It's the IPL 2020 auction. The highlight has so far been Pat Cummins selling for INR 15.5 crore (US$ 2.2 million approx.), the highest price an overseas cricketer has commanded at the IPL - ever. Here are some of the talking points and other highlights - and lowlights - from the goings-on in Kolkata.

Knight Riders break the bank for Cummins

Cummins became the most expensive overseas buy in IPL history when Kolkata Knight Riders bought him after a scrap with Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Capitals. All right, not so much a scrap, really, because Capitals and Royal Challengers went tooth-and-nail for the first part before Knight Riders waded in and had their man.

Sunrisers get India's Under-19 World Cup captain

While Royals made a late entry to the bid for Mumbai's Yashasvi Jaiswal, who recently became the youngest to hit a List A double-century, and got him for INR 2.4 crore (US$ 338,000 approx.), which was 12 times his base price, Sunrisers Hyderabad shelled out a lot of money on more lesser-known players: India's Under-19 World Cup captain Priyam Garg and 22-year-old Virat Singh, the Jharkhand batsman. The same two teams bid for them and Sunrisers beat Kings XI both times, for INR 1.9 crore each (US$ 267,000 approx.).

Fast bowlers get the big money

The second round saw big money being spent on the fast bowlers, especially Nathan Coulter-Nile and Sheldon Cottrell. Coulter-Nile was another Australian to fetch big money as Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings fought over him. He quickly became a millionaire and then went to Mumbai for a massive INR 8 crore (US$ 1.1 million approx.). Cottrell's bid saw a fierce three-way fight between Rajasthan Royals, Capitals and Kings XI. His bid also went on for long and became a battle between Kings XI and Capitals. Kings XI finally pouched the West Indian for INR 8.5 crore (US$ 1.2 million approx.). Royals bid again for Indian left-arm seamer Jaydev Unadkat and were given a bit of competition by Kings XI but eventually got him back for INR 3 crore (US$ 422,530 approx.).

Australians in big demand

Cummins was certainly not the first Australian to attract interest. Before him, in fact, Glenn Maxwell was picked up by Kings XI Punjab for INR 10.75 crore (US$ 1.5 million approx.). Royal Challengers picked up Australia opener Aaron Finch for INR 4.4 crore (US$ 620,000 approx.) after winning a bidding war against Knight Riders.

Varun, Chawla in high demand

Varun Chakravarthy, the mystery spinner who was the joint-most expensive buy last season, picked up an injury after just one match last IPL. That remains the only game he has played in more than 12 months and it would not have been surprising if no one wanted him this time, or spent a small amount on him. But Knight Riders and Royal Challengers did not think so. They took his price up, up, and away to INR 4 crore (US$ 563,000 approx.), when Knight Riders got him on board.

Piyush Chawla, meanwhile, is 31 and not among the top spinners in the country, and had been released by Knight Riders recently. This time, he got INR 6.75 crore (US$ 0.95 million approx.) from Super Kings, who also have Harbhajan Singh, Imran Tahir, Ravindra Jadeja and Mitchell Santner in their spin contingent. Mumbai opened the bid for Chawla but soon dropped out as Kings XI joined in, but they stopped after a while too, and Super Kings got their man.

More to follow...

The IPL 2020 auction was held in Kolkata on December 19, 2019. Here's ESPNcricinfo's full coverage leading into and following up on the big day.

December 19 - Auction Day
News - Pat Cummins gets record $2.2 million from KKR
Blog - The auction as it happened
News - The list of sold and unsold players

December 18
Features - ESPNcricinfo insiders' IPL 2020 auction predictions
News - IPL 2020 set to allow inter-team loans of capped players
Video - Will KKR go big on an overseas opener?
Video - Filling overseas slots a big challenge for RCB

December 17
Podcast - Take all our money, Pat Cummins
News - Tom Banton, Eoin Morgan among England's IPL auction hopefuls
Features - Six players who could spark a fierce bidding war
Poll - Who will fetch the biggest bid?

