AUSTIN, Texas – Officials from the Alfa Romeo Formula One team have announced that Antonio Giovinazzi will return to the team for the 2020 season.

The 25-year-old Italian is in his first season in Formula One as a teammate to veteran Kimi Raikkonen. He has scored four championship points this season as a rookie.

“I am very happy to be staying with the team for 2020,” said Giovinazzi. “I am grateful for the incredible level of support I received in my first full season in Formula One: everyone in the team has stuck by my side since I joined and I am really looking forward to continuing our journey together. We learned a lot this year and I am confident we can make a big step forward next season. I won’t be a rookie anymore so there won’t be any excuses for me: I want to be competitive right from the start of the championship and repay the confidence the team has shown in me.”

“Antonio has done really well this year and I am extremely pleased to be able to confirm he will stay with Alfa Romeo Racing for 2020,” said Frédéric Vasseur, team principal of Alfa Romeo Racing and CEO of Sauber Motorsport AG. “The way he has integrated into the team and has consistently improved throughout his first full season in the sport are very promising and we cannot wait to unlock his full potential as we continue to work together. Antonio has emerged as a very quick driver, even alongside as tough a benchmark as Kimi, and we expect him to develop even further as his experience grows. His technical feedback, work ethics and positive approach will help us continue to push our team forward, and so will the consistency of an unchanged line-up for next season.”

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Young’s Motorsports announced Monday that Colby Howard will join the organization as a driver in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series.

The 18-year-old Howard signed a two-race contract with the team and will pilot the No. 20 Project HOPE Foundation Chevrolet Silverado beginning with Lucas Oil 150 at ISM Raceway on Nov. 8.

“It is the biggest break of my racing career,” Howard said. “I am very excited to have the opportunity to make my debut with Young’s Motorsports.”

Howard will make his NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series debut at the ISM Raceway, located in Avondale, Ariz., and is also scheduled to compete at Homestead-Mimi (Fla.) Speedway on Nov. 15.

The Simpsonville, S.C.,-native is currently running in the Show Me the Money Series Pro Late Models, where he has earned three wins, four top-five and four top-10 finishes in five starts this season. At the historic Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla., Howard captured one victory in the Allen Turner Pro Late Model Series.  In addition, he made one start in the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour presented by Chevrolet Performance.

He has 46 career starts in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series with four victories, 20 top-five and 39 top-10 finishes at the NASCAR Home Tracks of Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Speedway and Greenville-Pickens (S.C.) Speedway. Howard has also made one start in the CARS Late Model Stock Tour.

Howard has four starts in the ARCA Menards Series, finishing in the top-10 each time.

“We are excited to see Howard develop his stock car skills with Young’s Motorsports,” team principal Tyler Young said.

Anton Hulman Jr. is, perhaps, the most important figure in the 100-plus-year history of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Hulman purchased the track in 1945, saved it from certain destruction and elevated its stature well beyond anything the original founding fathers could have imagined.

It was under Hulman’s leadership that the speedway and its cornerstone event, the Indianapolis 500, gained national and international acclaim, while achieving an iconic status that exceeded the boundaries of both auto racing and sports.

Hulman was born to a wealthy family in Terre Haute, Ind., on Feb. 11, 1901. His was not an automatic access to the family fortune, however. After he graduated from Yale in 1924, where he starred in track and football, Hulman was expected to prove himself in the family business.

Given charge of the Clabber Girl Baking Powder Co., one of many Hulman family holdings, Hulman’s task was to revive the brand’s sagging profits. He developed a 10-year plan, sent a squad of salesmen across the country and made Clabber Girl the top-selling baking powder in the nation.

Hulman’s business savvy proved such that at age 30 he had complete control of all Hulman and Co. businesses. When he took on the speedway, the challenge required all of his accumulated business acumen.

Hulman’s purchase of the speedway happened because of the persistence of three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Wilbur Shaw. Conducting secret Firestone tire tests during the winter of 1944, Shaw was appalled at the condition of the speedway. Since racing was shut down during World War II, the grounds had become overrun with weeds, brush and trees. The wooden grandstands were falling down.

The part of Gasoline Alley damaged by fire before the 1941 500 had not been repaired. The vegetation grew so thick between the famed bricks that it had to be cleared for Shaw to safely run his race car.

Immediately following the test, Shaw flew to New York and met with track owner, former racer and World War I flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker. Rickenbacker’s intentions were to ready the track for the 1946 500. However, he preferred to get out from under it and concentrate his resources on his latest venture, Eastern Airlines.

Shaw originally considered buying the speedway himself and began seeking investors. Many were interested, but Shaw realized that most wanted the speedway for their own personal agendas and there was little concern about continuing the 500.

Shaw had reached the point of despair about the future of his beloved track when investment broker Homer Cochran introduced Shaw to Tony Hulman.

Hulman had attended the 500 regularly since his first trip there in 1914 as a child and shared Shaw’s passion for the speedway, the 500 and their unique place in Indiana culture.

Ironically, Hulman had also received inquiries from Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby, regarding purchasing that facility. Hulman wasn’t interested. However, the more he talked with Shaw, the more convinced he became that he could preserve the speedway.

On Nov. 14, 1945, Rickenbacker flew from New York and met with Hulman at the Athletic Club in downtown Indianapolis. Hulman purchased the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for between $700,000 and $750,000.

