Whatever the letter of David Warner's lifetime ban from leadership positions in Australian cricket, he was never going to be left out of the team's tactical thinking.

Apart from the fact it is nigh on impossible to picture Warner sitting quietly in the corner minding his own business while the national team's campaign for next year's T20 World Cup is constructed, he is one of the squad's most agile minds in the shortest format. After all, only one current Australian cricketer can boast of captaining a winning IPL team, and that is Warner with Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2016. His thoughts on Australia's build up are many.

To that end Warner has taken a central role in discussing the many and varied permutations for the team led by captain Aaron Finch and coach Justin Langer. As one of several members of the team to play all three formats consistently, he has ample opportunities to do so.

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The reality of the higgledy piggledy international schedule is such that planning for one format must often take place while playing another, meaning that Warner's rich source of experience and ideas has been useful to Australia's' T20 planners for quite some time before the squad assembled in Adelaide last week.

"It's massive for us all these games for us leading into the World Cup," Warner said after his first T20I hundred. "The thing we can take out of this is sticking to our game plans and we're going to be playing at all those venues. So you've got to work out where you're going to hit the ball, the boundaries, what gaps you're going to hit, what bowlers you're going to take on in the first six overs. Those are the things you got to think about when you're out there.

"Same with our bowlers, with how they structure. There's going to be a lot of off-pace into the wicket, and a lot of short balls into the wicket, and it's about us as batters work out and learning off our bowlers as well about how they're trying to bowl at the opposition because we're going to get that as well."

Among the most intriguing elements of the T20 scenario confronting Australia and the rest next year is that by its nature, the type of cricket required to succeed at home will contrast markedly to that of the IPL, even if it is the world's pre-eminent tournament in the format. Warner summed this up by noting how much more critical it was to maintain a high fitness level in Australia, where bigger grounds and slower outfields mean that strong running between the wickets, particularly in search of twos, is vital.

"As a batter, it's pretty simple. You have to have at the back of your mind a plan when you're going out there. For me, it's targeting straight, the sightscreen, not try and play too many cross-batted shots and being positive running between wickets," he said. "That's the element to our game here in Australia if you want to win the World Cup next year, you've got to run really hard between the wickets. We've got big boundaries here. It's not like in the IPL where if you don't want to run, you can stand and deliver. But in my game I have a strong emphasis on running between wickets and rotating the strike. I think that's very important."

The flip side of this need for fitness and running is how, given a good start, it is relatively simple in Australia to get into a rhythm on true pitches and hit with something approaching impunity, big boundaries or not. The ease with which the hosts entered "beast mode" against Sri Lanka's bowlers at Adelaide Oval, pummelling their way to the highest ever T20I score for Australia at home, was pointed out by Warner as an example of how a steady build with wickets in hand would generally work well.

"I think you saw it out there first-hand if you are 0 for 60 then you can post a big total without taking too many risks. You saw the ease with which Maxi came in and used the pace of the wicket. There're going to be very good wickets so as batters you don't need to over-hit the ball here in Australia."

At the same time, Warner acknowledged the balance he strikes each innings with Finch, who at a career strike rate of 156.58 has proven himself some 15 runs per 100 balls more effective at taking the bowlers on than his longtime opening partner. Not getting too caught up in catching up, in a manner of speaking, is vital to Warner's method.

"It's not a conscious effort. But if he gets three or four away, and I get only one ball at the other end, then I've only faced only a couple of balls," Warner said. "It's very hard to get rhythm. If I get the ball there that I can put away, I can obviously do that. But you've got to play that situation. If he's hit two or three boundaries and gets off strike, you've already won the over.

"There's no need for me to go hammer and tongs. I can just play the way I do and get him on strike and that's how it pans out. That's the natural game plan if I get out, he bats deep. If he gets out, I'll try and bat deep. That's how the top-order always thinks."

Of course, should the quick and wickets-in-hand start not eventuate, Warner had an apt descriptor for Steven Smith, who on Sunday spent most of his time shuffling down the batting order while bigger hitters took precedence.

