Sydney Thunder have signed England batsman Alex Hales for the upcoming BBL season.

Just a day after it was announced that AB de Villiers would be joining Brisbane Heat, the Thunder have signed Hales to bolster their top order.

The Thunder had Jos Buttler and Joe Root for the early part of the tournament last season but both had to depart halfway through due to international duty. Hales joins South African allrounder Chris Morris as the overseas signings at the Thunder this season.

ALSO READ: Darren Lehmann hopeful AB de Villiers will play multiple seasons in BBL

He is currently out of favour with the England side and appears unlikely to be part of England's tour to South Africa which takes place during the BBL having not been handed a white-ball central contract for the next year following his axing from the World Cup.

He has already played for the Melbourne Renegades, Adelaide Strikers, and Hobart Hurricanes in the BBL but has not appeared since 2015.

"I really can't wait to return to the Big Bash," Hales said. "It's such a hugely respected tournament around the world. The standard of cricket is amazing and any chance you get to visit Australia and play over there is amazing, so I'm really looking forward to it.

"Sydney Thunder is the full package. Sydney is one of the best cities in the world, getting the chance to work with Shane Bond - who is a highly respected coach - and it's a young club, so hopefully, I can be part of building a successful family there. As an opener, you want to be one of the leading run-scorers, so that's definitely one of my aims."

Hales is coming off an excellent season with Nottinghamshire in the T20 Blast where he made 418 runs in 12 innings at a strike-rate of 140.26, including five half-centuries, to help them reach the semi-final. Thunder coach Shane Bond was delighted to get a player of his calibre.

"He's one of the best T20 batters in the world. To have someone of his quality available for the whole tournament for us is a great pick up," Bond said. "I spent a little bit of time with him at the Mumbai Indians and came up against him when I coached New Zealand and he smacked us a number of times.

"He's one of the most destructive batters, is an outstanding fielder and is also obviously a highly experienced player. He's highly respected at Notts and does a great job with their young players. With players like Sangha, Gilkes, and Davies, to have someone who has been there and done that, Alex has played in leagues all around the world and is an outstanding batsman in this format. To have someone like him to learn off is perfect.

"Obviously Alex is on the outer with the England squad at the moment, but I think he's still got a lot to offer so hopefully this is another chance for him to show his maturity and make a claim for the T20 World Cup next year."

ESPNcricinfo's live updates and analysis on the first India v South Africa Test, in Visakhapatnam. If the blog doesn't load for you straightaway, please refresh your page.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins offered a mea culpa to receiver Adam Thielen after he failed to connect with his teammate on a handful of plays during Minnesota's 16-6 loss at Chicago in Week 4.

Thielen was a guest on Cousins' weekly show "Under Center with Kirk Cousins" that airs on KFAN, the team's flagship radio station. Moderated by Minnesota Hall of Fame broadcaster Mark Rosen, Cousins was asked whether he took offense to the comments Thielen made following the loss about needing to complete deep-ball passes and execute plays in the passing game when the Vikings aren't able to run the ball successfully.

"No, like he said, it's reality," Cousins said. "I really want to apologize to him because there's too many opportunities where we could have hit him on Sunday and postgame. And I talk to the media, I always say until I watch the film, it's hard for me to really give you a straight answer. Well, now it's Tuesday night. I've watched the film. And the reality is there were opportunities for him."

The play that stood out most to Cousins was a pass he overthrew to Thielen on third-and-10 near the end of the first quarter. The receiver created separation from his defender and outstretched his arms for a ball that would've resulted in a touchdown had the throw been completed.

"He's shown -- No. 19's shown -- that he will make that play, and he'll probably finish that play in the end zone and pull away from the defender," Cousins said. "Adam's not just a really good player or one of the best players on the Vikings. He's one of the best players in the NFL, one of the best players in the world, period, regardless of position. We want to, we need to -- and when I saw 'we,' really I mean I need to -- get him more opportunities, get him the football.

"There's a couple as I go back and watch it, a dagger, a corner post, a fade throw in the end zone where I can make it easier on him, give him opportunities. Yes, was the Bears' front seven really good? Yes. Did they make plays on the back end occasionally? Yes. But I didn't help things with giving him more opportunities. If we run the ball successfully, if we run the ball more consistently, so be it. But when we do take our shots or we have our chances, we've got to hit them. The reality was I didn't, we didn't, and that's where I think you're frustrated after a game, and you're looking to improve going into the next week."

