TULSA, Okla. – Entry is now open for the 35th annual Lucas Oil Tulsa Shootout and already, online entries have been pouring in.

Teams who have not yet entered can do so at www.tulsashootout.com or by calling (918) 838-3777, Monday-Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. (CT). Click here for a downloadable entry form.

Taking place Wednesday, Jan. 1 through Saturday, Jan. 4 atop the famed clay of the Tulsa Expo Raceway, the first step on the path to the Golden Driller is entry into the Mecca of Micros starting Tuesday, Sept. 24, with the discounted $100 entry fee per class going through Tuesday, Dec. 3.

Starting Wednesday, Dec. 4 the fee per class goes to $125 with all early entry cut off on Wednesday, Dec. 18. After that, teams will be able to enter at the event during move-in on Tuesday, Dec. 31 with all entries coming to a stop at Noon on Wednesday, Jan. 1.

The 35th edition of the Lucas Oil Tulsa Shootout will see no change to the class lineup with A-Class (Wing, Non-Wing, and Restricted), Outlaw (Wing and Non-Wing), and Junior Sprints as well as the new Oklahoma 600cc Modifieds in action. For all classes, RaceCeivers are mandatory. The frequency will be 454.000.

Rules for each class have been finalized and posted. Changes to point out for teams is in A-Class and Stock Non-Wing.

Starting with the 2020 event, all stock classes will be allowed to run Electronic or Mechanical Injectors with a mechanical fuel pump with stock OEM throttle bodies or carbs only will be allowed. No mixing of manufacturers.

Rules questions can be directed to Matt Ward, who is the director of competition for the Lucas Oil Tulsa Shootout. Contact for Matt Ward includes Cell Phone at (918) 995-1650 or the office at (918) 838-3777.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – NASCAR has named Tracey Lesetar-Smith as Senior Vice President, General Counsel.

In her new role, Lesetar-Smith will lead day-to-day operations of the sanctioning body’s legal and public affairs operations at company headquarters in Daytona Beach, Fla.

After more than two decades of service, longtime NASCAR executive Karen Leetzow will step down from her role as Senior Vice President and General Counsel at year end. Leetzow, who announced her intention to depart last year but agreed to remain to facilitate the merger between NASCAR and ISC, has guided NASCAR’s overarching legal strategy across key business areas such as intellectual property, litigation, antitrust and general corporate law.

“What an incredible experience it has been to work at NASCAR and with the France family over the past two decades. I am very proud of what we have collectively achieved and feel thankful to have led one of the best legal teams in all of sports,” said Karen Leetzow. “This decision did not come easy, but it’s time for me to explore new challenges and I am excited for what the future holds.”

“Karen’s leadership, legal expertise and operational acumen have been invaluable over the past 20 years. She’s been a critical member of our senior leadership team and guided us through significant changes across our business operations. We wish Karen well on her future endeavors and appreciate her tremendous contributions to the sport, she will be dearly missed,” said Gary Crotty, Chief Legal Officer, NASCAR and ISC. “We are excited to welcome Tracey to the NASCAR family. She brings a wealth of experience in sports and corporate law and a tremendous passion and enthusiasm for the future success of our sport.”

Lesetar-Smith has spent the past eight years as General Counsel and Vice President of Business and Legal Affairs for Bellator MMA, building and leading the legal team and expanding her oversight to additional sports properties within the Viacom portfolio over the past five years. She was responsible for Bellator’s global content distribution rights and oversaw contracts, international property expansion, litigation, production, and intellectual property rights, among other key business operations. Prior to Bellator, she was an attorney at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.

“I look forward to joining this highly-talented team and I am confident we will have continued success in the years ahead,” said Lesetar-Smith. “I am excited to become a member of the leadership group at NASCAR and for the opportunities this role will afford to positively position the sport for future growth.”

Lesetar-Smith’s first day will be Oct. 14 and she will assume the full responsibilities of General Counsel upon Leetzow’s departure at year end.

CONCORD, N.C. – Roush Fenway Racing has announced the team is parting ways with driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in favor of Chris Buescher for the 2020 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.

Stenhouse has been a part of Roush Fenway Racing’s NASCAR Cup Series program since 2013. During that time he has earned two victories – both in 2017 – as well as 15 top-five and 33 top-10 finishes.

He also won two NASCAR Xfinity Series championships – in 2011 and 2012 – while driving for Roush Fenway Racing.

