Real Madrid forward Eden Hazard has said he is not affected by criticism but admitted he can produce much better performances for the club.

Hazard missed the first three La Liga games through injury but since his return, he has failed to demonstrate the form that made Madrid spend an initial £88.5 million to sign him from Chelsea in the summer.

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The forward said he is back to full fitness and asked for patience as he attempts to get back to his best.

"I feel good and strong," he told a news conference ahead of Real Madrid's Champions League match against Club Brugge on Tuesday. "It's true that people expect a lot from me and so do I. I can do better. I'm critical of myself and I'm working every day to achieve great things because we have a great squad.

"We're top of the league. Right now, I'm 100% fit and I hope to give my best in the upcoming matches.

"Like I said in my first press conference, I'm still not a galactico, I have to be the one to prove that I can become one.

"We all know the last No. 7 at this club and I have to be the one who proves I can be the best in the world, to enjoy myself and give my all not just in matches but training too. I don't doubt myself, I'm confident. Right now, I'm only lacking the goals and being more decisive. Football is all about confidence."

Hazard was unable to prevent Madrid losing 3-0 against Paris Saint-Germain in their opening Champions League game but he hopes his home debut in the competition can be better.

"I can see my debut consisting of lots of goals and an important victory," he added.

"It's not going to be an easy match, it'll be tough. After losing in Paris, we have no choice but to win tomorrow. "Brugge are a great team, top of their league and doing a great job.

"They have quality players. Having [Simon] Mignolet is a great reference. They are going to try to win the match. Don't think that it will be an easy match because it's a Belgian team."

Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane defended Hazard and pointed out that he experienced difficulties adapting to Italian football when he signed for Juventus in 1996.

"The same thing happened to me," he told a news conference. "I'm relaxed, I knew it was going to take time for him to adapt and it was worse when I moved to Italy because it took me three months, but less in Madrid.

"Hazard is the same, I know that he's going to succeed here and the most important thing is to calmly accompany him and we'll definitely see an improvement.

"I'm not going to give him any advice on how to play or where he has to be. We know him as a player, he's important for us and we love Eden. It's good that he's not going to change. I'm not worried because I know he'll be very good and we have to be patient with new players."

Former United States men's coach Jurgen Klinsmann has said Christian Pulisic needs to become "nasty" to succeed at Chelsea.

Klinsmann, who oversaw Pulisic's development at national level, said he admired the 21-year-old's decision to move from Borussia Dortmund to England, but acknowledged the winger must do more to fit into the Premier League.

"You never know it's the right fit unless you do it," Klinsmann said.

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"Christian did well to say: 'I'm going to throw myself in another cold water, go over to London and throw myself in the Premier League, and I have to fight through the system there.' So that's what he's in.

"He's a very special player, he's tremendously talented, but this is a big step, because Borussia Dortmund was also basically the club where he got formed into a professional player.

"He came out of the youth system there, he moved himself up, he had all the support within the club and now going to London -- also to one of the biggest clubs in the world -- you got to bring your elbows out."

Pulisic spoke this week about his frustration at his lack of playing time at Chelsea, but Klinsmann said he believed he has the ability to fight for a place in Frank Lampard's team.

"He will go through a phase now where more and more he needs to bring his elbows out to fight himself through the system there," Klinsmann said. "Can he do it? Yes, absolutely he can do it, but you need to be patient too, sometimes you forget he's a very young player.

"You're basically in a daily competition. Maybe in Dortmund he knew: 'I established myself already within the club to be a very special player. I get my minutes in, I get my games in, I'm a starter most of the time.'

"You don't have that automatic assurance at Chelsea. At Chelsea it goes from game to game, week to week. You're basically in training and you have to tell the coach: 'I'm in, I'm going to start this game.' So it's a little bit more cold, it's a bit more nasty.

"What I mean with the elbows is that you have to become nasty in order to make yourself a starter."

Pulisic signed for Chelsea from Borussia Dortmund in January, but was immediately loaned back to the Bundesliga side before joining the Blues this summer. ESPN+ will be the new home of the Bundesliga in the United States after reaching a multi-year agreement that will begin in August of 2020. The deal will include more than 300 top-flight games each season on ESPN+ and ESPN networks, as well as live streams of the DFL Supercup and relegation playoffs matches.

Pulisic joined Chelsea for a fee of £54 million and has not yet scored in six appearances for the club in all competitions, but Klinsmann emphasised the player's ability, which he said he saw from a young age.