"I call him the fixer. He can just sit there and do what he wants. If anything goes wrong then he comes in," Warner said. "Everyone's got their roles and he knows his role very well. It's a bit similar to Rooty [Joe Root] in the one-dayers for England. You've obviously got to have someone to come in and steer the ship."

Warner, it is clear, is not permitted to captain Australia again. But that edict does not preclude him from the ability to lead.

INDIANAPOLIS -- After the Denver Broncos' 15-13 loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, an angry Joe Flacco called into question the team's conservative approach down the stretch, including first-year offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello's play-calling given the Broncos had held the lead for most of the game.

Adam Vinatieri's 51-yard field goal with 22 seconds to play completed the Colts' comeback, as the Broncos suffered their third loss of the season decided in a game's final 30 seconds.

"Well, c'mon, I just look at it like we're now a 2-6 football team and we're like afraid to go for it in a two-minute drill, you know?'' said Flacco, who received medical treatment on his neck throughout the game. "Who cares if you give the ball back with a minute, 40 seconds left? They've obviously got the field goal anyway.''

Pushed on the Broncos' late-game offense, Flacco added: "Once again, we're a 2-6 football team and it just feels like we're kind of afraid to lose a game. It's third-and-5 at the end of a game, who cares if they have a timeout at the end or not? Getting in field goal range isn't that tough, you're just putting your defense in these bad situations and I just felt like what do we have to lose? Why can't we be aggressive in some of these situations? That's kind of how I feel a lot about the game today.''

The Broncos certainly had multiple opportunities to put away what would have been their third win of the season.

With 7:38 remaining, after a sack and a forced fumble by Derek Wolfe on Colts quarterback Jacoby Brissett had given the ball to the Broncos at the Indianapolis 48-yard line, the Broncos had an ugly three-and-out that included pass plays on first and third downs. But then the Broncos' defense forced another punt and Denver got the ball at their own 38-yard line with 3:37 to play.

After two runs to move the ball to the Colts' 48, the Broncos gained just 5 yards on the next two plays as they faced a third-and-5 at the two-minute warning. The Broncos, in a three-wide set and Flacco in the shotgun, chose to run Phillip Lindsay into the middle of the line for no gain on third down.

They then punted the ball away, and seven plays later, Vinatieri kicked the game winner.

"We've got to find a way to score more points, we've got to be more aggressive at it, period, [because] our defense is doing its job ... we should have been able to get the 5 yards and run the clock out,'' Lindsay said. "We're asking [the defense] to do a lot, we got to do better. Like Flacco said, Joe is right, we've got to be more aggressive. When that's coming from our quarterback, that's saying something. Joe is our leader.''

Flacco said the Broncos should have gone more to wide receiver Courtland Sutton late in the game. Sutton drew several penalties on Colts cornerback Rock Ya-Sin (three for holding and twice for pass interference) and finished with 72 yards on three receptions.

Asked whether he had the power to question some of the calls, or if he had in between series, Flacco said: "Of course you talk on the sideline about what's happening, but there's only so much you can do. As players you've got to go out and execute what's given to you ...

"I felt like at some point we just got to start going up to [Sutton] and taking some shots. I kind of mentioned it at halftime. He's a really good wide receiver and you can't not take some shots with him. Even if you don't hit them ... good things happen.''

The Broncos have now scored 24 or fewer points in 17 consecutive games, the longest stretch in the league over that span and they have scored more than 16 points just twice this season - a 26-24 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 4 as well as a 20-13 win over the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 5.

Scangarello is in his first season as an NFL play-caller after serving as the San Francisco 49ers' quarterbacks coach the previous two years. He also worked with 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan when the two were with the Atlanta Falcons.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- On a day when the San Francisco 49ers moved to 7-0 for only the second time in franchise history, it was rookie defensive end Nick Bosa and veteran running back Tevin Coleman who led the way by making some history of their own.

