Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is battling to build a unified squad at Manchester United amid the club's worst start to a season in 30 years, with sources having told ESPN FC of concerns within Old Trafford that the playing squad lacks unity and togetherness.

United sit 12th in the Premier League, two points above the relegation zone, after winning just two league games so far this season.

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And despite a summer rebuilding programme led by Solskjaer, aimed at improving the morale and collective spirit within the squad by offloading Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez, who were deemed to be incompatible with the manager's plans, promising early signs during preseason have now dissipated as results have deteriorated.

Sources have told ESPN FC that one senior player arranged a meal for the squad in a city centre restaurant last month, but only five chose to attend, including two of the younger players in Solskjaer's squad.

Paul Pogba's injury problems, which have forced the France midfielder to miss five of United's 11 games to date, have not helped the mood within the squad, with sources having said that, contrary to the general perception, the player's influence has been positive behind the scenes since the summer and that his presence is missed, on and off the pitch, when he is not fit and contributing to the team.

Pogba is training away from the United squad in Dubai as he attempts to return to fitness following a foot injury.

Despite first-team players regularly remarking on the positive team spirit within the dressing room, Solskjaer believes that a greater sense of unity is crucial for the team to emerge from its slump.

But there is also an acceptance that the manager and coaches can only do so much to trigger a greater sense of the collective, with the responsibility to do that largely at the feet of the players.

Spain manager Roberto Moreno announced his squad last Friday in the now fashionable, social-media-friendly manner at which the Spanish FA has become pretty good.

It's ironic that it was Moreno, a Catalan, a self-declared Barcelona supporter and someone who helped coach that club to the Treble in 2015, who went on to name Sergio Busquets as the only Camp Nou representative with La Roja to play Norway and Sweden. There were, of course, eras when Barca would be sending seven or eight footballers off to Spain duty -- Carles Puyol, Andres Iniesta, Xavi, Gerard Pique, Victor Valdes, David Villa, Pedro, and so on and so forth.

Sergi Roberto's form and Jordi Alba's injury partly explain why Busquets was deprived of any club company on the Puente Aereo (air bridge) from Barcelona's El Prat airport to the Spanish capital. But it's symbolic too, of the change happening in Busquets's career, indicative of a massive sea change in elite European football and an indication that Moreno remains a true believer in the concepts that Johan Cruyff held and Pep Guardiola holds, but are now patently being eroded.

Busquets is enduring the bleakest beginning to any season since he broke through, under Guardiola, in 2008. Ernesto Valverde has dropped him three times -- unheard of. He's only eighth and 11th in the list of Barcelona players with the most minutes in La Liga and the Champions League, respectively.

And he was, ignominiously, hooked when Barca trailed Inter last Wednesday and their coach threw caution to the wind by moving to a 4-2-3-1 formation with the introduction of Arturo Vidal and Ousmane Dembele. Within five minutes of Busquets departing, the change worked. From 1-0 down to 1-1 and then a total domination of play that, eventually, brought an epic win.

Busquets' replacement, Vidal, created the first goal, pressed like an enthusiastic rottweiler puppy and, realistically, changed the entire pattern of the game. The Chilean, at 32, is in his footballing twilight; but his attitude, physique, athleticism, aggression, pressing and tempo are all the prototypes for the kind of footballer Europe's biggest clubs now covet. Times are changing.

That said, Valverde's loss of faith in Busquets generally hasn't been that profitable. Twice prior to Saturday's 4-0 win over Sevilla, when he was also benched, the 31-year-old Catalan was dropped -- in defeats to Athletic Club and Granada, no goals scored.

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Valverde's loss of faith in Busquets also has been ultra dramatic. Last season, while winning La Liga for the eighth time since Busquets joined the first team 11 years ago, Valverde used this order-installing central midfielder in every single game from August until mid-April barring once -- when he was suspended. Busquets was then rested against Huesca on April 13 so that he'd be fresh for Manchester United in the Champions League, then missed just one more La Liga match through suspension.

The conclusion: Across a season in which they won the title, came within a goal of reaching the Champions League final and lost the Copa del Rey final, Barcelona only played three La Liga matches without Busquets -- winning none of them, failing to score in two and losing at Celta Vigo. No Busquets, no three points -- that was the message just a few short months ago.

Then came the massacre of Anfield from which, there can be no doubt, Valverde drew sharp conclusions. Ivan Rakitic -- Busquets's bodyguard most of last season, his running mate and Winston Wolfe-like problem solver -- seems to be on his way out of the club. Barcelona patently want to sell him. No Rakitic, apparently, means less Busquets.

All of which makes his Spain inclusion fascinating.

He's at an age, and at an athletic stage, when you'd imagine that, like Pique, who's only a year and a half the elder, Busquets might feel hugely relieved at getting several free days without matches or training over the international break. Time to clear the brain, disconnect, rid the limbs of any lingering, niggling pain, stay away from planes and trains and reset in time for the massively important couple of months between now and the short Christmas break.

Not a bit of it, it seems.

And it's equally interesting that Spain's coach is still a firm believer. When justifying who he'd picked and who he'd unceremoniously dropped, Moreno said on Friday: "I believe players have to be in this squad because of what they do, not because of who they are."