The shy, unassuming Hulman, desiring anonymity, named Shaw president and general manager, while proclaiming himself chairman of the board.

To continue reading, turn to the next page.

INDIANAPOLIS — Roger Penske already figuratively owned Indianapolis Motor Speedway thanks to his 18 victories in the Indianapolis 500, but now he’ll literally own the legendary race track.

The Board of Directors of Hulman & Company announced Monday that it has entered into an agreement to be acquired by the Roger Penske-owned Penske Corp., a global transportation, automotive and motorsports leader.

Penske Entertainment Corp., a subsidiary of Penske Corporation, will acquire all Hulman & Company principal operating assets, including the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the NTT IndyCar Series and IMS Productions.

The transaction will close following receipt of applicable government approvals and other standard conditions.

The acquisition by the Penske organization will carry the future of the legendary IMS facility and the IndyCar Series forward for the next generation of racing fans.

It was the vision of Carl Fisher to build the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1909 and the track hosted its first races later that year. Eddie Rickenbacker later purchased the Speedway in 1927 before selling it to Tony Hulman and Hulman & Company in 1945.

IMS has been the host of the world’s largest single-day sporting event – the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race – for more than 100 years. The iconic venue has also hosted NASCAR, Formula One and other racing series events throughout its storied history.

What eventually became known as the NTT IndyCar Series began as the Indy Racing League in 1994, with the series officially hosting its first racing event in 1996.

The NTT IndyCar Series continues to be the premier open-wheel racing series in North America and is one of the most competitive championships in the world.

IMS Productions is a leading video services and production company.

“We recently approached Roger Penske and Penske Corporation about this opportunity and began working to put an agreement in place,” said Tony George, Chairman of Hulman & Company. “The Indianapolis Motor Speedway has been the centerpiece and the cathedral of motorsports since 1909 and the Hulman-George family has proudly served as the steward of this great institution for more than 70 years. Now, we are honored to pass the torch to Roger Penske and Penske Corporation, as they become just the fourth owner of the iconic Speedway.

“There is no one more capable and qualified than Roger and his organization to lead the sport of Indy car racing and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway into the future.”

Penske, who fields multiple teams in the NTT IndyCar Series including that of 2019 champion Josef Newgarden and 2019 Indianapolis 500 winner Simon Pagenaud, is the chairman of Penske Corp.

Penske Corp. has a rich history of managing major motorsports properties, beginning with the acquisition of Michigan Int’l Speedway in 1973.

Over the course of its history, Penske and its subsidiaries have also operated the Grand Prix of Cleveland, Nazareth Speedway and California Speedway, along with investments in North Carolina Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Penske Corp. currently promotes and operates the Detroit Grand Prix, hosted annually at the Belle Isle Park street circuit.

“My passion for racing began at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1951 when I attended the Indianapolis 500 with my father,” said Penske, whose race team celebrated its 50th anniversary of first competing at IMS this year. “We have so much respect and appreciation for the history and tradition of the Speedway and the sport of IndyCar racing. I want to thank Hulman & Company for the opportunity to build on this legacy and it will be an honor for Penske Corporation to help lead these great institutions forward into a new era.”

“The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race and the NTT IndyCar Series have enjoyed considerable growth over the past decade, with significant increases in television, digital and social media audiences combined with record attendance at many of our race venues,” added Mark Miles, President and CEO of Hulman & Company. “With their track record of business success, their venue, operation and event experience and their passion for motorsports, Roger Penske and Penske Corporation will help us take the IndyCar Series, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and all of our properties to new heights. Everyone on our team looks forward to working with them to capitalize on the momentum that the Series and the Speedway have achieved.”

Hulman & Company’s financial adviser was Allen & Company LLC, and its counsel was Ice Miller LLP for this transaction.

This offseason, two New York-area teams dominated the headlines. After the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers landed the Nos. 1 and 2 picks in the draft, respectively, both teams upgraded with flashy veterans (2013 Norris winner P.K. Subban, 2016 Calder winner Artemi Panarin) and appeared poised to make earlier-than-expected runs this season. The media fawned all summer.

Then there were the New York Islanders, the only of the New York-area teams to make the playoffs last spring. The Isles were the best defensive team in hockey. They brought back nearly the exact same roster for this season. And nobody was talking about them.

"Obviously, we notice it," captain Anders Lee said in a phone interview this week. "But there probably wasn't much to talk about with us."

That's fine for the Islanders, who, after losing three of four to start the season, have won nine straight and sit five points behind the Capitals for first place in the Metropolitan Division standings. They like flying under the radar.

"At times, absolutely we consider ourselves an underdog," Lee said. "Last year, that was a big part of our identity. This year, we're coming back with a very similar team but still have a lot to prove. It's hard to really come in and demand that attention. You demand respect by the way you play -- if you win, how your season goes -- but we haven't accomplished our goals just yet. And until we do that, we're going to have to keep proving everyone wrong."

Lee was an unrestricted free agent this summer, and though the contract took a bit longer to work out than expected, he stayed with the only team he has played for on a seven-year, $49 million deal. "It felt maybe a little more up in the air outside our circle than it really was," Lee said. "It was never really in question. This is where I want to be."

Brock Nelson also re-signed in May, meaning the top five scorers from last season were back. The team improved in the middle six with the addition of veteran Derick Brassard, who is officially a journeyman after suiting up for his seventh NHL team.

