Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers described Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold's range of passing as "phenomenal" and said the 21-year-old's attacking instincts were as good as that of a midfielder.

Alexander-Arnold provided two assists for Roberto Firmino and scored late as the Premier League leaders blasted past second-placed Leicester 4-0 on Thursday to open up a 13-point gap at the top with a game in hand.

The academy graduate began his career in central midfield and got his first taste of senior football under former Liverpool manager Rodgers in 2015, but has excelled in Jurgen Klopp's back line making eight league assists this season.

"For me, he plays full-back as a midfield player. His range of passing is phenomenal ... he was a midfielder as a youngster," Rodgers told a news conference after the match.

"His quality, the experiences he has gained, for Jurgen he has been absolutely amazing. Trent is up there and is very much England's number one [right-back] and playing consistently at a high level."

Klopp said Alexander-Arnold's crossing, which also led to a penalty against Leicester, was exceptional but he batted away questions on whether the right-back was the best player in the world in that position.

"I'm not too interested, to be honest. We're not looking for one, let me say it like this," Klopp added.

"He played a really good game, but not a perfect game ... it was decisive and helped us a lot. We know how important these crosses are for us, so that's absolutely exceptional.

"But I can't compare because at the moment I watch pretty much only Liverpool games so I don't see the others."

December 27: Melbourne Stars v Adelaide Strikers

Our XI: Jake Weatherald, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Short, Glenn Maxwell (capt), Alex Carey (wk), Jonathan Wells, Rashid Khan, Wes Agar, Adam Zampa, Dale Steyn, Harry Conway

NOTE: We might not always be able to tip you off about a late injury (or other relevant) updates

Captain: Glenn Maxwell

An absolutely safe pick. The big hitter can also roll his arm over and pick up quick wickets. In the previous match against Hobart Hurricanes, he finished with figures of 2 for 15 in three overs, dismissing the dangerous D'Arcy Short and David Miller. He played a captain's knock in the Stars' opening game against Brisbane Heat, scoring a 39-ball 83. In the only T20I played at this ground, last year, he top scored with a measured 23-ball 38 as Australia stumbled in a low-scorer against South Africa.

Vice-captain: Alex Carey

With BBL scores of 55 and 45 after an impressive run in the domestic first-class tournament, Carey is in top form and should slot right into your XI. Plus, he can pick up valuable points for you behind the stumps too.

Hot picks

Jake Weatherald: The opener has been key to the Strikers' batting this season so far. He's come into the tournament with good form and has kept the momentum going, scoring a 42 in the opening match followed by a 47-ball 83 in the Strikers' win against Perth Scorchers on Monday.

Dale Steyn: The South African fast bowler could finally make his BBL debut on Friday night. He needs no introduction, but he is coming into the tournament on the back of an impressive display in the Mzansi Super League, where he finished as the third-highest wicket-taker with 15 scalps in eight matches for the Cape Town Blitz.

Value picks

Marcus Stoinis: The star allrounder is a good bet in the T20 format in general. Opening the batting for the Stars, he blasted an unbeaten 54-ball 81 in the game against the Hurricanes on Sunday.

Adam Zampa: The legspinner has delivered in the Stars' first two matches this season. In Carrara last week, he strangled the Brisbane Heat line-up, bringing down the scoring rate and eventually sealing a Stars' win. Tom Banton, Chris Lynn and Sam Heazelett were his victims on the day as he finished with figures of 3 for 30.

ESPNcricinfo's live updates on the final of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. If the blog doesn't load for you, please refresh your page.

Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal left Thursday night's 132-102 loss to the Detroit Pistons with right lower leg soreness, head coach Scott Brooks said.

Beal exited with 5 minutes, 50 seconds remaining in the third quarter. The Wizards trailed 89-60 when Beal left, and Brooks said the team opted to leave him on the sideline because of the large deficit.

"We'll see how he feels [Friday] and evaluate it," Brooks said. "He wanted to keep playing, but the bottom line is we were down a big number, so it's wise to let him sit out the rest of the game."

Beal had 15 points on 5-for-14 shooting, with two rebounds, two assists and one steal. He is the fifth-leading scorer in the NBA at 28.3 points per game.

The Wizards host the New York Knicks on Saturday.

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – It might not seem like it, but it has been four years since Billy Wease has been to victory lane inside the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.

The Noblesville, Ind., veteran is hoping to change that during this weekend’s Rumble in Fort Wayne presented by Jason Dietsch Trailer Sales, the 22nd renewal of the indoor racing classic.