Completely fair, but of course, we've established that since the last international break, Busquets hasn't been playing quite so regularly nor has his form been stellar. He's in, though.

By comparison, Dani Parejo, who featured in three of Spain's past four Euro 2020 qualifying matches -- all wins -- has scored a couple of goals and provided a couple of assists for Valencia since the last international break. He's been dropped, though. Alvaro Morata, recently fit and back in Atletico Madrid's starting lineup -- not to mention a regular goal scorer for Spain -- is also excluded and felt moved to point out, unhappily, "I'd really hoped that I would be picked for this squad."

This column isn't about Parejo or Morata, but they serve to show that, to Moreno, Busquets remains special. Neither his absence from the Barcelona team nor his form affected his selection. Moreno wants a cerebral presence in midfield in order to withstand helter-skelter pressing from Norway and Sweden -- the very thing Valverde seems not to trust now.

Way back when the Catalan broke into Guardiola's Treble-winning 2008-09 team, Valverde, then at Villarreal, was asked to assess Busquets: "He oozes self-confidence and, from day one, has known precisely what to do in every situation. He adds equilibrium and control to Barcelona's midfield," he said a decade ago.

But when he was asked about Vidal's introduction against Inter, Valverde said: "Vidal brings pressing and a certain disorder between the lines which we needed. If we want control and possession, we've got Arthur and [Frenkie] De Jong." Please note: no mention of Busquets in relation to "control" and "possession." Unthinkable a season or two ago.

But this isn't an isolated issue. Possession-based football is under attack all over Europe. Tottenham have faded this term, Manchester City are wracked by injuries, Marcelo Bielsa's Leeds didn't get promoted, Chelsea sacked Maurizio Sarri despite him getting them playing the closest thing to Guardiola football as is possible to imagine, and La Roja themselves are deep in transition.

Trying to work out if the formula that brought them three straight international trophies is sustainable without possession addicts like Xavi, Iniesta, Villa, Xabi Alonso, Marcos Senna or David Silva? Roma, Liverpool, Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus all have trampled over Barcelona recently. They are bigger, faster sides packed with stamina, not lacking technical excellence, intelligence or wit; but certainly not playing the brand of football for which Busquets is now an increasingly isolated representative.

This was once Guardiola.

Busquets has always been the closest thing to a young, dominant, intelligent Guardiola, the fulcrum of Cruyff's "Dream Team" of the early 1990s. He possesses the same ideas, same skills, same deficiencies (pace, power and athleticism), same brilliant technical gifts and vision, same bravery in showing for the ball, intercepting danger, thinking three passes ahead of everyone else.

Guardiola left Camp Nou burned out, jaded and keenly needing new inspiration, when he was 30 -- a landmark Busquets passed last year.

Within a couple of seasons, Guardiola was in Qatari football, saying: "I think players like me have become extinct because the game is now more tactical and physical. At most clubs players are given specific roles and creativity can only exist within those parameters. To play in front of the back four now you have to be a ball winner. If I were a 20-year-old at Barcelona now I'd never make it as a professional. At best I'd be playing in the third division somewhere."

Although it's happening again, the outlook for Busquets is not so glum. On form, with runners around him, with Arthur blossoming and De Jong's heyday some time away, he can still be deeply influential for Barcelona in specific types of contests. His brain is as bright as ever, his technical marvels undimmed. But he continues to be hustled, hassled and pressed, he continues to give away far more possession than was once imaginable.

One day, some time hence, Xavi will be Barcelona manager and, if Busquets isn't still playing, he'll be Xavi's assistant. Bank on it. That's when 4-3-3, position, possession and pressing will be the untouchable mantras at the Camp Nou once more.

For the moment, Busquets has two choices: hunker down into a mode in which he squeezes every last drop of quality out of decreasing first-team starts, or follow Guardiola's 2001 decision to seek out new pastures in a league in which brains, technique and vision are rated more highly than speed, power and perpetual high-tempo pressing.

Melbourne Stars have signed South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn for a six-game stint at the start of the upcoming Big Bash League season.

Steyn had long been on the Stars wishlist and he joins fellow South Africans AB de Villiers and Chris Morris in the BBL, after de Villiers signed with the Brisbane Heat and Morris with the Sydney Thunder. Steyn joins Nepal legspinner Sandeep Lamichhane as the Stars' second overseas signing.

The paceman, South Africa's most successful in Tests, retired from the longest format in August following a sequence of injuries, bringing the curtain down on a great career. However, he is still contracted with Cricket South Africa and available for ODI and T20I selection although he was left out of South Africa's recent T20I tour to India with the selectors claiming he was not medically ready, even though Steyn believed he was fit.

The Stars got in contact with him shortly after he announced his Test retirement and, following a short period of negotiation, CSA cleared him to play the first six games of the BBL although Steyn suggested the door remained open for an extension if he doesn't get selected for the England limited-overs series, which starts in early February.

"It's something that I've wanted to do for a while, play Big Bash," Steyn said. "Unfortunately representing the Proteas for the bulk of my career over Christmas time we've always got Test matches on, the Boxing Day and New Year's Test matches. So I haven't been available. But since retiring from Test cricket, it's opened up a little window for me while the Proteas play red-ball cricket."