The biggest change was in net. The Islanders let Vezina Trophy finalist Robin Lehner leave in free agency and, in turn, signed veteran Semyon Varlamov, with the belief that because of their stingy defensive system, there wouldn't be much of a drop-off. Varlamov, in a timeshare with Thomas Greiss (similar to what Lehner saw last season) has been solid: In seven starts, the former Av is 5-2 with a .929 save percentage and 2.14 goals-against average. (In six starts, Greiss has nearly identical numbers.)

The only other noticeable difference with the Islanders is the inclusion of the kids. New York has a vaunted prospect system, thanks to recent strong drafting. Nineteen-year-old winger Oliver Wahlstrom has appeared in seven games. Although Wahlstrom is without a point, he has shown glimpses of his offensive promise. Meanwhile, defenseman Noah Dobson, 20, has cracked the lineup for only four games but appears to be sticking around the big club for the foreseeable future as he continues to earn coach Barry Trotz's trust.

"It's amazing how not only good at hockey they are but how well-rounded they are at this age. To step in at 19, 20 and play in this league," Lee said. "They're really good kids and mesh well with our group, which is pretty tight-knit. They've shown a lot of growth even in the short time I've been with them."

Also on the youth front: Lee noted that the three defensemen playing the most minutes are all 27 or under (Adam Pelech, Scott Mayfield and Ryan Pulock). Those are workloads that Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy used to shoulder. Devon Toews, 25, has also taken on a bigger role.

Other than that, the Islanders are picking up right where they left off last season. They're allowing 2.23 goals per game, third-fewest in the league. Last season, a lot of was made of the Islanders' needing more scoring. Their offense is pedestrian again, averaging three goals per game and hovering around the league average.

"I don't think we get enough credit for our offense," Lee said. "We don't have trouble scoring goals. I just think that the way we do it is a little bit different than some other teams. We do such a good job defensively that we get a lot of credit, well deserved, in that regard, but our goal scoring isn't one of our weak spots. At the end of the day, you just have to score one more than the other team."

The transition into captaincy has been smooth for Lee. He took a few management courses while he was a student at Notre Dame. "I remember the big takeaways from a lot of the textbooks were that there's so many different ways to be a leader. There's not one specific way," Lee said. "There are leaders who lead by example, vocal leaders, et cetera. But the big thing is just to be yourself and not trying to be something that you're not. You want to be as authentic as possible."

Authenticity for the Islanders in 2019-20 plays into their identity. The team has embraced the ability to fly under the radar.

"It's been that way pretty much my entire time here," Lee said. "We go out there and do our best. We're used to having people doubt us, used to not having people pick us to make the playoffs and all those things -- maybe because of the rough patch we had. But we've been a pretty good team for a little while now. But until you've earned it and have done it over and over again, you're going to have to go through these things. "

Jump ahead:
Emptying the notebook | What we liked this week
Three stars of the week | Biggest games coming up

Emptying the notebook

Lee said last summer that he had a hard time not thinking about how the season ended, getting swept by the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round. "It's always going to weigh on you, obviously," Lee said. "You need to move on, but you should never forget how you feel when you lost." Asked what he thought was his team's ultimate demise, Lee said: "We really just weren't, unfortunately, able to catch the momentum. Games 1 and 2 were extremely close. Give credit to Carolina for coming in and stealing those games from us. From then on out, we just couldn't grasp a bounce. We seemed to have a great response every time Pittsburgh scored a goal in the first round. We were fortunate sometimes, and we earned them other times. We couldn't get either to go against Carolina."

I returned to my alma mater, Penn State, for a visit this week. Side note: It was awesome to meet so many hockey-loving students there. I also had a chance to meet Penn State hockey coach Guy Gadowsky ahead of the team's big weekend series against Wisconsin (which, I must add, the Nittany Lions swept). I asked Gadowsky the biggest trends he has noticed in college hockey. "The trend is that it's just getting more and more competitive. There's more and more players coming from Europe. There's more players being grown, for lack of a better word, in nontraditional areas of the United States. With the exposure of television right now, I think it's becoming more attractive to Canadians. There's more and more better players and more college hockey players getting to the NHL." (The Nittany Lions have two Russians, two Finns and six Canadians on the roster).

When it comes to the on-ice trend he notices, Gadowsky says college hockey is a copycat league -- to the NHL. "Quite honestly, we do follow the NHL. We did in the past, but now it's just so easy because there is such great data now. We can get video of whatever you want, the analytics with it. So the trends pretty much follow them. We're a little behind because we copy them."

I had an interesting discussion with Gadowsky about whether there would ever be puck-tracking in college hockey (the NHL is expected to debut its system, developed by SMT, some this season). "Someday there probably would be puck tracking in college hockey, too," Gadowsky said before noting that there would be some hurdles to clear regarding getting (and distributing) data from student-athletes. However, it's not totally out of the realm. "For instance, in college we're able to put heart rate monitors on the players and get all that information, and in the NHL you can't," Gadowsky said. "Because of the professional hockey players' association. They want to own that stuff. If it's going to be something detrimental to their renegotiations, they want to hold it. Whereas in college, we can do it."

I wrote a story, out today, on Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson and Monique Lamoreoux-Morando making comebacks as new mothers. What interested me most: When the women's hockey team battled with USA Hockey in the 2017 contract negotiations, one of the things the players fought for was maternity benefits. They got them, and the twins were the first to use them.