"He got the European passport because of the Croatian roots within his family," Klinsmann said. "There was a little bit of a fear -- he got the chance to play for Dortmund because the European passport was there, but we also wanted to make sure that he was in the U.S. forever.

"He assured us: 'No worries at all.' But we made sure, so we played him very early as a 17-year-old just to lock him in. When you see this type of a talent, even if he's only 16 or 17-years-old... I saw him at 15 in Florida at one of these showcase tournaments in December, where and two or three other kids were then brought over to Europe and left the United States at a very early age.

"When you see that type of talent, you got to make sure that he's playing then for your national team. He evolved exactly the way we wished him to evolve."

ESPN+ will be the new home of the Bundesliga in the United States after reaching a multi-year agreement that will begin in August 2020.

The deal will include more than 300 top-flight games each season on ESPN+ and ESPN networks, as well as live streams of the DFL Supercup and relegation playoff matches.

The league has become a go-to destination for young American talent in recent years, boasting the likes of U.S. internationals Weston McKennie (FC Schalke 04), Tyler Adams (RB Lepzig), Zack Steffen, and Josh Sargent (Werder Bremen).

"With a strong connection to the American soccer community, a growing audience in the U.S. and some of the most well-known clubs and players in the world, the addition of the Bundesliga further cements ESPN+ as a must-have for any soccer fan," ESPN+ Executive Vice President and General Manager Russell Wolff said in a statement.

When asked why the league has become so attractive to the brightest young U.S. stars, former USMNT boss and Bundesliga spokesman Jurgen Klinsmann told ESPN: "I think the Bundesliga is a league that traditionally always gives a chance to young players coming through the ranks.

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"It's always based on performance. When an American player comes overseas and he performs, he gets a chance to play. There's not much politics involved, the coaches are usually pretty straight forward and so if the kid understands 'it's all down to my performance and I get a chance,' then the Bundesliga is the place to be."

The agreement will also feature rights to highlights which will be available across ESPN programming, on the ESPN App and ESPN.com.

Bundesliga International CEO Robert Klein said the partnership is a perfect lead-in to the 2026 World Cup which will be staged in the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

"[ESPN] will help us build on the strong connections the Bundesliga has with the U.S. having welcomed more American players than any other European league," he said.

"Germany will continue to be an important source of talent for future US national teams and with ESPN we're incredibly excited to take fans on their journey in the lead up to their home World Cup in 2026."

The penultimate week of the MLS season delivered plenty of the weird and wild that we've come to expect from a league that values parity over everything else. Even a historically great team is having a bit of trouble seeing out the regular season (though, to be fair, LAFC doesn't have a lot left to play for.)

The upshot of the week is that we head into Decision Day with plenty of weirdness still available. Sure, all of the Eastern Conference playoff spots are spoken for, but getting a home playoff game in the new format is kind of a big deal.

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Out West, the land of wide-open spaces -- we're looking at you, Galaxy back line -- there are still two playoff spots unclaimed and four teams still in the hunt. We're rubbing our hands together and cackling with glee over the possibilities. The playoffs are on the line, after all. So, without further ado, for the second-to-the-last time ... RANK.

Previous rankings: Week 29 | Week 28 | Week 27 | Week 26 | Week 25 | Week 24 | Week 23 | Week 22 | Week 21 | Week 20 | Week 19 | Week 18 | Week 17 | Week 16 | Week 15 | Week 14 | Week 13 | Week 12 | Week 11 | Week 10 | Week 9 | Week 8 | Week 7 | Week 6 | Week 5 | Week 4 | Week 3 | Week 2 | Week 1

1. LAFC (20 wins, 9 draws, 4 losses)

Previous ranking: 2

Next MLS match: Sunday vs. Colorado, (4 p.m. ET, stream live on ESPN+)

On Sunday, Carlos Vela scored goal No. 31 of the season to tie Josef Martinez's record, but the bigger story might be LAFC's inability to win down the stretch. Wednesday's victory over Houston doesn't do much to quell the chatter that Bob Bradley's team looks nothing like the invincible side we saw for much of the season, especially after the draw with Minnesota.

2. New York City FC (17-10-6)

Previous ranking: 1

Next MLS match: Sunday at Philadelphia, (4 p.m. ET, stream live on ESPN+)

The Pigeons scored a win against Atlanta but looked less good against New England on Sunday. That said, they were good enough to hold on to No. 1 spot in the East (though not in these rankings), NYCFC claimed top seed a week early thanks to Columbus' win over Philadelphia.