Steyn hasn't played since he injured his shoulder in the IPL in April and he was ruled out of the World Cup shortly after it began. He is currently preparing to play for Cape Town Blitz in the Mzansi Super League, which begins in November.

He said his body has been in great shape after retiring from Test cricket but that he has found training on his own challenging. "It's been a bit boring," Steyn said. "I'm doing a lot of training by myself and a lot of training with the high school kids. They're the only teams I can kind of practice with right now. So if you ask them, they're pretty scared, but they're surviving.

"The biggest relief off my shoulders was when I retired from Test cricket and I knew I didn't have to bowl 40 overs in a Test anymore. It was amazing. All the training that I'm currently doing right now, it's to bowl only 24 balls. When I put that into comparison to what I've done over the last 15 years of my career it really is pretty easy."

The ten-game home-and-away leg of the Mzansi Super League finishes on December 8. The eliminator is on December 13 and the final on December 16, with Steyn planning on playing every match for the Blitz.

The Stars' first game of the BBL is on December 20, against the Heat at Metricon Stadium on the Gold Coast, and Steyn is expected to be available for that match. However, he will not face de Villiers, who will join the Heat in the second week of January.

Steyn said the pair had been exchanging messages. "It was strange. This was somehow leaked maybe a month ago, it leaked quite quickly and then went quiet and then AB caught wind of it and he sent me a message and said to me he was going over to play but he couldn't tell me which team. But he was excited that we were both going to be in Australia," Steyn said. "I think he was just excited to know that there would be another South African there that he could try and bully around the ground."

Unfortunately, that clash seems unlikely as Steyn's last game for the Stars is set to be the Melbourne derby against the Renegades at the MCG on January 4 and the Stars' second game against the Heat is on January 25.

South Africa's next ODI is February 4 against England with the T20Is starting on February 12 and Steyn is likely to be needed in South Africa prior to prepare for that series if selected. Part of the reason he is playing in the BBL is to get some cricket in Australia ahead of the men's T20 World Cup in October next year.

"It all depends on selection, but right now I am available for South Africa so I have to kind of wait for that selection to happen," Steyn said. "I guess it's maybe one of the reasons why Cricket South Africa has let me go, to be honest.

"I think knowing that I'm not available for the Tests, wanting to keep me fit but also having one eye on the T20 World Cup at the back end of next year I think they probably felt like it was a good call to let me go, which is also great because it keeps me in the running for that World Cup."

Misbah-ul-Haq cited deficiencies in practically all departments of the Pakistan T20I outfit following their back-to-back defeats to a second-string Sri Lanka side in Lahore, but defended the decision to bring back Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal.

Over the last two years, Pakistan have won 21 of out the 28 T20Is and lost seven, five of which have come in the last nine months. "Losing is never good, especially against a team that is without their major players, and it's an eye-opener," Misbah, the team's head coach and chief selector, said in the post-match press conference. "We can see deficiency in every department: bowling, batting and particularly the way we got out against spin, and also our death bowling.

"There was a clear difference between the two teams. Despite being inexperienced, they were disciplined and did everything right, while we completely failed to implement our plan."

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With Shehzad and Umar coming back, Pakistan experimented with their top order, dropping Fakhar Zaman for the first T20I and opening with Babar Azam and Shehzad, and Umar at No. 3. The three, however, fell within 4.2 overs, leaving Pakistan reeling at 22 for 3 in the 165-run chase, which they eventually lost by 64 runs. Fakhar came back as an opener for the second T20I, pushing Shehzad to No. 3 and Umar to No. 5. Their highest run-scorer of the first T20I, Ifthikar Ahmed, was left out altogether. This experiment failed too, with Pakistan losing their top five for 52 in a chase of 182 before they went on to lose by 35 runs.

Since his debut in September 2016, Babar - the No. 1 T20I batsman - has scored 1263 runs in 32 innings at a stellar average of 50.52 and a strike rate of 127.96, and nearly 70% of his 831 runs in the last two years have come in wins. Babar and Fakhar's opening partnership has also been pivotal for Pakistan's success, but Babar's failure at the top in the two T20Is against Sri Lanka has left Pakistan in a fix, exposing the top order's struggle especially during a chase.

"Obviously I am answerable but to build up a team you need to do some experiments to get the answers. We need to show some patience and wait for next series to find answers" Misbah-ul-Haq

"There are a lot of reasons for this experimentation," Misbah said. "Yes, we are the No. 1 team in the world but mostly our strength has been standing on Babar Azam scoring runs and with him not scoring in two games, we are exposed badly. We need to find out six or more match-winners, we need to have more dependable batsmen, we need powerhouses in the top and middle, and in bowling we need to take wickets upfront and in the death overs and we need to have good finishers.

"But we failed overall, we are struggling in every department, and it's a big eye-opener for us. We didn't play to our strengths and couldn't deliver. We are looking for more batsmen rather than just relying on one or two."