The U.S. senior women's national team is in Pittsburgh this week for a joint training camp with Canada in place of the canceled Four Nations Cup, which was supposed to go this week. The Swedish players' standoff with their federation caused the cancellation. It feels like we just got through it, but the U.S. players' contract with USA hockey comes up again in 2021. I asked Lamoureux-Davidson what she hoped to achieve with the next contract. "What we're trying to create is a cultural shift in how women's hockey is supported, from the ground up. That doesn't happen overnight, and that doesn't happen just because you sign a contract. We've seen great positive strides with where the program is going. There's been some structural changes with how the women's program is staffed, and we're hoping to see the benefits of. But the big things we fought for -- equal marketing, sustainable livable wage, support -- we're still working on that."

She also mentioned institutional support. "For example, the boys U18 team is funded with millions of dollars through U.S. Hockey," Lamoureux-Davidson said. "There isn't an equivalent girls program there. There might not need to be from a developmental standpoint, but how else can we support girls hockey?"

Coming this week to ESPN.com: Player Confidential!

A project I've worked on for a few months is coming to life this week on ESPN.com, and I couldn't be more excited. Since the summer, I've been polling NHL players on a variety of questions, including the NHL's drug policy, whether there is a cocaine problem in the league, the best and worst visiting locker rooms, dreaded road trips, burner Twitter accounts and, perhaps most importantly, whether there is Gritty fatigue.

The art team did a terrific job illustrating the story, and they couldn't help but add one of my favorite anecdotes of the summer. I asked players (on the record) what impulse purchases they made over the past year. Here were my favorite responses. Some are more relatable than others.

Oskar Sundqvist, F, St. Louis Blues: "A dog. It's a Corgi. I got it two weeks ago [before the start of the NHL season]. My girlfriend told me, 'Let's go look at dogs. We're not buying any.' I said, 'OK, sure.' Then I fall in love. At first, I was like, 'No, no, no, I'm not going to buy one today.' I drove out there, and then I brought home a dog. Her name is Luna."

Haydn Fleury, D, Carolina Hurricanes: "I actually ordered three Cleveland Brown jerseys, midsummer, at like 2 in the morning. You could probably guess what I was doing. Odell, Baker and Jarvis. That was very impulsive. I ordered them when I was back home but ordered them [to Carolina]. Then when I got here, I kind of forgot I ordered them, and there were just three jerseys in my mailbox. I was like, 'F---'s sake.' I blame PayPal. It's too easy. You just click, and it's at your door."

Taylor Hall, F, New Jersey Devils: "A Fendi backpack. Bought it like a week ago."

Henrik Lundqvist, G, New York Rangers: "I bought a jacket when I went to London this summer. Didn't plan on doing on it, but it just happened. Nothing special, but I was there for a few days, walked around, and it caught my eye."

Cale Makar, D, Colorado Avalanche: "Umm ... the other day I was driving, and I stopped to buy myself a Slurpee. I wouldn't usually do that, but I did."

What we liked this past week

• Everyone in hockey was talking about how 19-year-old Canes forward Andrei Svechnikov scored the first lacrosse goal in NHL history. (Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews has attempted it a few times, but Svechnikov succeeded first.)

• Two days later, everyone was talking about Matthew Tkachuk's sick, between-the-legs goal (which absurdly got some velocity) to win a 6-5 overtime game against the Nashville Predators. The skill on the kids these days. Have mercy.

Couple more angles of Tkachuk's between the legs goal pic.twitter.com/HZAO0K3qFr

— CJ Fogler (@cjzero) November 1, 2019

• Colleague Greg Wyshynski had a spicy preseason take: The Canucks are a playoff team. I can't believe it, but Wysh might be right on this one. Vancouver looks legit -- or at least, the offense is. At 9-3-2, the Canucks have the second-best record in the Pacific Division. In half of their 14 games, they've scored five or more goals. And they have a great, young playmaking duo in Brock Boeser and Elias Pettersson.

• Positive attendance signs from the desert:

#Yotes announce a sellout crowd of 17,125 tonight at Gila River Arena. Four of the Coyotes' past five weekend home games have been sold out.

— Alexander Kinkopf (@AEKinkopf) November 3, 2019

What we didn't like this past week

• It was a scary scene on Saturday in Boston, as Ottawa Senators forward Scott Sabourin appeared to lose consciousness after colliding with David Backes. Sabourin was taken off on a stretcher (he gave a thumbs-up on his way out) and posted this picture on Instagram the next day. Backes was visibly shaken and left the game himself, with an upper-body injury.

• I agree with Keith Olbermann here that this Don Cherry clip after the play was uncomfortable to watch. Cherry might have been laughing at "extremities" -- which he found to be a silly word? -- but he came across as making light of a really dangerous situation, which is not OK.

• It's as if these Canadiens fans were looking for poutine in Texas, and well, this ain't it:

Today in sports. ?#MTLvsDAL | #GoStars pic.twitter.com/WY8z6G02HV

— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) November 3, 2019

• In the spirit of Halloween week, here are some gory details on an injury to Devils defenseman Connor Carrick:

Connor Carrick's wife said his pinky finger was "shattered" and the doctor told them if he wasn't an athlete they would have amputated that part of his finger.

Ouch.

