Eddie Pepperell often finds a humorous slant on life as a professional golfer, and that tendency was on full display Thursday at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic.

Battling difficult conditions, the Englishman shot a 3-under 69 that put him two shots off the early lead of Thomas Pieters. Speaking to reporters after the round, he offered a frank assessment of his play.

"At least I didn't run out of balls today," Pepperell said.

That would be a reference to the Turkish Airlines Open in November, when Pepperell ran out of balls in the middle of his round and was disqualified from the event. His effort in Dubai went markedly better, as he managed four birdies in a six-hole stretch and made only one bogey all day.

Pepperell endured a lean 2019 season, dropping from 35th in the world rankings to outside the top 50, barely missing out on a Masters exemption in the process. He teed off this week ranked No. 61 in the world, but he shared that last week's win by Lee Westwood in Abu Dhabi served as a bit of inspiration.

Describing himself as having "never been a good putter," he watched Westwood shine on the greens after a similarly mediocre putting record. Pepperell promptly switched to the claw grip this week and he needed just 21 putts to complete his opening round after starting the year with two straight missed cuts.

"For me, it's about not being a terrible putter. My good results tend to come when I'm just not horrific on the greens, especially inside 5 feet," Pepperell said. "So I was watching the golf last Sunday and couldn't believe how comfortable Lee looked on the short putts, especially. I thought, 'I might as well give this a try.' I was very good today inside 6-8 feet, so I'm optimistic. Best I've putted for a while."

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted Manchester United fans have reason to be "disillusioned" after watching their team fall to a 2-0 defeat to Burnley.

Chris Wood and Jay Rodriguez scored either side of half-time to hand the visitors their first win at Old Trafford since 1962. It was an evening that saw United supporters again aim protest chants at American owners the Glazer family and executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward and a large number of fans leave the match before it had ended.

"At the end you do feel disillusioned as you say, because maybe they do, but for us we've just got to stick to our values, stick to our beliefs and know there's no use feeling sorry for yourself," Solskjaer told a news conference after the game.

"You've got to go out there with the same commitment tomorrow, the day after, get ready for Sunday."

Solskjaer's young squad has been stretched by injuries to key players Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford while there are nine days remaining of the January transfer window for the club to bring in much-needed new signings.

"We know we've had a lot amount of games since beginning of December and they are very stretched," said Solskjaer. "Some of these have probably played more than they should have and expected, more mentally than physically I think they need a mid-season break.

"We just need to get over that line, not get these three games out of the way but look forward to Sunday, the FA Cup against who knows who and there's a chance then to get some belief back."

Former United defender Rio Ferdinand, working as a pundit for BT Sport labelled the defeat to Burnley "an embarrassment" and afterwards Solskjaer could find few excuses for their second Premier League defeat in the space of four days.

"I can't sit here and do anything but hold my hands up and say that's not good enough for Manchester United," said Solskjaer.

"We are working to improve and get players in and hopefully we can get something over the line [before the deadline]. These players are being stretched.

"They scored from their chances and we didn't take ours. Lately we've played better in these types of games where we've dominated, but today we didn't get the first goal and that took lots of the belief out of us."

Next up for United is a fourth-round FA Cup match against the winner of the replay between Watford and Tranmere Rovers (stream live on ESPN+ on Jan. 26 at 10 a.m. ET).

Real Sociedad striker Willian Jose is pushing for a move to London and has a €70 million buy-out clause in his contract, but Tottenham are negotiating a much lower fee, sources have told ESPN.

The negotiations have started around the €20-30m mark and talks will continue on Thursday with a view to reaching an agreement quickly.

Jose, 28, still has four-and-a-half years left on the new deal he signed with Sociedad in 2018, but the Brazilian is putting pressure on his club to let him leave.

Spurs are confident they will strike a good deal and are encouraged by the fact Real Sociedad have opened the door for a move.

They have also been buoyed by Sociedad's search for a replacement. Former Tottenham striker Fernando Llorente and Girona's Cristhian Stuani are on the La Liga club's list of targets, sources have told ESPN.

- Transfer Grades: All the big moves rated
- When does the transfer window close?
- All major completed transfer deals

Jose was left out of the squad that beat Espanyol in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday evening. He joined Real Sociedad in 2016 for €6m from Uruguayan club Maldonado, who still own 30% of his rights.