Wease is a five-time Rumble winner, second-most behind all-time event leader Tony Stewart’s nine, but the last time he celebrated on the frontstretch of the sixth-mile concrete oval was Dec. 27, 2015.

That’s a drought that is far too extensive for Wease’s liking, and one that he explained to Sprint Car & Midget in depth on Thursday afternoon, citing the ever-changing indoor track in Fort Wayne.

“We definitely want to get back to victory lane, Randy (Burrow, car owner) and I do,” said Wease, who swept the 2009 Rumble in addition to wins in 2007, 2012 and 2015. “It’s a tough deal, though. I think a lot of it is that the track’s kind of changed a little bit. Last year it seemed like it didn’t really rubber down very well … and truthfully we’ve just missed it on setup, really, the last couple of years.

“We’ve changed a lot (on our cars) this year. I think it’s going to be a lot better,” he added. “Randy worked really hard on the cars, so I think we’ll have something to contend with this year.”

Wease is somewhat of a pavement specialist, so to speak, when it comes to his success in racing.

He won the 2006 Turkey Night Grand Prix, back when it was held at the half-mile Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway, and spent time as a Team Penske development driver in NASCAR during the decade as well.

Wease’s early history behind the wheel is deeply rooted in the asphalt of his home state, something he alluded to in discussing his more-recent success.

“Man, I grew up racing short tracks,” Wease said. “I mean I at the (Indianapolis) Speedrome pretty much from the time I was 12 years old, racing Kenyon cars … and then (national) midgets when I was 14 years old. It was just all short track racing like that. And I really took to the Speedrome, which really is pretty similar to this type of racing. There’s a lot of things that translated over pretty well.

“Once I got old enough to do indoors, I really just took to this place as soon as I got started doing it, and I’ve loved it ever since.”

Much like racing midgets with the United States Auto Club, where Wease has spent his time on dirt in recent years during the outdoor season, he chalked success at the Rumble in Fort Wayne up to a strong performance in two-lap time trials – something he said “sets you up for the rest of the night.”

“You have to have a good car to be able to position yourself through qualifying,” he noted. “You have to qualify well. There was a good stretch there where we were qualifying top three every time we’d come here, which would put us in position pretty much for the rest of the night to have a good night. A lot of it is that qualifying lap, and then getting through your heat race. That’s truly the main thing.

“You don’t want to get yourself stuck in the consi (B-main) where you have to win or you go home,” he added with a wry chuckle. “That’s never a fun position to be sitting in here in Fort Wayne.”

For Wease, who won’t be making the trip to Tulsa, Okla., this year to compete in the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals, this weekend’s Rumble is his chance to have a moment in the spotlight before the offseason truly sets in.

Wease knows that, too. He’s gunning for success on Friday and Saturday night to remind everyone that he’s still a force to be reckoned with when it comes to big-time midget racing.

“It’d be really cool to cap 2019 off with a win, or maybe two,” Wease said. “This deal is something I look forward to every year. Um, this deal is probably one of my favorite races of the year. It means a lot to me to come in here and be able to win. Just to reconnect with the home fans and race in front of them is always important and a little extra special.

“It’s a fun race, but it’s hard work. I’ve been working out in the gym a lot to try and get ready for this deal, just so you can sustain through the 50 laps. Breathing all the fumes in the whole race really wears you out, but I’ve done everything I can and I feel as ready for it this year as I ever have.”

The Columbus Blue Jackets placed right wing Cam Atkinson on injured reserve Thursday with a sprained ankle that will keep him out for two to three weeks.

The move is retroactive to Dec. 19, when Atkinson injured his ankle against the Los Angeles Kings.

Atkinson, 30, has nine goals and 12 assists in 35 games this season. He scored 41 goals last season and has 20 or more goals in each of the past six seasons.

Columbus recalled left wing Jakob Lilja, center Ryan MacInnis and defenseman Gabriel Carlsson from its AHL affiliate in Cleveland. The Jackets also called up defenseman Adam Clendening for the first time this season.

Kevin Roberts, the Cricket Australia chief executive, has pledged New Zealand will be granted more frequent Boxing Day Tests as he acknowledged that the game's financial powerhouses needed to work together to ensure that it grows healthier outside the cricket super economies of India, England and Australia.

Responding to the BCCI president Sourav Ganguly's suggestion for a "Super Series" in which India, England and Australia would play a tournament amongst themselves, Roberts termed the idea "innovative". But he was careful to stress that all nations needed to be given opportunities for quality cricket and chances to raise revenue, amid widespread dismay that such a concept might be allowed to get off the ground given the parlous state of so many other nations' finances.