— Corey Masisak (@cmasisak22) October 30, 2019

Three stars

Elias Pettersson, C, Vancouver Canucks

He's shaking off signs of a sophomore slump. The Swede posted three goals and six assists in four games this week. His 20 points this season are the most by a Canucks player through the team's first 14 games since Trevor Linden in 1995-96 (21).

Mike Smith, G, Edmonton Oilers

The Oilers might just keep it up if Smith keeps playing like this. He was sensational, stopping 51 of 52 shots against the Penguins. In two games this week (both wins), the 37-year-old has a .974 save percentage and a 0.98 goals-against average.

Jakub Vrana, C, Washington Capitals

With the (perhaps a little tipsy) World Series champion Washington Nationals in the crowd, the 21-year-old Vrana gave them something to cheer for, scoring his first career hat trick in the Caps' victory on Sunday. And yeah, they cheered all right:

Ya love to see it pic.twitter.com/KnVX2sCG17

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) November 4, 2019

Adam Eaton knows how to celebrate Jakub Varna's hat trick ? ? ? pic.twitter.com/GFSqC90cVP

— Al Koken (@RealSmokinAl) November 4, 2019

Games of the week

Monday: Pittsburgh Penguins at Boston Bruins

Pittsburgh's early rash of injuries has been relentless. Right when the Pens get Evgeni Malkin back, they put Patric Hornqvist on IR. They've managed to stay competitive but get a big test in the East's most dangerous team on Monday.

Tuesday: Carolina Hurricanes at Philadelphia Flyers (ESPN+)

Nearly a month into the season, the Hurricanes and Flyers are still trying to establish consistency. Both are hovering around the middle of the pack in the Metropolitan Division, making this a big game for both clubs.

Sunday: Edmonton Oilers at Anaheim Ducks

The Ducks are, confusingly, better than expected this season. They get a chance to make up ground in the Pacific Division by facing Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl ... and OK, the rest of the Oilers, too.

Quote of the week

"If I tried that, I'd pull my groin."

-- Keith Tkachuk (via Sportsnet's Ryan Leslie) commenting on his son's ridiculous goal.

Everton midfielder Andre Gomes is expected to be sidelined until next season after undergoing surgery to repair an ankle injury he sustained during Sunday's 1-1 draw against Tottenham at Goodison Park.

The Portugal international, who completed a £22 million move to Everton from Barcelona in June, suffered a fractured dislocation of his right ankle following a 79th-minute challenge by Spurs forward Heung-min Son and subsequent collision with opposition full-back Serge Aurier.

- ESPN Premier League fantasy: Sign up now!
- VAR in the Premier League: Ultimate guide
- When does the transfer window reopen?
- Premier League winter break: All you need to know

Everton have now confirmed, however, that Gomes has undergone a successful operation to repair the damage to his ankle.

The statement said: "Everton Football Club can confirm Andre Gomes underwent surgery to repair a fracture dislocation to his right ankle earlier today and the procedure went extremely well.

"The Portugal international, who sustained the injury in yesterday's Premier League fixture with Tottenham Hotspur, will now spend some time recovering in hospital, before returning to USM Finch Farm to start his rehabilitation under the guidance of the Club's medical staff.

"The 26-year-old is expected to make a full recovery.

"On behalf of Andre, the Club would like to thank all Everton supporters and members of the wider football family for the overwhelming messages of support we have received since yesterday's match."

Manchester United will remain with out Paul Pogba for at least another four weeks, sources have told ESPN FC.

The French international broke a bone in his right ankle at the end of September and has been wearing a plaster cast ever since. It will be taken off in ten days' time and the midfielder will need another two weeks of rehabilitation after that.

- ESPN Premier League fantasy: Sign up now!
- VAR in the Premier League: Ultimate guide
- When does the transfer window reopen?~
- Premier League winter break: All you need to know

Only then he will be able to start training properly, first on his own with a fitness coach and then with the rest of the first team squad. The club are hopeful he will be back before the end of December and the busy Christmas schedule.

United want to be cautious to avoid a further setback, similar to what Pogba has already suffered this season, but the end of December is a realistic aim.

His last game was the 1-1 draw against Arsenal at Old Trafford on Sept. 30 when he played his second match in five days following the 1-1 draw Rochdale. Before that, he had not played for almost a month after picking up a first ankle injury.

Pogba is desperate to get back into the team and United have struggled in his absence.

He has spent time in Dubai as part of his treatment process but has still been very involved in the life of the team despite being sidelined.

Big picture

Given the recent history between these teams, it's hardly a surprise that the series is level at 1-1. For both of them, though, these games are much more about looking to the future - and the T20 World Cup in Australia, which is less than a year away - than dwelling on the past.

Partly for that reason, England are using the series to take a look at fringe candidates who could force their way into that squad. So days like Saturday - when the inexperience is obvious and expresses itself in batting collapses, poor choices with the ball or, as was the case in Wellington, fielding errors - are probably unavoidable.

With that in mind, they look set to continue to experiment in the third match. Tom Banton looks likely to come into the side in place of the rested Jonny Bairstow, while there may be a temptation to look at leg-spinner Matt Parkinson, too. Chris Jordan, who has been England's player of the series, could drop out safe in the knowledge that his long-term position is secure, while Sam Curran has also made a fine impression.

Even while accepting there is a bigger picture than victory in this series, England will be looking to improve markedly in the field. For while the England management will accept the odd spilled catch - there were four or five at Wellington, depending on harsh a judge you may be - they are less likely to tolerate any sense of timidity in the field. It's an area they will have to improve if they are to challenge in Australia.