With their 51-13 domination of the Carolina Panthers, the Niners are 7-0 for the first time since 1990. That team was the only other one in franchise history to reach that mark. Sunday's destruction of the Panthers saw Bosa leading the charge on defense and Coleman forging the path on offense.

Among Bosa's many accomplishments on the day, he became the first 49er with 3 sacks and an interception in a game since sacks became an official statistic in 1982.

He's also the first to pull off the feat since Kansas City's Chris Jones did it in Week 2 of the 2017 season and one of only three rookies to do it in a game, joining Minnesota's Kevin Williams and Carolina's Julius Peppers.

If Bosa's hot start to his NFL career hadn't already made it clear how he's instantly become a fan favorite, Sunday's performance crystallized it. On multiple occasions throughout the game, Niners fans at Levi's Stadium broke out into loud "Bo-sa, Bo-sa, Bo-sa" chants.

Coleman etched his name into the Niners' record books as well. He accounted for four touchdowns on the day, making him just the second 49er since the merger to reach pay dirt four times in a regular-season game, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. He joins San Francisco legend Jerry Rice, who did it twice. Rice last did it on Nov. 14, 1993.

Coleman scored on rushing touchdowns of 19, 48 and 1 yards and caught a 10-yard touchdown from quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. Coleman also became the first Niner to run for three scores in a regular-season game since Garrison Hearst on Dec. 1, 2002 and the first to rush for 100-plus yards and two-plus touchdowns in a game since Carlos Hyde did it in Week 3 of 2016 against Seattle.

With a quick turnaround to play the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday night, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan removed most of his key starters, including Bosa and Coleman early in the fourth quarter.

Bosa finished his seventh NFL game with four tackles, three sacks, three tackles for loss, an interception and three quarterback hits. Coleman ended with 105 yards on 11 carries with two catches for 13 yards and the four scores.

JEREZ, Spain – Anyone that visits southern Spain would have to agree the scenery, culture and history of the region creates memories that last a lifetime.

After the action at the Circuito de Jerez Sunday, there were plenty of these as championships were decided in the 2019 edition of the Lamborghini World Final.

The chance to win a championship doesn’t often present itself but when it does, the ones that earn those titles seize the opportunity, take hold of it and finish it off.

That is what happened Sunday at the Circuito de Jerez in the Lamborghini World Final as Steven Aghakhani and Chad Reed came into the second of two Am/LB Cup title races as the ones to catch. They came away 50 minutes later, each with a World Title earning the distinction for the first time.

While the two of them can now be called Lamborghini World Final champions, their paths to their titles couldn’t be more different.

Aghakhani is a 16-year-old who entered the Am Class of Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America this year and won five of the 10 races he ran, including the final two of the LSTNA season on Friday in Jerez. The southern California native then made it a clean sweep as he claimed both of the World Final races over the weekend.

“This feels amazing,” Aghakhani said a moment after hugging his father after he rolled backed into pit road. “This is unlike anything I have ever done before. I was so happy with the car and the team did an amazing job. It was an excellent weekend and I am proud to be out here.

“During the second half of the race, the tires started to go away as it started to get hotter,” he added. “Our main focus was keeping the car clean and staying safe and we were able to do that.”

Meanwhile, Reed is a Supercross legend with many titles to his name while driving on two-wheels. He also didn’t run a full season in LSTNA and ended up winning four of the final eight races on the season. He won Saturday’s first race and his second-place finish Sunday was enough to get him the world title.

“It feels great to be a world champion,” Reed said. “It was so fun out there. It was frustrating at the beginning of the race. It felt like you couldn’t go and we were driving around with our hands tied behind our back. At the end the pressure was on and that felt more normal than being frustrated behind the slower cars. I’m happy for everyone at Dream Racing and Mountain Motorsports for this opportunity.

The pair becomes the ninth and 10th Lamborghini Super Trofeo North American entrant to win a class world final.

