A bomb threat delayed the start of the GT20 clash between Montreal Tigers and Winnipeg Hawks on Friday in Brampton. While little information has been forthcoming about the 90-minute delay that truncated the fixture to 12-overs-a-side, ESPNcricinfo spoke to a number of players from both squads.

Global T20 Canada organisers said, "play has been delayed due to some technical reasons" through their twitter account in a tweet posted at 4:50 pm local time, 20 minutes after play was scheduled to begin. However, a running scroll on one of the official TV broadcasts said "security issues" were the reason for the delay. A number of fans tweeted images of standing in long queues outside the ground, after being denied entry by the police.

The players ESPNcricinfo contacted confirmed they weren't allowed to enter the makeshift ground at the CAA Centre after a suspicious package had been left unattended at the venue. The police then closed off the venue to perform a sweep of the facility, by employing bomb-sniffing dogs.

"Routine sniffer dogs checks found a substance that alerted security," one player told ESPNcricinfo. Another source also said that alarms were raised after a hole was found in a temporarily constructed perimeter fence that surrounds the cricket portion of the facility, contributing to the precautionary measures taken by local police.

The players were eventually let in to warm-up and begin the match after the package was deemed not dangerous. The reduced-overs match went off without any further hiccups.

When the match finally began, the only other mention for the delay came through one of the commentators, who said a "security situation" was the reason without elaborating further. Montreal Tigers won by 24 runs, courtesy Sunil Narine's 30-ball 59.

Worcestershire 184 for 1 (Guptill 86*, Wessels 74) beat Durham 181 for 8 (Lees 44, Handscomb 37) by nine wickets

Opening pair Martin Guptill and Riki Wessels bludgeoned holders Worcestershire Rapids to a nine-wicket victory over Durham in the Vitality Blast as the home side made a triumphant return to cricket at Blackfinch New Road.

Wessels and Guptill made short work of the target of 182 as they galloped to half-centuries off just 20 and 18 balls respectively.

Even allowing for the short Cathedral side boundary, it was an astonishing display of hitting by the duo and thrilled a 3,800-strong crowd.

The Durham attack were powerless to stem the tide of sixes and fours as the hundred came up in the seventh over.

Liam Trevaskis conceded 24 runs in the eighth over as the Rapids raced to their second Blast win of the campaign.

The partnership was worth 148 in just 8.5 overs when Wessels, having made 74 off 29 balls with five sixes and eight fours, lofted Brydon Carse to mid off.

Guptill continued to pepper the boundary exactly two weeks after he had been on the losing side with New Zealand in the ICC World Cup final against England in dramatic circumstances and ended 86 not out. He finished the game in just 12.1 overs with his 11th six - off Trevaskis - and also hit three fours in his 31-ball knock.

Worcestershire had been forced to move to Kidderminster's Chester Road ground for their Specsavers County Championship matches with Sussex and Derbyshire after their headquarters were flooded in mid-June.

The Rapids opted to bowl and Durham opener D'Arcy Short made a quickfire 23 but then turned a free-hit delivery from Pat Brown to mid wicket, set off for a risky single and failed to beat Rapids skipper Brett D'Oliveira's direct hit.

Ben Raine perished in the next over when he came down the wicket to Dillon Pennington and nicked through to keeper Ben Cox. It became three wickets in three overs when Scott Steel sliced Wayne Parnell to Ross Whiteley at cover.

His dismissal brought in Durham's new signing, Peter Handscomb, who has replaced fellow Australian Cameron Bancroft as one of the club's overseas players.

Handscomb is available for both Blast and Championship fixtures for the rest of Durham's season after playing just one World Cup match - Australia's semi-final defeat to England.

Durham director of cricket, Marcus North, said: "Peter is a well-known player across all formats of the game, so it is a great to be welcoming him to Chester le Street. He will add something extra to the dressing room as we look to push on for the rest of the season."

Handscomb and Alex Lees set about repairing the early damage and brought up the half-century stand in six overs.

Lees was in a particularly aggressive mood and his 44 off 31 balls included three sixes before he gave Pennington the charge and was bowled to end a stand of 75 in eight overs with Handscomb.

Handscomb scored 37 off 28 balls before he eventually perished at long off to Guptill off Brown on his return to the attack for the 17th over.

Brown struck again in the same over when Jack Burnham picked out Whiteley at deep mid-wicket before Trevaskis was lbw to Parnell.