“We can’t say enough about Ricky and his contributions to Roush Fenway Racing,” said team co-owner Jack Roush. “We’re proud to have been a part of Ricky’s development from ARCA to Xfinity and ultimately the Cup Series. He has served as a great representative to our partners, while helping to accumulate numerous accolades, wins and multiple championships on the racetrack. We wish him well as he enters the next chapter of his career.”

Buescher, a product of Roush Fenway’s development driver program who will take over the No. 17 from Stenhouse, won the ARCA Menards Series title in 2012 and later the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship for Roush Fenway Racing in 2015.

He moved to the NASCAR Cup Series full-time in 2016 with Front Row Motorsports, earning his first series victory at Pocono Raceway that same year when dense fog forced NASCAR officials to cancel the remainder of the race while Buescher was in the lead.

In 2017 Buescher moved to JTG Daugherty Racing, where he has spent the last three seasons driving the No. 37 Chevrolet Camaro. He has one win, four top-five and 12 top-10 finishes in NASCAR Cup Series competition.

“We are certainly excited to have Chris back in the fold at Roush Fenway Racing,” said Roush. “He has a long history with our organization and we’ve always been a big fan of Chris and his racing style. We have watched his progress with great interest over the last couple of seasons and we are looking forward to having him in the No. 17 as we continue to grow our program next season.”

The Seattle NHL franchise has hired its first round of scouts -- including former Team USA star and Hockey Hall of Famer Cammi Granato, who will become the NHL's first female pro scout.

Granato's hiring continues a trend for the NHL's newest team -- scheduled to enter the league for the 2021-22 season -- which is committed to "a diverse slate of candidates for every role." The franchise is currently at just over 60 employees; more than 50 percent of its vice presidents are females.

"When I was being interviewed, it was very apparent this organization was thinking outside the box," GM Ron Francis said. "When I took the job, I was encouraged to continue that mantra: think outside the box. Cammi's name came up. I know she's a female pro scout for us, but her résumé is why she got the job -- not because she's female."

Granato, 48, captained Team USA to a gold medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics, the first winter Olympics to include women's ice hockey. Granato has been inducted into the International Hockey Hall of Fame (2008), the US Hockey Hall of Fame (2009), as well as the Hockey Hall of Fame (2010).

Granato lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, and will begin working in late October. She will attend Canucks home games and be responsible for scouting players in the Western Conference -- analyzing their game and projecting future performance ahead of the team's expansion draft, which will occur in summer 2021.

"I know the game, and I'm confident in that," Granato said, "I've been around the game since I can walk. It's really cool to be able to do it as a job and I'm looking forward to contributing my opinion."

Granato said she has had job opportunities come up over the past decade, however she turned them down for family reasons. Granato said that her husband, TSN analyst Ray Ferraro, travels Monday through Friday for work.

"I've got a 12- and a 9-year-old," Granato said. "When they were little it just wasn't feasible to leave, when they have one parent on the road. Now they're getting to an age where they're a little older and settled so this opportunity when it came around was a perfect fit for me and for our family. I didn't feel like I was compromising anything by saying yes. Yet, I get to be in the game and get to be involved."

When asked why women traditionally have not gone into scouting, Granato said: "I think we could probably ask that question about so many things in sports. Maybe even more than sports. Why? There isn't really an answer besides they weren't considered. Right now, I feel there is this energy and momentum and you're seeing women in different positions getting jobs they are qualified for, but never got the opportunity for."

In 2018, the Toronto Maple Leafs hired the NHL's first full-time female amateur scout, Noelle Needham. Needham got the job after GM Kyle Dubas had several candidates write scouting reports anonymously -- in essence, a blind audition. Needham joined former Canadian star Hayley Wickenheiser in the Maple Leafs hockey operations department; Wickenheiser was named Toronto's assistant director of player development in 2018 -- the highest hockey operations role ever held by a woman. The Maple Leafs also employ Judy Cohen in their analytics department, Meg Popovic as the team's director of well-being and performance, and Barb Underhill, a former world champion pairs figure skater who serves as a skating consultant.

"I just think the more diverse you can make your organization [the better] -- and that's just not a male and female thing," Dubas told ESPN in 2018. "We did not make any of these hires looking for social credit."

The Seattle NHL team's operation department now consists of three members: Francis, assistant GM Ricky Olczyk and Alexandra Mandrycky, the director of hockey administration.