Ashton Harrison earned the LB Cup win. She led from start to finish to register her first win on the season after finishing second six times in the 12 rounds of LSTNA. The victory marked the first time a female has won a Lamborghini World Final race.

“Finally, the day has come!” Harrison said. “Our Wayne Taylor Racing, Prestige Performance Lamborghini was the fastest it has been all year. So finally, we got to take home that first place trophy and officially become the first female to win a World Championship race. Harrison Contracting has been with me my entire career and I finally get to put this trophy on the stack with everything. I am happy to get my first race win in the last one of the year.”

There was added drama at the end of race two as a tie-breaker was needed to determine the Pro class World Final champion.

Andrea Amici and Sandy Mitchell won the race over the No. 31 entry from Europe. Because the same cars finished 1-2 in the reverse order Saturday, it was on to tie-breakers to see who would be the World Final champion.

The first tie-breaker is a car’s finish in each race, and because each car finished first and second over the weekend, the next one had to be used. That was which car had the most wins from all global Lamborghini series. The No. 31 had more across those series and therefore, they were named the World Final Pro Class champions.

“It was a great win today,” Amici said. “Sandy did a great start staying with the firsts in the beginning. I found myself with a big gap for the second stint, so I managed only the gap between me and the 31 car. It was an amazing team performance.

“The car was just mega during all sessions, he added. “We leave Jerez with two wins, and the best results overall in the World Final also considering qualifying. We finished second, but we feel we are the real winners of the Lamborghini World Final. Thanks to Sandy and Prestige Performance, Wayne Taylor Racing for the great season.”

“Great race for Andrea, myself and the WTR Team,” Mitchell added. “I had a good opening stint staying with the P2 overall. I knew that we would be faster in the second half of the race, so we were able to get into the lead and we are delighted with the win.

“We had a fantastic race today. I managed to stick in P2 behind the leader of the class. After the pit stops, I was able to get into the lead and get a nice gap. Car No. 31 was closing down on us towards the end but we managed to stay ahead of them and win today’s race. First and Second in the two World Final races and a point for Pole, which was dead equal to the other car.”

Damon Ockey and Jacob Eidson were the dominant team in the LSTNA series all year long as they won 11 of 12 Pro Am class races and finished second in Saturday’s first World Final race.

A drive-through penalty for a pit stop violation and a momentary slip where the car went off the track for a split-second, derailed their chances of winning a class world title. They ended up fifth in class and off the podium after a race for the first time all season.

Jurgen Klopp batted away concerns that Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk picked up major injuries in Liverpool's 2-1 victory over Tottenham at Anfield.

Salah, who scored a decisive penalty to extend the club's lead at the top of the Premier League table to six points on Sunday, was substituted on 85 minutes after receiving treatment.

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"With Mo it is the same ankle [he twisted in the win over Leicester earlier in the month], it just gets sore the longer the game goes on," Klopp explained after the match.

"It's not a massive issue. It will disappear one day, but the pain is still a little bit there at the moment."

Van Dijk, meanwhile, only sustained "a dead leg" during an encounter the Liverpool manager described as "a super game -- how football should look."

Tottenham scored in the opening minute through Harry Kane, with Jordan Henderson equalising in the second half, before Salah's winner from the spot on 75 minutes.

"I'm pleased with how we responded and I expected it from us as well," Klopp said after Liverpool stretched their unbeaten home league run to 45 matches.

"An early goal is not the best thing that can happen, but makes one thing clear... game on!

"We expected Tottenham to be compact, aggressive, pressing us.

"I loved the game. It's how to play against a really good side who always have a threat. We wanted to be special in the counter-press and it was excellent.

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"Being 1-0 down against Tottenham with the strength they have on the counter -- the boys deserve huge credit for the performance, which was really, really good. I liked it a lot."

Meanwhile, Mauricio Pochettino said: "When we scored so early, the team thought 'defend, defend, defend.' We did that a bit too much and lost some of our play.

