This is the most difficult offseason Chelsea will face in 16 years.

The five-time Premier League champions have sold star attacker Eden Hazard to Real Madrid for a fee starting at £90 million, and while the January capture of 20-year-old American winger Christian Pulisic for £57.6m will help soften the blow, Chelsea won't be able to make any further additions to supplement an aging squad. A transfer ban will prevent the club from signing any players from other clubs over the next 12 months, and while Chelsea are appealing the verdict, the club can't expect to throw around Roman Abramovich's money this summer.

Thankfully, there's an alternative. While the various Chelsea teams play and train in and around London, there is a shadow Chelsea side wearing different kits dispersed throughout Europe.

Every year, owner Roman Abramovich's club sends out dozens of players on loan, many of whom were signed without ever having much of a prayer of making regular appearances at Stamford Bridge. Just about every top-division club sends players out on loan, of course, but Chelsea have weaponized the system to build what amounts to their own player investment vehicle.

The Chelsea Loan Army has likely been a source of significant profit for the club, but it's about to become even more important. With Abramovich no longer a regular presence at home matches, plans to expand the Bridge delayed, and an impending two-window transfer ban, the club may end up depending on some of the players they would typically loan away. With the title-winning squad of 2016-17 aging and dismantled, Chelsea will need the Loan Army to keep the club in the top four.

Since the 2005 season began, Chelsea have sent players out on loan 450 times, or an average of just over 32 loans per season. Compare that to the other Big Six English clubs, who have averaged 20.6 loans per season over that same time frame, with Manchester City (389) the only other Big Six club to top 300 loans over that time frame. That gap is only growing wider; Chelsea has made 278 loans over the past six years against an average of 133 for the other top five sides. Chelsea has relied heavily upon loans to develop young talent for sale. Now they'll need to hope that those same young talents can supplement an aging roster facing a transfer ban.

Let's start by looking back at where this all started: the beginning of the Abramovich era.

The origins

It wasn't too long ago that Chelsea were actually strapped for cash. At the turn of the 21st century, they were one of the most indebted clubs in Europe thanks to a combination of significant wages, an inability to offload players in a temporarily depressed transfer market, and the interest payments on a £75m Eurobond to help develop Chelsea's ground.

By the spring of 2003, Chelsea were £90m in debt and forced to play two matches in 48 hours because they desperately needed the £600,000 from Sky's live coverage of a match at Stamford Bridge. Then-manager Claudio Ranieri was unable to spend any money on transfer fees that year, which was the last time Chelsea would go 12 months without spending any money on fees before their upcoming ban. Reports after the fact suggested Chelsea were about to default on their Eurobond and "plunge into financial crisis." Then Abramovich stepped in and transformed the club overnight, wiping those loans away.

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In an era before Financial Fair Play, there had never really been somebody like Abramovich running a Premier League team. Jack Walker had poured his own millions to win a title with Blackburn Rovers in 1994-95, and Mohamed Al-Fayed did the same with Fulham to help Chelsea's local rivals rise through the lower divisions to the Premier League, but Abramovich's spending utterly transformed the league.

Over the next two years, Abramovich spent £302m on players while making just under £4 million on sales, according to the transfer fees quoted on the website Transfermarkt. The difference amounts to £298 million, which would be equivalent to £450m in 2018 after accounting for inflation. Abramovich spent so much on West Ham's players alone that the Russian reportedly saved the Hammers from going out of business.

Unsurprisingly, Abramovich also made management changes. He sacked Ranieri after one season and replaced him with Jose Mourinho, fresh off a Champions League title with Porto. Mourinho promptly won the Premier League in his first try. For recruitment, Chelsea added legendary scout Piet de Visser before paying around £8m to poach Frank Arnesen away from Tottenham Hotspur after a "purely social" meeting on Abramovich's yacht in June 2005.

With the first team settled and Arnesen holding a reputation as an excellent scout of young talent from his time at PSV and Spurs, it's clear his job was to identify would-be stars and get them to Chelsea before they became prohibitively expensive. It didn't necessarily go well -- Arnesen would become embroiled in multiple tap-up scandals and would eventually leave the club in 2010 -- but the Chelsea Loan Army begins here.

The brigade

In general, Chelsea ship out three different sorts of players on loan each year.

Academy products. While Chelsea can point to John Terry in the past and the hyphenated likes of Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ruben Loftus-Cheek as recent graduates, most of their academy products typically end up struggling to make the grade and often go out on loan.

This includes would-be stars like Josh McEachern and Michael Mancienne, who were often thought of as future Chelsea first-teamers before making moves elsewhere, as well as future Premier League starters like Neil Etheridge, Nathaniel Chalobah and Jack Cork. The latter went on seven different loans with six different clubs before being sold to Southampton for just over £750,000. Now, Transfermarkt projects Cork's transfer value to be somewhere around £15m.

Chelsea have generally not profited a huge amount from selling academy talent, with the £9m they're about to net from Ola Aina's transfer to Torino as a notable exception. They rejected a reported £35m offer from Bayern Munich for Hudson-Odoi before the 18-year-old tore his Achilles, although that move could still be on over the summer if Hudson-Odoi doesn't sign a new deal with the club.

Chelsea have also released several talented academy products, including future Welsh international Chris Mepham, who was let go at 15 before eventually sealing a £12m transfer to Bournemouth. One of the drawbacks of signing dozens of young players without giving them time in your first team is that you struggle to identify who will make the grade or are unable to keep the transcendent talents around, as we'll see in some moves Chelsea would be happy to later on take back.

Established players on the fringes of the first team. Early in the Abramovich era, this was the domain of world superstars like Hernan Crespo, Juan Sebastian Veron and even Andrei Shevchenko after they failed to impress. In more recent years, veterans like Victor Moses and Loic Remy have left on loan.