The recalls of Shehzad and Umar had come in for criticism from various sections - Shehzad has scored 4 and 13 in the two games, while Umar has been dismissed for golden ducks both times - but Misbah stood by the decision to recall them and stressed on the need to experiment.

"Both these players have performed well wherever they've played in the last one year. Ahmed's performance in PSL was remarkable enough for a chance, while Umar, whichever format he played, was among the good ones [batsmen]," Misbah said. "It's unfortunate [that] in our circuit, there is no other batsman in T20s who had performed better than them. Players who have performed in domestic surely deserve a chance, and that's why we offered them.

"If they weren't able to perform what can be done? Obviously I am answerable, but to build up a team you need to do some experiments to get the answers. When you play someone in international cricket with a couple of games, you understand the utility of a player. We need to show some patience and wait for the next series to find answers."

MINNEAPOLIS -- By eliminating the Minnesota Twins on Monday, the New York Yankees proved that they are ready to win every way there is during this postseason.

The Yankees beat the Twins 5-1 in Game 3 of the American League Division Series to complete a sweep. But before the offense tacked on some late insurance runs, this was a duel of pitching and defense in which the Yankees showed their ability to hang tough in a tight game in October.

"I thought they played such a clean game. They made so many big plays in big spots because I really thought the Twins brought it tonight," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "They made it difficult. They had traffic it seemed like all night. Our guys just kept making big pitches when they needed to and big defensive plays."

The Yankees' pitchers had times when they were not crisp, but they got outs when they mattered most. Every time the Twins threatened to score, they came away empty-handed, thanks to a combination of stellar defense and a relief staff that knows how to seal a low-scoring win. Only an eighth-inning homer by Eddie Rosario got the Twins on the scoreboard.

Luis Severino's start was not as clean as his four scoreless innings would indicate, but he stepped up when it mattered, masterfully escaping a bases-loaded, no-outs jam in the second inning by limiting slugger Miguel Sano to an infield popup and getting Twins season MVP Nelson Cruz to hit into a double play.

"I think that situation right there set the tone for the rest of the game. I think that was the chance for the Twins to score," Severino said. "I'm happy that I could throw good pitches enough to get out of that inning."

Chad Green, arguably New York's best pitcher in the second half of the season, entered in the fifth inning to protect a three-run lead with two men on and two outs and retired the dangerous Rosario. Green was awarded the win after pitching a tough 1⅓ innings supported by great defensive play by outfielder Aaron Judge.

"I thought we played really good defense today," Green said. "Sevy getting out of huge jams early in the game was big for us, and that set the tone for the whole game, and every pitcher fed off what he was doing out there. The guys stepped up at the right time and made plays when they had to, and that's really what this game came down to."

Judge, unanimously praised by his teammates for his defense, made several highlight-reel catches to keep the game close until the Yankees managed to build a more comfortable lead in the ninth inning, scoring two runs off reliever Sergio Romo.

"We played three really complete games, offensively and defensively, but this felt like one of the best defensive games we have had," New York first baseman DJ LeMahieu said. "It seemed like Minnesota hit the ball hard all night, and especially at the right times, and we just made so many great plays. Judge had a couple of great plays. He is a Gold Glove right fielder, one of the best I have seen out there. His bat gets all the attention, for obvious reasons, but he is a complete player."

However, Judge's focus during the Yankees' subdued clubhouse celebration was not personal accolades or whether his defense is an underappreciated aspect of his game.

"I really don't know if I'm overrated or underrated. It really doesn't matter to me if I make the play," Judge said. "A lot of people label us as just a home-run-hitting team, but we are not. We play great defense, and our pitching staff is exceptional -- goes out there and executes their pitches."

Gleyber Torres, who made a case for series MVP with a second-inning home run and two doubles backed up by big-game defense, credited the field work that the team has done this season.

"We know we can hit, but we also know that defense also wins games. We are a team that cares a lot about our defense. We worked hard on it all season," Torres said. "We certainly hit very well in this series, but I think that defensively we played incredible ball. Some of the plays that Didi [Gregorius] made, that Judge made, they were incredible. Makes us feel very proud because this is the time to raise our level of play."

Yankees utility man Tyler Wade agreed.

"It's a cliché saying, but defense wins championships, and this game was a product of all the early work we put in the outfield and the infield, the attention to detail and the pride that we have," he said. "Those kinds of plays we made today get momentum going, and hats off to Judge, Didi, Gleyber, DJ. Their great performance on the field was contagious."

The Yankees outscored the Twins 23-7 in their ALDS sweep, but reliever Tommy Kahnle believes they should be recognized for what they have accomplished on both sides of the ball in their 103-win season that included their first AL East title since 2012.

"A lot of people, they look on the outside and look at us as a power staff with power hitting, but at times we have shown that we have one of the best defenses in the league. We have the players to do it," Kahnle said. "Tonight really showed that when the stage is set, our guys are going to shine.

"When you have plays like that behind you and those players behind you, it's almost like it's a treat. Just another perk that we get from being on this team."

Britain's Andy Murray will make his Grand Slam singles return at the Australian Open in January.

Murray, 32, a five-time runner-up in Melbourne, has been given a protected ranking of number two.

At this year's Australian Open, the three-time Grand Slam champion said he feared it could be the last tournament of his career because of a hip injury.

