LIVERPOOL, England -- A year ago, the "What about him? Why is he not playing?" questions stopped as Fabinho finally started a Premier League game for Liverpool.

Cardiff City were the visitors to Anfield on that afternoon and Fabinho was superb, playing a part in Sadio Mane's opener before supplying Mohamed Salah for the third goal in a 4-1 victory.

The influence of the Brazil international over the 12 months since is so pronounced that Liverpool supporters spent Sunday evening, the aftermath of a massive 2-1 home win over Tottenham that extended their lead at the top of the table to six points, fretting over him being one booking away from a suspension. If that happens at Aston Villa on Saturday, the No. 6 would sit out the all-eyes-on-Anfield tussle against defending champions and title rivals Manchester City on Nov. 10. Search for "Fabinho yellow card" on Twitter and wade through the flood of messages likening that scenario to a football apocalypse, with fans imploring Klopp to rest the player against Dean Smith's side this weekend.

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It's hard to conceive the 26-year-old not being Liverpool's controller in any Premier League or Champions League game, let alone in the most pivotal of them. The "very smart footballer" (as Jurgen Klopp labelled him) is pure art in the middle of the park: graceful, gutsy and grand. His ability to anticipate and disarm potentially dangerous situations, while being the fulcrum for the club's progressive play, was again showcased against Spurs. His 11 ball recoveries, four tackles and three interceptions were complemented by two key passes and producing the most passes in the opposition half.

"His impulse of defending forward is absolutely of the highest level," Klopp's assistant Pep Lijnders explained earlier this year. "Inside the 'organised chaos' that we want, that we like, he is like a lighthouse, he controls it.

"His timing, his vision, his calmness, it gives another dimension to our midfield."

Fabinho topped Liverpool's shortlist of four candidates in the summer of 2018 for the No.6 role due to his blend of physicality, "impulse of defending forward," intelligence and versatility. Amusingly, they'd initially tracked him as an option at right-back. That is where Claudio Ranieri used the Brazilian when he joined Monaco on loan from Portuguese club Rio Ave, having spent a season in Real Madrid's Castilla side. It remained Fabinho's position until the second half of the 2014-15 campaign, when Leonardo Jardim made the inspired decision of moving him into defensive midfield.

Liverpool continued to build their file on the player, whom they felt had more defensive nous than Jorginho, who was also on their shortlist along with Atletico Madrid's Thomas Partey. In the end, the latter could not match Fabinho aerially or in the passing, discipline and concentration stakes. The Merseysiders were aware, however, that Monaco's anchor would require a lengthy adaptation to Klopp's multi-faceted demands at the heart of midfield in a quicker, more intense league.

Fabinho played in a double pivot under Jardim and Liverpool initially deployed him alongside Georginio Wijnaldum to help his acclimation. Klopp thought "we had to change the system to a 'double six' midfield that he was used to at Monaco," but that idea was quickly dismissed by the £43.7 million signing's early brilliance after his months of patience on the fringes of the first team.

Fabinho used that period to undertake a specialist gym program, elevating his power and fitness. The sessions focused on strengthening his thighs and core without reducing his speed to the ball. His progress has been so exponential that in the 4-1 Champions League win over Genk last Wednesday, he "played pretty much as the only midfielder in some moments" as per Klopp's admission, with the more attack-inclined Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain operating in front of him.

"Fabi had a lot to do to sort some little gaps which we left open in different situations," Klopp said after that match. "So yes, the job of the No.6 in modern football is incredibly important, and the more offensive players there are around you, the more important it gets.

"But he's not only a gap-closer, a challenger or whatever: He is a very good footballer as well."

Fabinho is also unquestionably vital to Liverpool's ambitions domestically and on the continent, which is why his teammates have nicknamed him Dyson, after the vacuum. The question around Fabinho has morphed from "why is he not playing?" to "how on earth do you play without him?"

When you walk into the Members' Bar at Melbourne Cricket Ground, it is impossible to miss the huge "Cook 244" on the wall.