Meanwhile, rain forced the other two North Group matches - Lancashire Lightning versus Derbyshire Falcons at Derby, and Northamptonshire against Yorkshire at Wantage Road - to be abandoned without a ball being bowled.

Derbyshire are next in action at Worcester on Wednesday with Lancashire taking on Durham at Chester-Le-Street on Friday, the same day Northants entertain Derbyshire and Yorkshire return to Headingley to face Worcestershire.

Australia 122 for 3 (Lanning 43*, Perry 47*) beat England 121 for 8 (Beaumont 43) by 7 wickets

An assured partnership between Meg Lanning and Ellyse Perry took Australia to a comfortable, composed, seven-wicket win at Hove and within touching distance of a white-ball Ashes clean sweep.

This was a considerably different performance from Friday night's rampage at Chelmsford. At 35 for 3 in their run chase Australia had briefly looked as though they would make hard work of an under-par target of 122 set by England, which owed much to a characteristically punchy innings by Tammy Beaumont.

But after a measured start, Lanning and Perry gradually went through the gears, and were cruising along with the accelerator on the floor by the time they had wrapped up the chase with 13 balls to spare.

If the writing had been on the wall for England during the ODI leg of this Ashes series, it was covering every square inch of plaster by the end of last week's Test match, and had spilled onto the furniture and made a mess of the carpet by the end of Australia's innings at Chelmsford on Friday night.

Quite simply, there has been a substantial gulf in quality between these two sides throughout. Australia have been prepared, professional, and polished; England, by contrast, have looked under-cooked.

Sunday's game did at least hang briefly in the balance: England batted doggedly to recover from a poor start, and then bowled patiently, with a more evident plan, than they had on Friday night.

Ultimately, though, this became a cruise: the experience of Australia's senior batsmen shone through after they had taken their time to get set, and they wrapped up a fifth victory of the tour.

"We've got a lot of pride as a team," said Beaumont. "We want to prove we've got something about us - every time you pull on a shirt for England you've got to be up for it.

"[Recent criticism] is tough to take, but that's part of the job now. We've under-performed in this series, so you've got to take it on the chin. We're all very determined and motivated to go again. We've got six months until a very important World Cup, and we want to showcase what we're all about then, so we've got some hard work to do and it starts now."

In the field, Australia began relentlessly. The third ball of the innings was the tenth that Ellyse Perry has bowled to Amy Jones in the white-ball legs of this series, and the fourth with which she has dismissed her, while Danni Wyatt's difficult series continued as her lofted on-drive swirled in the wind to Beth Mooney at mid-on.

Nat Sciver came into this game in some kind of form, after a determined effort in the Test, but fell hook, line, and sinker for a plan to draw her into playing a sweep. Georgia Wareham came on without a fielder behind square on the leg side; Sciver shaped to paddle her topspinner round the corner, only for it to crash into leg stump.

From 40 for 3, Beaumont and Heather Knight set out to rebuild, but both fell to shots that they would look back on with minimal fondness.

First, Beaumont - who had played a trademark elegant innings while scrapping through for scampered singles - was bowled through her legs while reverse-sweeping a ball that Jess Jonassen had fired in.

And to prolong her struggles with the bat in this series, Knight chipped a googly tamely back to Wareham, almost apologetically. Needing application then acceleration after a steady start, England found themselves five down.

That there were no fours and a solitary six between the 11th and 19th overs demonstrated where England had struggled; they failed to balance aggression with rotation on a two-paced pitch, and only a late salvo from Sophie Ecclestone took them past the 120 mark.

As has become her way, Lanning shuffled her pack like the meanest of casino dealers, as her bowlers sent down 11 one-over spells over the course of the innings.

When Healy whacked 14 from Georgia Elwiss' opening over, it had looked like Australia's run chase would be little more than a formality.

Instead, England bowled much better than they have thus far in the series: Healy fell to a top-edge, but Ecclestone was parsimonious, giving no real width and removing Mooney - who was bowled trying to pull - in her two-over Powerplay spell.

But even from 35 for 3, after Kate Cross' extra bounce had drawn Ash Gardner into a cut straight to point, Australia never looked likely to fold under pressure.

Lanning and Perry, boasting just short of 200 international caps between them in this format, were assured, manufacturing gaps England hadn't found and knocking singles to the sweepers with minimal fuss.