December 16
Analysis - How the squads stand and what they need at the auction

December 14
News - Ricky Ponting picks Pat Cummins, Chris Woakes to 'go for big money' at IPL auction

December 2
News - Mitchell Starc opts out of IPL 2020, Glenn Maxwell back in auction pool
Features - A six-hitting prodigy, a legspinning allrounder, and a left-handed Virat

November 15
News - KKR release Chris Lynn, Robin Uthappa; RCB let go of several overseas names
News - Ajinkya Rahane, Trent Boult, Mayank Markande get IPL raises with pre-auction trades

England Women 185 for 5 (Jones 89, Wyatt 55) beat Pakistan Women 101 for 9 (Javed 38, Ecclestone 2-5) by 84 runs

Half-centuries to Amy Jones and Danni Wyatt propelled England Women to a resounding 84-run victory over Pakistan and an unassailable 2-0 lead in their T20I series in Malaysia.

Jones compiled an innings of 89 runs off 52 balls before she was bowled by the off-spin of veteran allrounder Nida Dar as England fell to 162 for 4 after Heather Knight had won the toss. It was a second half-century in a row for Jones as she shared a 120-run partnership with fellow opener Wyatt, who struck 55 off 36 balls in her 100th T20I before she was caught by Javeria Khan off the bowling of Anam Amin. Jones also scored 53 off 39 balls in England's 29-run win in the first of their three T20Is against Pakistan on Tuesday.

Wyatt was thrilled to have reached her 100-match milestone. "There have been a lot of highs and lows along the way but I've enjoyed the journey, and it means a lot to get here," she said.""It's great batting with Amy and we were happy to get us off to a good start. We'd have liked one of us to go on and get a hundred but it was a decent total.

"It's tricky with the ball when the chase begins to be unlikely, but the bowlers stayed really disciplined and kept their standards high."

England's bowlers contained Pakistan well, with Iram Javed top-scoring for the hosts with 38 before she was caught behind by Jones off the bowling of Katherine Brunt. Brunt finished with 2 for 19 off her four overs, while spinner Sophie Ecclestone recorded the impressive figures of 3-1-5-2. Mady Villiers, playing only her second T20I since making her debut against Australia during the Ashes in July, took 2 for 21 off four overs.

The teams play the final match of the series on Friday, after which England's next T20I campaign will be the tri-series with Australia and India in Australia in January and February with new coach Lisa Keightley in charge. That series precedes the ICC Women's T20 World Cup, also in Australia, in February and March.

Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook is unlikely to play in the big showdown with the Green Bay Packers on Monday night because of a shoulder injury, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Thursday.

Cook, the Vikings' leading rusher with 1,135 yards, was injured at the beginning of the third quarter during Sunday's 39-10 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. Cook was leading Minnesota in rushing with nine carries for 27 yards.

The Vikings can clinch a playoff berth with a victory Monday. Minnesota (10-4) trails Green Bay (11-3) by a game in the NFC North, but the Packers hold the tiebreaker.

On second-and-3 on the Vikings' first drive of the third quarter Sunday, with Minnesota leading by nine points, quarterback Kirk Cousins pitched the ball to Cook, who shuffled to his right before being wrapped up around the ankles by Chargers linebacker Denzel Perryman. Cook instantly went down and was tended to on the field by trainers. He walked to the sideline, disappeared inside the medical tent and was ruled out shortly thereafter.

The Vikings' backfield is down to Ameer Abdullah, Mike Boone and fullback C.J. Ham. Minnesota entered Week 15 without Cook's backup, rookie Alexander Mattison, who is dealing with an ankle injury.

Information from ESPN's Courtney Cronin was used in this report.

As ever, there were a lot of things that happened during the 2019 baseball postseason, so the following event might not stick in your memory.

In Game 1 of the National League Division Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves, Redbirds starter Miles Mikolas stroked a ground-rule double off Dallas Keuchel. The hit didn't lead to a run so it turned out to be meaningless, though it ended up as the only hit by a pitcher during the postseason. I only mention it now because of this: Mikolas now has as many career postseason hits as the top player of the 2010s.