More often, though, this has been a home for young players who broke out in another country and were brought directly into the first team on a large fee, only to lose their place and leave to further their development. Usually, this coincided with a change in manager given that Chelsea have gone through 12 different managerial appointments in Abramovich's 16 years at the helm.

The most notable of these young players, as any Chelsea supporter will bemoan, is Mohamed Salah. Chelsea signed the Egyptian from Basel for £14.9m in the winter of 2014 after Salah, 21 at the time, scored the only goal in a 1-0 Champions League win over the Blues. Salah then played 501 minutes with the first team during the second half of the season, scoring twice, but when Mourinho observed that the Premier League was too much for Salah, he sent him on loan to Fiorentina and then the following year to Roma, who took up their option to buy Salah for £15m after the season. You know how things have gone since then.

There are several current players on the books who would fit into this category, including Michy Batshuayi, Kurt Zouma and Abdul Rahman. It might feel as if their times at Chelsea are finished but remember that Moses spent three years on loan at Liverpool, Stoke, and West Ham before eventually finding his place under Antonio Conte and then being loaned again when Maurizio Sarri came in last season.

Young players signed and sent on loans, often over and over again. This third group of Chelsea loanees is by far the largest and the most unique element of their Loan Army. Using Transfermarkt data, I can find exactly 100 Chelsea players who were signed from another club at a young age since the summer of 2005; 46 of those players went on two or more loans during their time with the club and 27 of them went on loan at least four different times.

The ultimate example of Chelsea's loan policy is goalkeeper Matej Delac. After an impressive debut season, the Croatian keeper was signed from Inter Zapresic in the summer of 2010 for £2.7m. As an 18-year-old, nobody expected Delac to break through to a Chelsea first team with Petr Cech in goal, but the 6-foot-3 keeper surely couldn't have figured what would happen next.

Delac spent eight years at Chelsea. He went on loan 10 times while making more children (one) than appearances for Chelsea (zero). Seven times, Delac went to preseason training with Chelsea only to leave on loan shortly thereafter. By the time Delac left for AC Horsens on a free transfer in the summer of 2018, he was Chelsea's longest-tenured player without ever once suiting up for the club in a competitive match.

You can imagine how strange this must have been for him. Chelsea have some infrastructure to support their loanees -- they've had Eddie Newton and Joe Edwards as "loan technical coaches" at different points, and there are suggestions former club legend Claude Makelele is in line to take over the job next -- but these are players who essentially have little say in where they're going to play from year to year if they want to grow during their prime years as footballers. The closest contact the players might have with the club or one another is a WhatsApp text group.

Delac is the most extreme example, but he's hardly the only one. Joao Rodriguez signed from Quindio in 2012 and went on loan nine times in seven years across six different countries without making a Chelsea appearance. He was released in January.

Among slightly more notable players, Ryan Bertrand was signed from Gillingham's academy as a 16-year-old in 2005 and went on loan seven times around starting for Chelsea in a Champions League final before eventually leaving for Southampton in a £12m deal. Patrick Bamford and current Chelsea players Tomas Kalas and Kenneth Omeruo also hit the seven-loan mark, although Kalas (Bristol City, Rangers) and Omeruo (Leganes) are both rumored to be leaving Chelsea this offseason.

The most significant players to join this branch of the Army are three global football superstars, all Belgian players signed out of the Jupiler League.

During the summer 2011 transfer window, Chelsea shelled out £13.5m for 18-year-old Anderlecht striker Romelu Lukaku, who had scored 31 goals in the league over the previous two seasons. They also paid a little over £8m for 19-year-old keeper Thibaut Courtois, who had just led Genk to a league title. During the subsequent winter window, Chelsea returned to Genk and paid an additional £7.2m for 21-year-old Kevin de Bruyne, who went back to Genk on loan for the remainder of the campaign.

None of those three are still with the club. Lukaku played 199 minutes in the Premier League with Chelsea as well as loans to West Bromwich Albion and Everton, with the latter signing him permanently for £31.8m. De Bruyne made it into only 132 minutes of action before being loaned to Werder Bremen, and when he failed to impress Mourinho upon his return, Chelsea sold De Bruyne to Wolfsburg for £22m.

Courtois had the longest career with Chelsea, of course, but even the goalkeeper spent nearly as much time on loan with Atletico Madrid as he did with his parent club. Courtois spent three seasons on loan with Atleti -- and ended up playing against Chelsea in the Champions League when a poison pill of £2.5m per match was deemed illegal -- before making his way back to Chelsea to replace Cech. Courtois spent four years with the Blues before forcing his way into a transfer back to Madrid, this time with Real, for £31.5m.

Were these transfers successful? From the financial side, and in the short term, absolutely. Chelsea paid about £28.8m for these three players and sold them for £85.3m, making a profit of £56.5m. In the long term, though, Everton and Wolfsburg sold Lukaku and de Bruyne to the two Manchester clubs for slightly more than £161m in combined transfer fees, far more than Chelsea netted on their own sales.

From a football perspective, it's hard to argue Chelsea wouldn't have been better off holding onto the three Belgian stars and building their team around them and Eden Hazard, whom the club also sold to Real earlier this month. It's easy to blame Mourinho for not valuing De Bruyne and Salah, but while the Portuguese manager certainly deserves criticism, it's also realistic to point out just how difficult it can be to figure out who is going to make the leap from good to great in their early 20s.

We'll see this echoed in the big picture about Chelsea's loanees.

The profits

If we're just looking at that third group of talent, players signed by Chelsea at a young age who went out on loan before becoming regulars in the Chelsea first team, the returns are extraordinary.