Thielen clarified his postgame comments on KFAN on Tuesday and said he was speaking in a broad sense -- not critiquing Cousins or playcalling -- when asked after the loss about finding other ways to generate offense when the team's run-first approach isn't working.

"First of all, I think it's interesting how media or fans take things that you say and make it what they want it to be," Thielen said. "I don't think I could say anything more generic that any offense would say. You can't be one-dimensional in this league. It's very, very, very difficult to win. If you listen to defensive coordinators talk, they want to make the offense one-dimensional, and that's how they want to win.

"You have to hit deep balls, No. 1, because otherwise corners sit on you. You have to be able to run the football when you need to, and you have to be able to throw the football because like Kirk said, some games are going to dictate that you have to throw the ball to win, some games are going to dictate that you have to run the ball to win, and it doesn't matter how you do it, as long as you are doing the things you need to do to win. It was as general as I could've got, but obviously people will find a way to twist it and make controversy and try to split your team. We're not going to let that happen."

Thielen finished with two catches for 6 yards, his lowest output since the 2015 season.

Although Cousins has been criticized for up-and-down play through Minnesota's first four game, especially after he routinely left his receivers open downfield and settled for a checkdown play in Chicago, the quarterback brought his focus back to igniting the passing game when the Vikings face the New York Giants on the road in Week 5.

"I look forward to giving him and Stefon [Diggs] more opportunities in the weeks ahead," Cousins said.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Of all the additions the Los Angeles Lakers made this offseason, it's two centers -- Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee -- who are standing out the most to first-year coach Frank Vogel.

"Our centers have really impressed me," Vogel said Tuesday at the conclusion of his team's sixth practice session through the first four days of camp. "Both Dwight and JaVale."

The most heralded acquisition, of course, was DeMarcus Cousins, the 10-year veteran whom L.A. plucked from Golden State after he spent the bulk of last season rehabbing a torn Achilles as a member of the Warriors. His injuries persisted after signing with the Lakers, as he suffered a torn ACL in his left knee in August while playing an offseason pickup game.

Cousins has been present at the Lakers facility for practices but hasn't participated in any on-court work with his team, instead using the time to rehabilitate. On Sunday, he walked laps around the perimeter of both courts at the UCLA Health Training Center, quipping to a team staffer, "You see me power walking?" On Tuesday, he rode the exercise bike before embarking on his laps.

Cousins is facing a misdemeanor domestic violence charge after allegedly threatening his ex-girlfriend and the mother of his 7-year-old son during a phone call this summer.

An NBA spokesman refuted a TMZ report Tuesday that NBA officials are working with the Mobile (Alabama) Police Department to coordinate a surrender date for Cousins.

"It is categorically untrue that the NBA reached out to the Mobile Police Department to facilitate DeMarcus Cousins' surrender," NBA spokesman Mike Bass told ESPN.

Legal concerns aside, Cousins' injury will keep him out for the entire 2019-20 season. The Lakers were granted a $1.75 million disabled player exception (half of Cousins' salary), which they must use by March 10 on a replacement player, or it will expire.

In the meantime, L.A. has McGee -- re-signed to a two-year, $4.2 million deal after averaging a career-high 12 points last season along with 7.5 rebounds and two blocks per game for the Lakers -- and Howard -- signed to a nonguaranteed $2.6 million veteran's minimum contract after impressing in a workout set up after Cousins went down -- to fill the void.

"JaVale's performing at a really high level," Vogel continued. "Dwight Howard has been all business since he came in this time around. We're asking our whole group to have a seriousness about ourselves. He's been an all-business type of guy. It's really helped us to be focused and working on the task at hand."

So far, both players have had the chance to play alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis -- Vogel's only two confirmed starters at this point -- as the coach tries to find a first five he likes.

ATLANTA -- Braves left-hander Dallas Keuchel will face Cardinals right-hander Miles Mikolas in Game 1 of the National League Division Series on Thursday night.

Each team announced its starting pitcher on Tuesday.

Keuchel, who has nine career postseason starts, went 8-8 with a 3.75 ERA in 19 starts after signing a one-year deal with Atlanta. He will face the Cardinals for the first time since 2016.

Mikolas was 9-14 with a 4.17 ERA in 32 starts for the Cardinals. He will make his postseason debut.