Nine seasons into a Hall of Fame career, Los Angeles Angels superstar Mike Trout -- who has reigned as the consensus best player in his sport for more than half a decade -- has one lone hit in his postseason career. That hit was a homer during the 2014 American League Division Series against the Kansas City Royals, the only playoff series in which Trout has appeared.

The Angels have had ongoing roster weaknesses (particularly on the pitching side), have often lacked depth and have endured more than their fair share of injuries. Most damningly, other than Trout, the Angels haven't even been able to get the top of their roster right.

Trout has been waiting for a true sidekick his entire career. According to my system for tabbing the best player in the game, Trout has owned that distinction since 2014, and he was No. 2 the year before that. Here are the Angels' top two players annually in this system since Trout became Trout in 2012, with their respective league rankings:

2012: Trout (8th), Albert Pujols (15th)
2013: Trout (2nd), Pujols (33rd)
2014: Trout (1st), Pujols (52nd)
2015: Trout (1st), Kole Calhoun (72nd)
2016: Trout (1st), Andrelton Simmons (57th)
2017: Trout (1st), Simmons (45th)
2018: Trout (1st), Simmons (50th)
2019: Trout (1st), Simmons (75th)

Other than a brief crisscross during Pujols' first season with the Angels, when Trout's star was shooting up and Pujols' slide had just begun, Trout has been a one-man show. There has been no Robin to his Batman. No Hank Kingsley to his Larry Sanders. No Thelma to his Louise.

Until now.

When the Angels forked over a seven-year, $245 million contract to free-agent third baseman Anthony Rendon, Trout finally got an in-his-prime, MVP-level teammate. In fact, the Angels have arguably put together the best current one-two punch in the major leagues.

Per the methodology described in the accompanying box, here are the top 10 tandems in the major leagues at the moment, though a blockbuster deal or two could change things before the 2020 season begins. For the first time in Trout's career, we have a leaderboard atop which he doesn't have to stand alone.

Navdeep Saini is in line to make his ODI debut after replacing the injured Deepak Chahar for the decider of the three-match ODI series in Cuttack on December 22.

Chahar "felt mild pain in his lower back" after the second ODI in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday, according to the BCCI. "The BCCI medical team examined him and has suggested that the fast bowler needs some rest in order to fully recover," a release said.

Chahar went wicketless for 44 runs in seven overs in the second ODI, which India won by 107 runs to level the series 1-1. In the first ODI, he finished with 1 for 48 from ten overs but West Indies chased down the target of 288 with ease.

Saini has played five T20Is so far and could make his ODI debut on Sunday unless India change their combination and don't field three quicks.

Jofra Archer, Stuart Broad and Jack Leach all remain a doubt for England's final warm-up match against South Africa A at Benoni, starting on Friday, leaving the squad's plans for next week's Boxing Day Test in some disarray.

All three players were forced to sit out the low-key tour opener against a South Africa Invitational XI earlier this week, after a bug swept through the England camp, and according to an ECB spokesman, their fitness for this weekend's three-day fixture won't be confirmed until the morning of the match.

Unlike the opening match, the South Africa A game is a designated first-class fixture, featuring a strong opposition including regular Test-squad members Temba Bavuma, Theunis de Bruyn and Andile Phehlukwayo.

Therefore, England will be unable to substitute the trio into the line-up should they recover later in the contest, meaning that those players risk going into the first Test at Centurion with no match practice in South African conditions.

Speaking at the conclusion of the two-day game on Wednesday, Chris Woakes acknowledged the sickness in the England camp.

"A few guys have gone down a little bit ill, so obviously they're back in the hotel trying to steer clear of everyone," he said. "Hopefully it's not too bad, hopefully it'll be a couple of days out and they'll be back on their feet."