Chelsea signed 100 such players and paid a total of £127.3m to bring them to London. When they left, Chelsea took home £193.6m in transfer fees, for a cool £66.3m profit. In addition, Transfermarkt values the players left on Chelsea's books who qualify for that third group as worth £94.6m, including Andreas Christensen (£27m) and the trio of Ethan Ampadu, Marco van Ginkel, and Mario Pasalic, each of whom are valued at £9m. Add in those players and Chelsea have turned a profit of more than £160m in cash and player value on their speculative transfer strategy.

Admittedly, calculating the value of this strategy isn't as simple as counting up Transfermarkt estimates. Some players don't have transfer fees listed, although they're typically more obscure and less likely to have inspired significant sums. More notably, Chelsea have been responsible for paying the wages of these players, which can add up quickly. It's unclear whether Chelsea was able to get the loaning clubs to pay their players' wages when they left, which could make for a significant difference.

On the other hand, while Transfermarkt has some loan fee estimates, there's far less information on loan fees than there are on permanent transfers. I didn't include loan fees in my calculations. Those fees could turn out to be significant; take Charly Musonda's loan to Celtic, which reportedly saw the Scottish champions pay £6m in fees and 100% of Musonda's wages of £40,000 per week. If Chelsea are paying Musonda £45,000 per week to sit on their bench and train in Cobham, they're losing more than £2m per year on his transfer.

He's surely not the only Chelsea loanee subject to meaningful wages and/or loan fees, which makes this analysis incomplete. Bamford, for one, was reportedly on £40,000 per week and insisted that would-be loaning clubs set him up with Sky Sports in his temporary accommodations. It's unclear whether Chelsea were paying for that during his time with the club.

Chelsea's work also ended up creating transfer opportunities for other clubs. The likes of Fabio Borini, Lassana Diarra, Scott Sinclair and Thorgan Hazard all left the club for modest fees before sealing big-money moves elsewhere. Nemanja Matic was sold to Benfica as a £4.5m makeweight in the David Luiz swap, only for Chelsea to pay £22.5m to bring him back two-and-a-half years later.

Presumably, Chelsea would have secured sell-on fees for some of their departing youngsters, which also isn't factored into our financial analysis, but the club clearly would like to have kept some of those youngsters going on loan before for more money years later.

At the same time, there has been an obvious disconnect between this strategy and actually promoting those players into the first team. Chelsea haven't trusted their young players to actually make the step up, not too unusual among big English clubs, even when the future superstars I've mentioned managed to do so immediately after leaving. During the 2018 season, only two Chelsea players who were signed at a young age and went out on loan as members of the club played at least 500 minutes for the Blues in the Premier League: Loftus-Cheek and Christensen, neither of whom were regular starters. (Christensen started each of Chelsea's 15 Europa League appearances, but strangely started only six times in the Premier League.)

The change

One player who might spur change throughout the market is Jadon Sancho. City failed to open up a spot on the wing for Sancho and while a similarly skilled player in years past might have waited his turn or gone on a series of loans, Sancho instead refused to sign a contract extension. City subsequently sold Sancho in 2017 to Dortmund for just over £7m and in his second season with the club, Sancho scored 12 goals and 14 assists while stealing a starting spot away from Christian Pulisic, who chose to move to Chelsea. Transfermarkt now estimates that Sancho is worth £90m.

As teams have gotten smarter and become more concerned with resale value, teenagers and players in their early 20s have become more valuable to retain and expensive to acquire. In the 1992-93 season, which was the first year of the Premier League, the 20 largest permanent transfers acquired players whose average age was 25.4 years old. Last season, that same figure was down to 23.6 years old.

Prospects like Musonda and Bamford were able to command significant wages and meaningful loan fees before getting into the Chelsea first team. If that continues to be the case, Chelsea will have to change their model. Young players might not be as willing to wait in the reserves for an opportunity or go on a series of loans when the alternative is to move to another league and play competitive football on a weekly basis. The likes of Brahim Diaz have followed in Sancho's footsteps by leaving for foreign clubs, and Hudson-Odoi might be next.

Chelsea have enjoyed financial success with their Loan Army, but they might need to actually start giving their top young talents a clear path to first-team football if they want them to stick around. For several reasons, 2019 is likely to be a year of transition for the club and their youth philosophy.

Their opponents are still technically battling for one of those semi-final spots, but for South Africa the post-mortem has already begun. How did two years of intense planning, which featured serious blooding of hopefuls and all manner of contingencies, including letting David Miller keep for a few games in case Quinton de Kock got injured - how did all that manifest in this train wreck of a campaign?

And what does it mean now that the dream is dead? What happens to the coaches and senior players? South Africa had had success in ODIs in the past year, winning five successive bilateral series, but does that mean anything without a half-decent World Cup to show for it?

Head coach Ottis Gibson's contract runs to September. Who deserves to stay as they attempt to build for the next cycle?

"It's a bit tough for all of us - we haven't performed as well as we would have liked and we have to suffer the consequences of that," assistant coach Malibongwe Maketa said ahead of the match in Durham against Sri Lanka. "We are willing to take responsibility, but hopefully we will be judged on more than what we have done here. A lot of good work was done before. Hopefully that counts for something.

"If heads do roll then we can look back and say we've given it our best shot. We came here to win and it hasn't happened. We want to make sure we leave Cricket South Africa in a better place than when we took over. It might not look like it now, but we think we have contributed."

Although coaching staff are clearly thinking about their jobs right now, there are still two games to play before South Africa return home to face consequences. For the likes of Imran Tahir and JP Duminy, who had announced their ODI retirements before the tournament, the games against Sri Lanka and Australia are a chance to bid farewell on at least a mildly pleasant note. The remainder are attempting to salvage pride and stem negativity.

Senior players - Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis in particular - may find themselves under the microscope when the tournament ends regardless of what happens in these games. But two wins, perhaps, would temper the scrutiny a little.

"What's left to play for is really ourselves," Maketa said. "We've dedicated the last two years to coming here and win the tournament. We can't let two weeks' work reflect badly on us. We need to make sure we really finish strong. As much as we're playing for millions of people back home. We need to make sure we walk away from this World Cup and justify why we're here.