He had surgery in January and last week reached his first singles quarter-final in more than a year at the China Open.

Announcing his return, the Australian Open said Murray would "return to the main draw with a protected ranking of number two and restored physical powers".

The Scot, who is now ranked 289th in the world, plays Italy's world number 12 Fabio Fognini in the second round of the Shanghai Open on Tuesday.

Australian Open organisers added that Belgium's former world number one Kim Clijsters could feature in the year's opening Grand Slam in the women's draw.

Four-time Grand Slam champion Clijsters will return to the WTA Tour in 2020 at the age of 36.

Not much fazes Joe Burns.

He's not worried about Test selection. Nor is he concerned about his health after battling post-viral fatigue last season.

So what is Joe Burns concerned about on the eve of the new Sheffield Shield season? Missing a great NBA game on television.

"It's a great season to be an NBA fan," Burns told ESPNcricinfo. "I was getting pumped for the pre-season games yesterday. I'm a little bit worried if there's a blockbuster game on at 10am and we've got a Shield game on."

Burns' uncluttered mind may well be his biggest asset coming into a season where he will once again be in the spotlight as far as Test selection is concerned.

It's hard to believe given the current state of Australian batting, that a man with four Test centuries in 16 Tests and an average of 40.10, who has also scored more Sheffield Shield runs than any other player since 2010, is not only outside the Test team, but will likely need more runs over the first four Shield rounds to prove his worth once more.

But that is the case for Burns, and an all too familiar one given he's been dropped from the Test team five times including after scoring 180 in his last Test match.

However, there is not a hint of frustration or resentment from the 30-year-old about his plight.

"I think you learn over your professional career that there are things that you can't control and the sooner you focus on the things you can control and give them 100% effort then the better you're going to be," Burns said.

"You see a lot of young guys coming out and saying as soon as they started worrying about selection the game became tougher. Darren Lehmann said to me in my first year, 'it's a bloody hard game already so don't make it harder than it needs to be'. It's kind of rung true for me for how I view the game week to week.

"I'm not one to go into a season looking at trying to score a certain amount of runs. For me, it's all about my preparation. I just know if I'm the most prepared as possible, that will give me the best chance to equate it to runs. There are no guarantees in this game. But if I'm prepared from week to week, I feel like the most important part of the week is the days leading into games, trying to fine-tune the skills I want to use going into the games.

"I did my medical and realised that physically I wasn't going too well with a few of my vital organs. Once I saw a specialist it all made sense" Joe Burns on his diagnosis

"Everyone talks about trying to play with freedom. I think you get that freedom from knowing you've done the work and that you're ready to go and you can almost go into autopilot."

While Burns is philosophical, others are frustrated for him, including his Queensland coach Wade Seccombe.

"Joe's incredibly resilient," Seccombe told ESPNcricinfo. "For a guy with four Test hundreds out of 16 Tests, and he's been dropped five times, he's been incredibly resilient particularly when you see some of the selections that are happening before him. His effort around the group to help everyone else is an area that's really grown, so he's come back in really good spirit, really resilient and we know he's going to score runs at Shield level and we know he's in the top couple of batters in Australia."

There was some confusion during the winter surrounding Burns' health, not least of which was initially for Burns himself. He suffered a virus in 2018, which turned out to be glandular fever, but struggled with ongoing fatigue in the aftermath throughout last summer although a formal diagnosis of post-viral fatigue didn't come until May.

Post-viral or chronic fatigue is widely misunderstood. The feeling of severe fatigue or exhaustion is common for elite athletes and routinely ignored for the sake of pushing through. But when glandular fever has been the root cause, such an attitude can have serious ramifications, as former Western Australia cricketer Rob Baker can attest.

Burns knew he had a problem when arrived in Lancashire for his county stint.

"I remember going onto the field the morning of day two of the first game [for Lancashire] and I was absolutely cooked," Burns said. "It felt like I'd already played an entire season. I actually didn't do my medical until after that first game. I did my medical and realised that physically I wasn't going too well with a few of my vital organs. Once I saw a specialist it all made sense."

The official diagnosis and some enforced rest at home in Australia was a mental relief as much as a physical one. Simply having a clear understanding of why his body had failed provided confidence.

"More than anything you just have better education about why my body was feeling like that as opposed to just ignoring it and trying to push through," Burns said. "Now I can manage myself really well and I'm really confident now in saying I'm 100%. It's been a bit of a process but I'm glad we got there. At the time the situation was that my body needed a few months to get my immune system back on track.

"The immune system was basically operating like it was sick and after a few months of operating at such a high level, your vital organs start to struggle. I was really thankful to Cricket Australia during that time and by the time I got back on the Australia A tour in July I was feeling a massive difference in the way I felt."

He was grateful to the selectors for giving him the opportunity to return to England with Australia A, after not originally being selected in that squad, and repaid them with a century straight off the plane against Sussex.

"I felt as good as good as I felt in over a year by the time I got around to playing on that A tour," Burns said. "It was a nice feeling to get out there and also to wake up the day after playing and not feel terrible and feel ready to go again and being able to back up. I think that's the main thing. You can will yourself through a day or two but it's the ability to back up. Once your body starts struggling it becomes really tough. By the time the A series rolled around, I felt really good."