3. Atlanta United (17-4-12)

Previous ranking: 4

Next MLS match: Sunday vs. New England (4 p.m. ET, stream live on ESPN+)

After losing in New York on Wednesday, the test for the Five Stripes was to prove they could win without Josef Martinez. They didn't do that, but they did pick up a point and pull ahead of Philly on the tiebreaker for second in the Eastern Conference. Confidence is still a question.

4. Philadelphia Union (16-7-10)

Previous ranking: 3

Next MLS match: Sunday vs. NYCFC (4 p.m. ET, stream live on ESPN+)

While Atlanta was playing to a disappointing draw with the Impact, Philly had a chance to consolidate second place in the Eastern Conference. Instead, the Union took one of those losses fans can only hope doesn't portend a dip in form at exactly the wrong time.

5. Minnesota United (15-8-10)

Previous ranking: 8

Next MLS match: Sunday at Seattle (4 p.m. ET, stream live on ESPN+)

The Loons closed out their home schedule with a win against Sporting KC and a strong performance against LAFC; they will now have a chance to secure the second seed in the West on the road in Seattle next week. There's not much more you could ask for as a United fan in 2019.

6. Toronto FC (12-11-10)

Previous ranking: 5

Next MLS match: Sunday vs. Columbus (4 p.m. ET, stream live on ESPN+)

The difference between a win and a draw on Sunday against the Fire for TFC was the difference between going into Decision Day holding a top four spot and fighting to climb over two teams for one on the final day. The Reds are now counting on Montreal and FC Cincinnati to play spoiler... it's far from ideal.

7. Seattle Sounders (15-8-10)

Previous ranking: 9

Next MLS match: Sunday vs. Minnesota (4 p.m. ET, stream live on ESPN+)

A late Jordan Morris tally in San Jose sets up a massive showdown with Minnesota United on Decision Day with second place in the West on the line. Tip of our cap (it's a bowler, FYI) to Morris, who has bounced back from missing all of 2018 with a 10-goal season.

8. D.C. United (13-10-10)

Previous ranking: 6

Next MLS match: Sunday vs. FC Cincinnati (4 p.m. ET, stream live on ESPN+)

File the performance in New Jersey under "good enough" for United, save for one fact (more on that in a second). The draw gives United the inside track for a home playoff game going into Decision Day vs. Cincinnati. The only problem? Wayne Rooney will miss the game due to suspension for picking up a yellow card.

9. New England Revolution (11-12-10)

Previous ranking: 11

Next MLS match: Sunday at Atlanta (4 p.m. ET, stream live on ESPN+)

The Revs made the playoffs. They'll be going on the road in the first round, but the fact that they're in at all is remarkable. We'll leave it to noted wordsmith Bruce Arena to sum up the achievement with a quote following the win over New York: "As they say, [expletive] happens."

10. Colorado Rapids (12-6-15)

Previous ranking: 15

Next MLS match: Sunday at LAFC (4 p.m. ET, stream live on ESPN+)

The Rapids are clinging to their playoff chances by a fingernail, and it's going to be really difficult not to root for them on Decision Day. Considering the historically poor start to the season Colorado had, just being in the hunt on the last day of the regular season is a Rocky Mountain miracle.

11. Real Salt Lake (15-5-13)

Previous ranking: 12

Next MLS match: Sunday at Vancouver (4 p.m. ET, stream live on ESPN+)

The MLS team most likely to be the subject of a telenovela secured a playoff spot Sunday with a win over Houston following a midweek loss to the Galaxy. Considering all the "outs" happening in Utah, for the team on the field to chalk up an "in" is something of an upset.

12. LA Galaxy (16-3-14)

Previous ranking: 7

Next MLS match: Sunday at Houston (4 p.m. ET, stream live on ESPN+)

At RSL, Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored his 28th goal of the season to secure a playoff berth; against Vancouver on Sunday he scored his 29th, but the defence didn't hold up its end of the bargain against the Whitecaps as a late goal in the 4-3 defeat pushed the Galaxy from third place to fourth in the West. GACK. Double gack. So much gack.

13. New York Red Bulls (14-6-13)

Previous ranking: 10

Next MLS match: Sunday at Montreal (4 p.m. ET, stream live on ESPN+)

All that momentum coming in and all the Red Bulls could manage was a goalless draw with DC United. New York now needs to beat Montreal and have DC to fall to Cincinnati on Decision Day to get a home game at Red Bull Arena in the first round of the playoffs.