"The way we see ourselves representing our country, we want to make sure that we finish off on a high. We've got a few players who are finishing after this World Cup. Two victories here will go a long way, rather than just one victory. That will be our legacy of the World Cup, and we don't want to let ourselves down."

Joe Root has admitted England's batsmen "haven't adapted" to the surfaces they have encountered in the World Cup. England have lost their last two matches to leave their hopes of progressing to the semi-finals uncertain. In both cases, they have failed to chase down targets that might, in recent years, have appeared relatively modest.

Now they are in a position where they may have to win both their final group matches, against India on Sunday and New Zealand on Wednesday, to ensure their qualification.

Root, who has led the way with the bat for his team, conceded that pitches in the tournament have not been as good for batting as England expected. But while he accepted there are "a number of things we could have done slightly better" in the campaign to date, he still felt they were "more than capable" of making it into the last four.

"If you look at some of the par scores throughout this tournament, they have been very different to when we have played in bilateral series," Root said. "We have turned up to some venues in this tournament and things have been quite different to when we have played one-day series there in the past.

"We haven't necessarily adapted as well as we could have. It is frustrating and very disappointing that we have played in the manner we have in the last two games. There are a number of things we could have done slightly better.

"I just don't think we have played as well as we can. We have made some basic errors that we want to put right in the next two games. But I strongly believe we are more than capable of qualifying for the semi-finals. We have played both these opposition in the recent past and had huge success. So we have got to look at that, the other stuff we have done well throughout the competition and put it all together."

England defeated India 2-1 in an ODI series at home last summer, and New Zealand 3-2 away in 2017-18. But while they have enjoyed a number of decent individual performances with the bat - notably, Ben Stokes passed 80 in the defeats to Sri Lanka and Australia - Root knows they will have to play better in partnerships if they are to win their next two games. And he urged his side to keep calm and continue to believe in themselves and the methods that helped them enjoy success in recent times.

"When we have done well, we have had two substantial partnerships through the chase," Root said. "But we haven't really managed that in this tournament. We haven't had two guys who have batted for a long enough period of time - for 20 or 25 overs - to put the opposition under pressure. And generally, when we have chased, that is what has served us well.

"We have to be very calm about how we approach the next couple of games. The games themselves might get quite emotional, especially the atmosphere at Edgbaston, so being very clear and precise about the threats the opposition pose is important. And remembering how we look both individually and collectively when we are at our best. Being really strong on the basic stuff has served us well for a long period of time.

"It is almost like we see these two games as quarter-finals which, in a way, should serve us really well. You still have to win big games at some stage in the tournament if you are going to go on and win it. Ours have just come a bit sooner than expected.

"And it doesn't really matter how you get there - to the semi-finals - but when you do, that's when the tournament really starts to kick in."

The reverse of that, of course, is that England could be out before their own World Cup does start to "kick in". But as Root points out, their fate is still in their own hands. And if they can adapt better at Edgbaston on Sunday, they can still progress.

Glamorgan 287 (Selman 73, Labuschagne 65) and 188 for 6 (Labuschagne 82) beat Gloucestershire 313 (Dent 105, Hammond 61, Hogan 3-51) and 161 (Hogan 4-22) by four wickets

Michael Hogan claimed match figures of 7 for 73 as Glamorgan moved to the top of the Specsavers Championship Division Two table with a four-wicket victory over Gloucestershire at Bristol. Hogan added figures of 4 for 22 to his three first-innings wickets to help bowl out the home side for 161 from an overnight 41 for 2.

Gloucestershire lost their last five wickets for just 16 runs after lunch, Graham Wagg taking two of them. James Bracey and Benny Howell each made 33, but a target of 188 from 49 overs made the visitors clear favourites.

So it proved, Marnus Labuschagne continuing his prolific season with 82 and Billy Root contributing 31 as Glamorgan reached 188 for 6 with 6.5 overs to spare. They took 20 points to Gloucestershire's six and overtake Lancashire at the summit of Division Two by a single point, having played one more game.

A draw looked the most likely outcome when the hosts led by 67 at the start of play. But soon both overnight batsmen were out as Hogan had Gareth Roderick caught at second slip for 20 and Bracey's innings was ended when he was lbw to a full delivery from Dan Douthwaite. Jack Taylor made 16 before becoming another leg-before victim, this time for David Lloyd, who then spilled a straightforward catch at first slip to give Howell a life off Marchant de Lange with the score 129 for 5.

Gloucestershire were only 157 ahead at lunch and it looked a potentially costly error. Howell, who had also survived a tougher chance to Nic Selman at second slip, was unbeaten on 27 at the interval. But Lloyd soon atoned. With the total on 145 and the lead 171, he produced a sharp catch to his left to dismiss Ryan Higgins for 6 and give Hogan his third wicket.

Soon it was 149 for 7 as Hogan bowled Howell. David Payne was caught behind trying to withdraw the bat from a delivery by Wagg, who then had Josh Shaw caught at point off a loose shot.

Joined by last man Matt Taylor, Graeme van Buuren went on the attack and edged a catch behind the ball after pulling de Lange for four. Gloucestershire's tail had offered little resistance and, with the sun breaking through, Glamorgan set about their second innings in some of the best batting conditions of the match.

Selman fell cheaply, caught by Jack Taylor at point, cutting at a short ball from Payne. But Labuschagne and Charlie Hemphrey calmed any nerves in the visiting dressing room by adding 50 before tea.

Glamorgan still needed another 132 off 36 overs. In the final session Hemphrey was brilliantly caught by Chris Dent, diving forward at cover, off Shaw, without adding to his score of 15. But Labuschagne moved confidently to his second half-century of the match off 61 balls, with seven fours, before Lloyd was bowled by Matt Taylor off an under edge for 8 with the score on 85.