Spurs manager Jose Mourinho has identified him as the player he needs to replace Harry Kane during his time on the sidelines with an injury, but also believes the Brazilian can strengthen north London side's squad.

The 6 ft. 2 in. striker is physically strong with a good finishing touch. He has eight league goals this season in 20 La Liga matches -- 16 of which he started.

His most prolific season was in 2017-18 when he scored 15 league goals. Last season he netted 11 times in La Liga.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho made a pointed remark at former employers Manchester United's pursuit of Bruno Fernandes.

- Transfer Grades: All the big moves rated
- When does the transfer window close?
- All major completed transfer deals

Sources told ESPN that United agreed to personal terms with Sporting Lisbon midfielder Fernandes over a move in this transfer window.

However, failure to settle on a fee -- Sporting want €80 million while United are offering €60m -- has led to an impasse, with agent Jorge Mendes saying his client may stay in Lisbon until the summer.

Following Spurs' 2-1 win over Norwich City on Tuesday, Mourinho asked a reporter about the status of his ex-club and their pursuit for Fernandes.

"How was Lisbon? Lisbon was good? So Bruno Fernandes come to United or no?" Mourinho said. "So you go to Lisbon and he's not coming? But coming or no?"

Mourinho then switched subjects and spoke on his team's first win in five league matches.

The arrival of Fernandes to Old Trafford would offer some relief to Mourinho's successor Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

United lost their first match to Burnley at home since 1962 on Wednesday, with home fans signing "stand up if you hate Glazers," in reference to the club's American owners.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is the wrong man for Manchester United. Nice guy, great goal scorer, club legend -- the Norwegian is all of those, but when it comes to managing United at one of the most difficult stages in the club's recent history, he is completely ill-equipped to do the job.

There are many issues that must be resolved at United, but it is negligence on the part of the Glazer family, the club's owners and executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward if they believe that Solskjaer really is the best man available to manage the team. It comes across as the "Dumb and Dumber" approach to running a football club. If being sacked by Cardiff City and two spells in Norway with Molde are deemed to be sufficient qualifications to take charge of United, the 20-time champions of England are likely to be waiting an awfully long time before they can celebrate a 21st title.

As Solskjaer watched from the dugout as United lost 2-0 at home to Burnley on Wednesday, he wore the expression of a man who knew he had been given a hopeless task: hopeless because of his lack of credentials for the job as well as the absence of quality players to make it easier. Woodward wasn't there to witness the Burnley defeat or hear the angry chants directed towards him and the Glazers, but despite the obvious shortcomings on the pitch and within the coaching staff, sources have told ESPN that the United hierarchy are still behind the manager and back him to pull the club through the difficult period of transition.

It's been a long period of transition, too -- almost seven years, in fact -- and there is still no light at the end of the tunnel.

- Man United 0, Burnley 2: Anger growing around Old Trafford
- Solskjaer: I am responsible for what's happening on the pitch
- Sources: Man United eye Bellingham, 16, from Birmingham

During that time, United have tried the Ferguson clone (David Moyes), the widely respected tactical genius (Louis van Gaal) and the trophy machine (Jose Mourinho) in their efforts to restore United to greatness, but now that the club legend (Solskjaer) is failing, which box will they look to tick next? The miracle worker or the firefighter?

Solskjaer is clearly failing, but what is also beyond dispute is that his task is being made so much harder by the institutional failings within Old Trafford that he can do nothing about.

Take the ongoing failure to appoint a technical director as one example, or United's haphazard recruitment policy that has seen the club lurch from expensive superstars (Angel di Maria, Paul Pogba, Alexis Sanchez) to young, British talent such as Daniel James, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and the raft of teenagers promoted to the first team in recent seasons. Solskjaer inherited an imbalanced squad when he replaced Mourinho, initially in a caretaker role, in December 2018, but that squad has now been hollowed out to such an extent that injuries have left United looking and performing like a relegation candidate rather than a contender for the top four.

In some ways, it has been an achievement by Solskjaer to even have United in contention for the top four, considering the lack of quality within his squad, but to give the 46-year-old credit for getting the team as high as fifth simply highlights how far standards have fallen at Old Trafford since Ferguson retired in 2013.

