LOS ANGELES -- Three months after a heated recruiting battle that pitted Los Angeles' two NBA teams against one another for the services of Kawhi Leonard, the Clippers and Lakers took the fight to the floor, where talent acquisitions are transformed into stardom. Years of planning, posturing, billboards and flight tracking finally translated into actual basketball between two teams who play in the same building and who each has a claim as title favorites.

Angelenos are notoriously late arrivers, but on Tuesday night, they filled the bowl at Staples Center early, as if they were concerned they might miss something. It was an entirely appropriate response now that four of the best 10 basketball players in the world -- LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Anthony Davis and Paul George -- compete in Los Angeles.

Though the Clippers hosted and won the season opener 112-102, the raucous crowd was a house divided, which has been the case for years at Clippers home games against their intracity rivals. The Clippers have spent the past decade mounting the sports world's most aggressive rebranding campaign, but their introductory video was an unsubtle nod to the long shadow that extends over that effort:

Grit Over Glam, Street Lights Over Spotlights, Squad Over Self, L.A. Our Way.

When after the video Leonard took the microphone to welcome Clippers fans -- "We're going to work hard every night. Let's get it going" -- he was showered with a cacophony of cheers and boos. He was booed during the game with the same spirit Lakers fans roared during their team's third-quarter flurry with James on the bench. The message to Leonard from the fans of the incumbent Lakers, who lead the Los Angeles series 102-53: You might have residency in Southern California, but universal esteem won't come without a banner.

Though a tagline like grit over glam is often nothing more than a hollow pitch, the Clippers' slogan bore a sharp resemblance to the on-court product Tuesday night. Their victory over the Lakers was very much an industrial-grade product, powered by Leonard's brute force in the half court, a sound effort on the glass and a heavy dose of the lunch-pail hustle that defined last season's overachieving squad.

Coach Doc Rivers sounded the "one of 82" refrain pregame. Nobody on either team nor anyone present in the stands really bought it. George, still a few weeks away from his Clippers debut as he recovers from shoulder surgery, might have donned a handsome tuxedo, but Clippers owner Steve Ballmer was so intensely engaged in the game that he ripped a hole in the elbow of his button-down.

Madison Square Garden might be the NBA's hallowed cathedral, and the Chase Center in San Francisco its glitzy new mall, but Staples Center is undoubtedly the league's seat of power until further notice.

-- Kevin Arnovitz

Our NBA experts' biggest takeaways

Kawhi caught fire

Leonard's debut got off to a shaky start, but it didn't take him long to make James, Davis and the Lakers feel his presence.

Following an 0-for-2, two-turnover opening, Leonard put on a show by making seven consecutive shots and scoring 15 of his 30 points in a torrid seven-plus-minute stretch. The Leonard tear, which came on an array of contested midrange shots and pull-ups, was a turning point in the game. The Lakers opened confidently with a 13-2 lead. By the time Leonard's burst was over, the Clippers were up six, and it felt like the Lakers were shaken. The contest might have been tied entering the fourth, but this felt like the Clippers' game to lose. Only Rivers could slow Leonard down, taking the Finals MVP out in the midst of his hot shooting midway through the second quarter, perhaps an indication of how Rivers will play and substitute. Leonard came out around the six-minute mark in the first three quarters.

Entering the season, one of the big questions surrounding this matchup was how the Clippers would stop Davis. However, perhaps the question should be what answers the Lakers will have for Leonard.

-- Ohm Youngmisuk

The Clippers' bigs showed up

Montrezl Harrell played more minutes -- 38 -- than anyone. The Clippers won those minutes by 15. His gravity as a roll man energized the Clippers' offense. He unlocked shots for teammates, dished four assists himself and laid the ball in when the Lakers forgot about him. He completed two and-1s in the fourth quarter against mismatches, the last after a classic Patrick Beverley flying offensive rebound on a free throw.

HOUSTON -- This being Texas, it was only fitting that Game 1 of the World Series boiled down to a duel. On the pitcher's mound stood Gerrit Cole, who isn't a Texan but sure could pass for one: tall, strong, bearded, long hair, bit of a snarl, fastball that touches 100. His weapon was a baseball. Standing 60 feet, 6 inches away was Juan Soto, the perfect foil, a baby-faced 20-year-old from out east, a charismatic, charming, hip-swiveling boo magnet. His weapon was a bat.