"I was ready to go for the Ashes if they needed me. I think they know that. I know that. It was just a decision based on what they wanted I guess" Joe Burns on being dropped

In that context Burns' non-selection for the Ashes squad seems even more puzzling from the outside. National selector Trevor Hohns did say publicly at the time of the squad announcement that Burns' illness had been a factor in his omission. However, Burns said he is comfortable with his private conversations with Hohns and Justin Langer and he had no confusion as to where he stood.

"My preparation was as good, if not better than most of the other guys that were selected," Burns said. "I don't think having that break in May would have had any impact on selection. When it came to selection that didn't come up. There were conversations with the selectors about how to show I was available and we came to the decision that the A tour was going to be suitable from there. I've played enough cricket in England. I was ready to go for the Ashes if they needed me. I think they know that. I know that. It was just a decision based on what they wanted I guess."

His attention now turns to Queensland. He started beautifully in the Marsh Cup with back-to-back unbeaten half-centuries as Queensland won their first three games. They open their Shield campaign against New South Wales on Thursday at the Gabba, with Steve Smith, David Warner and Mitchell Starc all set to be in the opposition.

Queensland were stung by last season's lacklustre performance after winning the Sheffield Shield in 2017-18 and there is a burning desire to atone.

"As a collective group and probably as an organisation as well, we're disappointed with how we went last year," Burns said. "We probably just didn't give a great account of ourselves for the talent we've got in the team.

"Obviously this week against New South Wales is going to be a challenge. If we play to our potential we're probably going to be right in every game we play. It probably comes down to guys just taking responsibility. If you have the chance to go and win the game, go and do it. We [only had one century] in the Shield last year which was disappointing. A focus of ours is actually showing a little bit more toughness when the game is on the line and coming through and getting some wins as an individual as well.

"It's a pretty open comp. Kind of like the NBA."

ATLANTA -- There was no need for delayed gratification. Not even two minutes into the first quarter of the Pelicans' preseason debut against the Hawks, Zion Williamson soared to the basket to deliver his first dunk against an NBA team.

Williamson didn't even need two hands.

Even the Hawks' boisterous "Sixth Man Section" couldn't stifle gasps as Williamson, the most highly anticipated rookie in recent memory, rammed the ball through the hoop in the Pelicans' 133-109 win. Williamson rose to dunk celebrity during his lone season at Duke University, but on Monday night he proved to be more than a walking dunk-machine.

"I don't think dunking would have just gotten me here," Williamson said after the game. "Had to be like somewhat of a good basketball player to get here."

His first points came on a drive to the basket, where he was fouled. He sank a free throw en route to scoring the Pelicans' first five points of the game. He finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and three assists in 28 minutes of playing time.

Williamson's first quarter slam wasn't his only dunk of the night. In fact, it wasn't his only dunk of the quarter. He delivered two more.

"I saw the lane open up," Williamson said of his first dunk. "This isn't high school or college anymore, you gotta go up strong, so I went up strong and was able to finish."

The Pelicans' front office and coaching staff have done their best to quiet the hype surrounding Williamson. During his draft night news conference, President of Basketball Operations David Griffin told reporters that giving Williamson room to be a teenager was imperative. Jrue Holiday, he said, was the face of the franchise. Coach Alvin Gentry doubled down on that sentiment at Monday morning's shoot around, dismissing any comparisons to Lakers' star LeBron James.

"I'm not comparing a 19-year-old to that right now," Gentry told ESPN. "I'm going to protect him, because we're not drinking that Kool-Aid. We're not going to say that he's LeBron James or any of those guys. Hard to take a 19-year-old kid and say this is what you are going to be until he experiences all those things. We are just making sure we're not putting extra pressure on him."

Still, fans holding "We love you, Zion" signs, lined the tunnel leading to the Pelicans' locker room. When Williamson stopped and signed a young girl's jersey, she burst into tears. Clearly, Williamson hasn't been received as just-another-rookie by basketball fans.

It wasn't a flawless debut. He missed both of his 3-point attempts. A missed free throw prompted heckling fans to chant, "You can't shoot" -- a poke at his less-than-consistent distance shooting percentages in college.

"He has work to do defensively," Gentry said. "But that's pretty much any young kid who comes into the league."

WASHINGTON -- For more than six seconds, the ball hung in the air, as if the moment were not dramatic enough already. Ryan Zimmerman, an original Washington National now in the twilight of his career, had hammered a pitch to center field as the Nationals were clinging to a one-run lead in the fifth inning of a must-win game.

The wind was wreaking havoc on fly balls. Where this one landed could determine the Nationals' season -- and the rest of Zimmerman's career. Over the fence it went, scoring three runs, buttressing the Nationals' lead in Game 4 of the National League Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers and proving a vital cushion in a 6-1 victory Monday night that sends the series back to Dodger Stadium for a winner-takes-all Game 5 on Wednesday.