Back then, the Glazers would never have considered a man with Solskjaer's limited qualifications to take charge of the club. Moyes proved to be completely out of his depth at Old Trafford, but the Scot could at least point to a sustained career as a Premier League manager at Everton as being enough to land the job. Moyes had earned the right to be the United manager.

Solskjaer was the stopgap when Mourinho was sacked -- nothing more, nothing less -- but when his remarkable early run of victories secured him the job on a permanent basis, the wheels began to fall off and his lack of suitability for the position was quickly exposed. And this brings us back to why he is not the man for the job. He wasn't up to it in the first place, and he isn't up to it now, but he has been placed in a situation by Woodward and the Glazers where he is being asked to reshape a squad bloated by overpaid and underperforming players. Not only that but he's being forced to do it with the shock therapy of a clear-out rather than getting the necessary funds for a smoother transition.

Solskjaer's inexperience and managerial naivety led to him recklessly going into this season with too many holes in every department in his squad. Behind him, his coaching staff also lacks the tools that Solskjaer does not possess, so it is hardly surprising that the United team is performing so inconsistently and without a clear strategy. There is no sense of United being on a road to anywhere other than nowhere, and Solskjaer looks as lost as every one of his players.

It is not his fault that he is not up to the job, but it is a reality that will not go away.

United do have bigger problems and those are firmly on the Glazers to address, but that should not obscure the fact that the manager is not capable of arresting the slide on the pitch. The Glazers and Woodward should make a change, for the sake of United and Solskjaer, and hire a man who has the credentials and the personality to drag the club back to where it expects to be.

ALTACH, Austria -- Joshua Gatt has already experienced enough to fill one life. We spoke over the course of seven months as he made his way around the world, charting his journey from an obscure ground on the border of Austria and Switzerland to Plymouth, Michigan.

Gatt, a former U.S. national team prospect and player, is still only 28 and has been searching for nearly nine months -- since his most recent pro contract wasn't renewed -- for a new club and a fresh start to his 13-year career. He is frustrated. He has a story to tell, and he is hungry.

"Name one other player who can play as well as I can after four knee surgeries? The soccer world thinks it's better than me? I firmly disagree," Gatt told ESPN. "[Soccer doesn't] seem to care, don't seem to want to give me a chance, don't see the potential I have left.

"The message is clearly sent from soccer to me saying it's moved on. Personally, I think it's crap. I have never had a season without at least a goal or assist in every level I have played at. I challenge any team to take me out, any club in the world, and I bet you I could play with them."

IT'S MAY 2019, AND GATT IS SAYING HIS GOODBYES to teammates at Austria Bundesliga team SC Rheindorf Altach. He's looking for a pair of wayward Adidas Predators while clutching three of his match shirts to save as mementos of his season with the team. He is on to the next challenge, he tells a few of the English-speaking players there. What challenge? He shrugs, used to the unknown.

Altach is the sort of place where everyone knows the lady selling strawberries by the side of the road. The folks in the bakery also work at the ground on matchdays. On Tuesdays, it is rotisserie chicken day at the local supermarket, with people lining up to buy from a man in a van.

The club is quaint, to say the least. The local post office doubles as the club shop. The VIP area is a temporary marquee, housed adjacent to the 8,500-capacity Stadion Schnabelholz, which was without a stand for much of the 2018-19 season, while it was rebuilt. The changing rooms are underneath another stand where old wooden cabins blend into the structure. The team's kit is held in a portacabin. SCR Altach avoided relegation, but Gatt missed their final match. His one-year contract ended, and he is keen to find a new club.

In his club-issued car, in the pouring rain, he recalled how his career has come full circle.

Aged 17, he had a scholarship offer from Indiana University when he was invited to play for a team called the Orange County Blue Stars, made up of promising players from around America. The Blue Stars were a travel team, in a sense, known for touring Europe and playing exhibition games in front of scouts from a number of top teams. Gatt played well and received two offers: one from German side 1. FC Mainz and another from SCR Altach. Having stalled for a year to finish high school, he signed for Altach, which he thought would provide more opportunities for first-team action.