Three times they faced off Tuesday night, and all three distilled baseball in 2019 to its most delectable essence. Power vs. power, brains vs. brains, excellence vs. excellence. Major League Baseball exists for these moments because these moments are of what great World Series are made.

And to see the final score -- Washington Nationals 5, Houston Astros 4 -- was to see a facsimile of Cole vs. Soto: incredibly close, eminently compelling, loads of fun and stoking a burning desire for more, more, more. The Nationals stole home-field advantage from the Astros by doing to Cole what no team had done in five months: hand him a loss. Amid that, Soto did to Cole what it no longer seemed any man could: make him look mortal too.

Inside the Nationals' clubhouse, players, coaches, executives -- everyone really -- was one-upping one another to lavish praise on Soto. How young he is, how poised he is, how everything he is. Nobody described Soto quite like Johnny DiPuglia, the Nationals vice president of international operations.

"He's a dog that plays checkers," DiPuglia said.

A what?

"You don't see dogs playing checkers," DiPuglia said, and he was right not just that paws aren't nearly dexterous enough to move checkers pieces but that Soto is that rare sort of beast, someone unique. And not unique like, hey, let's call him unique because he is good at something or kind of interesting. No: unique, as in a literal one of a kind.

Soto is bark, bite and double-jumps all in one. He is the only player ever with two seasons of at least 400 at-bats and an on-base percentage of .400 and slugging percentage of .500 before he turned 21. The five others who did it once: Ted Williams, Mel Ott, Jimmie Foxx, Al Kaline, Alex Rodriguez. Hall of Famer, Hall of Famer, Hall of Famer, Hall of Famer, Hall of Fame production.

The first-inning showdown between Cole and Soto, then, was quite the production. Since May 22, Cole had pitched 25 times. In those starts, hitters batted .166, posted a .220 OBP and slugged .300. In other words, over 169⅓ innings, Cole made the average hitter he faced perform like Blake Swihart, who hit .163/.222/.304 this season. Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of Blake Swiharts.

Juan Soto is no Blake Swihart, though Cole treated him as such in the initial at-bat. First pitch: 97.4 mph, down the middle, up in the zone. Soto swung through it. Next pitch: 98.1 mph, another four-seam fastball, up and on the inside corner. Soto took it. Last pitch: 99.1 mph, paint up and away, at which Soto waved. Three high fastballs, three strikes, see ya next time.

Soto vowed next time would be different. He loves the game and the gamesmanship and everything that goes into the pitcher against the hitter. He harkened back to spring training, where the Nationals and Astros share a complex in West Palm Beach, Florida. He steeled himself for Round 2.

"Most aces are confident in their fastball," Nationals hitting coach Kevin Long said. "They don't run away from it. And he didn't. I give him credit. He challenged him with it."

Cole did. The first pitch was a slider that Soto, whose batting eye is nonpareil, took for a ball. The second was another fastball, up and away again, lacking the petrol of the first but still plenty zippy at 96.4 mph. Soto drove it to left-center field, and it just kept climbing, as though an escalator was escorting it up onto the gaudy train tracks that sit some 50 feet above Minute Maid Park's field. It was an immense home run, measured at 417 feet but so much bigger because Soto's left-handed swing sent it the opposite way, and that tends to be the domain of pull hitters and pull hitters alone.

"Juan," Long said, "answered."

Loudly and clearly. A 2-1 Astros lead was gone, the score now tied. Soto has done that a lot this postseason. He had the seminal bases-loaded hit that helped Washington win the wild-card game. His mammoth home run off Clayton Kershaw helped bury the Los Angeles Dodgers in the division series. And now here he was making Long's pregame prediction that Soto would homer on a high fastball come true.

"He's got kind the 'it' factor, he's got the twitch, he's got no fear," Astros manager AJ Hinch said of Soto. "I think that's really big for a young hitter early in his career to just kind of leave it out there. It looks like he's completely in control of enjoying the moment, and he hit all sorts of different pitches."

That was the third at-bat. The Nationals were ahead 3-2. Soto was up with runners on first and third. Cole threw another first-pitch slider, this one low and inside, and it missed the plate. He then lost two curveballs high and outside, running the count to three balls and no strikes. Cole spun a tight slider low and over the inside third of the plate for a strike and followed with a changeup that fooled Soto. The count was full. Five pitches, zero fastballs.