New Zealand aren't at full strength either. With Kane Williamson to miss the T20I series and Trent Boult not expected back until the fourth match, they have relatively few options among their 13-man squad. With leg-spin proving expensive in the series to date, though, they may be tempted to play an extra seamer.

They won in Wellington largely due to their superior fielding, but they may be just a little concerned by the lack of runs from their top order. Martin Guptill at least registered his highest score in 12 international matches (dating back to June 1) but none of their batsmen have yet scored more than 44 in the series. Ross Taylor, who to be fair has slipped into the middle order, hasn't made a T20I half-century since March 2014.

Form guide

England LWWWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)

New Zealand WLLWW

In the spotlight

Mitchell Santner is not, at first glance, an especially eye-catching cricketer. But with his excellent control, his extravagant changes of pace and his intelligence, he has developed into a fine limited-overs bowler who is currently not only the leading wicket-taker in the series (he has taken six; three in each match) but also the most economical (of those who have delivered more than two overs) going for exactly a run-a-ball. His success looks particularly admirable when compared to the other spinners, both leggies, in the series: Adil Rashid and Ish Sodhi have each taken two wickets in the series and are conceding their runs at 8.87 and 9.37 an over respectively. He was man of the match in Wellington and is currently fifth in the global T20I bowling rankings.

It's probably unfair to expect too much too soon fromTom Banton. He is just 20-years-old, after all. But such was the invention, such was the power, such was the audacity of his batting for Somerset this season, that comparisons with Jos Buttler and Kevin Pietersen have not only been made but are understandable. He showed an appetite for the big occasion when top-scoring (equal with James Hildreth) as Somerset won the Royal London One-day Cup final at Lord's and was the highest England-qualified run-scorer in the T20 Blast with four fifties and a century from his 13 innings. His run-rate in that competition - an eye-watering 161.47 - underlined his dominance and he was named both the Professional Cricketers' Association and the Cricket Writers' Club young player of the year for the 2019 season. His form on this tour to date has not been especially promising - he made 6 and 11 in his two warm-up innings - but it may be some encouragement to him to recall that he made a century in his most recent Youth ODI against New Zealand in Queenstown in January 2018.

Team news

With a squad of just 13 for these first three games, New Zealand's options are limited. They looked stronger in Wellington with the recall of Jimmy Neesham for Scott Kuggeleijn but, with an eye to the future, may be tempted to take another look at either bowling all-rounder Kuggeleijn or medium-fast seamer Blair Tickner, who has played only one international; a T201 victory over India. Ish Sodhi looks the most vulnerable if New Zealand decide they require only one spinner. Lockie Ferguson, who has bowled with impressive pace and control, is set to play his final game of the series before Trent Boult replaces him in the squad for the last two matches.

New Zealand (possible): 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Colin Munro, 3 Tim Seifert (wk), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Colin de Grandhomme, 6 Daryl Mitchell, 7 Mitchell Santner, 8 Jimmy Neesham, 9 Tim Southee (capt), 10 Lockie Ferguson, 11 Ish Sodhi

Banton looks set to come in for Jonny Bairstow in this game, with Dawid Malan expected to make way for the final two games. That means Malan may need to make quite an impression here if he is to see off the inevitable return of Jos Buttler, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes et al. There may be a temptation to take a look at Matt Parkinson, too, though such has been the fate of leg-spinners in the series he could face a tough baptism. If Parkinson does play, it may have to be in place of fellow leggie Adil Rashid. Rashid still looks a bit out of sorts, leading to fears that his shoulder injury is a little worse than he likes to admit. Given Lewis Gregory's fine start with the ball in the previous game - he became the latest man to start his international career with a first-ball wicket - Eoin Morgan may feel he can trust him to a larger role in that department.

England (possible): 1 Dawid Malan, 2 Tom Banton, 3 James Vince, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Sam Billings (wk), 6 Lewis Gregory, 7 Sam Curran, 8 Chris Jordan, 9 Tom Curran/Saqib Mahmood, 10 Adil Rashid/Matt Parkinson, 11 Pat Brown

Pitch and conditions

This is very early season in New Zealand. Indeed, there had never been an earlier international game on the South Island than the series opener in Christchurch, So while the boundaries at Saxton Park - about 160 miles north of Christchurch, on the northern coast of the South Island - are not especially long and while the weather is set fair (cloudy and a bit windy but dry), it would be a miracle if the ground staff were able to coax much pace from this wicket. For that reason, there may be just a little grip for spinners or cutters and just a little difficulty in timing the ball for batsmen.

Stats and trivia

• The mayor of Nelson, Rachel Reese, is married to former Somerset (and, briefly, Yorkshire and Central Districts) batsman Richard Harden.

• This is only the second T20I at the Saxton Oval in Nelson. New Zealand won the previous one, against West Indies, at the end of 2017. New Zealand have won six of the seven completed ODIs they have played at the ground; Sri Lanka beat them on New Year's Eve in 2015 while the match between the same sides a few days later was lost to the weather. England's men have never played an international game at the ground.

• The ground is named in memory of a Shropshire-born John Saxton who farmed in the region - he was something of a pioneer in realising the value of sheep farming on such land - as well as providing invaluable information for future generations as a diarist and painter.