He spent the first couple of months assimilating to Austrian soccer. Then, just six months and 21 matches later, Gatt scored in Altach's 4-0 demolition of Admira in late November 2010. In the stands was Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, then manager of Molde. Gatt's agent got very excited, but the player was in the dark.

"I had to work out the name. I went into YouTube and typed in Ole, Gunnar and tried to type in Solskjaer, and I couldn't spell that," Gatt said. "Google finished it for me, so I copied and pasted it into YouTube, and the very first video that popped up was 'Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Manchester United all 142 goals.' I was looking at it shell-shocked, so I clicked on it and watched it, and as I watched it, I was like, 'Holy s---, this guy was at my game? And likes me?'"

A month later, Gatt was a Molde player. Gatt remembers how Solskjaer picked him and another American, Sean Cunningham, up from the airport; the two players quickly became pals. Gatt helped Molde to their first league title in their centenary year, and all was well. Even now, he remembers that as the highlight of his career. At the time, he was even touted to Sir Alex Ferguson by Solskjaer, who told the then-Manchester United manager to keep an eye on this young American prospect.

"[Solskjaer] probably had the biggest influence of any coach I've ever had," Gatt said. "He took the time to develop me as a tactical player. The reason I know the game now and understand it is because of him. He took the time to teach me and develop me. He taught me about how my teammates move or how to cause the defenders chaos.

"A lot of European guys get taught that [at] younger ages on the tactical side, but Americans, not so much. At least, I didn't."

In late 2012, Gatt's international career was taking off. He had made his debut under Jurgen Klinsmann and impressed at Under-20 level. He played against Russia in November 2012 and against Canada the following January. There was growing buzz around the young right-winger, who could play in most positions and was showing early signs of being a potential mainstay for the next decade. He was named in the U.S. squad for the CONCACAF Gold Cup, but in June of that year, he suffered the first of several ACL injuries.

"I had never been through anything major when I was younger," Gatt said. "The worst thing I did when I was young was tear some ligaments in an ankle or sprain a knee, but I never tore anything or had to have major surgery. I didn't know what I was getting myself into, so I was prepared to go through it. It was really hard. But I went through it, fought through it. What other choice did I have?

"Then in a training session, the knee went again. Molde recommended surgery but said nobody would blame you if you didn't want to play anymore. I didn't have a plan. What was I going to do? The only answer I had was, 'I am going to play soccer.' I took a while longer, instead of pushing it. I came back when everyone thought I was good and ready. I got into playing a game. Then five minutes into my next game, my knee pops again. That's when I was most devastated.

"Not many people talk about how I came back from the injuries or how well I look when I move -- and that's after three ACLs. A lot of players don't come back after one or two ACLs or lose that dynamism. I've had three knee surgeries, and I run just as fast as I did."

In January 2017, Gatt was released by Molde after five difficult seasons, and he and his wife, Melissa, returned to the States. He briefly found root at Minnesota United, but before he had a chance to play in MLS, he was traded to the Colorado Rapids. At the end of the 2017 season, they opted against extending his contract. Gatt's pro career was at risk of stalling, but in early 2018, that was the last thing on his mind when Melissa was diagnosed with cancer.

MELISSA WAS ORIGINALLY DIAGNOSED WITH A RARE CANCER, thymic carcinoma, that has a low recovery rate. But it was a misdiagnosis, and a second opinion confirmed that she had Hodgkin's lymphoma, a more treatable form. Gatt put soccer on hold to focus on helping his wife through her treatment.

"This was us fighting for her, and that's the most important thing in the world for me," he said. "Soccer was really important and everything, but it wasn't the be-all and end-all. It was so important, but it wasn't life and death. We were doing whatever it took."

Gatt's health insurance through Major League Soccer was terminated after Colorado declined the option to sign him earlier in 2018, having traded for Gatt, midfielder Mohammed Saeid and an international roster spot in exchange for Marc Burch and Sam Cronin. But before Melissa received her cancer diagnosis, her mother signed her up for her own insurance, which proved to be life-saving and saved the couple from serious debt.

They knew they would still need money to cover the vast medical costs, so on March 1, 2018, Gatt sent the following tweet: "I'm raising money for Fighting Cancer, Anything helps." He included a link to a GoFundMe page. The response was incredible. Among many others, Christian Pulisic and Solskjaer helped raise awareness and donated. The page raised $78,000.

