On a wet Tuesday night in March 2017, Nathan Coulter-Nile was concerned.

Having batted in the indoor nets at Perth's Revolution Sports, preparing for a WACA first-grade two-day final with his club side Subiaco-Floreat, he wondered aloud to a team-mate about whether he should play. He was in the team as a specialist batsman having not played a professional match since an ODI against the West Indies in June 2016 due to stress fractures in his back. He had failed to reach 20 in his last five innings batting at No. 4 and he asked whether he was stealing a spot from club player.

Liam Davis, the former Western Australia and Australia A opening batsman and Subi's batting coach, intervened with a knowing nod. Struggling for motivation as an injured professional cricketer had been a path he had walked every inch. The pair came up with a plan. They would meet an hour before training on Thursday for a conversation, just the two of them, away from group.

When training started on Thursday the pair emerged from the Floreat Oval changing rooms with vigour and purpose. Coulter-Nile strapped his pads on, Davis grabbed his trusty side-arm 'wanga' and a brand new ball and the pair went to work. Coulter-Nile faced more balls that night than he had all season, maybe in his career.

WATCH on Hotstar (India only) - Nathan Coulter-Nile's powerful 92

It worked a charm. Coulter-Nile walked out at 82 for 2 on the Sunday morning, with his team needing 285 to win the final and made a clinical 55. His footwork was sharp, his defence was tight, his balance was sound but he drove, cut and pulled with authority and power. That innings was an integral part in Subi winning the WACA first grade premiership.

The game was taken aback by Coulter-Nile's performance at Trent Bridge, where he made a match-winning 92 off 60 against West Indies, the highest score by a No.8 in a World Cup, 58 runs more than his previous highest ODI score. While it was shock to those looking at his career ODI (average 12.83 before this innings) and first-class figures (average 18.75), it was not a shock to anyone who had seen him play for Subi. It was exactly what they had been waiting to see.

In 2012 he walked out in a semi-final against Melville, whose attack featured two first-class bowlers, at 193 for 5 and made a run-a-ball 87 not out, sharing a 100-run stand with England's David Willey, Subi's visiting overseas player. He had already made a century that season and followed the match-winning semi-final effort with a top-scoring 68 in a losing final a week later on a green pitch at the WACA.

This isn't to compare the WACA grade competition with what Coulter-Nile faced against West Indies, with the stakes at their highest and bouncers coming down at 150kph, but in the context of a team being in trouble it is a situation that has previously brought the best out of him. However, he was quick to defer to the man who helped make it happen.

"I have to give him 100 percent of the credit," Coulter-Nile said of Davis' role. "He takes time out, doesn't take anything off me. He's not a cricket tragic so for him to come and help me like that, I really appreciate it. In all honesty I owe him everything for my batting."

Davis isn't a full-time cricket coach. He's barely a part-timer. A business and three kids don't allow much time. But he's an outstanding batting coach. He has experienced the highs and lows of professional and club cricket. He made a Sheffield Shield triple century against New South Wales and played for Australia A against South Africa before his career ended prematurely due to a badly broken finger.

He played alongside three current professional coaches. Australia coach Justin Langer, WA and Perth Scorchers assistant coach Kade Harvey, and New South Wales' batting mentor Beau Casson all played in the same grade team together at Scarborough, a Perth club that has also produced Marcus Stoinis, Marcus Harris and AJ Tye.

While Davis has not pursued the professional coaching path he's had a huge impact on Coulter-Nile. They make a great pair. Davis, a five-foot nothing wannabe fast bowler, with his side-arm and a bag of brand new balls skipping in and endlessly bouncing anyone who faces him. Coulter-Nile stands there at the other end, bat waggling like a wannabe baseballer, trying to hit every ball into the next suburb. When he connects he asks Davis sarcastically and loudly, 'how big is that?!'.

He has the ability to get Coulter-Nile to understand his power and skill. Coulter-Nile is at his best when he's balanced, holding his shape and not trying to over-hit the ball, even when they now work exclusively on white-ball batting with Coulter-Nile having stepped away from first-class cricket.

"I was working really hard on the red-ball sort of stuff, trying to get in and he just said 'scrap that, we're not playing red-ball cricket anymore and we just hit balls, I just tried to hit balls for six. That's all I've been doing for last year," Coulter-Nile said.

More than anything Davis, who is a salesman by trade, sells belief and the patter had an enormous pay-off at Trent Bridge. However, Coulter-Nile is his harshest critic and he knows his batting isn't guaranteeing his spot in this Australia side.