It is a sign to ensure no one forgets Alastair Cook's ten-and-a-half-hour vigil on a lifeless MCG track during the 2017-18 Ashes that would be won 4-0 by Australia, but not 5-0 thanks to both Cook and the surface.

No one at the MCG, not least the ground staff headed by curator Matt Page, need reminding of what happened.

Nearly two years on, just three days out from the first international of a new summer at the MCG - the third T20I between Australia and Sri Lanka - Page is confident that the plan to revitalise the MCG's ageing drop-in surfaces is coming together and expects this summer's pitches to be better than the ones from the previous two.

"We've been working towards a plan over the past year, part of a five-year plan of rejuvenating our pitches and get them up to the standard of where we want them to be," Page said. "One of the massive projects that we undertook at the end of the AFL season last year was that we removed the concrete slab out in the middle, which has given us a more natural environment for the pitches to thrive in this summer and we're looking forward to seeing how that goes.

"It is a more natural environment for the pitches to grow in and we're hoping it's going to give us a better result and enable us to roll out better pitches" MCG curator Matt Page

"The pitches have gone in well. Our expectation is they will improve from where they were last year. It is a more natural environment for the pitches to grow in and we're hoping it's going to give us a better result and enable us to roll out better pitches."

That concrete slab, which was the base for the drop-in trays to sit on for almost 20 years, was both a literal problem and an appropriate metaphor for what the MCG pitches had become, particularly in first-class cricket.

Adelaide Oval, which moved to drop-in pitches in 2013, and Perth Stadium, which did so more recently, did not install such a slab and have had far more success producing more natural and competitive cricket pitches.

Page likes what he's seen from the six strips that were laid a month ago without the slab underneath. "It's created a more natural environment," he said. "It should help the grass grow better. We should get stronger, healthier grass. But it's also enabled the pitches to go in, and they seem to be sitting a lot flatter at this stage.

"I guess for us it was trying to create as much of a natural wicket table as we possibly could with the trays. The only thing is the tray is still out there, everything else is like an in-situ wicket, and I guess we're hoping they might perform more like a natural wicket block." Page is confident the T20I track on Friday and subsequent short-form surfaces will have pace and bounce. He is hopeful that by Boxing Day, after hosting three Sheffield Shield games prior, the MCG surface will have something in it for everyone.

"We'll be trying to produce something that gives the quick bowlers a chance upfront and then hopefully, we get the weather and we get some deterioration and give the spinners a chance at the end," he said. "But I guess for us it's (about) producing something that will provide a contest and it will make for some really exciting cricket to watch.

"I think you'll see an improvement in the pitches this year. Last year we saw an improvement from the previous year and I'm pretty confident that we'll see an improvement this year as well."

That is part of the reason there are only six strips laid this year rather than seven, so that more use across the course of the season helps with more natural deterioration in the back-end of games.

At the same time, the authorities are also completely rebuilding four trays from scratch with a different type of clay content. Those pitches have already been constructed and are expected to be placed into the centre and used either in the late stages of the 2020-21 summer or at the start of 2021-22.

"The actual tray itself is no different, the thing we're trialling is a different type of clay which we're looking at," Page said. "We've built two wickets out the back in our practice area with this different clay. We're looking at improving our pace and bounce and hopefully, we'll get some cracks in it which hopefully will lead to some deterioration in our longer formats. That's all an exciting process that we're looking forward to and something that we'll look progressing with over the next couple of years."

"Cook 244" will likely never be erased from the MCG wall, but the lessons are being heeded.

New Zealand A 191 for 2 (Munro 107*, Kitchen 48*) beat England 188 for 5 (Vince 46, Verma 3-46) by eight wickets

England suffered a setback in their preparations for the T20I series in New Zealand, as Colin Munro's 54-ball hundred condemned the tourists to an eight-wicket defeat in Lincoln.

Munro finished unbeaten on 107 as New Zealand A closed out their chase with more than an over to spare, Anaru Kitchen keeping the opener company during a stand worth 138 in 66 balls. Only Tom Curran and Matt Parkinson - who saw both Munro and Kitchen put down off his bowling - went at fewer than 10 runs an over among the England attack.