"I was extremely shocked. I wasn't expecting anything like that. I really wasn't," Gatt said. "I set a pretty menial bar, and it kept growing, so I kept raising it, and we got to the point where we made a lot of money, and I felt like if I went any further, it would start to feel selfish, like I was trying to ask for too much.

"When it came to my wife ... I didn't want it to look like I was trying to fish for extra cash. I was trying to get as much of it as possible together so we could make sure we kept her safe. When I created it, my survival instinct kicked in. I knew that if we were going to do this, we will need help, and that's all it was.

"In that situation, there's never a point of being too proud to ask for help. When you need help, you have to ask. If you don't ask, it'll eat you up inside. I asked other people I knew, people I didn't know and said, if you can, I could really use some help. It was me asking the world to take a minute, and if they could help, I could really appreciate it."

Melissa finished her chemotherapy in July 2018 and is now in remission. Soon after that, Gatt re-signed for Altach, beginning his next chapter, but by May 2019, he and Melissa were packing up their belongings and sorting out shipping costs for their two dogs, Nunio and Rex, to come back to the United States.

UNLIKE MOST OF THESE STORIES ABOUT TRIUMPH OVER ADVERSITY, Gatt's journey remains stalled. He has had false promises and one further knee surgery since he left Austria in the summer of 2019, but he is fit and so eager to let years of frustration out on the pitch. Soccer is a cruel, unforgiving beast, but he is fully aware of his mortality, both the sporting and the literal. Tattooed across his chest is a motto: "It's in your moments of decision that you choose your destiny," a phrase Solskjaer's assistant at Molde, Richard Harris, once said to Gatt. On his left arm, he has a three-quarter sleeve.

"I have a big tree that goes up the length of my arm, a family tree, in a way, that represents my family, and in the branches, there's a raven that has my family's initials: my brother, mum and dad," Gatt said. "That's a family tree. There are a lot of angels that are holding or carrying off skeletons.

"A lot of the angels aren't beautiful angels. They're tattered, beaten up. They're worn. The reason I wanted to do it that way ... people die all the time. I lost my grandmother. It's difficult, and it's hard when the people you love leave you. It's hard on you. I always figured that if it's hard on us and hard on humans and hard to lose the people we love, it has to be hard on the people taking them.

"I wanted that idea that these angels, well, they're doing their job not because they want to but because they have to, and it wears on them just like losing a loved one wears on us."

In a heartbeat, the conversation switched to the transience of life.

"If you live in constant fear of worrying about your mortality, you won't spend the time you have living," Gatt said.

"I've learned that when I used to live vicariously through my past, especially with the knees, I just kind of came to the realisation that if you're living your life in hindsight or what you should have done or how you should have done it, then you're never going to be able to move forward. The now is passing you right by, and you're not doing anything about it."

Gatt lives in the present with an introspective view, rather than worrying about outside perspectives. He knows he's no longer the young, promising, American player. He is now an international with four major knee surgeries to his name, but that doesn't concern him. Having been written off so many times, he thrives on proving his doubters wrong. He just needs an opportunity.

"I feel I have maybe eight or nine years left [as a pro] because of the fact I did suffer a lot of injuries, but I didn't play a lot of soccer in that time, so I didn't suffer a lot of wear and tear of [so many games] season after season," he said.

"Major League Soccer is expanding. That's the most interesting thing, and they're adding more and more teams every year. There's going to be more and more need for players, and hopefully I can find my way home at some time. If it's not right now, then it's not right now."

Gatt is still living in Michigan, supported by Melissa, Rex and Nunio -- Nunio recently finished his cancer treatment, and the signs are positive -- but he's restless. He is adamant that his soccer story is not yet finished.

"No one gives me the credit I deserve," Gatt said. "I am a fighter, a survivor, and I push myself to play harder than most people I know. My level raises to my challenge. I dare someone to challenge me.

"After everything I've been through? C'mon. I have nothing to lose."

The ICC has eased concerns over proposed plans to scrap the men's T20 World Cup Qualifier for the 2021 edition of the men's T20 World Cup, announcing that it will remain in a revised format.