New Zealand Cricket (NZC) is struggling to find sufficient and consistent revenue streams in the face of three consecutive years of financial losses, while elsewhere Ireland has been forced to cancel a raft of fixtures due to cost pressures. The scheduling of a "Super Series" rather than the extra ICC events proposed by its chief executive Manu Sawhney would not only overturn the current cricket calendar but place further pressure on the already stretched finances of most ICC member countries.

"I think it's an example of the innovative thinking coming out of the BCCI with Sourav Ganguly as president," Roberts said. "In his very short time, only a couple of months, we have already seen India commit to and host a day-night Test in Kolkata, so a brilliant result there. And now a suggestion around the Super Series, another potential innovation. We will be in India next month and Bangladesh talking about the future cricket calendar. We're in discussions with New Zealand as well and I was recently in Pakistan talking about the importance of our future partnership with Pakistan.

"We're really respectful of the importance of our international cricket relationships and our role as a leader in world cricket in supporting the development of cricket in other countries. We're really looking forward to hosting Afghanistan next year and that is an example of our commitment to world cricket. We have discussions with all member nations of the ICC and take really seriously our role to partner them and working together with them to grow the game.

"We're just trying to be a good proactive partner to both the ICC and its members. Cricket is part of the fabric of Australian culture and we've got to play our part to make sure it remains and become an even stronger part of other countries around the world. Cricket is more or less a religion on the sub-continent. It's absolutely the favourite sport in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. We've got to try and make sure we see the game emerging in countries all around the world."

Tony Irish, the FICA executive chairman, has stated bluntly that any push for more bilateral cricket than is already scheduled between India, England and Australia would only serve to grow the yawning gaps that exist between rich and poor. "The mooted super series is a real concern for the global game. It is likely to further open the gap between the rich and the poorer countries in international cricket," Irish told ESPNcricinfo.

"FICA has maintained for some time now that two key issues to be addressed for the future of international cricket are a) a more coherent global schedule, and b) more equitable global game economics. This proposed new event does not assist in either of those."

Asked whether New Zealand would have to wait another 32 years for another appearance on Boxing Day, Roberts was quick to assure Australia's Trans-Tasman neighbours that a crowd of more than 80,000 of Boxing Day at the MCG would help ensure that the fixture would become a far more regular occurrence. He also stated that the MCG would keep the Boxing Day Test for the foreseeable future, as CA negotiates a new stadium deal with the Melbourne Cricket Club.

"We really value the partnership with New Zealand. We are already having some high-level discussions around the cricket calendar from 2023 to 2031 and we absolutely hope and look forward to hosting New Zealand at a Boxing Day Test well before another 32 years pass," Roberts said. "They are a really important partner and nation in the world of cricket.

"The reality is there is only one venue in Australia that can host over 80,000 people on Boxing Day as the MCG did yesterday. It was just a picture. That's something we are really grateful for and respect. The MCG Test is one of the two most iconic Tests on the planet, along with the Lord's Test.

"You would have to say that, given this is the equivalent of two AFL grand finals, as MCC CEO Stuart Fox was quoted as saying that the other day, that indicates the importance of it, not just in Victoria but in communities beyond Australia. Given the importance of the MCG Test to world cricket, I would like to think it will remain here in perpetuity. There is a bit of work to be done on that front. But you would have to say it is best for world cricket to have a Boxing Day Test in Melbourne for years to come."

Lunch Australia 5 for 336 v New Zealand

For the third time in three innings Neil Wagner bounced out Steven Smith to bring the second morning at the MCG alive but Australia remained in control as Travis Head moved to a half century as they reached 5 for 336 at lunch.

Smith and Head had played carefully through the first hour - which brought just 27 runs in 14 overs - as New Zealand toiled accurately but without huge threat. Things changed in the first over after drinks when Wagner produced a brute of a short delivery which Smith fended into the gully where Henry Nicholls took an excellent, finger-tip catch above his head.

Smith had only managed to add eight off 50 runs to his overnight score of 77 - that included driving the opening delivery of the day for three - and could not make it a fifth MCG hundred after battling through the opening day.

However, that was New Zealand's only success of the morning as the game continued to drift away from them after deciding to bowl. Head, who was rarely comfortable after another short-pitched examination from Wagner, brought up his second fifty of the series from 109 balls which may well be enough to shift the debate away from him being the vulnerable batsman should one miss out at any stage. As often, he was particularly strong square through the off side whenever the New Zealand seamers strayed.

Tim Paine played aggressively at the start of his innings, and was keen to take on the short ball that did have him in trouble on a few occasions, and by lunch had moved into the 30s to take his stand from Head beyond fifty.