While the timing of the illness is not ideal for the squad as a whole, it is particularly problematic for Leach, who was omitted from England's most recent Test, against New Zealand in Hamilton last month, and then suffered a bout of gastroenteritis that would have ruled him out for much of the game anyway.

In his absence, England gave an outing to the legspinner Matt Parkinson in their opening tour game in South Africa, but he endured some rough treatment as Joe Root emerged as the most economical spinner on the day.

With a range of allrounders in England's squad, including Ben Stokes, Sam Curran and Chris Woakes - all of whom are currently fit for selection - England could yet decide to take the field in Centurion without a frontline spinner for the second Test in a row, especially at a venue that has traditionally favoured seam bowling.

Assuming he is fit in time for the Centurion Test, Archer seems guaranteed to take his place in England's starting XI - even though he endured a tricky first taste of overseas Test cricket in New Zealand, claiming two wickets at 104.50 in the series.

Broad, however, would doubtless benefit from time in the middle as he seeks to build on a decent display in New Zealand, where he was England's most penetrative bowler on a flat deck in the first Test at Mount Maunganui. However, he had been omitted from three of England's previous six overseas Tests in Sri Lanka and West Indies, amid doubts about his penetration with the Kookaburra ball.

England also face a tricky decision over the fitness of James Anderson, who came through 11 overs unscathed in Benoni, but whose recent injury record invites caution at the start of a four-match series. He broke down after four overs of the first Test against Australia in August, and did not feature again in the series.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

Six Euro teams in quarters as Wales, Germany and Spain
By HOWARD HARDING – Squash Mad International Correspondent

Notable triumphs by Wales, Germany and Spain in today’s knockout stage of the WSF Men’s World Team Squash Championship in Washington DC have ensured that six European teams will line up in the quarter-finals of the biennial World Squash Federation event for the first time in its 52-year history.

Twenty three nations are competing in the 26th edition of the championships, hosted by US Squash, at Squash On Fire, the new state-of-the-art eight-court facility in the US capital.

Wales, the 11th seeds led by British No.1 Joel Makin, stormed into the last eight for the first time since 2005, after upsetting Hong Kong, the sixth seeds who were semi-finalists in 2017.

Third string Emyr Evans was first on court to face Hong Kong’s Henry Leung, a 24-year-old ranked more than 30 places higher. After taking the opening game, Evans squandered game balls in the second to let Leung draw level, before the Hong Kong player took the third to move ahead.

But, with vociferous support from the Welsh camp surrounding the all-glass showcourt, Evans fought back to draw level before again coming from behind in the decider to win 11-8, 11-13, 12-14, 11-7, 11-7 after 87 minutes.

Evans punched the air with delight (see above) after putting underdogs Wales ahead.

Top string Joel Makin needed 46 minutes to seal the top eight finish for Wales, beating Hong Kong’s Leo Au 13-11, 11-4, 11-8 to close out the tie and earn a clash with British rivals Scotland.

“That was massive for us,” said Makin later. “Emyr put in a massive shift for us in the first match, he was 7-3 down in the fifth and he really put a big effort in, that was needed and I felt a lot better today. Leo mixes the height so well and he’s so tricky around the front, so I had to be disciplined and get on top of him quickly, so I’m glad to win that.

“Emyr is good at winning those kind of matches, I warmed up a few times but we’re just really glad to get through.

“Scotland had a rest day today, so they’re going to be fresher, but we have played against each other a lot of times and it has been tight, so I think we have a good chance.”

Welsh coach David Evans added: “Getting into the top eight is huge for us. They’re a young team as well and Joel is doing really well on PSA.

“Emyr had a game ball to go two-love up and that could have been it – but before long he was 2/1 down. To be honest, how he won it, I don’t know – it was nothing to do with any coaching, just his grit and determination. He was 6-3 down in the fifth as well – then won it 11-7!

“They’re all passionate boys. Joel’s had a great season – and to be British number one rounds it all off.”