"He came out and played a brilliant knock, we know what a quality player Colin Munro is," Sam Billings, England's vice-captain, said. "Bit of cobwebs as well, I think, with a few plans and people finding their feet probably, but as long as we rectify that going into the first game, I think we'll be fine."

Having elected to bat, England struggled to get going in their innings, losing Tom Banton and Dawid Malan inside the Powerplay. For the second match running, Banton only managed to face a handful of balls before perishing trying to hit over the top, while Malan, opening in place of Jonny Bairstow, flashed behind after hitting two early boundaries.

James Vince helped steady things, adding a fifty stand in company with the captain, Eoin Morgan. Vince made 46 from 32 to top score for England, but when he and Morgan fell to successive deliveries from Anurag Verma, England had to rebuild at just past the halfway point.

Another solid stand ensued between Joe Denly and Billings, with 64 runs added in 7.2 overs. Denly was the more aggressive of the two as he looked to make an impression at No. 5, and Lewis Gregory then marked his first appearance in an England shirt by slamming 29 from 11, with two fours and two sixes, to lift England further.

The target, however, soon proved insubstantial as Munro began peppering the boundaries at Bert Sutcliffe Oval. Although Saqib Mahmood removed Tim Seifert in the Powerplay, and Parkinson struck with his third ball to leave New Zealand A 53 for 2, Munro and Kitchen cut lose.

Munro, who is in New Zealand's squad for the five T20Is starting in Christchurch on Friday, cracked nine fours and seven sixes to see his side home, although he survived a close lbw appeal against Parkinson on 26 and was later dropped off the same bowler five runs short of his century.

Kitchen was also put down when he had made just 17, as England suffered an underwhelming day in the field. Seamers Mahmood, Gregory and Pat Brown all proved expensive, as did Denly's part-time legspin, and Munro finished the game in emphatic style by hitting Mahmood back over his head for the final six of the afternoon.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) will launch an inquiry into the Cobras' team selection, which saw them miss their transformation target in the ongoing four-day, first-class fixture against the Warriors at home. The Cobras took to the field with two black African players, Thando Ntini and Tladi Bokako, one short of CSA's requirement of three black African players. However, they met the overall target for players of colour, with a total of seven.

The Cobras confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that they provided a written explanation of their team composition to CSA, which has been received. The franchise opted not to make any comments at this stage. CSA, meanwhile, said it will consider the matter in the coming days.

"CSA has noted the submission by Western Cape Cricket (Western Cape Cricket) in lieu of a request for a deviation from the administrative conditions. CSA will launch a further enquiry into this incident and will consider all the related and relevant information in order to arrive at a decision about the strength and the validity of the argument by WCC," Thamie Mthembie, CSA's head of communications told ESPNcricinfo.

All the other five franchises fielded the required number of black African players.

This is the second time Western Province have found themselves in hot water with CSA in as many months. In September, CSA suspended the Western Province Cricket Association (WPCA) board and placed it under administration citing concerns over financial and governance issues. WPCA has since taken CSA to court, challenging this decision. The matter is ongoing.

World number three Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the WTA Finals in Shenzhen because of a shoulder injury.

Japan's Osaka, 22, beat Petra Kvitova in three sets in her opening match on Sunday and was due to play world number one Ashleigh Barty on Tuesday.

The Australian Open champion will be replaced in the Red Group by alternate Kiki Bertens, the world number 10.

"I'm disappointed to have to withdraw. This is not how I wanted to end this tournament or my season," said Osaka.

"I look forward to getting healthy and hope to be back here in Shenzhen next year."

The WTA Finals sees the world's top eight players compete in two round-robin groups of four, with the winners and runners-up advancing to the semi-finals.

The tournament, which also includes a doubles event featuring the year's top eight teams, has a record total prize fund of £10.8m.

England number eight Billy Vunipola has responded to South Africa's vow to "fight fire with fire" in the Rugby World Cup final with "bring it on".

Those comments were echoed by England assistant coach John Mitchell, who said the final features the "two most powerful teams in the world".

Vunipola said: "South Africa have very big people but then again we have a few big blokes on our team."