WASHINGTON -- At 11:24 p.m. on Tuesday, less than half an hour after Trent Grisham committed the error that cost the Milwaukee Brewers their season, the man he replaced approached his locker in the visiting clubhouse at Nationals Park. Christian Yelich, the reigning National League MVP, slapped Grisham on the shoulder with his right hand, leaned in, gave him a hug and whispered words of solace into his ear.

Grisham, the rookie who took over right field for the Brewers after Yelich suffered a season-ending kneecap fracture, nodded silently. As much as he appreciated the gesture, it couldn't lessen the pain of what had happened.

The Brewers were barreling toward a National League Division Series showdown against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Then after ace reliever Josh Hader loaded the bases, Washington Nationals outfielder Juan Soto ripped a single to right field that took a sideways hop, skipped past Grisham, cleared the bases and propelled the Nationals to a 4-3 victory in the NL wild-card game.

Grisham was crestfallen. A season that had begun at Double-A and continued with him leading off for the Brewers in his first playoff game ended in one of the cruelest possible fashions, with Grisham wondering what could've been, what should've been.

"It's going to sting. It's going to sting for a long time," Grisham said. "Essentially gifting the Nationals a divisional berth. It's going to hurt. And I expect it to hurt when I debrief and go into the offseason."

The 22-year-old, a first-round pick in 2015, had distinguished himself with a combination of power, patience and solid defense since his Aug. 1 debut. While the game-tying run was likely to score on Soto's single, the go-ahead run in Anthony Rendon easily came home as Grisham scurried to chase the ball that had gone by him.

"That's part of playing in these games," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. "And it's disappointing, and I'm sure Trent is disappointed. But for all these guys, Trent's why we're here. Trent got us here. Big part of getting us here. The inning was an ugly inning. Crazy things happen."

Grisham faulted himself for his approach on the play. He charged the ball too quickly, he said, and didn't break down to get into position to field it. When the ball hit the ground, it took a slight leftward hop past the glove of the left-handed Grisham.

"At the end of the game, when getting down to six, five, four outs to go, of course you feel all that pressure," he said. "It's exciting. You want to live in those moments and live up to those expectations.

"I don't think it got to me at all. I just ended up making an error. It's not my first. It's not going to be my last. It just happened that way."

In the clubhouse after the game, teammates streamed to Grisham's locker to console him and thank him for his work in 2019. From Sept. 6-26, the Brewers won 18 of 20 games, including 13 of 15 without Yelich, to leapfrog the Chicago Cubs and secure the second wild-card slot.

"These baseball seasons are sacred," Counsell said. "You think that you don't get many of them, and you don't get many chances like this. And I'm so proud of the way we battled and the urgency that we played with and how together we became, better than anybody thought we could be."

On Tuesday, they weren't good enough to beat the Nationals, something Grisham will take into the winter as he prepares for his first full season in the major leagues.

"It hurt. It wasn't ideal. It's not how you want your first playoff game to go," he said. "We expected to win. There's all kinds of thoughts and emotions running through your head. It just kind of stings right now."

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- It doesn't usually happen like this. October is the month in which misfortune attaches itself to the Washington Nationals. They are the ones who lose in the postseason in excruciating fashion. Games like Tuesday's National League wild-card barnburner happen to them, not in their favor.

Maybe, then, this is a different Nationals team. All it took was a hit by pitch, a broken-bat single, a walk, a single and a timely error by the Milwaukee Brewers, all in the eighth inning, to erase a two-run deficit and send the Nationals to the division series with a 4-3 victory in front of 42,993 at Nationals Park. They advance to face the Los Angeles Dodgers, with left-hander Patrick Corbin expected to start Game 1 on Thursday.

For seven innings, the Nationals' offense was inert against the Brewers' stalwart pitching. When Milwaukee closer Josh Hader entered for a two-inning save in the eighth inning, it looked as if more of the same would come.

Then pinch hitter Michael A. Taylor reached on a controversial hit by pitch that looked as though it might have hit his bat before his wrist; pinch hitter Ryan Zimmerman poked a single into center as his bat shattered; Anthony Rendon drew a full-count walk; and 20-year-old Juan Soto stepped to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded.

Soto ripped a single into right field that was certain to score two runs. Rookie right fielder Trent Grisham -- in for injured reigning MVP Christian Yelich -- charged the ball and missed it. Rendon hustled home, staking the Nationals a 4-3 lead.

Daniel Hudson, acquired in a trade-deadline deal, secured the final three outs and locked down the win for the Nationals and Stephen Strasburg, who had come on for three brilliant innings of relief.

