Liam Plunkett has said that "disappointment is an understatement" after he was surprisingly overlooked in England's list of centrally contracted white-ball players for 2019-20.

Plunkett played a key role in England's maiden World Cup triumph this summer, including three wickets in their victory in the final against New Zealand at Lord's, and has claimed a total of 96 ODI wickets at 28.01 in the four years since the last World Cup in 2015, more than any other England white-ball seamer.

However, at the age of 34, Plunkett has been considered by the ECB management to be past his prime as they begin to gear their white-ball squads towards next year's T20 World Cup in Australia and ultimately the defence of their 50-over title in India in 2023, by which stage he will be 38.

Explaining the decision at Lord's on Friday, Ashley Giles, England's director of men's cricket, praised Plunkett's contribution as a "fantastic servant" to the white-ball team, but pointed out that his pace had dipped in recent seasons and that a team with an eye to the future had a duty to prioritise a new generation of bowlers - not least Tom Curran, who was a non-playing member of England's World Cup squad, and the Lancashire paceman, Saqib Mahmood, who is expected to be named in England's T20 squad next week, for their five-match tour of New Zealand.

"Plunkett has been … one of Eoin [Morgan]'s go-to men," Giles said. "But moving into a new cycle of four years, before the 50-over World Cup and two T20 World Cups, he probably didn't fit those future needs for the next 12-24 months, which is tough.

"He's one of the most physical men we have in our line-ups. He's incredibly fit and strong, but in terms of the numbers, I guess his paces have been down a little bit for some time.

"His best came in that role in the World Cup, and the World Cup final. He should be really proud of that achievement, and what they did as a team, but everything moves on for all of us."

Writing in his Independent column after the World Cup win, Plunkett conceded he had "definitely" played in his last 50-over World Cup, but had vowed to "stick around in the game for a little longer".

He took to Twitter on Friday afternoon to express his disappointment at the decision, although he later clarified: "I am really happy for all the boys who got contracted. I am not having a pop at anyone just disappointed I didn't get one."

Giles added: "We're not saying that the door's closed, but just in terms of the core of that team, which is where those contracts are offered, he probably just misses out. It's difficult to be the person who puts that pen through the name, but that's cricket."

Another player on whom the door is not closed is Alex Hales, despite being stripped of his white-ball contract in the wake of the positive tests for recreational drug use that led to his sacking from the World Cup squad.

Hales has a prominent opportunity to make his case for an England recall on T20 Finals Day at Edgbaston on Saturday, where Nottinghamshire take on the defending champions Worcestershire in the first semi-final.

Joe Clarke and Tom Kohler-Cadmore, who were stood down from England Lions duty following inappropriate off-field behaviour, were also given a clean slate as Giles cited the recent example of Ben Stokes to show that players who make career-threatening errors of judgement can earn themselves second chances.

"The door isn't closed on Alex, or certainly those other guys," he said. "They've served whatever time they had to serve. It will come down to performance, and there is always an element of culture and team cohesion."

In the short term at least, Hales might find his path back to the England squad blocked by the captain, Eoin Morgan, who was scathing in his assessment of Hales' character when explaining the reasoning behind his World Cup axing.

"Eoin talked about that element of trust, and has there been enough time to make up for that?" said Giles. "Maybe, maybe not … that'll come down to Eoin and the selectors, but the door is still open. He's a fantastic T20 player and, you know, a mistake shouldn't haunt you for life. As we've seen very good other example this year."

After a period of reflection in the wake of the World Cup win, Morgan recently confirmed that he was ready to carry on as England captain, a development that delighted Giles, especially given that the concurrent departure of the coach Trevor Bayliss would have left the white-ball squad rudderless in the interim.

"We met about a month after the World Cup final, and he wanted some time to consider his future, which is just the way Morgs operates," Giles said. "He's very sensible, very logical. And thankfully, he rang me a couple of weeks after that, and said, I'm absolutely fully committed to going forward. And I'm looking forward to it, refreshed.

"That first month was probably a bit of a haze for him anyway," he added. "But he's probably dried out a bit and come around, and I'm delighted. He is a fantastic leader of men in that dressing room. And with us losing Trev, it's important we maintain some consistency and that leadership going forward."