Saturday's final is at 0900 GMT in Yokohama.

More to follow.

In a move that could signal a major shift in Indian cricket, newly-elected BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has said that the board will bring in "a contract system" for first-class cricketers, and that the new finance sub-committee will be asked to put the process in place for it to happen.

"We will bring in a contract system for first-class cricketers," Ganguly told PTI in an interview. "We (office-bearers) will ask the new finance committee to prepare a contract system.

"It's just been four-five days [since he took charge] and in between there was a Diwali break. It will take about two weeks to assess everything and move forward. There is a lot of work going on."

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Even before he had been formally appointed to the position, Ganguly had said that domestic cricket, and cricketers, would be a major area of focus for him in his stint at the BCCI, which will be for a ten-month period before he serves the mandatory three-year cooling-off period for completing six consecutive years at a state association and/or at the BCCI.

"My biggest priority will be to look after first-class cricketers," he had said, adding that he had asked the Committee of Administrators (CoA) to provide financial security for domestic cricketers when the panel was put in place by the Supreme Court to supervise the BCCI. "I have been requesting that to the CoA for three years. That's the first thing I will do, look after the financial health of our first-class cricketers."

If implemented, this could change the complexion of the first-class game in the country.

The BCCI currently pays 26% of its gross revenue every year to its players; half of that is distributed among international players. How much each players gets, however, is calculated based on the number of matches they play. Which means a domestic cricketer stands to earn around Rs 25 to 30 lakh [US$ 35,350 to 42,500 approx.] depending on the matches played.

NEW ORLEANS -- Golden State Warriors guards Stephen Curry and D'Angelo Russell walked off the Smoothie King Center floor after Monday night's 134-123 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans and headed into the tunnel toward the visitors locker room with their arms around each other's shoulders and smiles on their faces.

Curry started to jump up and down as the happiness and relief of the group's first win of the season washed over him. After getting blown out in two consecutive games out of the gate, first by the LA Clippers on opening night and then by the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday, the Warriors were determined to prove to their critics that the season hadn't already gone off the rails.

"Everybody loves to label you when you're down or when you're losing," Curry said. "That's easy. It's easy to get on TV and say whatever you want, that's easy. Just throw darts at a team that's trying to figure it out based on how much success we've had. I would hope people can start to see through that and understand what we're about as a team and what we're going to build toward. That's basically it. If you want to get on and say whatever you want to say, and fill that 24-hour news cycle, that's cool with us. We're still going to hoop and just play basketball."

The Warriors turned in their best game of the early season Monday against a Pelicans team playing without rookie Zion Williamson (knee surgery) and veteran stalwarts Jrue Holiday (left knee sprain) and Derrick Favors (right knee soreness). The difference was that the defensive intensity that had been missing in the first two contests was present from the opening tip as the Warriors found the kind of rhythm on that end of the floor that opened up everything else.

"There's a level of intensity that we got to today," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "A level of energy that we hadn't seen the first two games -- I thought it was more confusion on our young guys. Just kind of trying to figure out where to be rather than lack of effort. When you're thinking too much it's tough to just let it go and just go play. Tonight I felt like we just played and our guys didn't think too much."

Curry led Golden State with 26 points while his brother-in-law, Warriors guard Damion Lee, scored a career-high 23.

Russell played the best game of his brief Warriors career, scoring 24 points, dishing out eight assists and grabbing seven rebounds, but it was the team's emotional heart and soul, Draymond Green, who set the tone on the defensive end that the rest of his teammates followed.

Green, who started the game at center for the first time this season as Kerr decided to put rookie Jordan Poole in the starting lineup to give the group an offensive jolt, registered 16 points, pulled down 17 rebounds and dished out 10 assists. The Warriors are now 23-0 in regular-season games when Green racks up a triple-double, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. Green took it upon himself to set a better trend for his teammates.

"The first two games I didn't set a good tempo," Green said. "We got a lot of young guys. You got to lead them a way. And then [it] can go either way. I think the first couple games I led them the wrong way. I got to be better. Tonight I was better."