"No, I took 0 for 70," Coulter-Nile said. "We've got two world-class bowlers [not playing]. I'm not in the team to make runs, hopefully the top order does that so I wouldn't be surprised if I got dropped for the next game. I'm in the team to take wickets and I've had two wicketless games so we'll see how we go."

Coulter-Nile's runs saved Australia's blushes on Thursday. Whilst he says it's not his job, it can be. He's shown exactly what he is capable of.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

Ricky Ponting has expressed concern over the mindset of some of Australia's batsmen despite the 15-run victory over West Indies in their group match. Australia lost five wickets for just 79 runs in the face of fast and aggressive short-pitched bowling before Steven Smith partnered with Alex Carey and Nathan Coulter-Nile to steady the innings.

"It's pretty fair to say some of the boys are a bit disappointed with their batting at the top," Ponting said. "But listening to Steve Smith talk about it as well, the wicket was a little bit more uneven than what we thought it might have been, you could see a lot of uneven bounce with the shorter ball in particular.

"The boys found it difficult to play the ball off the back foot. Yes, they led to a couple of dismissals, but it was more the follow-up balls and the mindset around how we played some of the short pitched bowling today that was the biggest concern."

Of particular concern to Ponting was that Usman Khawaja was struck twice by short balls. On the second occasion, he was attempting to pull Andre Russell and he was out edging a loose drive on the next delivery. Khawaja was also hit on the grille of his helmet facing Russell during Australia's warm-up match against West Indies in Southampton and underwent scans on his jaw. Ponting said he hoped to find out if there was an underlying issue.

"That's a big part of my role now - I'm not going to teach him how to play a cover drive or a pull shot, I need to know what's going through his mind in moments like that. What leads to that thinking about playing a shot like that. If I can help in some way just to get him through a situation like that and give him something else or something different to think about, I think that's a huge part of coaching.

"I thought he's looked really good. He started his innings really well today, he punched one down the ground for four early on. He got hit in the head. I'm more concerned to what led to him playing that shot. What was he thinking? Was he expecting another short ball? Was he going to try to help it over backward point? What was he thinking? I'll get to the bottom of it in the next 48 hours."

India's bowling attack will present a different challenge to Australia's batsmen at The Oval on Sunday. After a six-month period in which Australia and India have met in five Tests and five ODIs there will be some familiarity in the contest. But Ponting said that has only increased the Australians' respect for Jasprit Bumrah, in particular.

"I think everyone has learnt he's probably one of the best fast bowlers in the world with a white or a red ball," Ponting said. "They've learnt he can surprise you with pace. They've learnt his control is outstanding as well, which is why he's one of the leading fast bowlers in the world.

"We'll need to be well prepared for him and I'm sure the boys will be, having played as much as they have against him during the summer. "They also pose some pretty strong threats with the spinners as well. They were both pretty good the other day - [Yuzvendra] Chahal and Kuldeep [Yadav]. There's some work for the boys to do. More a mindset thing. I've been really happy with the skills I've seen from all the boys, it's just about getting the mindset right and getting the adaptation of that mindset right between what you need at different times in the game and playing accordingly."

Ponting has been closely involved with several players in the India squad, thanks to coaching stints with Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals in the IPL. When asked if that gave him any insights he could pass on to the Australian players, he made a wry reference to Shane Warne's comments in the Mumbai Mirror that questioned Ponting's involvement in the 2019 tournament on the grounds of conflict of interest.

"I'm going to say I didn't learn anything about any of the Indian batsmen while I was at the IPL otherwise I might not get a gig back there again. Warnie will have me out of a job like he tried to before this year's IPL," Ponting said.

"I coached Rohit Sharma for a couple of years at Mumbai, I had Shikhar Dhawan for a couple of months at Delhi. I didn't learn anything about those guys by being with them in India that I didn't already know before.

"I think I'm a pretty astute watcher of the game and, with batsmen, I'm pretty good at picking why certain batsmen are good at hitting the ball to particular areas. The way they pick up the bat, the way they hold the bat, the backlift, the foot movement - whatever it may be. So I don't think I've learnt anything more about them having been a part of the IPL. It's a different format as well obviously.

"We saw a couple of days ago how good Rohit Sharma is at the top of the order for them, he's a class player. I'm not the only one. Steve Smith's shared dressing rooms with a lot of other players as well. As a coach, yes, I can bring some stuff, but a lot of the players in the team have played with them and against them over the years. If I can add a couple of gold nuggets, I'll try to my best."