"We competed well. We need to improve a lot but I'm disappointed. We wanted to make them play deeper, but we know very well Anfield will push and increase the level of their team. I think Liverpool is the best team in Europe and of course really competitive."

Tottenham are now without a win in their last 11 away games in the league.

Arsenal manager Unai Emery admitted that his captain Granit Xhaka was wrong to storm off the Emirates Stadium pitch while removing his shirt and gesturing toward the jeering crowd during Sunday's 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace.

Xhaka cupped his ear as he left the pitch before walking straight down the tunnel and his manager said that it was the wrong reaction toward the home side's supporters.

"He was wrong, he was wrong," Emery said in his press conference. "But I think now [we] stay calm and also speak with him, speak inside around that. His reaction was wrong. We are here because we have supporters. In football we are the workers inside [the pitch] but we play for them. We need to have respect for them when they are applauding us and also when they are criticising us."

Emery declined to comment on Xhaka's future status as Arsenal captain, a role the Swiss midfielder was given on a permanent basis just last month, beyond saying: "First I want to speak with him and speak with the club, and we want to stay calm."

Arsenal appeared to be set for a comfortable win when goals from Sokratis Papastathopoulos and David Luiz gave them a 2-0 lead inside the opening 10 minutes, but Palace hit back through Luka Milivojevic's penalty and Jordan Ayew.

The Milivojevic spot kick was awarded via VAR after Wilfried Zaha was initially booked for diving by referee Martin Atkinson and Arsenal were further incensed by a technology-adjusted decision late in the game when what appeared to be Sokratis's second goal was ruled out for an apparent foul by Calum Chambers.

"But our goal, the third goal, he is not fouled," Emery said. "That is not a foul. Who is the person who checked that? If the referee watched that action on the TV, I am sure he would not decide that it was a foul."

Emery went on to suggest that the incident should have been looked at by Atkinson on the pitchside monitor, adding that he believes the system will reduce officiating errors in time when it is used correctly.

"When the referees use [VAR] in the right way, I think it's going to be amazing because it will reduce the referees' mistakes," Emersy said. "This evening, maybe this week, they are starting to check more because they are thinking they need to check more actions because a lot of difficult decisions for the referee are coming, and they want to take more time to check that."

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer did not agree with VAR's decision to award his side the first of their two penalties in a 3-1 victory over Norwich on Sunday.

United cruised on the day thanks to goals from Scott McTominay, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial but could have scored more if not for seeing two efforts from the spot saved by goalkeeper Tim Krul.

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The controversial call came just before the half-hour mark, when Ben Godfrey tangled with United winger Daniel James and referee Stuart Attwell initially seeing no foul. After a lengthy VAR intervention, however, he changed his decision.

Krul stepped up and saved Rashford's effort from 12 yards but neither manager could see the merits of Attwell's call after the match.

"VAR is there to help but when it takes ages like the first penalty, it is not a clean and obvious error," Solskjaer said.

"When it took that long, it is a signal that it should not have been."

Norwich manager Daniel Farke echoed Solskjaer's frustration but conceded it would not have made much of a difference to the outcome of the match.

"It's quite obvious it was a big mistake [for the first penalty]. The referee was right and it was Daniel James falling on the defender.

"I don't blame VAR for this defeat, we were not major enough in the first half."

Reuters was used in this report.

North Carolina Courage won their second successive NWSL championship on Sunday with a comprehensive 4-0 victory over the Chicago Red Stars.

The home side, who were the best team in the regular season and topped the standings five points clear of second-placed Chicago, coped best with the heat and humidity in front of a sell-out crowd of 10,227 fans at Sahlen's stadium.

Brazilian midfielder Debinha gave them the perfect start when she fired home after four minutes before striker Jessica McDonald doubled their lead with a header 22 minutes later.

Crystal Dunn completed a dominant first half when she battled her way through the Chicago defence to score the third on the stroke of halftime.

Samantha Mewis completed the rout with a header after 61 minutes.