Germany were the first nation to claim a place in the last eight from the play-offs. Originally the event’s fourth seeds, Germany were relegated to the fifth position on the eve of the event – then suffered a shock Pool E defeat to eighth seeds Spain which resulted in a less favourable position in the play-off stage.

The team, led by world No.6 Simon Rösner and eager to improve on their ninth place finish two years ago, faced Malaysia, the 10th seeds who were runners-up in Pool C.

Third string Valentin Rapp put Germany firmly into the lead with an 11-7, 11-9, 12-10 victory over higher-ranked Malaysian Mohd Syafiq Kamal. The top string clash that followed was the first meeting between the experienced Rösner and rapidly-improving young Malaysian Eain Yow Ng.

Yow came into the match with several notable scalps to his name over the previous three days – but met his match in the German No.1 who marched through to an 11-7, 11-6, 11-5 win in 40 minutes which put his country back into the top world eight.

“I’m feeling great,” said Rösner (pictured above in action with Yow) as he came off court. “After losing to Spain, I think we had to change something so I’m glad that the team did well today. Raphi didn’t have to play today and I’m really glad we won.

“It’s big to take that first match and a completely different story if you’re up 1/0. I tried to relax, even though it was a bit edgy at times and he (Eain) has had some amazing results recently. It worked out in the end and we are through to the quarters.

“We are up against Egypt next which is going to be quite tough. It’s promising and maybe we can do some damage to Egypt.”

German coach Oliver Pettke added: “As you say, we didn’t have the best start – we had a couple of things that didn’t go well for us but now I am absolutely happy.

“Valentin and Simon were really on fire today. We knew this was going to be a tough one, but from the beginning we were ready, we were confident enough.

“The last time (in 2017) we were aiming to get to the quarters, but after the first match, Rafael (Kandra) was ill for the whole week – so that was the problem last time, and this time we had the problem with Rudi (an ankle injury) in the second game against Spain. This wasn’t good for the team spirit, but we managed to turn it round. And Simon wasn’t well the day we arrived and this lasted for two days.”

On the upcoming tie with event favourites and defending champions Egypt, Pettke said: “It’s a quarter-final and we will try our best. You can’t get to the quarter-final and give it away! Of course, the pressure is not on us, it will be on them – though I’m sure they will be able to handle it!”

Spain became the sixth European team to make the last eight after beating 15th seeds Switzerland 2/0. Despite being seeded eighth, Spain had never before finished higher than 11th.

But after Carlos Cornes put the team ahead with an 11-6, 9-11, 11-8, 11-2 win over Swiss No.3 Cédric Kuchen, long-time Spanish number one Borja Golan twice came from behind to defeat Dimitri Steinmann 7-11, 11-6, 10-12, 11-6, 11-2 to lead the team into the quarter-finals for the first time.

“It’s really good to lead this group because they are really professional,” said Golan (pictured above in action with Steinmann). “They are young but I learn a lot from them. The main thing is that we are a good group and support each other and when you get to play events like this in squash it is really special. We are in a good club and we are all enjoying the squash.

“We need to rest a little bit now and focus on our recovery, mentally these matches are tough and it’s a long tournament, so we just need to enjoy this victory and then focus on tomorrow where we will give everything.”

Spain progress to face France for a place in the semi-finals. Coach Jonas Gornerup was thrilled with his team’s performance: “I am extremely happy.

“Last night we went through all the finishing positions we’ve achieved for the last 20 years and the only decent one was 11.

“Obviously, France won’t be an easy one but tomorrow we have no pressure. We’re going to go flat out and they’d better play their normal standard or otherwise we’ll take them!”

On an adjacent court, a mighty battle took place between Trans Tasman rivals New Zealand and Australia for the final slot in the last eight.

The tie went the full distance before New Zealand emerged triumphant, consigning Australia to a finish outside the top eight for the first time in the history of the championships.