Morgan's role in moulding the England team post-2015 has been well documented. But Giles believes that, even if he is unable to take the side all the way to the 2023 World Cup (by which stage he will be 36), the groundwork already laid is such that Jos Buttler (or AN Other candidate) would be well placed to take over at shorter notice.

"To give Jos that responsibility now, I think, is a lot for him, given he's playing across all three formats. But is he a future leader? Quite possibly. And given where the white-ball team is, perhaps we can manage that transition better.

"But just because we're world champions, we can't just keep doing the same stuff. When the new coach comes in, his relationship with the captains is going to be important. And we will need different things in both environments, because the white-ball environment is probably more mature in how they play their cricket than the Test environment. But both are really exciting opportunities."

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Carolina Panthers on Friday officially ruled quarterback Cam Newton out and named Kyle Allen the starter for Sunday's game in Arizona against the Cardinals.

Newton aggravated a sprained left foot in his last outing, a Thursday night loss to Tampa Bay that dropped the Panthers to 0-2. He did not practice all week, working inside with the trainer and going to meetings while wearing a walking boot.

"He's actually coming along well," coach Ron Rivera said Friday on a conference call. "The unfortunate part was last week he was playing on a short week and the foot didn't have time to come back, as far as I understand it. It was pretty sore. It was just one of those things where we have to wait it out and see where it is [next week].

"The one thing we don't want to do is have another setback."

This will be Newton's seventh missed start since he made his NFL debut in 2011 at Arizona. There was no indication on whether Newton would be available for next week's game at Houston.

For Allen, a native of Scottsdale, Arizona, his second career start will be a homecoming. In last year's finale, the then-undrafted rookie out of the University of Houston led Carolina to a 33-14 victory over the New Orleans Saints while Newton was sidelined with a shoulder injury.

This also will be a reunion of sorts for Allen and Cardinals rookie quarterback Kyler Murray. Both were at Texas A&M in 2015 and both transferred to other colleges within a few months of each other, Allen to Houston and Murray to Oklahoma.

Murray went on to become the Heisman Trophy winner and first pick of the 2019 draft. Allen went undrafted after being replaced as Houston's starter in 2017 and forgoing his senior season for the draft.

"It's totally two different paths," Allen said. "It's cool to be back on the field with him. I have a lot of respect for him as a player."

Each quarterback is being counted on to help his team out of an 0-2 hole. While Murray comes in with better credentials and two starts this season, the Panthers are confident Allen can get the job done.

"The best thing I can tell you to do is look at our last game last year," Panthers offensive coordinator Norv Turner said of Allen. "That's the way I would expect him to play. He played at a high level."

Allen completed 16 of 27 pass attempts for 228 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions to help the Panthers end a seven-game losing streak after a 6-2 start.

Confidence isn't a problem for the 23-year-old. He talked earlier this week about how Roger Staubach, a friend of Allen's father, sent him an autographed picture and how he sent the Hall of Fame quarterback an autographed picture of himself.

When he was 10.

Allen said he's not nervous about the prospects of starting at Arizona's State Farm Stadium, where he never played a down but attended games growing up. "For me, it's weird, but I just look at it as work," Allen said.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The New England Patriots released embattled wide receiver Antonio Brown on Friday, less than two weeks after signing him.

"We appreciate the hard work of many people over the past 11 days, but we feel that it is best to move in a different direction at this time," the team said in a statement.

Brown, who had practiced with the team earlier Friday, tweeted his thanks to the organization shortly before the move was announced.

Thanks for the opportunity appreciate @Patriots pic.twitter.com/envfHEd6N8

— AB (@AB84) September 20, 2019

Brown has been accused of sexually assaulting his former trainer, Britney Taylor, according to a civil lawsuit she filed Sept. 10. A source previously told ESPN's Jeff Darlington that Brown declined to sign a $2 million-plus agreement with Taylor in a proposed settlement.

Taylor met with the NFL on Sept. 16. A source had previously told ESPN that there are "more interviews and information-gathering being conducted now beyond Taylor."

It remains unclear when or if Brown will interview with the league.