  Stats that matter

• Tim Southee requires two wickets to become the eighth man to claim 75 T20I wickets.

• Adil Rashid requires one more wicket to draw level with Jade Dernbach as the fourth-highest T20I wicket-taker for England. Dernbach took 39 T20I wickets. Only Graeme Swann (51), Chris Jordan (52) and Stuart Broad (65) have more for England.

• Colin Munro requires 41 runs to draw level with Kane Williamson's run-tally of 1,505 for New Zealand in T20Is. The pair have played the same number of games (57), though Williamson has batted once more often. Only three men (Martin Guptill, Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor) have scored more T20I runs for New Zealand than Williamson.

• Eoin Morgan requires 32 runs to move equal 10th in the list of the top T20I run-scores of all time. He is currently 12th.

• England have won 11 and lost six of the 18 T20Is played between the nations. One game was lost to the weather.

Quotes

"That's probably my most common question: have you gotten over it yet? I don't think it's about getting over it, it's just accepting it. It will be there forever, you can't change it. It doesn't mean you have to dwell on it any more than a fleeting thought every now and then."
Jimmy Neesham reflects on the World Cup

"We want guys continuing to attack the ball and find themselves in hot spots if they're good enough."
Eoin Morgan expects better from England's fielders after a disappointing display in Wellington

Quinton de Kock believes Faf du Plessis will still lead South Africa in next year's T20 World Cup in Australia but said he would probably not turn down the opportunity if asked to captain in the format.

The wicketkeeper-batsman, who captained South Africa in their recent T20I series in India, has been appointed skipper of the Cape Town Blitz for the second edition of the Mzansi Super League and is being seen as a successor to du Plessis in the shortest format.

With back-to-back T20 World Cups in 2020 and 2021, it may not be long before de Kock is at the helm, and it's a role he would welcome.

"The way I see it is that I was just a replacement," de Kock told ESPNcricinfo. "That's the way I took it. For now, it's still Faf's baby. But maybe if things change and they do want me to do it, then I will do it.

"For the moment, I am not looking too far ahead. I am just trying to look at how I can help out with the youngsters, with the new guys in the T20 team and by myself, just getting better and getting ready for the T20 World Cup next year. But if that does come upon me, then I will try and grab it with both hands."

He did exactly that when Blitz coach Ashwell Prince approached him at the MSL draft on September 3. "Ash came to me at the draft and asked me if I want to do it and I said, 'Ja, no problem.' It was pretty quick and easy. I don't think there was much discussion around it. He just asked me right there and then and I said yes," de Kock said, speaking at the Cape Town Blitz media day.

"We [South Africa] are not the first team that has gone through a transition. England did it after their last World Cup and look at them. Four years later, they end up winning the thing" Quinton de Kock

Prince had a good reason to ask de Kock - that his team needed the stability of a leader who would be around for the full five-and-half-weeks of the tournament. Last season, Blitz were led by Dawid Malan for the first two matches before Farhaan Behardien took over on his return from international duty in Australia. With Malan not involved in this year's event and Behardien playing for the Nelson Mandela Bay Giants, Prince had to find someone else, someone who would also bring form and the ability to think on his feet. De Kock, fresh off two half-centuries in his first two matches as South Africa's T20I captain, and known for his no-frills approach to playing, seemed to be the perfect fit.

"He leads from the front as a player but he is also streetwise," Prince said. "I like people who can see what's required on the ground and can make calls and be brave and I think he does all of those things."

De Kock will also need to do a bit more. His new role means he will open the batting, keep wickets and lead the side, a trio of tasks that became too much for even the likes of AB de Villiers, who did not open but had a similarly important role of setting the tone in white-ball innings.

In keeping with his carefree nature, de Kock is not fussed about the workload. "It's nothing too difficult - keeping and batting, and the keeping will help out my captaincy anyway," he said. "Rather than being out in the field, I seem to read things better, how the pitch plays, which bowlers to bowl when, the angles and all that kind of stuff when I am keeping. I feel like the keeping helps my batting and also my captaincy."

This season of the MSL could confirm if de Kock is indeed equipped to perform all three tasks and may also tell whether he is seriously considered for the national job in the near future. Asked if that's where he sees de Kock's career going, Prince said: "Why not? He is still quite young. He hasn't captained a lot but everyone has to start somewhere. He has had a bit of a taste of it and I think he can grow in the role."

De Kock's only stint with captaincy before the India series was in an ODI series against Sri Lanka in 2018 after du Plessis suffered a shoulder injury. South Africa had already clinched the series, winning the first three ODIs, but went on to lose the last two matches which de Kock captained. That instance was considered nothing more than an emergency replacement but it marked the start of a downward spiral for South Africa, which saw them lose five Tests in a row in Asia, and three out of their last four Test series. Their white-ball form also dipped and a disastrous World Cup followed, which has left South African cricket on the brink of a crisis.

But de Kock is one of very few players to have weathered the storm. He is South Africa's highest run-scorer in Test cricket this year and third overall, with 584 runs at an average of 44.92 and their second-highest ODI run-scorer this year after du Plessis, with 774 runs in 17 games at 48.37. De Kock also finished as the third-highest run-scorer at the IPL this season and his form could give South Africa some hope that a revival is not far off.

"We are not the first team that has gone through a transition," de Kock said. "England did it after their last World Cup and look at them. Four years later, they end up winning the thing."