Mandrycky was actually the team's first operations hire, preceding Francis. She joined the organization after working in the analytics department with the Minnesota Wild. "Being a woman in hockey, I understand that I bring a different viewpoint," Mandrycky said. "I did when I was with Minnesota and I think Ron and Ricky understand that here. To have that opportunity to bring more diverse voices onto the hockey side is really exciting."

Seattle also hired four other pro scouts in addition to Granato: Dave Hunter (based in Boston), John Goodwin (Toronto), Ulf Samuelsson (San Diego) and Stu Barnes (Dallas).

"Ricky and I will also be part of that scouting staff this year," Francis said. "We don't start for two years, and therefore we don't have revenue coming in for two years. We're trying to do this with that in mind as well -- giving us as much information as we can while limiting the cost factor to the organization as we try building it up."

Francis said Seattle will be covering major events this season, including the U17 tournament in Medicine Hat and Swift Current, the U20 Four Nations Cup in Helsinki, IIHF World U20 Championships, the US U18 Championships in Plymouth and most likely the World Championships in Switzerland. "So we'll be watching a lot of hockey," Francis said.

Francis said he expects to connect with the scouts on regular scouting calls and bring them in at some point during the season for scouting meetings. According to Francis, they will conduct a dry run as if they are signing free agents this summer, as well as a dry run for the expansion draft.

As for Granato, she hopes her hiring could have a ripple effect.

"Maybe it'll inspire more women to apply for jobs like this," Granato said. "And maybe it will inspire more organizations to make the same move."

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Columbus Blue Jackets center Brandon Dubinsky likely will miss the start of the season with a wrist injury.

General manager Jarmo Kekalainen said Wednesday that the 33-year-old Dubinsky is out indefinitely. No other details were provided.

Dubinsky is entering his 13th NHL season. Last year he recorded six goals and eight assists in 61 games. He added one goal in 10 playoff games.

He has recorded 153 goals and 285 assists in 823 career games with the Blue Jackets and New York Rangers.

The Blue Jackets open the season at home Oct. 4 against Toronto.

The field is set for the for the fifth annual East Lake Cup.

Texas, Oklahoma State, Vanderbilt and Wake Forest will compete on the men’s side. Duke, Auburn, Wake Forest and Arizona comprise the women's division.

The event will be contested Oct. 28-30 at East Lake Club in Atlanta, Georgia. The teams, both men and women, will play one day of stroke play to determine an individual champion and set seeds for match play.

Day 2 will be semifinal team match play, with the finals and consolation matches taking place on Day 3. Golf Channel will air all three days of competition, beginning at 3 p.m. ET on Oct. 28.

“Now approaching its fifth year, the East Lake Cup has become one of college golf’s marquee events,” said Tom Knapp, Golf Channel executive vice president, programming and partnerships. “This championship anchors Golf Channel’s year-round commitment to college golf, and introduces viewers to golf’s future stars for both the men’s and women’s game.”

Here’s the resume of the teams competing:

MEN’S DIVISION:

• University of Texas: 2019 NCAA national championships runners-up
• Oklahoma State University: 2018 NCAA national champions, 2019 semifinalists
• Vanderbilt University: 2017 East Lake Cup champions, 2019 NCAA semifinalists
• Wake Forest University: 2019 NCAA quarterfinalists, current top-ranked team in the country

WOMEN’S DIVISION:

• Duke University: 2019 NCAA national champions; 2016 East Lake Cup champions
• Auburn University: 2019 NCAA semifinalists
• Wake Forest University: 2019 NCAA national championship runners-up, current top-ranked team in the country
• University of Arizona: 2018 NCAA national champions, 2019 NCAA semifinalists

Germany will no longer be relegated in the Nations League after UEFA announced a revamp of the format for the 2020 edition.

JUMP TO: UEFA Europa Conference League

Joachim Low's team -- along with Croatia, Iceland and Poland -- were relegated from League A to League B in the inaugural tournament last year.

It meant they should have been playing alongside Austria, Czech Republic, Finland, Norway, Russia, Scotland, Serbia and Wales in League B.

But UEFA has decided to increase the number of nations in League A from 12 to 16, meaning the four nations who should have been relegated will now remain in League A.

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UEFA says it has taken the decision to "further minimise the number of friendly matches." It means that there will be no international friendly dates for major European teams following Euro 2020 until 2022, after World Cup qualifying has finished. The exception will be nations drawn into groups of five for World Cup qualifying, who will have two spare dates.

The draw for the 2020 UEFA Nations League will be held on March 3, with games being played between September and November, and the finals in June 2021. UEFA insists that nations will be relegated between Leagues this time. The format revamp also means Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Slovakia and Turkey avoid relegation from League B.