In addition to the lawsuit, Brown faces another allegation of sexual misconduct by a female artist who was working at his Western Pennsylvania home in 2017. That allegation was part of a Sports Illustrated report published Monday that detailed domestic incidents involving Brown, a charity auction theft and multiple unpaid debts.

On Thursday, the lawyer for the artist reached out to the NFL after Brown apparently sent what were described as threatening text messages to her client. The sides spoke Friday morning, with the woman's attorneys saying in a statement that the league "pledged to conduct a thorough investigation under its Personal Conduct Policy." According to that statement, the league also contacted the Patriots, who then directed Brown to have no further contact with the woman.

Brown, 31, made his debut with the Patriots last Sunday against the Miami Dolphins, totaling four catches for 56 yards and one touchdown.

On Thursday, Brown answered four questions from reporters, which marked the first time he had addressed the media since joining the Patriots. He was not directly asked about the civil lawsuit, or the allegations of sexual misconduct.

"I'm just here to focus on ball," Brown said in an interview that lasted just one minute, when asked if he had heard from the NFL about his availability.

The Patriots had agreed to pay Brown a $9 million signing bonus, which was divided into two parts -- $5 million that was due to be paid Sept. 23 (Monday) and $4 million that wasn't due to be paid until Jan. 15.

"It's unfortunate things didn't work out with the Patriots," the receiver's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, said. "But Antonio is healthy and is looking forward to his next opportunity in the NFL. He wants to play the game he loves and he hopes to play for another team soon."

Without Brown, the Patriots have Julian Edelman, Josh Gordon, Phillip Dorsett and undrafted Jakobi Meyers and Gunner Olszewski on the wide receiver depth chart, with special-teams captain Matthew Slater a niche/emergency option.

New England is 2-0 this season, winning both games by a combined 76-3. The defending Super Bowl champs host the New York Jets on Sunday. According to Caesars Sportsbook, New England's odds to win that game went from -22.5 to -21.5 after Brown was released. The over-under went from 44 to 43.5, per Caesars.

NEW YORK -- The NBA's Board of Governors on Friday unanimously approved a series of measures to more strictly enforce compliance with tampering and salary-cap circumvention.

In addition to being subject to fines up to $10 million, teams can also lose draft picks, executives can be suspended and contracts can be voided when rules are not followed. In addition, teams must save communications with agents for one year and random auditing of a team's communication with agents and other teams can take place.

"We had, I think, a very healthy discussion on those issues," NBA commissioner Adam Silver said of the changes in a news conference after the league's meetings had concluded. "Certainly the provisions passed unanimously, and there was a strong view I think of every single person in the room that we need to ensure that we're creating a culture of compliance in this league and that our teams want to know that they're competing on a level playing field, and frankly don't want to feel disadvantaged if they are adhering to our existing rules.

"The ultimate goal here is to ensure compliance and to ensure that there's that appropriate tension that exists at the team. So there is sort of a significant threat that if a team doesn't comply, that there will be consequences."

Both tampering and the potential for salary-cap circumvention gained steam this summer, after a series of deals appeared to be agreed upon before free agency officially began at 6:01 p.m. ET on June 30 -- and after Kawhi Leonard's high-profile free agency resulted in both he and Paul George winding up with the LA Clippers.

As a result, Silver and the league entered this week's meetings with a series of things the NBA wanted to implement to create stricter consequences going forward.

Among them:

* The annual, random auditing of five teams' communications with rival front offices and player agents, along with the league having the mandate that it can "undertake more in-depth investigations ... where cause exists";

* Increasing the maximum fine amount to $10 million;

* Top team officials are required to save communications with agents for one year

Those items are now officially league rules after the Board of Governors' unanimous approval Friday afternoon -- easily clearing the 75% majority vote (23 out of the 30 NBA teams) needed to enact them.

One of the biggest areas of concern for team officials centers around privacy concerns stemming from the league's ability to seize communications devices.

While that is something that the league could already do -- such as when it investigated the Brooklyn Nets (and ultimately cleared them of wrongdoing) over the signing Andrei Kirilenko in the summer of 2013 -- Silver acknowledged those fears in his opening statement announcing the changes.