With England the visitors this summer, there's motivation in opposition camp for South Africa to start putting things right. But de Kock also pointed to the national team's triumph at the Rugby World Cup as a rallying point for cricket to get itself back on track.

"It's alright if the whole country and guys are a bit down and out but when we all gather together, especially after winning this Rugby World Cup, a lot of people are pumped up and want to get this transition going so the time we get to our next World Cup, we can really put ourselves in a good stead, just like England did."

Big Picture

The rains in New South Wales and across the east coast of Australia this week brought so much relief to farmers in the drought-stricken region that there were videos of people dancing and celebrating in the streets. One set of foreigners who might gladly have partaken in such merriment was the visiting Pakistan cricket team in Sydney, staring defeat in the face when the heavens opened, forcing the abandonment of a game that Australia looked to be easing through.

While that means Aaron Finch's men don't go to Canberra with a 1-0 lead, they do enter the contest with significant momentum. Australia are on something of a T20I tear at the moment, having won their last five completed games. They swatted Sri Lanka aside 3-0 just last week, the team that less than a month ago did the same to Pakistan in Lahore. David Warner finds himself in irresistible form again, as does Finch, who looked imperious in the short time Australia got to bat before the weather intervened. The bowlers, too, Adam Zampa excepted, had solid outings carrying on from the Sri Lanka series.

Meanwhile, Pakistan suddenly find themselves in disarray in their most-favoured format of the last three years. In the first game, they scraped their way to a somewhat respectable total, down almost solely to new captain Babar Azam's exquisite half-century. There is the caveat of the rain bringing a somewhat abrupt conclusion to the innings, but it's hard to argue Pakistan were pacing themselves effectively either; regular loss of wickets combined with watertight discipline from Australia's bowlers meant any total they put up in the allotted 20 would have ended up being somewhat below par.

The visitors must be careful not to let the second game also become a one-man batting effort. The sample size for the bowling isn't enough to jump to drastic conclusions, but on the evidence of the two overs Mohammad Irfan bowled, there's little to explain why the 37-year-old was brought out from the cold to join Pakistan on what has historically been their most challenging tour. On the whole, the visitors looked alarmingly off the pace in the first game, and this is their opportunity to demonstrate that it was something of an aberration.

Form guide

Australia WWWWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Pakistan LLLLW

In the spotlight

For a game where Australia's bowlers had a leash on Pakistan, the only surprise was the slightly off-colour performance of Adam Zampa. The legspinner was crucial to his side's success in the series against Sri Lanka, and comes into this tour in good form. He didn't get too much turn to assist him in Sydney, but Pakistan will have noted how quickly Zampa reverted to flatter, fuller deliveries when put under pressure by Mohammad Rizwan and Asif Ali. If they can get the legspinner to do that more often, he loses some of the wicket-taking threat Australia prize him for.

Every follower of Pakistan cricket will have dreaded the moment they needed to worry about Fakhar Zaman's place in the T20I side, but it's now becoming difficult to turn a blind eye to it. The opener's torrid run in the format continued in Sydney with a second consecutive golden duck. It is now 11 innings since he last managed 25 in a T20I innings, a match-winning 91 in Harare against Australia in the final of a T20I tri-series. Right now, Fakhar looks worlds removed from the player who was capable of such sustained hitting, and for Pakistan to have a good start, that needs to change immediately.

Team news

Given how well the contest in Sydney turned out for them, it would be unsurprising to see Australia line up with the same team in Canberra.

Australia (probable): 1 David Warner, 2 Aaron Finch (capt), 3 Steven Smith, 4 Ben McDermott, 5 Ashton Turner, 6 Alex Carey (wk), 7 Ashton Agar, 8 Pat Cummins, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Kane Richardson

There hasn't been much out of Pakistan's camp over potential changes, and so early into the tour, it would be odd if there were a raft of them. It feels inevitable Usman Qadir will play at least one of the remaining two games, but on the tiny evidence from Sunday, the only bowler whose place might be under scrutiny is Irfan.

Pakistan (probable): 1 Babar Azam (capt), 2 Fakhar Zaman/Imam-ul-Haq, 3 Haris Sohail, 4 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 5 Asif Ali, 6 Imad Wasim, 7 Iftikhar Ahmed, 8 Wahab Riaz 9 Shadab Khan, 10 Mohammad Amir, 11 Mohammad Irfan/Mohammad Musa

Pitch and conditions

It is expected to be a fairly cool evening in Canberra, with temperatures perhaps dropping under ten degrees by the time the game finishes. The Manuka Oval has never hosted a T20I before, so how the pitch plays in those conditions is something of an unknown.

Stats and trivia

• The second T20I will be the 1001st match of its kind. The first of this series was the 999th, with Bangladesh's last-over win against India in Delhi being the 1000th.

• Australia's last T20I loss came three weeks shy of a year ago when India beat them by six wickets in Sydney.

• Before this series, Australia had only once previously played Pakistan in a T20I on Australian soil - in February 2010. The only two players who played then and are also in the current squads are Smith and Warner.

Quotes

"It's nice to have Mitchell Starc running in with the new ball and then at the death and the spinners through the middle. Kane Richardson is fantastic with the new ball and at the death and Pat Cummins wherever you need him. It's a really well-balanced squad at the moment with the two at the top, Mr Fix-it, and a couple of finishers."
Alex Carey is content with the current Australian side