UEFA Nations League positions are set to decide the 12 nations who take part in a two-part playoff system for the final three places at the 2022 World Cup.

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UEFA Nations League 2020

Teams will be drawn into groups based on the following pools.

League A: Portugal (holders), Netherlands, England, Switzerland, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine, Denmark, Sweden, Croatia, Poland, Germany, Iceland

League B: Russia, Austria, Wales, Czech Republic, Scotland, Norway, Serbia, Finland, Slovakia, Turkey, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Bulgaria, Israel, Hungary, Romania

League C: Greece, Albania, Montenegro, Georgia, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Belarus, Cyprus, Estonia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Moldova

League D: Gibraltar, Faroe Islands, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Malta, San Marino

UEFA Europa Conference League

UEFA also announced full details its new third-tier European competition, which will begin in the 2021-22 season.

The Europa League will be reduced from 48 to 32 teams, with the new UEFA Europa Conference League also featuring 32 teams. The aim is to give more regular European football to teams from smaller nations.

Europe's top five leagues will have only one team each, the lowest-ranked to qualify, and will enter in the final qualifying round. This year that would have been Wolves, Espanyol, Torino, Strasbourg and Eintracht Frankfurt.

Games will be played on a Thursday, alongside the Europa League. Group winners qualify automatically for the round of 16, with runners-up facing a playoff against third-ranked teams from Europa League groups. The UEFA Europa Conference League winners will qualify for the following season's Europa League.

The Major League Soccer regular season is nearing its conclusion, which means clubs have their sights firmly set on qualifying for the MLS Cup playoffs, which begin on Oct. 19.

Seven teams have clinched one of the 14 postseason berths, while two more have already been eliminated, including expansion side FC Cincinnati. In between those poles, things are wide open, especially in the Western Conference, where only one side -- LAFC -- has clinched a spot.

So, who's in? Who's out? Who has it all to play for?

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Clinched playoff places (seven per conference)

Eastern Conference: New York City FC, Atlanta United, Philadelphia Union, D.C. United, New York Red Bulls, Toronto FC

Western Conference: LAFC

Eliminated from postseason contention

Eastern Conference: FC Cincinnati

Western Conference: Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Still in contention: East

• New England Revolution (41 points, 31 games played)

• Montreal Impact (38 points, 32 games played)

• Chicago Fire (37 points, 32 games played)

• Orlando City SC (36 points, 32 games played)

• Columbus Crew SC (35 points, 32 games played)

Still in contention: West

• Seattle Sounders FC (50 points, 32 games played)

• Minnesota United FC (49 points, 31 games played)

• LA Galaxy (48 points, 31 games played)

• Real Salt Lake (47 points, 31 games played)

• FC Dallas (45 points, 32 games played)

• San Jose Earthquakes (44 points, 31 games played)

• Portland Timbers (44 points, 31 games played)

• Colorado Rapids (39 points, 32 games played)

• Houston Dynamo (37 points, 31 games played)

• Sporting Kansas City (37 points, 31 games played)

Wednesday clinching scenarios

The LA Galaxy will clinch a berth in the MLS Cup playoffs with a win over Real Salt Lake OR a draw AND a San Jose draw against Philadelphia AND a Portland draw vs. New England OR a San Jose draw AND a Portland loss OR a San Jose loss AND a Portland draw. Minnesota United can book its first postseason place with a win vs. Sporting Kansas City OR a draw while San Jose and Portland both draw in their respective matches OR one of Portland and San Jose draws while the other loses.

Real Salt Lake will be playoff bound with a win against the Galaxy AND losses from both San Jose AND Portland. The Seattle Sounders, too, can secure their postseason place if both San Jose AND Portland lose or draw.

LAFC can lift the Supporters' Shield with a win over Houston OR a New York City FC loss to Atlanta. New York City FC will clinch the top seed in the Eastern Conference if it beats Atlanta AND Philadelphia drops points against San Jose.

Wednesday elimination scenarios

The Columbus Crew's playoff hopes will be extinguished with a New England win or draw against Portland. The Montreal Impact will miss the postseason if New England beats Portland. Orlando City SC will also be eliminated if New England wins against Portland.

The Colorado Rapids will be eliminated if San Jose beats Philadelphia AND Portland tops New England OR a San Jose win over Philadelphia AND a Sporting KC win against Minnesota AND Portland drawing vs. New England. The Houston Dynamo will be knocked out of playoff contention with a loss to LAFC OR wins from both San Jose AND Portland. Sporting Kansas City will miss the playoffs with a loss to Minnesota OR wins from both San Jose AND Portland.