After receiving push-back from some leading Associate members over threats to scrap the qualifier altogether, the global qualifier field has been expanded from 14 to 16 teams but will be split into two eight-team qualifying tournaments.

Under the format of the 14-team qualifier that concluded last October in the UAE, the top six out of 14 teams advanced to the T20 World Cup in Australia for October 2020. But for 2021, only four qualification spots will be up for grabs. Two each will go to the top pair of teams from each of the redesigned eight-team global qualifiers. A decision had already been taken that all teams advancing to the Super 12 stage for the 2020 T20 World Cup would automatically be part of the 2021 T20 World Cup, meaning a reduction in the number of qualifying berths remaining via the qualifier pathway.

The initial proposal that was reportedly under discussion in October was for the last four berths to be decided by four regional qualification finals.

However, that could have presented a possible scenario in which only one of Ireland, Scotland and Netherlands may have been able to advance to the 2021 T20 World Cup in the event that none of the three European countries advanced from the opening round into the Super 12 of this year's T20 World Cup.

Similarly, it could have presented a scenario where only one of Bangladesh or Sri Lanka could have advanced from a 2021 Asia regional qualifier if neither country progresses to this year's Super 12. It also meant two of the ICC's five Associate regions would have to play a joint regional final to account for the difference between five regions and four berths.

To avoid such a scenario, the global qualifier has remained open. The ICC will still use lead-in regional events - as has been done since 2011 - to decide some berths for teams participating in the dual 2021 global qualifiers. Two teams each from Asia, Europe and the Americas will join the regional champion from East Asia-Pacific and Africa in advancing to the global qualifier to take up eight of the 16 slots. The four teams who fail to advance to the Super 12 stage in Australia will also fall into the 2021 global qualifier.

Meanwhile, the ICC stated that the remaining four slots in the global qualifier have been decided based on rankings. Zimbabwe, Nepal, UAE and Hong Kong are the beneficiaries of the four ranking-based slots. Both UAE and Hong Kong fell just short of advancing to the 2020 T20 World Cup in Australia after losing playoff matches to Scotland and Oman respectively in Dubai.

The expansion of total teams in the global qualifier field from 14 to 16 is a nod toward the inclusion of Zimbabwe and Nepal after their absence from last year's qualifier in the UAE. Zimbabwe were prevented from participating in the 2019 men's T20 World Cup Qualifier after receiving an administrative suspension by the ICC in the summer of 2019.

However, Nepal's inclusion based on rankings is a decision that may ruffle feathers in some quarters of the Associate world. Nepal finished behind both Singapore and Qatar in their 2019 Asia regional qualification final in July, losing convincingly to both teams. Singapore went on to register two wins at the global qualifier in the UAE, including one over Scotland. But the value of Nepal's television ratings and traveling spectator fan base far exceed Singapore, Qatar and anyone else expected to be in the qualifier, making their participation important for commercial reasons.

The decision to split the global qualifier from one 16-team event into two eight-team events also opens the door for bidding from more nations to host either of the dual qualifiers. The UAE has hosted the global qualifier on four occasions, in 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2019 due in large part to being the only country with a sufficient number of venues to stage matches. Ireland hosted the inaugural qualifier in 2008 when it was only eight teams while Ireland co-hosted a 14-team qualifier with Scotland in 2015.

The 16-team qualifier in 2012 and 2013 and 14-team event in 2015 and 2019 used a format in which teams were split into two groups of eight or seven teams for a round-robin stage before playoff matches. Splitting the two "groups" into their own respective eight-team global qualifier eliminates the need for one country to take on the logistical burden of hosting twice as many teams. It could open up the opportunity for a country such as the Netherlands or USA to host either of the dual qualifiers with fewer venues necessary.

The lead-in five regional qualification finals for the 2021 Men's T20 World Cup Qualification process will take place between March and September 2020. The two eight-team global qualifiers will then be scheduled for between March and July 2021 ahead of the 2021 Men's T20 World Cup which is scheduled to be held in India that October.

Joe Root believes winning the Test series in South Africa would rank as the "proudest result" of his captaincy career.

While Root has led his side to other series victories - notably a 3-0 clean sweep in Sri Lanka little more than a year ago and a 4-1 victory against India earlier in the same year - he believes that winning against South Africa with a young team which has faced numerous challenges during the tour would be "a very big achievement."