The 35-year-old Zimmerman, who has played all 15 of his seasons with the Nationals, lifted a chest-high 96.6-mph fastball from Dodgers reliever Pedro Baez high into the air in the fifth inning with the Nationals ahead 2-1. It stayed there for what felt like an eternity and settled 414 feet later, scoring Anthony Rendon and Howie Kendrick, sending the 36,847 fans at Nationals Park into a frenzy and making those who didn't fill the thousands of empty seats at the stadium feel instantaneously silly.

It was a signature moment for a Nationals franchise that still lacks a playoff series victory and will seek its first with Stephen Strasburg on the mound. Zimmerman, long ago nicknamed Mr. Walk-Off, hasn't hit many in recent years as age gnawed at his game.

Big home runs, though? Even in a limited role, Zimmerman is capable of those.

"That's why sports are special," he said. "You can't replicate it."

Had the Nationals lost Game 4, Zimmerman would have hit free agency this winter without a clear read on his future. He is in the final season of a six-year, $100 million contract. The Nationals will almost assuredly exercise a $2 million buyout rather than an $18 million club option.

He could retire and start a five-year, $10 million personal-services contract with the team, though Zimmerman threw cold water on that idea.

"There's been a lot of talk how these are my last games," he said, only to be interrupted by Nationals ace Max Scherzer, whose seven superb innings kept the Nationals in the game long enough for Zimmerman to break it open.

"I really don't think this is his last games," Scherzer said.

"The last game [of the regular season] they tried to give me a standing ovation," Zimmerman continued. "I feel good. We've got plenty to go."

With left-hander Rich Hill starting, Nationals manager Dave Martinez tried to play the platoon advantage with Zimmerman's right-handed bat. He struck out in his first two plate appearances. In the fifth, the Nationals rallied against reliever Julio Urias, taking the lead and putting two on for Zimmerman.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts countered any right-vs.-left advantage by bringing in Baez. Martinez could have pinch hit with left-hander Matt Adams. He stuck with Zimmerman -- and was rewarded handsomely.

"That was huge," Martinez said. "He understands his role. But he came tonight and got a chance to start and, man, what a huge moment for us. I'm proud of him."

Of all his moments with the Nationals -- making the major leagues in 2005 months after being drafted, hitting a walk-off home run in the first game at Nationals Park in 2008, three other prior division-series home runs -- Monday night's may have been the apex for Zimmerman.

Especially if the Nationals can finally close out a playoff series. Particularly as a wild-card team against the 106-win Dodgers.

"This is why you play the game," Zimmerman said. "This is what you live for."

The nightmare continues for Minnesota Twins fans.

After being swept by the New York Yankees -- again -- in their division series, the Twins extended their MLB postseason losing streak to a record 16 games. The Yankees have been the Twins' particular nemesis during the painful stretch, handing Minnesota 13 of the 16 defeats, including Monday night's series-ender in Game 3 at Target Field.

Here's a game-by-game walk-through of the Twins' tunnel of misery.

2019 AL Division Series

Game 3 (Oct. 7 at Min.): Yankees 5, Twins 1

The air was sucked out of Target Field early, as the Twins came up empty on a bases-loaded, nobody-out situation in the bottom of the second while already trailing 1-0 on a Gleyber Torres homer. Eddie Rosario provided a little life with a solo homer in the bottom of the eighth, but given the history, it had to be hard for even Minnesotans to get too excited. Aroldis Chapman kept them -- and the Twins -- in check.

Game 2 (Oct. 5 at N.Y.): Yankees 8, Twins 2

This one was over early. Didi Gregorius, whose three-run home run in the 2017 wild-card game erased the Twins' first-inning lead, hit a back-breaking grand slam during a seven-run third inning.

Game 1 (Oct. 4 at N.Y.): Yankees 10, Twins 4

The Twins' record-setting loss featured a franchise postseason-best three home runs, but Jose Berrios and a procession of relievers got pummeled by the Yankees. The big hit? A two-run, bases-loaded Gleyber Torres double in the fifth that broke a 3-3 tie.

2017 wild-card game

Oct. 3 at N.Y.: Yankees 8, Twins 4

The Twins carried the baggage of a nine-game postseason losing streak (and 12 games overall) against the Yankees into the Bronx. Things started well enough for Minnesota -- three runs in the top of the first off Yankees starter Luis Severino, who recorded just one out -- but that didn't last long. New York countered with three runs in the bottom of the first off Ervin Santana, then took the lead for good in the third on Greg Bird's two-out single off Jose Berrios.

2010 AL Division Series

Game 3 (Oct. 9 at N.Y.): Yankees 6, Twins 1

In his only season as an All-Star, New York's Phil Hughes made his first (and best) postseason start, shutting down his future team on four hits over seven innings to complete a three-game sweep. Swept out of the playoffs by the Yankees for the second straight year, the Twins wouldn't return to the postseason for seven years.

Game 2 (Oct. 7 at Min.): Yankees 5, Twins 2

In the eighth straight postseason meeting, the Twins took the lead over the Yankees, only to let it slip away. With the game tied at two in the bottom of the sixth, a tiring Carl Pavano gave up two runs and didn't record another out, as a Lance Berkman double and a Derek Jeter single put the Yankees on top for good. Minnesota went nine up, nine down in the last three innings.