Not afraid to dance down the wicket to the seamers, Labuschagne showed why he is comfortably the leading run-maker in the Championship this season.

Root, dropped at mid-off by Matt Taylor off van Buuren, was mortified to lift Shaw straight to cover and when Labuschagne was caught behind off the tireless Payne, 35 were still required.

Douthwaite fell to Shaw near the end, but the experienced Wagg calmly saw Glamorgan home. It was Gloucestershire's first defeat in the competition since August last year, a run of 11 games unbeaten.

Pakistan 241 for 4 (Babar 101*, Sohail 68) beat New Zealand 237 for 6 (Neesham 97*, de Grandhomme 64, Shaheen Afridi 3-28) by six wickets
As it happened

It is incredible how Pakistan find ways of roaring back from hopeless situations. They were written off only a week earlier, languishing at ninth position with a solitary win in five games. They were yet to crack a chase - both above 330 - in two attempts this World Cup. Then when it seemed as if they would finally restrict an opponent to below 300 - New Zealand were 83 for 5 in the 27th over - Colin de Grandhomme (64) and James Neesham (97 not out) put together the side's best sixth-wicket stand in World Cup history to haul them back.

Then chasing 238, against two fast bowlers upfront - one who wickedly swings the ball and another who is often at their throat at 150 clicks - they lost Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq. The experienced Mohammad Hafeez played and missed, beaten on the inside and outside. Then, he was hit on the helmet by Lockie Ferguson. Who really gave them a chance?

Watch on Hotstar (India only): Neesham's 97 not out

Yet, amid the chaos, they found some calm in Babar Azam, who sealed victory with an unbeaten tenth ODI century, a pristine 101 that had a capacity crowd, a majority of it Pakistan fans, crooning with 'oohs and aahs'. In Haris Sohail, he found an invaluable ally, the pair conjuring an 126-run fourth-wicket stand to see Pakistan home with five balls to spare. Haris' contribution a noteworthy 68 that built on the 89 against South Africa at Lord's. Pakistan are now within two wins of a possible semi-final berth that will have their fans talking of the eerie similarities between 1992 and 2019 for at least another week.

For large parts of their chase, it was as if they were battling to save a game on a fifth-day surface. Hafeez had a leg gully for the short ball, deep square for the hook or pull, three slips for his open-faced pokes. This was serious pressure, and yet from time-to-time, as if to ask what the fuss was all about, he played delightful pull shots and oozed lazy Rohit Sharma-like elegance in gliding the ball behind point.

Babar showed patience early on, and exhibited enough class to keep putting the bad ball away. When he was attacked with short balls, he was happy to let go of both his ego and ignore them. The pair set out to rebuild the chase, least perturbed with the asking rate, focusing on milking runs and ensuring they wouldn't lose too many wickets going into the last 20 overs, where teams believe they can chase down 150 if it comes to that. Here they only needed 110.

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Even as this strategy played out, New Zealand kept looking to pick up wickets. Invariably, this strategy brings with it the risk of leaking runs. As Mitchell Santner came on, there was grip and square turn. Suddenly, the two batsmen, tailor-made for such surfaces, struggled and New Zealand may have just begun to wonder if they had erred by not picking Ish Sodhi, the legspinner. This was evident when Kane Williamson brought himself on, but he struck gold immediately as Hafeez had a brain fade moment and holed out to deep midwicket.

It broke a 66-run stand that allowed Pakistan to get back on track after the two early strikes threatened to blow the lid off their chase. Fortunately for them, Babar wasn't going to give it away. At the other end, Haris attacked spin and pace alike, muscling Santner first and later the returning Boult for sixes even as Williamson tried his last roll of the dice. This partnership proved to be the ice to Shaheen Afridi's fire earlier in the day, when he ripped the heart out of New Zealand's batting in a searing spell after being introduced first change in the fifth over.

Shaheen's first spell read a magical 4-2-8-2, in which he accounted for the huge scalps of Colin Munro and Ross Taylor. The Taylor wicket in particular was as much because of Sarfaraz as it was Shaheen's angle and late movement.

Sarfaraz deserved credit for two reasons. One for being ultra-aggressive and looking to continuously make inroads, unlike in the past where was been happy to sit back and let the game drift. Two for leading the way with the catching at a time when they are trying to stave off the dubious distinction of being the poorest catching team at the tournament. The Taylor catch was right out of the top drawer, diving full-length to his right and taking it one-handed just as it was about to hit the turf.

Only a week ago, he was unfairly shamed, not just by a stray fan but also by a former cricketer who knows a thing-or-two to of playing in World Cups. Sarfaraz admitted this took a toll on him and his young family. Yet under pressure, this wasn't a bad way of shutting up the haters. In another intangible contribution no scorecard would ever reveal, he kept Shaheen on for a fifth over and he reaped the rewards with a third wicket when he had Tom Latham nicking behind.

This ripper of a spell from Shaheen came on the back of Mohammad Amir's early strike of Martin Guptill, as he chopped on trying to drive with minimal feet movement. In walked Williamson and he looked in control, knowing where the off stump was, and relying on the delicate dabs behind the wicket. If it was pitched up, he was happy to leave, frustrating the bowlers and then suddenly when they erred, he picked them off. Runs didn't exactly flow, but he rebuilt the innings slowly to make 41 off 68, when he was done in by Shadab Khan's mastery - drift, turn and bounce - to have him nicking behind in trying to jab at the ball. It was precisely at this moment you wondered if New Zealand erred by not picking Sodhi.

With half the side back, Sarfaraz slightly allowed the game to drift by introducing Imad Wasim's left-arm darts, when he really could've punted with Amir, who had only bowled four overs in his first spell. And by the time Amir returned, Neesham was well-set. De Grandhomme is a serial six-hitter for New Zealand - but here, he needed to hang in and take the game deep. And that is exactly what he did, until the 40th over, before taking off.