"That kid can hit fastballs that are 105," Nationals catcher Yan Gomes said. "He can always get a fastball."

For months, teams that scouted Soto sent that same report: Get him with the soft stuff; don't throw him heat, as he will embarrass you if you do. Oh, and don't give him anything up in the zone, either: Only Christian Yelich's slash line against pitches in the upper half of the zone bested Soto's .344/.432/.730.

Cole, who will obsess over pitch sequencing and selection and do so to great effect, didn't go high and didn't go heater. His slider on the outer half of the plate was low, but not low enough for Soto to miss. Soto tattooed the pitch off the left-field wall, and with Anthony Rendon running on the full count, the double scored a pair of runs.

It was, Cole said, a "poor pitch," compared to the home run ball, which he deemed a "tip-your-cap situation." Cole would exit after the seventh inning with Soto having gone 2-for-3 with three RBIs. Soto added another hit off Astros reliever Will Harris in the eighth inning. Already with the home run, Soto had become the second-youngest player to hit one in his first World Series game, and at 20 years, 362 days was only the fourth to hit a World Series home run before his 21st birthday.

Every time he went to the plate, Soto stared at Cole. He wasn't scared. He wasn't intimidated. It was not just part of his shtick where he dances around after pitches he takes as balls; this was part of his routine, his process, the secret sauce to his excellence.

"I've been here working on that since my first day in the big leagues," Soto said. "Sometimes, I just put gum in my mouth and try biting it, but most of the times just take a deep breath and just focus on the picture of me. Everybody around I forget about; it's just you and me. And that's how everything comes down, try to enjoy it."

By the "picture of me," Soto meant the space between him and the pitcher, the 60 feet, 6 inches, and how the rest of the world doesn't exist when he is in that space with a pitcher. Even Cole, who is arguably the finest pitcher on the planet, something about which Soto truly could not care less.

"Maybe," DiPuglia said, "he thinks he's better than the guy who's best in the world."

After Tuesday, who could blame him?

The Cole vs. Soto at-bats accounted for only 11 of the 104 pitches Cole threw. That they were the decisive ones in Soto's first World Series game wasn't altogether surprising. Because this is Juan Soto. And Juan Soto does special things.

Just look, Long said, at what he did earlier this week. In addition to being brilliant at baseball, Soto is exceedingly bright -- he learned English in a year as a teenager after signing with the Nationals in 2015 for $1.5 million -- and unfailingly polite. When they were at a team hotel earlier this week, Long said, his wife was having difficulty with a package. Soto noticed it, went up to her and said: "Are you OK, Mrs. Long?"

Long laughed. Not just at the earnestness but a little bit at how he still used the honorific in front of her name. Long was asked if Soto called him Mr. Long, and the answer was no. But when asked what he calls Soto, Long did not hesitate. It's the perfect name for a kid who turns 21 on Friday, who is scheduled to celebrate his birthday with the first home World Series game in Washington in 86 years and who celebrated his first World Series game by standing 60 feet, 6 inches from arguably the best pitcher in the world and outdueled him.

What does Kevin Long call Juan Soto?

"Mr. Soto," he said.

Melbourne Renegades 6 for 133 (Wyatt 31, Barsby 2-22) beat Perth Scorchers 5 for 132 (Sciver 55*, Strano 2-27) by four wickets

The Melbourne Renegades held their nerve to scrape past the Perth Scorchers in an error-riddled chase at the Junction Oval that was briefly halted when the fire alarm was triggered by some burnt toast.

The Scorchers dropped four catches and missed two clear cut run out opportunities to all but hand the Renegades the game as Josie Dooley guided her side home, making 17 not out off 17 balls, with four wickets and five balls to spare.

Following Nat Sciver's half-century in an under par total of 5 for 132, the Scorchers gave Sophie Molineux and Danielle Wyatt three lives in the first two overs of the chase. Molineux was finally held for 24 before Wyatt and Tammy Beaumont took control with a 48-run stand.

They appeared on course for an easy victory having cruised to 1 for 85 in the 11th over. Beaumont was particularly impressive reaching 25 off 17, finding the boundary with some incredible scoops and lap sweeps.