Game 1 (Oct. 6 at Min.): Yankees 6, Twins 4

Coming off one of his best seasons with the Twins, Francisco Liriano cruised through five two-hit innings, then hit a wall, coughing up a 3-0 lead. Minnesota tied the score on a bases-loaded walk in the sixth, but the Yankees regained the lead in the seventh on a two-run homer by Mark Teixeira. The Twins stranded five runners in the last three innings.

2009 AL Division Series

Game 3 (Oct. 11 at Min.): Yankees 4, Twins 1

Andy Pettitte and Pavano were engaged in a solid pitchers' duel before the Twins broke through to take a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the sixth. But as has often been the case in these meetings, the Yankees answered quickly, with Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada hitting solo home runs in the seventh. New York tacked on two insurance runs in the ninth before Mariano Rivera sent Minnesota packing.

Game 2 (Oct. 9 at N.Y.): Yankees 4, Twins 3 (11 innings)

This was perhaps the most painful loss of the bunch. After Hughes got two quick outs in the top of the eighth of a 1-1 game, a walk and single set up Nick Punto to give the Twins the lead with a single, and a Denard Span single off Rivera made it 3-1. But in the bottom of the ninth, Twins closer Joe Nathan gave up a leadoff single to Teixeira, and Rodriguez followed with a two-run blast to right-center to tie the game. In the 11th, the Twins loaded the bases with nobody out but squandered the opportunity, then Teixeira put them out of their misery with a laser beam of a walk-off homer off Jose Mijares.

Game 1 (Oct. 7 at N.Y.): Yankees 7, Twins 2

The 103-win Yankees figured to roll over the 87-win Twins, but Minnesota struck first, with two third-inning runs off CC Sabathia. Jeter countered with a two-run homer to tie it in the bottom of the inning, and the Yankees were off and running. The big blow was a two-run homer by Hideki Matsui in the fifth off Liriano.

2006 AL Division Series

Game 3 (Oct. 6 at Oak.): A's 8, Twins 3

Facing elimination, the Twins didn't put up much of a fight, as Brad Radke, in his final big league appearance, gave up four runs -- Eric Chavez and Milton Bradley went deep -- in the first three innings. Minnesota never recovered.

Game 2 (Oct. 4 at Min.): A's 5, Twins 2

After Twins starter Boof Bonser held Oakland to two runs over six innings, Minnesota tied it on back-to-back homers by Michael Cuddyer and Justin Morneau. With two outs in the top of the seventh, the A's Mark Kotsay hit a sinking liner to center, and the usually reliable Torii Hunter made an ill-advised dive for the ball, which skipped past him and rolled to the wall. Kotsay, bad back and all, circled the bases for a two-run, inside-the-park home run -- and that was that.

Game 1 (Oct. 3 at Min.): A's 3, Twins 2

To open the 2006 playoffs, the Twins' Johan Santana, at the height of his powers in his second Cy Young season, faced off against Oakland lefty Barry Zito, no slouch himself. Santana was touched for two runs in the second inning (Frank Thomas hit a solo homer, Marco Scutaro an RBI double), and Zito allowed only a seventh-inning solo shot to the Twins' Rondell White that made it 2-1. Both teams scored in the ninth (the A's on another Thomas homer), but Oakland's Huston Street got White on a fly out to end it.

2004 AL Division Series

Game 4 (Oct. 9 at Min.): Yankees 6, Twins 5 (11 innings)

This one stung. Facing elimination, Minnesota was cruising with a 5-1 lead (and 96% win expectancy) heading into the eighth inning. But things unraveled quickly for the Twins and reliever Juan Rincon. It went like this: single, wild pitch, walk, run-scoring single, strikeout, three-run homer by Ruben Sierra. Tie game. It stayed that way until the top of the 11th, when Rodriguez doubled, stole third and scored on a wild pitch by Kyle Lohse. Meanwhile, Tom Gordon and Rivera combined to retire the last 10 Twins batters in order, and the Yankees celebrated on the Metrodome carpet.

Game 3 (Oct. 8 at Min.): Yankees 8, Twins 4

Minnesota's Jacque Jones jumped on Yankees starter Kevin Brown with a solo homer in the bottom of the first. But New York answered with three in the second, then tacked on four more runs in the sixth to win.

Game 2 (Oct. 6 at N.Y.): Yankees 7, Twins 6 (12 innings)

The loss that started it all was a serious gut punch for the Twins. After a 2-0 win in Game 1 of the series, Minnesota staged a two-run rally in the eighth inning off Rivera to tie Game 2. In the 12th inning, a Torii Hunter homer off Tanyon Sturtze gave the Twins a 6-5 lead. But Joe Nathan, in his third inning of work, ran out of gas, issuing one-out walks to Miguel Cairo and Jeter before a ground-rule double by A-Rod tied it. J.C. Romero replaced Nathan, who threw 53 pitches, and on Romero's first pitch, Hideki Matsui hit a line drive to right that brought Jeter home for the winning run. Instead of leaving New York with a 2-0 series lead, the Twins were on a road to postseason ruin they wouldn't be able to exit for at least 15 years.