Japan have qualified for next year's ICC Under-19 World Cup in South Africa - the first time the country has qualified for a cricket World Cup at men's, women's or junior level - in bizarre circumstances. They secured their place in the tournament after Papua New Guinea - their opponents for Saturday's final group match in ICC Under-19 East Asia-Pacific Regional Qualifier - forfeited the game in Sano. The forfeit occurred when PNG could not field a team for the final day's play after Cricket PNG suspended 11 of its 14 squad members "for internal disciplinary reasons and failing to adhere to our strict codes of conduct," according to a statement issued over Facebook by Cricket PNG.

Japan, who were the hosts, and PNG were both undefeated, with three victories each heading into Saturday's final day of group play at the Sano International Cricket Ground, a turf facility located 100 km north of Tokyo. Both teams had defeated Samoa, Fiji and Vanuatu in their opening three encounters and had a scheduled off-day on Friday June 7, ahead of their de facto final on Saturday, before a statement was issued by the ICC announcing that PNG had forfeited due to the suspensions en masse.

Japan participated in the East Asia-Pacific Regional Under-19 Qualifier for the first time since 2011. In their three prior appearances - 2007, 2009 and 2011 - Japan had only won one of 11 matches, a 24-run win over Fiji. This year's squad is a cosmopolitan mix of Japanese players, along with several players of other ethnicities.

PNG had won the East Asia-Pacific Under-19 championship seven consecutive times from 2002 through 2014. But this is the second time in the last three tournaments that they have failed to take the regional berth to secure a spot in the Under-19 World Cup, having finished runner-up to Fiji four years ago albeit under more traditional circumstances.

The Japan Cricket Association was first established in 1984 before the country became an ICC Associate Member in 1995. The closest the Japan men's team came to reaching the World Cup was their participation in 2008 WCL Division Five in Jersey, a tournament more famous for being the start of Afghanistan's journey up the world rankings. Japan were relegated to Division Seven after that event, and after they lost a semi-final to Ghana in 2012 WCL Division Eight in Samoa they were dumped out of the World Cricket League for good, effectively closing the door on a pathway to qualify for a men's World Cup.

The Japan women's team has also struggled competitively over the years. Most recently, they finished fifth out of six teams in the Women's East Asia-Pacific T20 World Cup Qualifier held last month in Vanuatu. Their only win came by 31 runs over Fiji.

All the action and analyses from the England v Bangladesh game. Don't forget to follow our ball-by-ball commentary for the match. And if you don't see the blog immediately below, please refresh the page

All the action and analyses from the Afghanistan v New Zealand game. Don't forget to follow our ball-by-ball commentary for the match. And if you don't see the blog immediately below, please refresh the page

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- The New York Jets have ended their 23-day search for a general manager, hiring Philadelphia Eagles vice president of player personnel Joe Douglas -- an ally of new coach Adam Gase's.

New York is giving Douglas a six-year deal, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Friday.

Douglas, 42, will be the Jets' fourth GM in the past eight years, replacing Mike Maccagnan, who was fired May 15 after a power struggle with Gase.

The Jets hope Douglas can galvanize an organization in turmoil in the aftermath of Maccagnan's surprising ouster. This could be awkward for Douglas because the perception is that Gase, who served as the interim GM, is calling the shots.

We've agreed to terms with Joe Douglas to be our next GM. pic.twitter.com/tzQiWzNmkp

— New York Jets (@nyjets) June 8, 2019

Technically, Gase and Douglas both will report to CEO Christopher Johnson -- the same power structure as the previous regime. Just as Maccagnan did, Douglas will control the 53-man roster and will have final say on the draft and free agency, according to the Jets.

Douglas was the heavy favorite from the outset, in part because of his connection to Gase. They worked together with the Chicago Bears in 2015 and remained friends. The Douglas speculation began swirling before the draft, when rumors about Maccagnan's job security started leaking.

The Jets interviewed four known candidates for the position -- Douglas, Seattle Seahawks co-director of player personnel Scott Fitterer, Bears assistant director of player personnel Champ Kelly and New Orleans Saints director of pro scouting Terry Fontenot.

The Jets just would not take "no" as an answer from Douglas, a source told Schefter. Douglas tried to turn down the job and each time he did, the team came back at him harder and harder and simply was not going to be denied in its efforts to land him.

The Jets wined and dined Douglas on Saturday night, with another meeting Sunday, before offering him the job.

Douglas inherits a promising young quarterback in Sam Darnold, but he still faces plenty of challenges. The Jets haven't posted a winning season since 2015 and they haven't reached the playoffs since 2010. The roster includes a small core of talented players, led by Pro Bowl safety Jamal Adams, but there are many deficiencies.