Neesham continued take calculated risks, never giving the impression that he was blindly swinging. After overcoming burst of genuine pace, they second-guessed the bowlers, waited for the slower balls, used the depth of the crease and whacked it downtown or square of the wicket. De Grandhomme's knock of 64 ended in the 48th over when an adventurous second to third man resulted in his run-out. Neesham batted right through, muscling the last ball for six to finish 97. This didn't bring with it the promise of victory, but the position New Zealand found themselves in was heaps better than the 166 they threatened to crash out at one stage (their score in that famous 1992 World Cup group clash). Yet, it came in second-best to Babar's masterclass that continued to give this tournament another wild twirl as it approaches the semi-final stage.

Sussex232 and 59 for 3 (Rushworth 3-11) need a further 378 to beat Durham 384 and 284 for 3 dec (Lees 143, Harte 77)

It was only three summers ago that Alex Lees was praised to the heavens by both Geoffrey Boycott and Dickie Bird yet still seemed certain to play for England. He carried accolades easily and batted as if it were his calling. So when Lees drove Chris Jordan for successive boundaries on this third morning, he disturbed memories of those days when cricket's table was laid out before him. But when he thick-edged Delray Rawlins to the third man boundary in mid-afternoon to bring up his century it was also salutary to note he had reached three figures for only the second time since September 2017.

Lees' batting at a Hove of sun and sea breezes recalled his early years with Yorkshire when the runs flowed from his bat and an England call did indeed seem a matter of time. But time passed and with it went Lees' consistency and application. He would play himself in, only to find a way to get himself out. Before long his place in the Yorkshire side was in jeopardy and his move to Durham last August appeared to make good sense after an early season in which he had scored only 50 runs in four Championship matches for the White Rose.

The geographical cure did not work at once. Lees managed only 256 runs in 11 Championship innings for Durham last season, meaning that his tally in the format that matters most to professionals had more or less halved in each of the two seasons following 2016, when he made 1165 runs. No one with a feeling for the game could take any pleasure in such a decline, so Lees' revival this summer has been greeted with satisfaction far beyond the County Palatine.

That said, the recovery has been relatively modest. Lees had made only 309 runs before this game against Sussex but that total included 63 and 107 in the win against Derbyshire, Durham's only four-day victory of the season, and his 143 this afternoon may well set up a second triumph. Cameron Bancroft's declaration on 284 for 3 challenged Sussex to score 437 in a minimum of 126 overs and by the close they had reached 59 for 3 after 30 wonderfully tense overs.

Sussex's pursuit began atrociously when Chris Rushworth's fifth ball of the innings hit Luke Wells high up on the right pad and the opener was caught by Jack Burnham at third slip. Most people at the1st Central County Ground, including, to judge from his non-involvement in the appeal, Rushworth, thought the ball had hit nothing but the batsman's leg. Umpire Ben Debenham took a different view of matters. Wells was aghast and Rushworth made a mental note to buy an extra couple of lottery tickets.

Four overs later there was a far less controversial dismissal when the wretchedly out-of-form Harry Finch drove a catch back to Rushworth, thereby collecting a pair. But Will Beer and Stiaan van Zyl prevented Durham making further breakthroughs until Beer was leg before wicket to Rushworth when only six balls remained of a long evening session in which Hove was at its glorious best. The sunlight was sharp crystal and the slips' flannels fluttered in the breeze like Eric Morecambe's plus fours. The only thing spoiling home supporters' satisfaction was their team's travails. Even a draw would be a very significant achievement and victory cannot be contemplated. Sussex's batsmen are in the foothills of Shishapangma.

Yet the current plight of the third-placed team in Division Two this season reflects very well on the bottom side, Durham, whose cricketers have dominated this game since midway through the second day. With the second ball of this morning's play the admirable Brydon Carse collected his maiden five-wicket haul in first-class cricket when he bowled Rawlins. Reasonably enough on a good pitch but one taking some turn, Bancroft opted not to enforce the follow-on, and naturally enough, Durham's innings began badly when the skipper played forward to a ball outside his off stump but only edged a catch to Finch at second slip. Not since April 8 have Durham's openers put on more than 14 for the first wicket in a Championship and they have had 11 attempts at it.

The rest of the innings was controlled by Lees and to a lesser degree by Gareth Harte. The pair put on 215 for the second wicket with Harte making 77 before he drove Wells to Rawlins at short cover. The pitch was flat and the bowling unthreatening but Lees maintained his focus on the task of piling up runs. There were times late in his Yorkshire career when he seemed capable of getting out to the Brownies on the beach. This afternoon he batted as if the crease might once again become his kingdom.

UFC fighter Desmond Green is facing four DUI manslaughter charges for his alleged role in a five-vehicle crash last August that killed two people.

According to Broward County Jail records, Green, 29, was arrested Tuesday. Along with the manslaughter charges, the Broward County Court lists 19 total charges, including DUI causing serious bodily injury (four counts), DUI causing property damage (five counts), operating with a suspended license, and possession of cocaine, marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

His total bond was set at $194,000, according to the jail records.

In August, Alvaro Feola, a spokesman for the Florida Highway Patrol, told reporters that Green lost control of his Dodge Durango just before 6:15 a.m. on Interstate 75 in Davie, Florida. The SUV veered into the path of a tractor-trailer, causing a chain-reaction crash with three other vehicles.

Two people -- Emelina Morfa, 67, and Emma Suarez Hernandez, 76 -- were killed. Two others were seriously hurt. Green suffered minor injuries.

Green (21-7) has fought three times since the crash, winning his last two bouts.

ESPN's Greg Rosenstein contributed to this report.

Bob Ley, after a 40-year career at ESPN, announced his retirement from the network Wednesday.