14. Portland Timbers (13-7-13)

Previous ranking: 13

Next MLS match: Sunday vs. San Jose (4 p.m. ET, watch live on ESPN)

The Timbers are never boring, that much is certain. A wild and angry affair in Kansas City ended in a draw, which means Portland will play the Quakes on the final day of the season with their playoff lives in their hands, but without the suspended Brian Fernandez.

15. FC Dallas (12-9-12)

Previous ranking: 14

Next MLS match: Sunday vs. Sporting (4 p.m. ET, stream live on ESPN+)

With no wins in four, a 3-0 hammering by Colorado made it another bad week in Texas. But they're still in contention for a West playoff spot. Just.

16. Columbus Crew (10-8-15)

Previous ranking: 18

Next MLS match: Sunday at Toronto (4 p.m. ET, stream live on ESPN+)

It was a season of mild disappointment and brighter silver linings for the Crew. The ultra-competitive Caleb Porter is naturally disappointed in missing the playoffs but with new ownership and the excitement of a stadium under construction, 2020 figures to be better.

17. San Jose Earthquakes (13-5-15)

Previous ranking: 16

Next MLS match: Sunday at Portland (4 p.m. ET, watch live on ESPN)

The Quakes will have a chance to make the playoffs on Decision Day, but it's hard not to think about how much grief they could have saved themselves if they had avoided the late season nosedive. Now a trip to Portland looms with everything on the line.

18. Vancouver Whitecaps (8-10-15)

Previous ranking: 19

Next MLS match: Sunday vs. RSL (4 p.m. ET, stream live on ESPN+)

The feisty Caps from last week stayed feisty on Sunday, pulling out a win against the Galaxy and potentially spoiling Zlatan & Co.'s chances at a home playoff game. That's something!

19. Chicago Fire (9-12-12)

Previous ranking: 17

Next MLS match: Sunday at Orlando (4 p.m. ET, stream live on ESPN+)

The dream died for the Fire a week before the end of the regular season, but there's plenty to look forward to in the offseason. The Fire need to start packing for the move back to Soldier Field, so they're probably out hunting for boxes as we speak.

20. Orlando City (9-10-14)

Previous ranking: 21

Next MLS match: Sunday vs. Chicago (4 p.m. ET, stream live on ESPN+)

A late equalizer against FC Cincinnati saved the Lions from an embarrassing defeat but it couldn't save them from being eliminated from playoff contention. Yet another season, yet another repetition of the question, "What now?"

21. Houston Dynamo (11-4-18)

Previous ranking: 20

Next MLS match: Sunday vs. LA Galaxy (4 p.m. ET, stream live on ESPN+)

Neither LAFC nor RSL was having any of this "Zombie Houston" business.

22. Sporting Kansas City (10-8-15)

Previous ranking: 22

Next MLS match: Sunday at FC Dallas (4 p.m. ET, stream live on ESPN+)

The performance by Sporting on Sunday was "spirited," which is better than the alternative. Roger Espinoza set a record ... for most red cards in an MLS career.

23. FC Cincinnati (6-5-22)

Previous ranking: 23

Next MLS match: Sunday at DC United (4 p.m. ET, stream live on ESPN+)

One more game to go before FCC is no longer a first-year MLS franchise struggling to figure it out. The bad news is that Cincinnati now holds the record for most goals conceded in an MLS season after letting in an equalizer to Orlando City.

24. Montreal Impact (11-5-17)

Previous ranking: 24

Next MLS match: Sunday vs. Red Bulls (4 p.m. ET, stream live on ESPN+)

We regret to inform you that the Montreal Impact season is now deceased.

Western Australia 6 for 210 (Shaun Marsh 82, Nair 2-18) beat New South Wales 7 for 235 (Hughes 112*, Henriques 75, Coulter-Nile 3-47) by eight runs (DLS method)

Nathan Coulter-Nile and Andrew Tye used all their experience to secure Western Australia a nail-biting eight-run win over New South Wales on the DLS method to put them top of the Marsh Cup table.

For much of the afternoon, it looked as though Daniel Hughes would take New South Wales to victory as they chased a DLS target of 244 following a two-hour rain delay during Western Australia's innings. However, when his 142-run stand with Moises Henriques was broken in the 24th over, the rest of New South Wales' middle order could not quite keep up the tempo, leaving Hughes' 112 off 96 balls in vain.

Following a sluggish start to the chase, which included Jack Edwards being caught at point, New South Wales were never comfortably ahead of the rate despite the crisp stroke play of Hughes and Henriques, which meant that when wickets started to fall, Western Australia were back in the game.

