid the fall-out from 'Sandpapergate', and he has spoken at length about the way his side play the game throughout his tenure.

ALSO READ: Newlands scandal born of leadership gulf - Ponting

"It was obviously a very hard tour last time," Langer said. "It gave us a great opportunity to reassess where we are in Australian cricket. We talk about making Australians proud of us again and earning respect - not only from the Australia public and past players, but also across the world.

"The guys are in a really good place. They've worked hard. We had a tough tour in England, but the way the guys have come together, played great cricket - they've been great ambassadors for Australian cricket on and off the field, and we are really excited to be back here. We love playing cricket in South Africa."

Neither Smith nor Warner has played in South Africa since their year-long bans following their involvement in the Newlands scandal, but both have been successful on the pitch. Smith won the Compton-Miller medal after scoring 774 runs in four Ashes Tests, 333 more than any other batsman on either side, while Warner was awarded the Allan Border medal after his imperious form throughout the home summer.

"David [Warner] loves that banter coming from the crowd. It gets him into the game" Aaron Finch

And Langer suggested that the process of reintegration, which began with a series of meetings in the UAE before the 2019 IPL, helped both players slot back into the side seamlessly, despite their prolonged absence.

"There was a brilliant reintegration back into the team, before they came back into the team 12 months ago or whatever it was - eight months ago," he said. "There was a lot of really good work done there, and we've had a great dress rehearsal for South Africa from England.

"[That] was a tough tour for those two guys and I was really proud of the way they let their bats do the talking and again, [they have been] great ambassadors off the field. So hopefully they'll be looking forward to getting back here and playing great cricket as well."

Aaron Finch, Smith's replacement as white-ball captain, said that he has "leant on them quite a bit" during his time in charge of the limited-overs set-up, and said that it was "a powerful statement to the group" to have the pair back in the side.

"I've been someone who has leant on them quite a bit for advice, especially out in the field," Finch said. "These are guys that have played so much international cricket and led in international cricket. You would be stupid not to use that resource at various times.

"They've been really supportive of me, and I think having good personal relationships with them… you build up a respect for each other. They've been nothing but supportive and helpful of every decision we've made as captain and coach, and to have these guys on board is such a powerful statement to the group."

ALSO READ: Smith, Warner won't be 'fazed one bit' by crowds - Hazlewood

Finch also suggested that Warner in particular would use any hostility or barracking from the South African fans as motivation to score runs, as appeared to have been the case during the World Cup in England.

"South African fans are very passionate," Finch said. "Regardless of whether you're playing in Australia or over here or even in ICC tournaments, the crowd are very vocal.

"Our guys are expecting that and David loves that banter coming from the crowd. It gets him into the game. Regardless of what I think, the crowd are going to act however they please - I don't think it's going to make much difference to us. We are going to play cricket with a smile on our face, and represent Australia very proudly."