What particularly irked Green was that he saw and heard a few former players writing off the Warriors after Green said they "f---ing sucked" following Sunday's blowout loss to the Thunder. For the first time all season, the Warriors played with the kind of edge that has defined their championship reign over the past five seasons.

"We're still not a very good team," Green said. "We have a lot of room for improvement. Just because we won one game doesn't mean we don't suck right now. We still have a lot of improvement to do. When I said we suck last night I see a lot of people blew it out of proportion. A lot of former players who ain't never led s--- blew it out of proportion. We sucked. And we're still not very good. But I've actually known how to lead my entire life, so those that have never led shouldn't probably talk about leading. But we just got to continue to get better, and we got to continue to compete at a high level. The first two nights we didn't do that, tonight we did. But we still have a lot of room for improvement."

Green and his teammates are hoping Monday's game can be a springboard toward stringing together some better performances.

"Some people look at that as a negative," Green said. "It depends on how you look at it, it's a negative or a positive. But I know this team got a lot of improving to do, and we plan on doing that. But right now we're not a very good team, that's just the fact of the matter. We've probably got seven guys under three years of experience. So getting those guys experience under their belt, as leaders of this team, we continue to try and bring it every night and give them something to follow, and we'll win some games."

Kerr praised both Curry and Green prior to the game for the way the veteran pair has helped to try to lead the group this season. The Warriors have nine players who are 23 or younger and are still learning where they need to be on the floor. Both Green and Curry know that one win isn't going to change the narrative about this group, but they are confident that better days are ahead.

"It's not only do you have to perform every night, you got to teach," Curry said. "There are a lot of young guys that are hungry to learn, hungry to perform, take advantage of their opportunities, but there's a process to it. You got to be aware of everything but also be at the top of our game every single night. We understand that. I think we accept that challenge and that responsibility."

In the short term, the Warriors are embracing the excitement that comes with the first victory of the season. Curry brought a gigantic bag of popcorn out of the locker room just before addressing reporters. The relief among the players was palpable after two embarrassing losses.

"It's more joy than relief to be honest with you," Kerr said. "I was just happy that everyone went out there and played really well. Every guy came in off the bench and gave us good minutes. I loved the energy the whole night. So it was a really fun night."

Manchester United are interested in recruiting French duo Boubakary Soumare and Moussa Dembele, sources have told ESPN FC.

Soumare, 20, has represented France at youth levels and plays at Lille. He has been followed for many years by the top European clubs, including United. But the Red Devils are now ready to get the ball rolling to try to recruit him before anyone else. The club has scouted him several times this season, including against Valencia last week in Champions League group action where he had an outstanding performance in Lille's 1-1 draw with Los Che.

United see Soumare as a potential heir to Paul Pogba in the midfield, with both players sharing similar profiles. With Pogba's long-term future uncertain at Old Trafford, Soumare has impressed this season with his activity, physicality, and technical skills for someone his size.

However, United are not looking to immediately replace Pogba, who has three years left on his contract.

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Soumare also ticks the box of young, talented players that the club has recently signed such as Daniel James and Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

Soumare, born in Paris, spent time at the Paris Saint-Germain academy before joining Lille. He has represented France in every age group since he was 15. His deal expires in the summer but Lille are hoping that he will sign a new deal before a potential exit in June.

He is rated at around €35 to 40 million. If he doesn't extend his contract, however, he could be signed for nothing from January.

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Lille's business plan is to sell their best asset every year. They did so with Nicolas Pepe, Rafael Leao and Thiago Mendes last summer.

If he joined Old Trafford, Soumare could team up with another possible United recruit in Moussa Dembele.

United have showed an interest in the Lyon striker for many years now, following him closely when he was at Fulham and at Celtic.

The former PSG academy graduate, like Soumare, is doing well in Ligue 1 with Lyon where he scored 22 goals in 43 league matches since moving from Scotland in August 2018, including seven goals in 10 matches in Ligue 1 this season.

At 23, he would fancy a return to England, especially at a top club like United. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is a big fan of his and wants a striker in January. Lyon spent €22 million on Dembele just over a year ago and have declared him not for sale.