Coulter-Nile had Henriques caught in the deep and then returned to bowl his last two overs in the closing stages, removing Daniel Sams and Nick Bertus in the process as the equation swung further in Western Australia's favour.

It came down to New South Wales needing 14 off the last over and that proved too many against Tye, who conceded just five - despite bowling a wide - and claimed two wickets.

Western Australia had been solidly placed at 3 for 151 off 29.5 overs when the rain arrived and it lingered long enough to cause a significant reduction in the contest. On resumption, they did well to make 59 off the remaining 5.1 overs although New South Wales were hampered somewhat with Sean Abbott and Harry Conway having already bowled out.

Shaun Marsh had a half-century when the rain came and he added two more sixes to his tally after the break, one a huge pull, which went out of the ground, and the second a one-handed slice over backward point which he played from down on his back knee.

Henriques, who was entrusted with two of the death overs, struggled to land his attempted slower balls and was no-balled three times for big full tosses but the umpire did not rule them dangerous deliveries so he was able to continue bowling.

50 overs Pakistan 305 for 7 (Babar 115, Fakhar 54, Hasaranga 2-63) v Sri Lanka

Babar Azam produced another effortless hundred, Fakhar Zaman made a half-century, and the lower middle order gave the Pakistan innings the finish it deserved, to launch the hosts to an imposing 305 for 7.

Minus Lasith Malinga and Akila Dananjaya, Sri Lanka were toothless through the middle overs again, allowing a 111-run third-wicket stand between Babar and Haris Sohail to flourish, as Pakistan set themselves up beautifully for the last 10 overs. The visitors pulled themselves back into the game briefly by effecting a few dismissals through the early death overs, but Pakistan had enough batting on hand to hurt them in the end - Iftikhar Ahmed smashed 32* off 20 in his first ODI since 2015, as the hosts reaped 72 runs off the last seven overs.

Sri Lanka can at least take heart that although no ODIs have been played in Karachi for 10 years, it is not unheard of for teams to chase big at this venue - targets of over 300 having been successfully run down four times. Nevertheless, it will be a substantial challenge for their weakened top order.

On a flat surface, Babar didn't take long to get his big shots humming. He thumped his eleventh ball past mid-on to collect his first boundary, before launching Wanindu Hasaranga over the midwicket boundary next over. His striking would become more and more imperious as the innings wore on, and in between the singles and twos would be effortlessly collected.

At no stage did his innings ever look laboured. He got to fifty with a sumptuous cover drive, off the 55th delivery he faced, and then raised the tempo. His most productive over was the 34th of the innings, when he hit legspinner Hasaranga for two sixes over long-on. The hundred was brought up with a boundary as well - this one with a cut shot to the backward point boundary.

It was the 11th century of his career, his third against Sri Lanka, and the third of his last 11 innings, with four half-centuries and two scores of over 40 having been hit through that period as well. That he's a blinding limited-overs talent has been known for some years now, but in the last few months, Babar has suggested he is coming into a new, more-consistent period in his career.

He was eventually out for 115 off 105 balls - one of four batsmen to lose their wickets during the 40th and 49th overs, but as the stand between him and Haris had brought Pakistan coasting to 214 for 2 after 39 overs, Pakistan had resources to burn at the death. It seemed for a while that Pakistan would not quite breach 300, but Iftikhar struck two sixes off two of Nuwan Pradeep's slower balls in the final over of the innings, in which the hosts plundered 20 runs.

Earlier, Fakhar had struck some eye-catching boundaries of his own, as he strode to 54 off 65 balls, putting on 73 for the first wicket alongside Imam-ul-Haq, in the process. That stand had been broken by Hasaranga, who despite copping punishment from Babar, was Sri Lanka's best bowler of the innings, also eventually taking the wicket of Fakhar to finish with figures of 2 for 63. Isuru Udana and Lahiru Kumara also claimed a wicket apiece. Sri Lanka effected three run outs in the last 11 overs of the innings.

Former BCCI president N Srinivasan has challenged Committee of Administrators' chairman Vinod Rai's assertion that the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) stands to be disqualified from attending the BCCI elections, scheduled for October 23, if its constitution is not amended in line with that of the board.

Srinivasan, also a former ICC chairman but not an official in either the TNCA or the BCCI anymore, argued that the CoA was attempting to force state associations to comply with the BCCI constitution as a "pressure ploy", but that would only mean members losing their legal rights.