As on the opening day the majority of the bowling was done by the four seamers with Trent Boult's second spell better than his first. Wagner was eventually relieved after a nine-over burst with Mitchell Santner introduced shortly before lunch, but he has not been entrusted with much work by Kane Williamon again leaked runs which will be an issue to ponder ahead of the next Test in Sydney.

Katy Berteau, the fiancée of Edward Aschoff, tweeted her thanks for the "outpouring of love" shown since the ESPN college football reporter's death Tuesday after a brief illness.

"I want to say thank you to everyone who has expressed their sympathies, condolences, and prayers for me and his family and friends," Berteau wrote on Aschoff's Twitter feed Thursday.

"The outpouring of love, admiration, and gratitude for his life have been so incredible, and have helped me through these last few days. It has brought me brief moments of joy in this darkness to see all the pictures, videos, and memories of all the lives he touched."

Aschoff died on his 34th birthday. He and Berteau were to be married in New Orleans in April.

Berteau also clarified the cause of Aschoff's death in her tweets Thursday.

"Edward was admitted to the hospital a week after our first visit to the ER, where he was diagnosed with multifocal pneumonia," Berteau wrote. "After failed antibiotic treatment, with worsening of symptoms, we took him back to the ER and he was immediately admitted.

"After many tests -- bone marrow and lung biopsies -- treatment was started for a presumed diagnosis of HLH [hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis], an unregulated, over-activation of the immune system that causes it to attack itself and other healthy tissues. Within 3 days of being moved into the ICU, he passed."

(7/12) I want to share the brightness that he showed, even up until the last day he was awake. He kept the doctors and nurses constantly laughing, and always made a point to thank them and tell them what a great job they were doing. pic.twitter.com/ZcZc6k6TVS

— Edward Aschoff (@AschoffESPN) December 27, 2019

Berteau shared her story in a dozen posts, which included photos of the couple together, most of which showed Aschoff with a wide smile.

(11/12) Thank you all again for loving him as much as he loved you. pic.twitter.com/rEtYnej64o

— Edward Aschoff (@AschoffESPN) December 27, 2019

A talented storyteller, whether he was on camera or crafting a written piece, Aschoff joined ESPN in 2011 as part of the SEC blog network after covering recruiting and Florida football for The Gainesville Sun. A graduate of the University of Florida, Aschoff had a keen sense of humor and connected with many he crossed paths with, be it professionally or personally.

Berteau said a small memorial will be held in Oxford, Mississippi, and a main service will be held in Atlanta, Georgia, with more details to come.

"I couldn't be more proud that the one thing people are talking about most was his ability to lift them up with his energy, light, and that all-encompassing smile," Berteau wrote.

NEW YORK -- After missing more than six weeks with a thumb injury, Brooklyn Nets guard/forward Caris LeVert is nearing his return to the court.

LeVert underwent surgery on the ligaments in his right thumb on Nov. 14. The Nets have gone 12-8 in his absence.

"They've been playing extremely well, so I can't wait to get out there with them," LeVert said on Thursday morning ahead of the Nets' game against the New York Knicks.

LeVert began doing full contact work with Brooklyn's coaches on Monday. In his first comments to reporters since immediately after his surgery, LeVert said that he was finally able to play five on five against his teammates on Tuesday and then again on Thursday.

Neither LeVert nor head coach Kenny Atkinson would give an exact date for his return. Atkinson stopped short of saying LeVert would play at some point during the Nets' upcoming road trip against the Rockets, Timberwolves and Mavericks, saying only that he is "getting closer."

"Just needs some more, mix it up a little more with contact," Atkinson said, adding that LeVert needs a "couple more" contact sessions before he is cleared to play in a game.

Said LeVert: "I feel better each and every day. I'm right there."

LeVert, 25, said the most challenging part has been "getting my rhythm, getting my legs back." He is still wearing protective tape on his right thumb and said he anticipates using bandages in games when he comes back.

LeVert started all nine games he played in this season. He is averaging 16.8 points, five rebounds and four assists per game.

Meanwhile, the Nets are still without their starting point guard, Kyrie Irving. Irving was diagnosed with a right shoulder impingement after the Nets' Nov. 12 game against the Utah Jazz. He suffered the injury two days earlier when Brooklyn played the Nuggets in Denver.

Atkinson said before Thursday's game that Irving had yet to be cleared for contact. On Dec. 8, Atkinson said that he anticipated Irving would be "integrated in the next week or two into team practices." Two and a half weeks later, that has yet to happen.

Atkinson dismissed the idea that Irving could need surgery.

"I don't think we are there yet," Atkinson said. "We're still in the rehab process."