The salary-cap situation is fine for a year or two, but it could get messy when Maccagnan's recent big-money signings -- namely, running back Le'Veon Bell and linebacker C.J. Mosley -- reach the second and third years of their contracts.

Douglas has no previous GM experience, but he's regarded in league circles as an up-and-comer. He spent the past three seasons as Howie Roseman's right-hand man in the Eagles' front office, running the personnel department and managing the scouts. Eagles sources say he played a key role in the 2017 Super Bowl championship, yet many said they believe Douglas was ready to leave.

He presided over three drafts with the Eagles. The 2017 and 2018 drafts lack star power and have produced only two starters, defensive end Derek Barnett and tight end Dallas Goedert, but a handful of players could emerge as key contributors this season. It's important to remember the Eagles lacked draft capital because of the trade for Carson Wentz in 2016.

Douglas grew up in the Baltimore Ravens' organization, starting out as a low-level personnel assistant in 2000 and working his way up to national scout in 2015. Realizing he had no shot at the GM position -- Eric DeCosta was tabbed as Ozzie Newsome's heir apparent -- Douglas moved to the Bears and Eagles.

HOUSTON -- The Houston Texans have fired general manager Brian Gaine, the team announced Friday.

The Texans hired Gaine in January 2018 after former general manager Rick Smith took a leave of absence to help take care of his wife as she battled breast cancer. Gaine was signed to a five-year contract.

"After a thorough evaluation of our football operations, we have decided to relieve Brian Gaine of his duties as general manager," Texans CEO Cal McNair said in a statement.

Statement from #Texans Chairman and CEO Cal McNair: pic.twitter.com/MmhWYGtCiU

— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) June 7, 2019

The Texans finished last season 11-5 to win the AFC South but lost to the Indianapolis Colts in the wild-card round.

Until the Texans hire Gaine's replacement, Houston's football operations will be led by Chris Olsen, the team's senior vice president of football administration.

Gaine spent the 2017 season as the Buffalo Bills' vice president of player personnel.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Kawhi Leonard said Friday that if the Toronto Raptors hadn't put him on a load-management plan during the regular season, he wouldn't be playing in the NBA Finals.

"It was big," Leonard said in a sit-down interview with ESPN's Rachel Nichols. "When it got bad, we ended up taking, you know, four or five games off. And, you know, if we didn't do that, I wouldn't be here right now.

"The way we laid out the schedule was good. I'm happy."

When asked if the load-management plan really made that big of a difference, Leonard doubled down.

"For sure," he said. "I don't think I'd be playing right now if I would've tried to go through that season [without it]."

After his 36-point effort in Friday night's 105-92 win in Game 4, Leonard is averaging 31.1 points, 9.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 22 games during this postseason. That includes averages of 30.8 points, 10.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists in the first four Finals games.

Leonard and the Raptors have steadfastly said throughout the Eastern Conference finals and the NBA Finals that he's fine, despite him occasionally limping at times throughout each of the past several games. But while Leonard has continued to say if he's able to play it means he isn't injured, he admitted it is taking extra time for him to get ready to play each game.

"Just go out and play," Leonard said. "But I mean, you know, it takes a lot of, you know, pregame effort now. I'm seeing medical, warming it up, and, you know, going from there. That's the big thing about when you do get an injury. And you can't just run on the floor after you're in shootaround -- pregame shots. Gotta go back and do something with somebody until game time."

Meanwhile, the specter of his upcoming free agency looms over both Leonard and the Raptors. The possibility exists that, no matter what happens over the final few games of this series, that Leonard could go elsewhere -- likely to the LA Clippers, if he does leave -- as an unrestricted free agent this summer.

For his part, though, Leonard maintains that the only thing he is thinking about right now is what is in front of him: trying to win a second NBA title. The Raptors lead the best-of-seven series 3-1. Game 5 is Monday night in Toronto.

"Not now," Leonard said. "I mean, obviously -- you know what you want. But I'm not thinking, like -- just because of this and this, I'm gonna re-sign.

"I'm not even thinking about signing or what team I'm gonna go to, free agency, none of that. I'm just focused on what's in front of me right now. And then, you know, once it's over, then I'll revisit everything."

Toronto Raptors guard Fred VanVleet needed seven stitches after taking an elbow to the face in the fourth quarter on Friday, but he was more upset about damaging a tooth.

"If that's what being a Canadian is, I don't think I want it," VanVleet said with a smile after the game. "You know I don't play hockey, I've got a lot of respect for those guys and what they do, but you know, losing a tooth is not fun. Obviously, the stitches I could deal with, but I was more upset that I could have the remnants of my teeth floating around in my mouth as I was laying there on the ground."