"I, for one, am not able to connect the eligibility to vote as a Full Member in the AGM and amendments to the members' constitution unless the BCCI elections are being held as a pressure ploy to get the members to give up their legal rights and adopt a servient attitude," Srinivasan was quoted as saying by Sportstar on Sunday. "I'm reminded of a quote by Robert A. Heinlein: 'There is no worse tyranny than to force a man to pay for what he does not want merely because you think it would be good for him'."

Srinivasan, who was TNCA president for more than a decade, had to step down after the Supreme Court approved the RM Lodha Committee recommendations on structural reforms. However, last week, Rupa Gurunath, Srinivasan's daughter, became the first-ever woman to head an Indian state cricket association when she was unanimously elected as the new TNCA president.

"Abide by the directives of the CoA, or forfeit your right to vote in the AGM is not a stand which Mr Vinod Rai can take. He nor the CoA can substitute their wisdom for that of the Supreme Court" N Srinivasan

Rupa also happens to be the wife of Gurunath Meiyappan, a former official at Chennai Super Kings - owned by Srinivasan's India Cements - who was banned for life by the BCCI after it was established that he had breached the anti-corruption code.

On the same day the new TNCA administration took charge, the CoA told the TNCA that its constitution was not compliant with the BCCI's, with several eligibility criteria flouted. This was followed by an email by BCCI electoral officer N Gopalaswami sending out an email to all state associations stating that non-compliant members would not be allowed to attend the BCCI elections and the annual general meeting, and disqualified state representatives would not be able to participate in the board's polls. Rai reiterated the same.

According to Srinivasan, the final say on the matter can only be taken by the court, which had passed an order on September 20 allowing TNCA to conduct its polls, but said the results would be held in abeyance until its final order.

Srinivasan also said that P Narsimha, the amicus curiae who had been asked by the court to act as a mediator to facilitate the states to comply with its original order, had been "receptive" to the TNCA argument. "I'm told that the learned amicus curiae was receptive to many of the requests of the TNCA and has filed an interim report in court which is yet to be seen by the Supreme Court," Srinivasan said. "Therefore, abide by the directives of the CoA, or forfeit your right to vote in the AGM is not a stand which Mr Vinod Rai can take. He nor the CoA can substitute their wisdom for that of the Supreme Court."

Srinivasan said the court was yet to hear the TNCA case as well as the pleas of other states at length, so the CoA could not pass any diktat right away. "The CoA was told elections would go on and all matters would be decided later, including the outcome of the elections," Srinivasan said. "Earlier, the TNCA had made clear its stand on three basic issues: having at least two vice-presidents, one representing the 150 city club members and another from the 30 district associations, opposition to the applicability of eligibility criteria for committee members and the stipulation that for any amendment in future, the Supreme Court's approval was necessary."

Australia Women 1 for 87 beat Sri Lanka Women 8 for 84 by nine wickets

Australia women produced a dominant display in the field as Sri Lanka Women were overwhelmed in the second T20I at North Sydney Oval. The captain, Chamari Atapattu, could not match her heroics of the previous night as Sri Lanka managed just 8 for 85 which Australia knocked off with more than 10 overs to spare.

On a chilly evening under lights, Sri Lanka were never in the contest after electing to bat. Tayla Vlaeminck struck in a wicket-maiden opening over and Australia cut off Atapattu's favoured scoring areas more effectively than the previous night when she clubbed 113 off 66 balls. Any hope Sri Lanka had of posting a decent total disappeared when Atapattu was run out by a direct hit from Georgia Wareham in the 10th over.

Atapattu managed 12 fours and six sixes herself the day before, but this time the entire Sri Lanka innings featured just nine - with two coming off the final two deliveries - against an Australia outfit that were threatening throughout.

Delissa Kimmince (knee) and Ashleigh Gardner (hamstring) were rested and replaced by Nicola Carey and Erin Burns. Vlaeminck, handed the opening over in a change of tactics, was too quick for Yasoda Mendis, who swung widely and lost her off stump and Anushka Sanjeewani was cleaned up by Megan Schutt. The six-over powerplay brought 22 runs and included just three boundaries.

There was no let-up outside of the fielding restrictions as Australia's sharpness in the field stood out, typified by the direct hits by Wareham and Burns. Wareham's first two overs then cost just two runs, and included the wicket of Harshitha Madavi, after she was the seventh bowler used by Meg Lanning before Carey claimed her first T20I wicket by bowling Nilakshi de Silva.

Carey bowled her four overs for just nine runs and contributed one of three maidens in the innings - the most Australia have produced in a T20I. The stranglehold continued almost until the end, but Ama Kanchana managed three boundaries in the last two overs including dispatching the last two balls from Ellyse Perry.