ALSO READ: Can Buttler cast off his Test shackles?

A few weeks into the trip, Ben Stokes suggested - with tongue only partly in cheek - that it had become known as "the cursed tour." Perhaps that was understandable, too. By that stage his dad, Ged, had suffered a serious illness and most of the squad had struggled with a sickness bug that compromised their performance in the first Test. By the time the third Test started, three first-choice players - their leading bowler, James Anderson, as well as their leading spinner (Jack Leach) and opening batsman (Rory Burns) - had been forced to return to England as a result of injury or illness.

Despite losing that first Test, England have taken a 2-1 lead in the series ahead of the final game starting in Johannesburg on Friday. And Root feels that, given the youth of his side - there will be at least five men aged 25 or under in the England team to play this Test - and the promise they have shown that "the sky is the limit for this team."

"It's been a tour that has thrown everything at us," Root said. "But the whole squad - the players and the coaching staff - have worked tirelessly to make sure we stayed calm and as in control as we could. And then, when we've had our opportunities to bounce back, we've really taken them.

"It's been really pleasing in many ways. We're a very young side at the start of something and we've seen some very promising performances. To win three Tests in a row would be a very big achievement for this group.

"A series win here probably would be my proudest achievement as captain, because of the different things we've had to manage throughout this tour. We've had injuries and senior players having to fly home and a lot of illness to deal with. And we have adapted to very different conditions.

"For a young group of players that has been very pleasing and a sign we're doing the right things. If we can harness that and keep looking to improve then I do think the sky's the limit for this team. But we're very much at the start of something here and we're not perfect by any means. We have to keep that attitude and keep driving that forward for a long period of time if we want to get to No. 1 in the world."

While Root said he would like to field an attack including Mark Wood and Jofra Archer, it seems Wood may miss out. While he did bowl in training on Thursday and no final has yet been reached, it appeared that he was struggling to fully shake-off the exertions of the previous Test. Considering that match was his first first-class game in 11 months, and his first appearance in any format since the World Cup final in July, it was not huge surprise that he seemed unable to generate the pace he showed in Port Elizabeth during training.

Archer, however, backed up his superb spell in training on Wednesday with an equally impressive one on Thursday. As a result, Archer for Wood is the only likely change.

"It would be nice to see how Archer and Wood go together," Root said. "It would be a relentless barrage of pace which is exciting on the surface you typically get here at the Wanderers. It would be great to have that extra bit of pace and firepower, but ultimately we've got to hit the right areas as we have done in the last couple of games."

Vernon Philander will retire at the end of this series against England, having claimed more than 200 Test wickets in an eight-year career. Here's what his contemporaries had to say about him on the eve of his swan song at the Wanderers:

Faf du Plessis: "A banker"

"With Vern, it's great to know as a captain you can give the ball to someone with control. Test cricket is all about control, run-rate, putting guys under pressure through either spells where you feel you can get a lot of wickets - with Vern sometimes that is the case, when the ball is moving around, it feels like he can get a guy out at any stage or with the control factor. If the wicket is a bit slower, I know I am going to get control out of him.

"In Test cricket you don't want to be throwing the ball to someone and hope that he keeps the run-rate under 4.5, it releases a lot of pressure. I know that Vern gives me that control. He is a banker, most certainly always. Later in his career, it has been about managing his workload. This is a four-Test series. He didn't bowl as much in the previous game as a bowler like him can bowl but had the foresight and understanding that we will need him here at Wanderers and if necessary push himself a little bit more, which he will be because it's last."

Graeme Smith: "The last cog in the wheel"

"Under my captaincy Vern was like the last cog in the wheel. He was an incredible guy who came in and added to our bowling attack. His skill against left-handed batsmen was a huge thing. Being able to be effective and get us into games, allowing other people to be more aggressive and attack more because we always knew Vern was going to be reliable and give us what we needed.

"I think the one thing that always gets missed about him is that he's a fantastic competitor. He's got the bit between his teeth and he gets into contests. And his ability to front up. We are all put under pressure in the international game. It's how you regroup and front up again. Vern was fantastic from that perspective. An element of that needs to come back into our national side - how guys front up under pressure and perform when needed; when the moments are right.