However, the game swung on a superb return catch from Nicole Bolton to remove Beaumont. Bolton should have run out Claire Koski next ball, only to gather the ball at the bowler's end and inexplicably throw to the striker's with Koski miles out of her ground.

The Renegades kept the Scorchers in it though losing 4 for 29 but Dooley kept her head by finding the gaps without taking too many risks to reach the target with five balls to spare.

Earlier, the Scorchers struggled to take advantage in the powerplay due a terrific spell from Lea Tahuhuas the New Zealand quick removed Australia captain Meg Lanning in a wicket maiden.

The game was delayed by 15 minutes after a fire alarm went off inside the Junction Oval's administration facility. The building was evacuated without incident with some burnt toast to blame.

Sciver and Amy Jones did struggle for fluency on return. Jones was 8 off 15 when she was dropped by Molly Strano at midwicket off Tahuhu. She found the boundary twice in her next four balls to get her innings moving.

Sciver was also given a life on 24 when Maitlan Brown spilled a pretty straight forward chance at long-on off Georgia Wareham. Jones hammered two sixes off Wareham to take the partnership to 77 before holing out off Strano in the 12th over.

But the Scorchers only managed one boundary in the next 28 balls. The Renegades used their spinners well through that period. Sciver was 42 off 41 after 18 overs before she finally broke the shackles with a boundary in each of the last two overs to finish on 55 not out from 47, but the total was well under par in the end.

In what could be seen as a positive development towards resumption of cricketing activities in Bangladesh, the striking players are likely to meet on Wednesday. This after Mashrafe Mortaza was reportedly appointed by Sheikh Hasina, the country's prime minister, to resolve the impasse.

BCB CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury has said that they expect to sit with the striking players at around 5pm on Wednesday, with a breakthrough expected in the impasse. "After the media conference last evening, I spoke to a senior player who told me that they would get back to us at any time after discussing among themselves. We expect to sit with them at 5pm today," said Chowdhury, in a press briefing at noon today.

Local daily Samakal quoted BCB director Mahbubul Anam saying the prime minister also asked Mashrafe about the crisis. "She wanted to know the latest about cricket's situation," he said. Then she asked Mashrafe to tell the players to return to the field."

ALSO READ: BCB chief lashes out at players; says board open to talks

It isn't known yet if Mashrafe has already contacted the players, but all indications are that the motion is heading towards a positive outcome.

On Tuesday night, the BCB agreed to one of the key demands made by the players - to bring back the Dhaka Premier League's club transfer system - following a meeting of the Dhaka league committee.

While the striking players have already missed the start of the fitness and conditioning camp on Wednesday, ahead of November's tour of India., ESPNcricinfo understands that more such agreements from the BCB are on the way.

Tasmania 4 for 239 (Bailey 67, Silk 59*, McDermott 58) beat New South Wales 237 (Nevill 56, Ellis 5-38) by six wickets

Nathan Ellis claimed his maiden five-wicket as Tasmania hauled themselves off the foot of the Marsh Cup table by overturning a star-studded New South Wales side at North Sydney Oval.

Ellis, who made his Western Australia debut at the start of the competition, claimed 5 for 38 as New South Wales were bowled out for 237 with almost seven overs remaining.

They had been set back early in the day when Riley Meredith continued his good time in Sydney by removing David Warner and Steven Smith inside the first six overs to follow the five-wicket haul he claimed in the Sheffield Shield match.

On a small ground with a fast outfield New South Wales needed their international attack - featuring Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood in their first matches of the season - to pull the game out of the bag, but Ben McDermott warmed up for his return to Australia's T20I set-up with a crisp half-century.

McDermott began the chase by taking 12 off Mitchell Starc's opening over with three drives and in all 46 off his 58 runs came in boundaries before he was bowled attempting a reverse sweep off Nathan Lyon.

He had formed a brisk opening stand of 61 with Caleb Jewell to set Tasmania on their way in the chase until Jewell was bowled off his pads by Hazlewood as he walked across the crease. Hazlewood returned to trap Beau Webster lbw to give New South Wales a glimmer with Tasmania 3 for 113.