Alyssa Healy, playing her 100th T20I, gave the chase a brisk start before falling to an outstanding catch as de Silva ran back from mid-on and held a steepling chance as she dived full length. Australia's fielding had been top draw, but that pipped everything.

Burns was given the chance to bat at No. 3, taking the chance with an unbeaten 30 off 18 balls, and Beth Mooney followed her century in the opening match with a neat 28 as victory came at a canter.

Pakistan allrounder Faheem Ashraf will return to Northamptonshire in 2020 after signing a deal for the first half of the season. He will be available to play in all formats ahead of Pakistan's tour of England later in the summer.

Faheem, 25, played for Northants during this year's Vitality Blast, taking 11 wickets in 11 matches with an economy of 8.11. The club hope he can play a role in their return to Division One of the County Championship next season, with head coach David Ripley describing Faheem as a "genuine threat" on flatter pitches.

"He's a little bit different bowling wise to what we currently have, he's got a little bit more pace, he's a swing bowler and he's got a batting average of 30 [in first-class cricket]," Ripley said. "I think the key element for Faheem is although we signed him for white-ball cricket this year it was pretty clear to see he could bat properly. He's played Test match cricket for Pakistan so he's a genuine three-formats cricketer."

Although he missed out on Pakistan's World Cup squad, Faheem has been a regular in the international set-up over the last couple of years. In all, he has played four Tests, 23 ODIs and 26 T20Is for his country.

"The fact he's got the extra pace is key, we've got a very fine group of seam bowlers that got us into Division One and that's not going to change," Ripley said. "But when it's a bit flatter and it's the last two days of the game and that little bit of nip has gone out of the wicket, someone with a bit of pace and swing and bowling yorkers, then I can see him being a genuine threat when the wickets are flatter.

"What the seam bowlers in Pakistan tend to have to do is find a way to get people out when those wickets are very flat and pretty slow. That's with swing, that's with yorkers and bouncers, that's with reverse swing."

One of the current core tenets of the NCAA's identity and business model will be illegal in the state of California starting in 2023.

Governor Gavin Newsom has signed into law the Fair Pay to Play Act, which says colleges in California cannot punish their athletes for collecting endorsement money.

Colleges reap billions from student athletes but block them from earning a single dollar. That's a bankrupt model.

I just signed the Fair Play to Pay Act with @KingJames -- making CA the first state to allow student athletes to profit off their name, image, and likeness. pic.twitter.com/aWE9OL9r1v

— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) September 30, 2019

The signing was hosted Monday morning by NBA superstar LeBron James and his multimedia platform The Uninterrupted. James tweeted that the bill will "change the lives of countless athletes who deserve it!"

I'm so incredibly proud to share this moment with all of you. @gavinnewsom came to The Shop to do something that will change the lives for countless athletes who deserve it! @uninterrupted hosted the formal signing for SB 206 allowing college athletes to responsibly get paid. pic.twitter.com/NZQGg6PY9d

— LeBron James (@KingJames) September 30, 2019

Advocates of the new law say Newsom's approval marks the most significant step in a decades-long battle to create new compensation options for NCAA student-athletes. The law, which is scheduled to go into effect in January 2023, does not require schools to pay athletes directly as employees. Instead, it makes it illegal for schools to prevent an athlete from earning money by selling the rights to his or her name, image or likeness to outside bidders.

The law also allows for college athletes to hire a licensed agent to represent them. The bill was amended several times, including a recent provision that prevents athletes from signing endorsement deals that conflict with their team's sponsors. For example, a basketball player could not wear Nike products during team events if he or she plays for a school that is sponsored by Under Armour.

Current NCAA rules do not allow players to accept any compensation related to their status as a college athlete from outside sources. The organization's board of governors and its president, Mark Emmert, both sent letters to California lawmakers earlier this year asking them not to pass the bill. Emmert called the bill an "existential threat" to the college sports model in a recent interview with CBS Sports.

NCAA Board of Governor's Chair Michael Drake told ESPN that the NCAA wants to "evolve" and "modernize" its approach to name, image and likeness rights, but fears that California's bill has the potential to blur an important distinction between professional leagues and amateur college sports.

"We're not the association of the 20th century," Drake said. "We need to make sure we have 21st century rules. We want to continue to change appropriately for the future."

The NCAA assembled a group of university presidents, athletic directors and conference commissioners earlier this year to examine ways it might update its current policies. That group is expected to report its findings to the board of governors at some point in October. Drake, who spoke to ESPN before Newsom signed the bill, said the NCAA preferred that California give the association time to adjust its rules to avoid a situation where schools in different states are operating with different rules.