After Kiwi Evan Williams lost to Aussie Rex Hedrick, the team’s No.1 Paul Coll fought back to beat Ryan Cuskelly 3/0. The decider went to four games, New Zealander Campbell Grayson finally prevailing 11-9, 11-6, 7-11, 11-9 over seasoned Australian campaigner Cameron Pilley.

“It was unfortunate we lost to Scotland in the Pool and had to come up against Australia in the playoffs for the quarter-finals,” explained NZ coach Glen Wilson. “It was always going to be a battle – it was another typical Australian/New Zealand battle.

“I was expecting it to be on the showcourt but an Australia/New Zealand match clearly doesn’t mean much in Washington DC!

“At 37, Cameron was playing great squash and making Campbell work hard for every point. I thought Cameron was getting on top of him but Campbell stuck to his game-plan. I was just happy to get the win.”

In the play-offs for the lower places, 16th seeds Argentina beat Nigeria 2/0 to set up a clash with Colombia, while 19th seeds South Africa will take on Ireland after beating Republic of Korea 2/0.

But pride of place went to Jamaica, the 17th seeds who fought back from a match down to beat Singapore, the 20th seeds, to guarantee themselves a top 20 finish for the first time.

Brandon Tan put Singapore ahead with a straight games win over Tahjia Lumley before team number one Christopher Binnie, the record nine-time Jamaican champion, beat Samuel Kang (both pictured above) to level the tie. After two tie-break games in the decider, it was second string Lewis Walters who clinched victory for Jamaica by beating Chua Man Tong 12-10, 12-10, 11-3.

“For Jamaica this is very significant,” said team manager Douglas Beckford. “We made our first attempt in Marseille two years ago and ended up outside the top 20.

“This win today guarantees us a top 20 finish which will be an extremely good achievement for a small nation like Jamaica. In squash circles in Jamaica this will be very well received. The effort we put in to get here has been worth it.

“Jamaica only has maybe 250 to 300 squash players in total, so to come to a prestigious tournament like this and achieve a top 20 finish is excellent.

“We continue to be very proud of Chris – at the moment he’s the only world-ranked player we have. Lewis used to be a ranked player but is not full-time now. Those two players are a cut above the rest of us in Jamaica. We’re very happy with the way Chris and Lewis have played and we hope they perform again tomorrow and Friday – it’s not over yet!”

Quarter-final line-up:
[1] EGYPT v [5] GERMANY
[9] SCOTLAND v [11] WALES
[3] FRANCE v [8] SPAIN
[2] ENGLAND v [4] NEW ZEALAND

13th – 20th place play-offs:
[12] USA v [17] JAMAICA
[13] COLOMBIA v [16] ARGENTINA
[18] IRELAND v [21] KUWAIT
[14] CANADA v [19] SOUTH AFRICA

9th – 12th place play-offs:
[10] MALAYSIA v [6] HONG KONG CHINA
[7] AUSTRALIA v [15] SWITZERLAND

WSF Men’s World Team Squash Championship, Squash On Fire, Washington DC, USA.

Play-Offs, 1st – 12th place:

[1] EGYPT bye

[5] GERMANY bt [10] MALAYSIA 2/0
Valentin Rapp bt Mohd Syafiq Kamal 11-7, 11-9, 12-10 (49m)
Simon Rösner bt Eain Yow Ng 11-7, 11-6, 11-5 (40m)

[9] SCOTLAND bye

[11] WALES bt [6] HONG KONG CHINA 2/0
Emyr Evans bt Henry Leung 11-8, 11-13, 12-14, 11-7, 11-7 (87m)
Joel Makin bt Leo Au 13-11, 11-4, 11-8 (46m)

[8] SPAIN bt [15] SWITZERLAND 2/0
Carlos Cornes bt Cédric Kuchen 11-6, 9-11, 11-8, 11-2 (53m)
Borja Golan bt Dimitri Steinmann 7-11, 11-6, 10-12, 11-6, 11-2 (70m)