"I'm sure you've heard some of the chatter around these rules," Silver said. "As I said, I understand it, that none of us want people looking into our private affairs. I think part of the discussion, of course, went to what the scope of any investigation should be. I am not interested in looking in any aspects of people's life outside of what is relevant to the operation of their teams, unless of course there is an issue that requires that we look into something outside the scope of what we're addressing here."

Still, when Silver was asked directly about how he and the rest of the league office addressed those concerns, he notably left the door open to pursue them.

"Well, I'm not sure I allayed everyone's concerns, but I will say it's my job to create an appropriate amount of tension in that area," Silver said. "Obviously, if people felt that they were absolutely free and clear to communicate in certain ways, you wouldn't be addressing the consequences notion of improper activity.

"Again, I understand it. As I was saying from the other standpoint, none of us want people looking into their personal communications. But I think people who operate in a public company environment, who operate in a financial world, who are used to compliance procedures, understand that you have to find the right balance of disclosure and privacy so that you can ensure that people of goodwill will understand that there will be consequences to inappropriate behavior."

Meanwhile, as far as how the mechanics of the random auditing of the five teams will take place, Silver said more work still needs to be done to iron out the details.

"There's not much more I can share with you at this point, and not because I'm withholding information from you," Silver said. "We listened to our teams. We heard their concerns. We said we would go back and, in essence, come up with a framework in which we would discuss with our teams before we implemented it and recognize the balance, again, of their privacy concerns with our need to ensure compliance.

"At some point there will be more information available, but the league has additional work to do in that area before we, in essence, promulgate the specific rules around compliance."

The measures were part of several changes approved by the board:

TRAVELING: The league also issued a statement announcing it had clarified the language governing how it makes traveling calls.

The new language provides a formal definition of a player "gathering" his dribble -- something that has been part of how referees determine traveling calls for some time, but has never been actually spelled out in the rules. Now, it is.

"One of the most misunderstood rules in our game is how traveling is interpreted and appropriately called," NBA President of League Operations Byron Spruell said in the statement. "Revising the language of certain areas of the rule is part of our three-pronged approach to address the uncertainty around traveling."

ANNOUNCING LINEUPS EARLIER: Teams must now make official their starting lineups 30 minutes before tipoff, as opposed to 10. The move was made "to increase transparency for teams, media and fans," according to the statement.

It also stands to reason that, as sports gambling grows more and more prevalent, the additional clarity would be a benefit to gamblers, as well.

Teams will still have the ability to change their starting lineup after the 30-minute deadline if "circumstances change" -- typically if a player was to sustain or exacerbate an injury during pregame warmups.

CONCORD, N.C. – Machine tool manufacturer Cincinnati Inc. has joined Hendrick Motorsports as an official partner via a 10-year agreement that will begin in 2019 and run through the 2028 racing season.

Cincinnati will be showcased as primary sponsor of driver Alex Bowman’s No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in the Oct. 6 NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover Int’l Speedway and in two events in 2020.

In addition to being named Hendrick Motorsports’ official metal fabrication and additive equipment provider, the Ohio-based company will become a full-season associate sponsor of the team’s entire four-car stable for the next decade.

“We are absolutely thrilled to begin this relationship with Hendrick Motorsports,” said Rakesh Kumar, vice president of sales, service and marketing for Cincinnati Inc., which was founded in the 1890s. “Rick Hendrick’s teams have a long and storied history of winning at every level. We are proud to be associated with that incredible record and partner with another enduring American brand. We look forward to starting off our partnership as a primary sponsor of Alex Bowman and having a presence across all four teams for many years to come.”

Hendrick Motorsports will utilize Cincinnati’s equipment in the development and construction of its full fleet of race cars, including laser cutting, press brake and additive manufacturing machinery. Cincinnati’s 10-year commitment is the longest single sponsorship pact in the history of the team, which was founded in 1984.

“Ten years is quite a statement,” said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports. “It demonstrates how the Cincinnati team feels about NASCAR and the opportunities the sport presents for their business. From the perspective of our team, it’s a major endorsement of how fantastic the Cincinnati products are and the confidence we have that the relationship will help provide a competitive advantage on the racetrack. We look forward to a lot of trips to Victory Lane together over the next decade.”