From there, however, the stand-in captain Jordan Silk - covering from the injured Matthew Wade - and George Bailey eased towards the target with a stand of 118 in 21 overs. Bailey, who was left out of the Sheffield Shield match, moved to fifty from 59 deliveries and Silk matched that with a top-edged six off Cummins who recorded none for 62 off his 10 overs.

Tasmania had put New South Wales into bat on a ground where it is difficult to defend. Meredith struck in his second when Warner toe-ended a pull back to the bowler and then again in his next when Smith clipped straight to square leg, to the disappointment of himself and the crowd that had come to watch in anticipation.

Silk produced an excellent piece of fielding with an under-arm flick to run out Moises Henriques after Daniel Hughes called a risky single and Hughes became Ellis' first wicket when he was given caught down the leg side.

Matthew Gilkes gave another glimpse of his talent with some glorious shots in a better than run-a-ball 43 before driving a catch to cover. The lower all managed to chip in alongside captain Peter Nevill but couldn't transform the innings as Ellis hit the stumps four times, the delivery take Cummins off stump being especially eye-catching.

The defeat all-but ends New South Wales' hopes of reaching the final.

Sourav Ganguly has been formally elected as the BCCI president during the board's general body meeting in Mumbai. His assumption of office marked the formal end of the board being under the charge of the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators; he also became the first former cricketer in 65 years to head the board.

Ganguly accepted his position from the board's electoral officer N Gopalaswami in the presence of the three outgoing CoA members and the state associations' representatives. Ganguly and the other four office-bearers will now take over the board's running from the CoA - currently comprising Vinod Rai, Diana Edulji and Lt Gen (retd) Ravi Thodge - which was supervising the board for the past 33 months.

It's official - @SGanguly99 formally elected as the President of BCCI pic.twitter.com/Ln1VkCTyIW

— BCCI (@BCCI) October 23, 2019

"I'm totally satisfied because we are leaving the BCCI to the governing council and the administration," Rai said after Ganguly's formal assumption. "Five former players in the administration could never have been better. The president is one of our most successful captains, he has had five years at the CAB and is now taking over at the BCCI. There is no one better than him to take this position.

"We are agnostic about the family [relations of the office bearers] and other things. Our job was to hold the elections as per the constitution and we have done that."

"I'm very happy that a former cricketer is taking over as president," Edulji said at the headquarters before the meeting began. "I'm sure he will take the BCCI to greater heights."

More to follow…

HOUSTON -- Max Scherzer threw 112 pitches in five innings. The only inning he threw fewer than 20 was his final one. Tanner Rainey came out of the bullpen, served up a home run and walked two batters while recording only one out. Daniel Hudson got four outs but gave up three hits and a run.

Sounds like a good way to lose Game 1 of the World Series.

But the Washington Nationals did not lose Game 1 of the World Series. They beat the Houston Astros 5-4 Tuesday night. They managed to cobble together 27 outs, they beat the invincible Gerrit Cole and they are now undefeated all time in the World Series.

Can they win three more games this way? Probably not. They need their starters to go deeper into the game. Heck, the Nationals are carrying only 11 pitchers, including two who haven't even pitched in the postseason and another who has recorded only one out. The Astros left 11 runners on base, went 3-for-12 with runners in scoring position and missed a tying home run by a foot or two.

Sometimes you win a game, sometimes you survive a game.

"This is just a team win," Scherzer said. "When you look at this, there is not one guy that won this game. It was a collection of everybody. Up and down the lineup, in the bullpen, what can you say? The reason we won tonight was because of everybody in this clubhouse."

Here's what kind of a sweat it was for Scherzer. Only once before in his career had he pitched five or less innings and thrown more than 112 pitches -- a start against the Yankees in April 2012 when he walked seven batters in 4⅔ innings and threw 119 pitches.

"It was crazy," he said. "Everything's on the line. That lineup is great. They absolutely grinded me, never let me get in rhythm. I was having to make pitches out of the stretch from the first inning on. For me, I just stayed with Zuk [catcher Kurt Suzuki]. Zuk called some big-time pitches for me tonight."

Scherzer walked George Springer on seven pitches leading off the Houston first, leaving a 3-2 slider up in the zone. The Astros would score two runs in the inning to grab a quick lead. Scherzer would go to a 3-2 count on nine of the 23 batters he faced. This was not typical, efficient Max Scherzer -- not the pitcher who mowed through the Cardinals in the National League Championship Series with one hit in seven innings.