When do the MLS Cup playoffs begin?

In addition to the field expanding to 14 teams, the calendar has shifted ahead by two weeks to begin on Oct. 19 and been compressed by the elimination of two-legged ties, with a return to single-elimination knockout.

Here is playoff schedule, leading up to the MLS Cup on Nov. 10 (3 p.m. ET, ABC).

Round 1

• Saturday, Oct. 19 (time TBD)

• Saturday, Oct. 19 (time TBD)

• Sunday, Oct. 20 (time TBD)

• Sunday, Oct. 20 (time TBD)

• Sunday, Oct. 20 (time TBD)

• Sunday, Oct. 20 (time TBD)

Conference semifinals

• Wednesday, Oct. 23 (time TBD)

• Wednesday, Oct. 23 (time TBD)

• Thursday, Oct. 24 (time TBD)

• Thursday, Oct. 24 (time TBD)

Conference finals

• Tuesday, Oct. 29 (time TBD)

• Wednesday, Oct. 30 (time TBD)

MLS Cup

• Sunday, Nov. 10 (3 p.m. ET, ABC)

When Christian Pulisic's $73 million move to Chelsea was announced in January, there were equal parts excitement and trepidation.

The anticipation came from having the American heading to one of the world's biggest clubs for a fee more than three times the previous record for a U.S. international. If Pulisic could break through with the Blues, there was a chance that he could live up to the predictions -- or hopes -- that he would become the first transcendent American star.

But the enthusiasm was tempered by concern over how much he would actually play, especially coming off a season with Borussia Dortmund in which his time decreased due to a combination of injury and the emergence of Jadon Sancho. When Maurizio Sarri -- Chelsea's manager when Pulisic's transfer was agreed upon -- returned to his native Italy and Frank Lampard came in to replace him, the American's position looked even more vulnerable.

Just six weeks into the season, Pulisic has shown flashes of ability, like when he set up Olivier Giroud's goal against Liverpool in the UEFA Super Cup, but has found minutes harder to come by recently. When he has featured, he struggled to make much of an impact, often opting to play it safe.

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"OK" is the word that keeps coming up from those assessing the American's performances. That hasn't been enough to keep Pulisic in Chelsea's starting lineup, even as he returned from international duty early. In fact, heading into Wednesday's Carabao Cup match against Grimsby Town (ESPN+, 2:45 p.m. ET), he has been an unused substitute three games in a row.

The lack of minutes has, in some cases, been circumstantial. During last weekend's 2-1 defeat to Liverpool, Lampard was forced to burn two substitutes in the first half when defenders Emerson Palmieri and Andreas Christensen were injured.

But other signs are more disheartening. When Mason Mount was injured early in Chelsea's 1-0 Champions League defeat to Valencia, Pedro was summoned, not Pulisic. The return of Willian, hurt at the start the season, has also made minutes tougher to come by. With Callum Hudson-Odoi also on the mend, the competition is set to get more intense.

"It's so early," said former U.S. international Landon Donovan, who enjoyed two loan spells in England with Everton. "You don't want to get carried away, but the signs don't look great so far for Pulisic, especially when you have Pedro, Ross Barkley and Michy Batshuayi also not starting in [the Liverpool] match. You would think he's moving down the pecking order."

Pulisic was already operating at a deficit, given that Mount spent all of last season on loan at Derby County, where Lampard was manager. While Mount has endured uneven moments of his own, he has scored three goals. Pulisic, by contrast, has yet to find the back of the net. Others like Pedro and Willian are more proven, even as they are getting on in years (32 and 31, respectively).

"The number that they bought Pulisic for helps, but the shake-up in management doesn't because there's no tie," said former Leicester, Tottenham and Fulham goalkeeper Kasey Keller. "Lampard isn't tied to Pulisic. He's not saying that this is the guy I wanted and give him the benefit of the doubt. He had nothing to do with signing Pulisic."

So how does the 21-year-old earn Lampard's faith? There's really only one way, and that is through his performances during training and in games.

"There's very little politics that goes into playing time over there," said Brad Friedel, who spent the bulk of his career in the Premier League with the likes of Liverpool, Blackburn Rovers, Aston Villa and Tottenham. "It's a very straightforward scenario where the best play. It doesn't matter what your last name is. It doesn't matter generally how much they paid for you, although if you get into the stratospheric wages that can put a little bit of pressure on.