The team from Cary became the second club in NWSL history to win back-to-back titles and the first to win the league in front of their own fans.

LIVERPOOL, England -- It was Mohamed Salah who stroked home the 75th-minute penalty that secured a 2-1 Premier League victory over Tottenham at Anfield -- a win that restored the leaders' six-point lead over second-placed Manchester City. Jordan Henderson's 52nd-minute goal -- his first at Anfield since Dec. 2015 -- was also crucial to the end result, with the captain's strike cancelling out Harry Kane's first-minute opener.

But while Salah and Henderson may grab the headlines for the goals that kept Liverpool on course for their first league title since 1990, this win was about one player more than any other. Sadio Mane shared the Premier League Golden Boot with Salah (and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang) last season, and he ended the campaign as a Champions League winner, but the Senegal forward still does not get the credit he deserves for the contribution he makes to Jurgen Klopp's team.

Salah gets plenty of attention, because of his goals and mercurial ability to make a difference when it matters, while Virgil van Dijk shares top billing with the Egyptian forward because of the solidity and certainty he has brought to the Liverpool defence. But Mane is now just as important as those two, and he may even have usurped them both as the man that Klopp could not afford to be without, simply because he is now consistently affecting games in Liverpool's favour.

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Against Tottenham, it was Mane who won the penalty from which Salah scored his fifth league goal of the season. And it was purely down to Mane's tenacity, and even cunning, that the spot kick was awarded by referee Anthony Taylor.

Mane chased down Spurs defender Serge Aurier and, as the full-back attempted to clear, the Liverpool man put his leg across his opponent's and cleverly drew the foul. It was perhaps harsh on Aurier, who has a habit of reckless behaviour in the penalty area, but Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino had no complaints.

"The decision was made," Pochettino said. "Technically it is a penalty because there is contact. It's an action that's soft, but it's a penalty."

Mane was involved in a similar incident against Leicester at Anfield earlier this month, when his stoppage-time tangle with Marc Albrighton resulted in another decisive penalty for Liverpool, which James Milner successfully converted. Spurs will also remember how Mane earned a spot kick in the Champions League final last season when his cross struck the arm of Moussa Sissoko.

But that's what Mane does: He makes things happen by spotting opportunities and openings that others don't.

Against Leicester and Spurs at Anfield, Mane's involvement in the penalties being awarded strayed into the area of the player having won both spot kicks, rather than being the victim of a straightforward foul. He plays on the edge. Neither were dives, because contact was made by both Albrighton and Aurier, but Mane made the most of the contact on each occasion.

Yet Liverpool are a better team for having a player like Mane because he strikes fear into opponents, who have no way to defend against him when he approaches the final third of the pitch. His blistering pace enables him to stretch teams more than Salah can, and he is such an important cog in the Liverpool machine.

We don't yet know how Liverpool would cope without Van Dijk because the Dutch defender never misses a game, but they have survived without goalkeeper Alisson Becker during his injury layoff this season and they are also flying high at the top of the table despite Salah having a slow start to the campaign. Losing Mane would be huge blow for Klopp, however, because they have nobody else quite like him.

He is also one of those players who prove that statistics can only go so far when it comes to telling you about their attributes. According to official Premier League stats, updated after this game, Mane has created just one assist this season, scored no penalties or free kicks and has missed the target more than he has hit it, with a shooting accuracy of just 48 percent. He has also missed six so-called "big chances" this season, but if there was a statistic that measured "making a difference," he would be a nine and a half out of ten.

Mane has become as important to Liverpool as Raheem Sterling is to Manchester City because he offers goals, pace, movement and that rare ability of being able to terrify the opposition. He has also become a lucky charm for Liverpool at Anfield, having never been on the losing side for the club in the Premier League.

If that run continues, Liverpool will take some beating in the title race, especially if it survives the next home game. That one is against City, on Nov. 10, but with Mane in the team, Liverpool will have the edge.