Ley, who had taken a leave of absence in October, said in a statement that he will be retiring at the end of this month. He was ESPN's longest-tenured anchor.

"To be clear, this is entirely my decision. I enjoy the best of health, and the many blessings of friends and family, and it is in that context that I'm making this change," he said.

Ley, 64, thanked ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro and the network's senior leadership team "for their understanding and patience over the past months."

Too many folks to thank individually, right now, but know that I have you all in my mind and my heart. Some news to share: pic.twitter.com/Qydhpcy4MV

— Bob Ley (@BobLeyESPN) June 26, 2019

"Through the decades, and my innumerable experiences at ESPN, I have built many deep and fulfilling friendships. You know who you are. I hope you also know how much you mean to me. We have shared an American story unlike any other. And we will continue to do so in the years ahead," Ley said.

"I have been gifted by our viewers and consumers with a precious commodity -- your trust. To be invited into your homes was a privilege I never took for granted, one I worked each day to uphold. Thank you for that.

"In September, I signed off my last show saying, 'I'll catch you on the flip side.' Now it's time to take that vinyl off the turntable (ask your folks), flip it over, and drop the needle on the B-side. There are always great cuts, and hidden gems on the B-side.

"Thank you for a great run."

Ley joined ESPN as a SportsCenter anchor on Sept. 9, 1979 -- the third day of the network's operation. In 1980, he hosted the first NCAA selection show and live broadcast of the NFL draft and continued in that role for the next nine years.

He was the host of Outside The Lines, ESPN's investigative news program, since the show launched in May 1990 and also hosted ESPN's weekly E:60 show on Sunday mornings, leading the coverage of several important stories. As host of OTL, Ley was a leader in reporting on concussions and CTE and the NFL's handling of domestic violence cases.

Ley joined Jeremy Schaap on Wednesday's episode of Outside the Lines.

Norby Williamson, executive vice president of event and studio production, said in a statement that Schaap and Ryan Smith "will handle the bulk of anchoring duties" for OTL going forward.

Ley won 11 Sports Emmy Awards during his time at ESPN, including an Emmy for outstanding studio host in 2018. Ley and OTL won the DuPont Award in 2014 for reporting on issues in football at the youth level. Ley and OTL also won four Edward R. Murrow Awards.

"The standard of excellence that has become a hallmark of ESPN began in the early days when we were a start-up with a bold vision. Bob was there for all of it and, over the years, his unwavering commitment and unparalleled work ethic drove our journalistic ambitions. The best way we can thank Bob for what he's meant to ESPN and to sports fans is to continue to uphold the journalistic integrity and principles he's instilled in ESPN for nearly 40 years," Pitaro said in a statement.

Ley was inducted into the National Sports Media Association Hall of Fame earlier this week.

Saying it's time to become "just another retiree in South Florida," goalie Roberto Luongo of the Florida Panthers announced his retirement from the NHL on Wednesday after a stellar 19-season career.

Luongo had three more seasons on his contract at a $5,333,333 salary-cap hit.

"Thinking about getting onto the ice in late July, for the first time in my career, I wasn't excited about it. That was the sign for me. It's not that I don't love playing hockey anymore, but I had to listen to my body. I'm at the point where my body was telling me it just needed a rest. It didn't really want to get going," said Luongo, in a letter posted to the Panthers' website.

I've decided to take my talents to a South Beach retirement home ✌? pic.twitter.com/BTuZIo8XT8

— Strombone (@strombone1) June 26, 2019

"So I've decided to retire, and it's been really tough. One of the hardest things I've gone through in making this decision was when I told Gianni and Gabriella, my kids. Seeing them cry when I told them about it because they loved coming to the games and watching me play so much, it really broke my heart. We cried together. It was hard, it was really sad."

Luongo ends his career as one of the most accomplished goaltenders in NHL history. In 1,044 games with the New York Islanders, the Panthers and the Vancouver Canucks, Luongo amassed a record of 489-392-124, with a .919 save percentage and a 2.52 goals-against average. He ranks third all-time in wins, second all-time in games played, and second in shots faced (30,924) and saves made (28,409). His save percentage is 10th best all-time.

Luongo never won the Stanley Cup, although he helped push the 2011 Stanley Cup Final to seven games against the Boston Bruins. He won Olympic gold twice in 2010 and 2014, and golds at the world championships (2003, 2004) and the World Cup of Hockey (2004). A three-time finalist for the Vezina Trophy for the NHL's top goalie, his only award was the Jennings Trophy in 2011 for the lowest goals against in the NHL.

Off the ice, Luongo has made headlines from the moment he entered the league. He was drafted fourth overall by the Islanders in 1997, only to be traded to Florida in a lopsided deal in 2000 when the Islanders selected goalie Rick DiPietro first overall. He remained there until a blockbuster deal in 2006 sent him to Vancouver, where he played 448 games.

In September 2009, Luongo signed a massive 12-year, $64 million contract with Vancouver, a deal that proved too elephantine for the Canucks, who traded Luongo in 2013.

"My contract sucks -- that's what's the problem," Luongo said at the time. "I'd scrap it if I could now."

The Canucks found a taker for that contract in Florida in 2014, as Luongo relocated back to where his family still had a home.

After a strong 2017-18, his last season was statistically his worst in the NHL, with an .899 save percentage and a 3.12 goals-against average. There was speculation that Luongo could be placed on long-term injured reserve to get his cap hit off the books, but instead he chose to retire.

There are cap implications for both the Canucks and Panthers because of this decision. The latest NHL collective bargaining agreement retroactively punished teams that gave out contracts like Luongo's that front-loaded money in what was seen as an attempt to circumvent the salary cap. This "recapture penalty" costs the offending team the difference between what the player is really making and the annual average value of the deal. Since Luongo was slated to make significantly less than his $5.33 million AAV, the Canucks will be hit with a $3.03 million penalty for the next three seasons, while the Panthers are on the hook for $1.09 million for three seasons.