For the fifth time in eight seasons, the Nationals earned a playoff berth. The previous four times they had lost in the division series after winning the NL East. Their first wild-card game didn't exactly start as desired, either.

Only seven pitches into the game, the Brewers took a 2-0 lead on a Yasmani Grandal line-drive home run to right field off Max Scherzer. They tacked on another run the next inning when Eric Thames homered to center.

The Nationals answered back in the third, when Trea Turner pummeled a 98 mph fastball from Brewers starter Brandon Woodruff into the Milwaukee bullpen in left-center field. It was the closest Washington would come all night to hitting the Brewers' relief pitchers -- until the eighth.

Soft-tossing left-hander Brent Suter worked out of a two-on jam on the fifth inning. Lefty Drew Pomeranz, acquired at the trade deadline, worked a pair of scoreless innings. On came Hader, hoping to send the Brewers to Los Angeles for a rematch of last season's NL Championship Series.

Instead, it was the Nationals -- finally the Nationals -- doing the celebrating.

One of the most interesting people in motorsports took some time to share stories and insight on The Ralph Sheheen Show Presented by Lucas Oil. Danny Sullivan, the 1985 Indianapolis 500 winner, has had a fascinating open-wheel racing career ranging from Formula One to IndyCar with a lot in between. And it all began as a taxi driver on the streets of New York City. Now that’s a unique path to the Tyrrell Formula One team and Penske Racing!

Catch this week’s full episode on SPEEDSPORT.com or download the podcast on SoundCloud, iTunes, Stitcher, iHeart Radio or Spotify.

LAS VEGAS – The PGA Tour returns to Las Vegas for the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, where Bryson DeChambeau will look to defend his title against the strongest field of the fall slate. Here are marquee groupings for this week at TPC Summerlin.

7:10 a.m. Thursday, 12 p.m. Friday: Kevin Na, Phil Mickelson, Tony Finau

The Las Vegas stop was a fixture on Mickelson’s schedule in the 1990s and early 2000s, but he’s been away for 14 years. He’ll make his first start since 2005 as he looks to bounce back from a missed cut in Napa and make a late case for a Presidents Cup pick. Finau is making his sixth straight start in the desert and is likewise looking to impress captain Tiger Woods in his season debut. Na won this event in 2011 and lost in a seven-way playoff in 2015 but has otherwise missed the cut or withdrawn in four of his last five trips to Summerlin. 

7:20 a.m. Thursday, 12:10 p.m. Friday: Brooks Koepka, Gary Woodland, Adam Scott

World No. 1 Koepka is making his season debut and returns to the Shriners after two years away. From 2013-2016, he recorded a runner-up, a tie for fourth and two missed cuts. The reigning U.S. Open champ Woodland was T-18 and T-10 in 2017 and 2018, respectively, and rounded out last year’s event with a final-round 63. Scott spent his brief college career at nearby UNLV and is playing this event for the first time.

12 p.m. Thursday, 7:10 a.m. Friday: Joaquin Niemann, Matthew Wolff, Collin Morikawa

A trio of newly minted PGA Tour winners all aged 22 or younger. Wolff took last season’s 3M Open, Morikawa the Barracuda, and Niemann this season’s Sanderson Farms. All three players managed to wrap up full-time status on Tour in limited starts as non-members, with Niemann doing so via points in 2017-18. Wolff is making his season debut, which Morikawa got out of the way last week with a top-10 in Napa. 

12:10 p.m. Thursday, 7:20 a.m. Friday: Patrick Cantlay, Bryson DeChambeau, Webb Simpson

A collection of three past champions and the last two winners here at Summerlin. DeChambeau edged Cantlay last year thanks in large part to a late eagle at the par-5 16^th. He was the only player keeping Cantlay from a successful defense of his maiden PGA Tour victory, which he earned in a wind-swept playoff with Alex Cejka and Whee Kim back in 2017. Simpson rolled to a six-shot victory and a 24-under total back in 2013.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino said his side must "stay all together" following their 7-2 shock defeat to Bayern Munich in Champions League group stage action.

The disastrous result at Tottenham Hotspur stadium on Tuesday night was the club's worst home defeat in European action, thanks in part to Serge Gnabry's four-goal performance.

- Spurs ratings: Defensive woes exposed in Bayern beating

Runners-up in last season's final, Spurs looked a shell of themselves as the five-time European champions put on a clinic behind Gnarby's big night and Robert Lewandowski's brace.