"It will be turning up for training, working hard, being better than the other players in your position, and the most important thing: scoring and assisting and winning games. If you're not involved in the scoring and winning and assisting and all that, you will not play over there, especially at a club like Chelsea, because they're going to be under pressure to win."

In some respects, the fact that Pulisic is having difficulty breaking through is not surprising. The Premier League, and Chelsea in particular, has witnessed supremely talented players struggle during their initial foray in England. Neither Kevin De Bruyne nor Mohamed Salah managed to make the grade at Stamford Bridge, only to return to England and flourish at Manchester City and Liverpool, respectively. It speaks to how difficult the adjustment can be, even if you're moving from a quality league like the Bundesliga.

"The Bundesliga, the quality is really high, but the EPL is just crazy physical, beyond what people can imagine," Donovan said. "There's definitely an adjustment period for any player going there. It's not easy."

There's consensus that Pulisic will get additional opportunities, starting with Wednesday's Carabao Cup match. Lampard has said as much, while the fact that Chelsea is operating under a transfer ban until the summer gives the manager few options but to persist with what's at hand. The key for Pulisic is to seize his chance and leave Lampard with no choice but to play him. That will be an ongoing process, one that will be monitored closely stateside, given that World Cup qualifying starts next June.

"It's not time to hit the panic button, but by the middle of the season, if it's not changed, then he needs to consider what his options are because leading into [World Cup] qualifying and hopefully the World Cup, he needs to be playing games," Donovan said.

The flip side is that if Pulisic does break through, he'll emerge a stronger, more refined player. Moreover, time is on his side, given the size of his transfer fee and the fact that he signed a five-year contract.

"I think it's great for players when it happens, though it's probably not nice for them at the time," Friedel said. "But it really makes players grind out to earn their place and learn how to play in a new league. It should in the end be really good for him if he takes it the right way."

U.S. fans will be hoping that is the case.

South Africa might still be carrying "a bit of baggage" from their last trip to India, opening batsman Aiden Markram has said. Markram wasn't in the set-up last time around, but several members of the current touring party were part of the team that lost the Test series 3-0 four years ago. Despite the challenges ahead, Markram insisted that South Africa would not be dwelling on the difficulty of the conditions in India.

"I remember watching that series a few years ago and it looked incredibly difficult," Markram said. "I'm sure there's a bit of baggage that certain players that were on that tour might still be carrying but that's completely fine. I think it's never an easy tour coming to anywhere in the subcontinent, let alone India. It's full of challenges, but if we can conquer those challenges it will be really rewarding."

Fresh from a hundred against India A, Markram is aiming to "nit-pick at those positives" that come from time at the crease, but expects conditions in the upcoming Test series to be very different.

"There's always a couple of positives from spending time at the crease. I'm trying to nit-pick at those positives and take as much as I can from those knocks," Markram said. "Preparation going into this series is gonna be massive and each little bit that we can take going into the series will help."

Markram is likely to open the batting for South Africa in the upcoming three-match series against India, starting on October 2 in Visakhapatnam, He tuned up for that challenge by top-scoring with 161 in Mysore last week.

His runs meant South Africa A were able to draw the game, having slumped to a seven-wicket defeat in the first four-day game in Thiruvananthapuram.

"From a personal perspective, it was nice to spend time out in the middle," Markram said. "I think the wickets we get [in the Tests] will be a lot different to the wickets we got in the A series. But like I said, it's nice to spend time out there. And in the field as well, it was nice for us as fielders to be on our feet for long periods of time and for our bowlers to bowl plenty of spells in these hot conditions. We took a lot from the A side games and we're ready to go in the Test matches.

"The guys are positive and upbeat and we're maintaining really good language in the change room, really strong language. At the end of the day, we're not going to harp on about conditions. We pretty much know what to expect and we just need to get the job done."

Markram is returning to a Test squad that has been shaken up by the retirements of some high-profile personnel, with Hashim Amla and Dale Steyn both bowing out. While players of that calibre undoubtedly leave a massive hole to fill, Markram said that the changes have been invigorating for the team environment.

"It's nice to be back in the camp," he said. "There's a lot of new faces and it's exciting times with the change of staff and quite a few new players as well. There's lots of new and refreshing energy in the camp and the guys look to be in good spirits so we're looking forward to the series."

Before the three-Test series begins in October, South Africa will play a three-day warm-up match against a Board President's XI starting on Thursday in Vizianagaram.