Scherzer's mounting pitch count -- 48 through two innings, 96 through four -- meant Dave Martinez had to alter the script that managers attempt to plot out before the game. It meant using Patrick Corbin -- his probable Game 3 starter -- in the sixth inning. Then Rainey, the hard-throwing but erratic right-hander, in the seventh, with his two reliable relievers, Hudson and Sean Doolittle, after that.

"Max ... kudos to him. He gave us everything he had today," Martinez said. "Those guys are good and they don't chase. They're good hitters, so he gave us everything we had and as the game was rolling along and I started watching Max's pitch count, there was going to be an inning that we needed to use Corbin."

Corbin did his job, striking out two in a 21-pitch inning. Martinez could have -- should have? -- brought Corbin back for the seventh. Win this game and worry about Games 3 and 4 later. Instead, he gave the seventh to Rainey, who possesses a 100 mph heater but doesn't always know where it's going. He walked 38 batters in 48⅓ innings in the regular season but also struck out 74. He had won his manager's trust with two scoreless outings against the Cardinals. Such is the life of the hot hand in October.

Springer greeted Rainey with a monster 428-foot home run to left-center, turning on a 99 mph heater. Rainey struck out Jose Altuve but walked Michael Brantley and Alex Bregman. Hudson would get out of the inning, striking out Yordan Alvarez on a 96 mph fastball with the bases loaded -- maybe the biggest out of the game. Hudson gave up a run in the eighth on Springer's RBI double off the wall that just missed tying the score. Doolittle got the final out of that inning and pitched a 1-2-3 ninth.

"If all the games are like this, it's gonna be a fun World Series," Corbin said.

It also means Martinez might have to adjust his rotation. This was probably the one opportunity he had to use Corbin in relief, and he said he would talk with Corbin and pitching coach Paul Menhart about whether Corbin or Anibal Sanchez would start Game 3. Either way, Corbin is probably unavailable in Game 2 -- although if the game is on the line, you never know.

Martinez also said after the game that Scherzer isn't a realistic relief option, which he was in the division series against the Los Angeles Dodgers when he pitched one inning.

"I don't foresee Max coming out of the bullpen," Martinez said. "I don't. We need him down the road again. Corbin had a bunch of days off. It was his bullpen day again, so I was gonna try and utilize him if we had to, and he came in and did great."

The good news for Martinez and the Nats: Stephen Strasburg, with a 1.10 career ERA in the postseason, gets the ball for Game 2. Strasburg has gone six, six and seven innings in his three postseason starts, which means ... well, if Strasburg goes only six innings, it means Martinez will have to get nine outs from his bullpen. Maybe that means just Hudson and Doolittle. Maybe it means Rainey again -- Martinez made a point to tell reporters that he told Rainey immediately after the game to be ready for Game 2. Maybe it means, yes, Fernando Rodney.

It means it won't be easy. It's the World Series. It's not supposed to be easy.

Australia's coach Justin Langer has said that Chris Lynn is "crystal clear" on the fact he must dislodge one of Aaron Finch, David Warner, Steven Smith or Glenn Maxwell through his own performances this summer in order to return to the national squad a year out from the first T20 World Cup to be hosted down under.

Lynn was vocal expressing his disappointment at not receiving a phone call from the selection chairman Trevor Hohns to let him know he was not a part of the squad for the matches against Sri Lanka and Pakistan that commence the international season. However Langer, who has held an elevated role in T20 selection since July last year, stated that on a performance basis Lynn was in a battle to surpass other established members of Australia's T20 top four, now bolstered by the returns of Warner and Smith.

ALSO READ: 'A phone call wouldn't hurt' - Lynn takes on Australia selectors

"Chris wasn't in the last T20 squad, he and I are crystal clear and it's not for public [consumption] and he knows that," Langer told SEN Radio. "He and I are crystal clear why he wasn't in the World Cup squad and therefore the T20s leading up to that and he's got another really good opportunity [for the PM's XI and in the Big Bash].

"We know how dynamic he is, we know he has an unbelievable Big Bash record and I can't wait to see how he goes this Big Bash. But we were specific, when you've got openers like Dave Warner and Aaron Finch, we've got Steve Smith come back in and you've got Glenn Maxwell, it's really competitive and it should be in Australian cricket.