VanVleet's face was left bloodied by the elbow of Golden State Warriors guard Shaun Livingston, who was coming down after a layup attempt, with 9:35 left in the fourth quarter of the Raptors' 105-92 win in Game 4 of the NBA Finals.

The stitches repaired the cut under VanVleet's eye, but he did not suffer a concussion. He left the game after scoring eight points in 29 minutes.

A piece of tooth initially remained on the court after the guard was helped up, but it was eventually returned to him.

VanVleet went back to the bench after getting treatment and was available to check back into the game, but he was not needed, as the Raptors cruised to victory to take a 3-1 series lead.

"Hopefully by the next time you guys see me, I'll have it fixed. Took a nice shot there," he said. "Unfortunately, it took me out of the game. But I was trying to hurry up, get it stitched up and be back on the bench with the guys. And they took care of business."

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Playing on an injured left hamstring, Golden State Warriors swingman Klay Thompson scored 28 points in his return from a one-game absence, but it wasn't enough to will his team past the Toronto Raptors in Friday night's 105-92 loss in Game 4 of the NBA Finals.

The fact that Thompson, who hurt his hamstring in Game 2 and missed Game 3 because of the injury, was able to play and produce at such a high level over 42 minutes on Friday made a lasting impression on his teammates and coaches.

Likewise for forward Kevon Looney, who scored 10 points and grabbed six rebounds in 20 minutes while playing with a nondisplaced first costal cartilage fracture on his right side.

Like Thompson, Looney suffered the injury in Game 2, was ruled out for the series before Game 3 and then gutted out a return after the organization decided he could do no further damage to the area.

"Klay was amazing," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "With a tweaked hamstring, to do what he did. Looney as well, coming in and playing 20 minutes, given his injury status. So both those guys are -- they're warriors. No pun intended. They just compete, compete, compete, and I'm really proud of both of them. Both played really well, but again, it wasn't enough in terms of our team effort."

The Warriors were hopeful that Thompson would be able to produce, but as Kerr noted before the game, they were going to watch him closely to make sure he was moving well on both ends of the floor.

"It didn't affect me," Thompson said of his injury. "Like I said before, it's the Finals. It's a long season. You play 100-plus games, you're going to be banged up. But you just got to dig deep. No one's going to feel sorry for you, so you just got to go out there, man up and play to the best of your ability."

Looney acknowledged that his injury started to cause some issues down the stretch of the game, but he still managed to make some plays despite dragging his right arm at times throughout the night.

"It was pretty tough," Looney said. "The first half it was pretty good. The adrenaline was going. Little sore in the fourth. You've just got to block it out and do your job."

The Warriors remain hopeful that injured star forward Kevin Durant might be able to return for Game 5 on Monday as he continues recovering from a right calf injury. The issue for the Warriors is that Durant still hasn't been cleared to practice, and his teammates understand that they have to prepare as if he isn't coming back for the rest of the series.

"As far as KD, there's been hope that he would come back the whole series," Warriors forward Draymond Green said. "So that's not going to change. We hope to have him but, you know, we'll see what happens. We don't make that final call. S---, he don't even really make that final call. His body will tell him if he can get out there or not. And if he can, great. And if not, we still got to find a way to win the next game."

All the optimism regarding both Durant's potential return and the Warriors' ability to come back in this series has been muted over the past two days. After Game 3, the Warriors were optimistic that Durant would be able to participate in 3-on-3 scrimmages and be cleared to play Friday. Now they aren't sure if he'll be able to return at all.

With a loss in Game 4, the Warriors -- down 3-1 in this series -- face the possibility that they played their final game at Oracle Arena. The Warriors will move to Chase Center in San Francisco after 47 years playing in Oakland. The finality of the situation was felt inside the Warriors' locker room as the group dressed, showered and left the arena faster than they have all season. It was as quiet a setting inside the locker room as there has been.

The Warriors face the unenviable task of trying to extend the series by winning Game 5 on Monday in Toronto.

"You don't succeed the way we have over the course of these years without that mentality," guard Stephen Curry said, brushing off the idea that the Warriors were shocked by what has happened. "So as the second half unfolds and things aren't going our way, we're still fighting and trying to get over the hump. But until the final buzzer sounds and somebody gets the four wins, we still have life and have an opportunity to win.

"So like Klay said, nobody's going to feel sorry for us at all. It's just a matter of can we get it done or not, and we're going to leave it all out there starting on Monday."