[3] FRANCE bye

[4] NEW ZEALAND bt [7] AUSTRALIA 2/1
Evan Williams lost to Rex Hedrick 14-16, 6-11, 2-11 (49m)
Paul Coll bt Ryan Cuskelly 11-2, 11-5, 11-2 (24m)
Campbell Grayson bt Cameron Pilley 11-9, 11-6, 7-11, 11-9 (60m)

[2] ENGLAND bye

13th – 23rd place play-offs:

[12] USA bye

[17] JAMAICA bt [20] SINGAPORE 2/1
Tahjia Lumley lost to Brandon Tan 8-11, 6-11, 8-11 (34m)
Christopher Binnie bt Samuel Kang 11-9, 11-8, 12-10 (41m)
Lewis Walters bt Chua Man Tong 12-10, 12-10, 11-3 (30m)

[13] COLOMBIA bye

[16] ARGENTINA bt [23] NIGERIA 2/0
Gonzalo Miranda bt Adewale Amao 8-11, 11-7, 11-7, 12-10 (50m)
Robertino Pezzota bt Babatunde Ajagbe 6-11, 5-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-6 (44m)

[21] KUWAIT bye
[18] IRELAND bye

[19] SOUTH AFRICA bt [22] REPUBLIC OF KOREA 2/0
Gary Wheadon bt Joong-Won Hwang 12-10, 11-8, 12-10 (43m)
Jean-Pierre Brits bt Ko Youngjo 11-4, 8-11, 8-11, 14-12, 11-6 (62m)

[14] CANADA bye

Action from the WSF Men’s World Team Squash Championship continues today (Thursday December 18) at 12 noon local time (GMT-5) with all matches shown live on the official Facebook page of the Men’s World Team Championship.

Pictures courtesy of WSF

Former Premier League striker Neil Shipperley has been given a 12-month community order after he masturbated in front of a mother and her 16-year-old daughter.

Shipperley, 45, admitted on Wednesday to exposing his genitals inside his van while he drove alongside the pair in Hillingdon, west London in September.

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The mother said she was "disgusted" by the sight.

The former Chelsea and Crystal Palace forward has been ordered to complete 20 days of rehabilitation by Uxbridge Magistrates' Court.

Shipperley is reported to have to have sought counselling for personal issues, including the death of his father, gambling problems and debts.

He made 150 Premier League appearances during spells at Southampton, Chelsea, Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forrest.

Liverpool have announced the signing of FC Salzburg forward Takumi Minamino on a four-and-a-half year deal.

Minamino will officially join for £7.25 million when the January transfer window opens on Jan. 1. His debut could come against Everton in the FA Cup on Jan 5.

"It has been a dream, my dream to become a Liverpool player. And I'm so excited that the moment has come true," Minamino said.

"To play in the Premier League was one of my targets. I think this is the top-class league in the world; I was thinking if my career as a footballer progressed smoothly, someday I would be able to play in the Premier League.

"But I never thought I would be able to play in this team and I'm really happy about it. I'm looking forward to it."

Sources told ESPN how Liverpool beat Premier League rivals Manchester United to the Japan international's signature by triggering the 24-year-old's release clause following their Champions League victory against Salzburg last Tuesday.

And with the Austrian Bundesliga having closed down for its winter break, Minamino completed his medical at Liverpool on Wednesday ahead of the move.

"Their football is of such a high level and I did feel that they were the champions of the Champions League. Feeling that, it makes me feel even happier that I can play in this team. I'm really happy to be part of that team," Minamino added.

"My target is to win the Premier League and the Champions League, and to make good contributions to the team."

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Liverpool beat Mexican side Monterrey 2-1 on Wednesday in the Club World Cup semifinals, setting up a final against Flamengo.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp said: "This is fabulous news -- a wonderful signing. We are really, really happy about this.

"Our supporters have had the chance to see him close up recently so I don't need to sing too loudly about his qualities as they are already known.

"Takumi is a very quick, very clever player, he finds space between the lines. He is brave with the ball but also brave without the ball -- a proper team player. He makes the best of himself for the benefit of others."