"It's so competitive and he's going to have to force one of those guys out and to do that you've got to perform. Not just domestically but also internationally, performance is crucial and I'm looking forward to seeing if he and other guys can force their way into the side."

Numbers back up Langer's argument. In 18 T20Is, Lynn averages just 19.40 at a strike rate of 131.67, while his performances since Langer became coach have been almost entirely underwhelming. In eight T20 innings for Australia against the UAE, Pakistan, South Africa and India, Lynn cobbled a mere 113 runs at 14.13, while also making just 59 runs at 19.66 in three ODI innings against South Africa at home.

While Lynn performed better in last season's BBL and IPL, it would be hard to justify his inclusion at the expense of one of Warner or Smith after their returns from bans, or the T20 captain Finch and the combustible Maxwell. All members of that quartet possess significantly better T20 batting averages than Lynn, while only Smith (122.44) has an inferior strike rate. Lynn's well documented shoulder problems, reducing his capacity to throw or even dive in the field, have also lost him points in the eyes of the selectors.

As for the fact that Lynn has, after missing World Cup selection this year, abandoned playing any matches for Queensland to play more overseas T20 tournaments, Langer said that though the world was changing it was still more difficult on balance to win selection from outside the Australian domestic system. Chris Green and Dan Christian are two other T20 specialists vying for inclusion in Australia's T20 plans from outside the traditional avenues.

"It makes it more difficult there's no doubt about that," Langer said. "Traditionally, Australian selectors have always picked from straight out of the Australian domestic system, but having said that we don't live in a traditional world anymore. I'm seeing guys, whether it's players or coaches, have opportunities whether it's in the new Hundred league or T20 competitions around the world.

"We're very aware where a lot of our guys are playing. There's a young guy, Chris Green, he's doing terrific things around the world, offspin bowling, his numbers are outstanding. His name came up in the selection meeting, Dan Christian's name keeps coming up, the way he finishes a game he's a senior pro now.

"We keep an eye on it, all the cricket going on around the place, traditionally you wouldn't select outside our system but we don't live in a traditional world anymore, do we."

HOUSTON -- Houston Astros outfielder George Springer set a record Tuesday night when he homered in his fifth consecutive World Series game, a seventh-inning blast off Washington Nationals reliever Tanner Rainey that sailed 428 feet to left-center field.

Springer had homered in the final four games of the 2017 World Series for the Astros, winning MVP honors in the process; he batted .379 with five home runs as the Astros won in seven games over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The 30-year-old had shared the record of four consecutive games with Lou Gehrig (who did it over the 1928 and 1932 World Series) and Reggie Jackson (who did it over 1977 and 1978 Series).

"I'd rather win," Springer said of the accomplishment following Houston's 5-4 loss in Game 1. "I mean, cool. Great. It's an honor ... but no doubt about it. I'd rather win."

Springer's home runs:

Game 4, 2017: Sixth inning off Dodgers' Alex Wood (nobody on)

Game 5, 2017: Seventh inning off Dodgers' Brandon Morrow (nobody on)

Game 6, 2017: Third inning off Dodgers' Rich Hill (nobody on)

Game 7, 2017: Second inning off Dodgers' Yu Darvish (one on)

Game 1, 2019: Seventh inning off Washington's Rainey (nobody on)

Springer also now has an extra-base hit in seven consecutive World Series games, extending his own record.

He added an RBI double in the eighth inning, just missing a home run as the ball hit off the top of the fence in right-center. Houston's Kyle Tucker was on second base as Nationals right fielder Adam Eaton made a leaping grab at the ball and it bounced away from him.

Springer has the speed to make it to third base on the play, and might have then scored to tie the game on Jose Altuve's fly ball to right field, but said he had to hold up out of the batter's box.

"I was watching [Eaton] the whole time," Springer said. "That's one of those things where I don't want to necessarily run as fast as I can, because for some reason, if [Tucker] tags or whatever the case and I run by him, it's not good. So I was just kind of watching the outfielder."

Springer said he wasn't kicking himself for not reaching third base on the play.

"Well, no, because I can't go to third right there because the guy on second had gone back to tag," he said. "If I had gone to third, I'm out."