Luongo plans to live in Parkland, Florida, home of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School where 17 people were killed in a shooting in February 2018.

"I'm building a home in Parkland and it's going to be my family's permanent home for the rest of our time on this earth," he said. "I'm proud to be a Parkland resident. We've been through a lot, but we came together. We've tried to heal together and we've tried to make our community and our world a better place."

Luongo wrote that this is not the time to discuss future plans, though he expressed an interest in remaining involved in hockey.

Where are Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson heading in NBA free agency? Will the New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets or LA Clippers be able to land two max stars?

The signings can officially begin at 6 p.m. ET Sunday, and so far there's little certainty about how this potentially league-altering offseason will shake out.

Our ESPN Forecast panel predicts the destinations for the top players and which franchise will be the title favorite when the summer is over.

More: Latest NBA free-agency buzz

On which team's roster will Kevin Durant be next season?

Durant is likely to miss most or all of next season after suffering a ruptured right Achilles in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, making his offseason move even more unpredictable.

In the February edition of these predictions, the Knicks were clear favorites. Now it's a toss-up, with the Golden State Warriors having a slight edge.

MORE: Warriors to talk future with KD, Klay this week

On which team's roster will Klay Thompson be next season?

Like Durant, Thompson is expected to miss a large chunk of 2019-20 after tearing the ACL in his left knee during the NBA Finals. Both players are still projected to command max offers in free agency despite the injuries, and our panel is unanimous in predicting Thompson will return to Golden State.

MORE: Ten free-agency and trade targets for Warriors

Where will Kawhi Leonard play next season?

The NBA Finals MVP is tough to read, but our panel now predicts a Toronto Raptors return as most likely. In February, the Clippers got 66.7% of the vote.

Wherever he ends up, pay attention to the number of years on Leonard's next contract. A two-year deal (maybe with a player option) would let him hit the market again with 10 years of service, and he then would be able to earn significantly more long-term money.

MORE: Which NBA teams can chase superstar free agents?

Where will Kyrie Irving play next season?

The Boston Celtics have gone from favorites to keep Irving in February to out of the running in these predictions following a disappointing season.

Now Brooklyn is the front-runner for the All-Star point guard.

MORE: 'Busy week' ahead for Ainge, recalibrating Celtics

Where will Kemba Walker play next season?

Walker has said that the Charlotte Hornets are his first priority in free agency and he would consider taking less money if it helped build out the rest of the roster.

Walker will receive interest from plenty of other teams with point guard needs, though no clear favorite has emerged to recruit him away from Charlotte.

MORE: Biggest NBA free-agency and trade decisions for all 30 teams

Where will Al Horford play next season?

Horford is expected to leave Boston after talks on a long-term deal fell apart, according to a report by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

The Dallas Mavericks are the favorites here, with Horford joining the dynamic core of Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis (if he returns in restricted free agency).

Others receiving votes: Brooklyn Nets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz

MORE: How the NBA draft sets up a league-altering free agency

Will the 76ers re-sign their big midseason additions?

In February, keeping Tobias Harris but losing Jimmy Butler was the top choice at 63.9%. Since then, Butler's clutch showing in the postseason has made him look crucial to the Philadelphia 76ers' offense.

The Houston Rockets will make a run at recruiting Butler for a sign-and-trade, according to a report by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, though even if Butler is interested the cap mechanics there are complex.

MORE: The latest intel on this loaded free-agent market

Who is the next best free-agent target?

Khris Middleton and D'Angelo Russell get the nod here.

Middleton was essential to the Milwaukee Bucks' earning the league's best regular-season record, and the Bucks won't have many ways to replace him if he walks. Russell enters restricted free agency, but Brooklyn will need to renounce his rights to add two max players.

Others receiving votes: Julius Randle, Nikola Vucevic

MORE: 2019 NBA free-agent rankings: Top 30 players and potential fits

How many max-contract players will the Knicks add in the offseason?

The Knicks cleared room for two stars in the Porzingis trade, with Durant pegged as the favorite to take at least one of those max slots prior to his injury. Now the Knicks appear to be total wild cards.

If New York can't land the top free agents, all indications are that the team will pursue short-term deals, according to a report by ESPN's Zach Lowe.

MORE: The NBA draft's best, riskiest and most surprising moves

How many max-contract players will the Nets add in the offseason?

The Nets have telegraphed their intention to pair Irving with a second superstar, and Durant has been widely assumed to be that star, according to Lowe's report.

Our panel predicts Brooklyn gets at least one star -- and maybe two.

MORE: Kyrie or D'Angelo? How Brooklyn might handle a difficult decision

How many max-contract players will the Clippers add in the offseason?

The Raptors winning the title -- seemingly increasing their odds to keep Leonard in Toronto -- likely shifted these L.A. predictions.

The Clippers were projected in February to have an 86.1% chance to land at least one star, but that's down to 66.7% now. Still, those are strong odds at improvement for a team that took a healthy Warriors squad to six games in the playoffs.

MORE: How the Clippers can make their anti-pitch to Kawhi Leonard

Which team will be the 2019-20 NBA title favorite when the season begins?

With Kawhi expected to return, the Raptors take this one. Their Eastern Conference finals foes from Milwaukee are a close second.

MORE: NBA free agents: Team-by-team lists for 2019 and 2020

_{Image credits (in order of appearance): Ezra Shaw/Getty Images; Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images; Brian Babineau/NBAE/Getty Images; David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images; Greg M. Cooper/USA Today; Michael Reaves/Getty Images; Paul Sancya/AP Photo; Michelle Farsi/NBAE via Getty Images; Noah K. Murray/USA TODAY Sports; Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE/Getty Images; Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE/Getty Images}