"He was outstanding. I would have loved to see him progress more in the short formats. My argument with Vern has always been has he always got to that level of talent that he's had? Has he worked hard enough, at times, to get there. Certainly what he's produced in the Test format for us, his record speaks for itself. He can be proud.

"Now the conversation is how do we keep him in the system, because his knowledge on bowling and his skill is something we cannot afford to lose. As CSA we lose too much intellectual property all the time. Even post my 11 years of captaincy no-one sat down and said, 'Look here, what did you learn? What are the systems?' It's an area we're not very good at. So we've got to try and keep all this knowledge of international cricket and quality players in the system to hopefully develop the next heroes."

Quinton de Kock: "His own person"

"Vern's his own person. He brings a lot, not just with his skills with the ball and the bat, but with his attitude towards the game. We're going to miss that. I hope he can have a good goodbye."

Ten hours after their 'A' teams meet for a one-dayer at Christchurch, and seventy minutes after their senior teams begin their T20I series in Auckland, the India and New Zealand U-19 sides will face off in Bloemfontein to see which team tops Group A at the World Cup. The winner will avoid the unbeaten and in-form West Indies in the quarter-final.

India's bowling hasn't been fully tested so far. They've bowled out both Sri Lanka and Japan, the efforts have been spearheaded by Kartik Tyagi, the right-arm pacer, left-arm seamer Akash Singh and legspinner Ravi Bishnoi.

India made three changes for the Japan game, but couldn't quite read much into it because of the nature of their 10-wicket win. Kumar Kushagra - who came in for opener Divyaansh Saxena - played only 13 deliveries and Shashwat Rawat - who came in place of allrounder Shubhang Hegde didn't bat at all.

The only clarity India have is what role Vidyadhar Patil, the right-arm medium pacer, plays. He took just one wicket but was consistent in his lines and lengths, even swinging the ball both ways. What that means for Sushant Mishra, the player he replaced, remains to be seen.

Imdia haven't been put under pressure at all, unlike New Zealand, who were in a must-win against Sri Lanka after settling for a point due to a washout against Japan. A loss there could've been curtains to their quarter-final hopes, an it needed a final-over six from Kritian Clarke to take them over the line. The victory would have has given New Zealand a sense of self-belief.

New Zealand opener Rhys Mariu will be a key wicket for India. He's scored 51 and 86 in the two games and is playing the role of team anchor at the top, while Beckham Wheeler-Greenall, the attractive middle-order batsman showed in the game against Sri Lanka that he can comfortably tackle spin.

Clarke can ramp his pace up to the late 130s early on in his spell and could trouble India's top order, while the duo of wristspinner Adithya Ashok and the captain and left-arm orthodox bowler Jesse Tashkoff have shown control in the middle overs through the warm-up games and the match against Sri Lanka. Ashok has taken a three-for in each of his last three games, while both spinners found success against India at the pre-World Cup quadrangular tournament as well.

That's not to say India's batsmen are not capable of tackling New Zealand's attack. In the last game they played at the quadrangular tournament, they struck Ashok for six runs an over despite losing two wickets to him and scored 252 on a difficult surface. To give one a rough idea of how tricky the Durban surface was - where teams were playing a game every day across ten days - New Zealand were skittled out for 132.

Left-arm spinner Atharva Ankolekar, who hasn't yet played a World Cup game, was India's star at that match, taking 3 for 16. Now, he could make his way into the XI against a side that will be aware of the damage he can cause.

It's also worth noting that New Zealand's highest total in their last seven games is only 243, the one that came against Sri Lanka. The India game will be a good test of their temperament, and they don't need to go too far back in history to find motivation. When India were under the pressure at the semi-final of the seniors' World Cup last year, it was underdogs New Zealand who were the thorn in their step to the final.

Both sides would prefer to play either England or Australia in their quarterfinal, and for that they need a win. No cracks have yet been found in the Indian team that has looked simply flawless on the field, winning ten of their last 11 games (including practice matches) entering the match-up, but if they are to lose, this would be the only game they can afford to.

It's the final opportunity for both teams to figure their best XIs, and perhaps even commit an error or two. Because once both sides shake their hands and leave the field, they cannot afford to make a single mistake moving forward into the World Cup knockouts.