State Senator Nancy Skinner, who first introduced the Fair Pay to Play Act in February, said she is also hoping change will occur on a national scale. She said the NCAA has had decades to update its rules and needs legislative pressure to be spurred into action. The NCAA has formed committees in the past, one in 1998, to review its compensation rules.

Skinner believes others will follow California's lead and said the law's authors intentionally delayed its implementation for three years to give others a chance to catch up. She said lawmakers from several state have contacted her office in recent months to ask about her proposal. Politicians in Washington state, Colorado, Maryland, North Carolina and South Carolina have publicly supported the idea of creating similar laws in their states.

U.S. Congressman Mark Walker (R -- N.C.) has proposed a change to federal tax code that would force the NCAA to choose between giving athletes the rights to their name, image and likeness or risk losing their tax-exempt non-profit status. A representative from Walker's office said the California law has given added momentum to their proposal, which is currently in the House Committee on Ways and Means in the early stages of the legislative process.

Arizona State football coach Herm Edwards told ESPN in August that he's not certain how he feels about the concept of college athletes making money in general, but hopes that other states would act to make sure California didn't have a different set of rules. Edwards, who competes against four California universities in the Pac-12 Conference, said the ability for athletes to make money would create a major recruiting advantage for schools in the Golden State.

"I would think that they would have to give it to the [entire] Pac-12," Edwards said. "You would hope it's not just the state of California with that policy."

Some athletic directors in California are concerned that the new law will actually put their schools at a recruiting disadvantage. If rules don't change nationally before 2023, the NCAA says California teams would be banned from taking part in NCAA competitions. San Diego State athletic director John David Wicker said he's concerned that no out-of-state schools will be willing to schedule games with his teams.

Wicker said if forced to choose between abiding by the state's law and following NCAA rules, he would likely follow NCAA rules.

"We are the NCAA, and so if we have rules that dictate that you can't monetize your name, image, and likeness based on the sport, and those student athletes do that, then they're going to be barred from competition until whatever is adjudicated," Wicker told ESPN in August. "...[T]he state of California doesn't regulate the NCAA in that sense."

In other words, if California and the NCAA remain at odds in 2023, the Fair Pay To Play Act will likely lead to lawsuits that will require a judge to decide how it can be enforced. The NCAA contends the new law is unconstitutional because it violates rules that protect interstate commerce.

Skinner said, however, that multiple legal experts have assured her that the bill is constitutional. Furthermore, she said the NCAA's assertion that it will ban California schools from future competition would violate federal antitrust laws.

"The NCAA has repeatedly lost anti-trust cases in courts throughout the nation," Skinner said. "As a result, threats are their primary weapon."

A series of lawsuits, many of them filed in California courthouses, have chipped away at the NCAA's compensation rules during the last decade. Former UCLA basketball player Ed O'Bannon filed a lawsuit in 2009 that eventually prompted the NCAA to allow schools to pay athletes "cost of attendance" stipends -- typically between $3,000 and $5,000 based on the school -- to offset the price of some education-related items not covered by a scholarship.

More recently, a judge ruled in March of this year that the NCAA couldn't place any cap on the benefits schools could provide to athletes as long as the benefits are related to education. The federal judge in that case said that includes paying for items like computers, science equipment [and] musical instruments.

The Fair Pay To Play Act breaks new ground by guaranteeing college athletes a chance to earn cash in an open market system. Skinner says the law creates a variety of opportunities for athletes that want to take advantage of it. Star players may be able to make money from apparel contracts, autograph signings and television commercial appearances. Less prominent athletes, she said, could benefit from things like being able to advertise their connection to their university team while teaching lessons to youth athletes or collect revenue from selling advertisements on social media accounts.

In the weeks preceding Newsom's decision, several high-profile public figures voiced their support for the law. James and Draymond Green both touted the change as "overdue" and a potential game changer for college athletes. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders responded to James on Twitter by saying, "College athletes are workers. Pay them."

Others like Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow and Washington State coach Mike Leach have spoken out against the bill. Tebow, currently an ESPN analyst, said players making money would add to a selfish culture and take away from what is special about college sports. Leach suggested that California and its legislators had more pressing issues that should be occupying their time.

"California leads, that's what we do," Skinner said. "By restoring student athletes' rights, we've sent a clear message to the NCAA, our colleges, and the entire sports industry: Equity must be the overriding value."