Lanning was much more restrained than she had been in Friday night's demolition job, but showed hints of flamboyance, lofting Laura Marsh for a one-bounce four over extra cover, and by the time Ecclestone returned to bowl the 13th over, the pressure had been released.

Perry's crunched four through wide mid-on, before a pulled boundary in the next over, took the equation to less than a run a ball; the switch had then been flicked, and England had no answer.

Wednesday's game at Bristol is their last chance to salvage something for their efforts in this series, but on the evidence of this composed, unflustered performance, Australia will be unlikely to let up.

Usman Khawaja has revealed he is one full running session away from being cleared to play in the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston starting Thursday. Australia missed his presence in the top order during their World Cup semi-final loss to England, a tournament he felt "in my heart" Australia would win.

While rain kept the majority of Australia's optional training session indoors on Sunday, Khawaja bided his time in preparation for a final sprinting session, having slowly built his hamstring strength up since straining it in the final round robin game against South Africa at Old Trafford.

He has been doing plenty of batting in the nets and in centre-wicket training at the end of Australia's Southampton warm-up game, and now needs only to jump through the final hoop to line-up for the first Test.

"Hammy's good, very good. Doing all the rehab. I think it's going really well at the moment," Khawaja said on Sunday. "I've sort of been ticking them [fitness tests] off as I've been going. There's running components I have to do, then strength hamstring stuff in the gym I've had to do and I've been doing them over the last three weeks, just ticking them off. I'm just about running at full speed now, did a session yesterday (Saturday) that was just about at full speed. So not too far off.

"I've done most of the stuff. I'll do some more running tomorrow (Monday). Tomorrow will probably be the last big one I do, probably the last level of running that I have to do. Highest level. If I do that then I think I'll be available for selection.

Along with his fitness sessions, Khawaja also enjoyed some batting time towards the end of the warm-up game, even though he felt the wicket wasn't ideal. "I was fortunate I got to bat in the middle at the end anyway, after the game [in Southampton] was finished," he said. "I really enjoyed that.

"I didn't enjoy it because the wicket had divots in it, it was tough work, it wasn't a very nice wicket. But being out in the middle, seeing fielders around and not being in the nets all the time. I enjoyed it, batted for 30 mins and really enjoyed it. Still a little bit different but i think I got enough out of it in the end anyway."

"There's been times when I haven't hit a ball at all and scored plenty of runs and nobody said anything. And I've had times when I haven't hit as many balls and haven't scored runs - and people are like ' maybe you need to hit some more'." Usman Khawaja's parallel for 'cricket is a funny game'

After leaving the field against South Africa, Khawaja admitted to feeling somewhat helpless against England in the semi-final, on a day where the team led by Aaron Finch sorely missed his technical ad tactical acumen to deal with the ball zipping about on a fresh pitch. It's a feeling Khawaja is hoping to avoid repeating during the Ashes, having played in England in 2013 but been missing from the team in 2015.

"I was riding every ball. It's hard to watch when you're invested in the game," Khawaja said. "When you're in the game you feel like you can do something but from the other side of the fence - felt like my mum and dad would, like my wife. It's a lot harder watching the game because you feel like you don't have any control over it.

"It's disappointing because I honestly thought in my heart that the way we were playing, we were going to win the World Cup. But knockout stage of the tournament, that's the beauty of the World Cup I guess - if you don't perform at the right time, last few games is when you have to perform. So there was a lot of disappointment. To be sitting out too. But I didn't start thinking about the Ashes until long after that semi-final was finished."

Australia's coach Justin Langer had pointed to Khawaja's injury as critical to the team's elimination. The Queensland captain said he would take some confidence from the knowledge that his contributions had helped ease the Australians through to the pointy end of the World Cup with numerous calming innings in difficult circumstances.

"Confidence is great because you feel like playing with freedom," he said. "That's the hardest thing as a batsman, playing with freedom. So that's what I try to do, every time I go out there. It's obviously a lot easier when you're scoring runs, because you have a clear head. When you're not scoring runs it's a little bit harder. The thing is you have to be able to find yourself in that space more often than not, that clear head space. That's what I try to do - T20, one-day or Test cricket.

"The World Cup, the big thing was that SOS [Shaun Marsh] and I both got injured at the same time. SOS had already played a few games already in the World Cup, been playing one-day cricket for a long time and could have come in. It was just really bad timing that both of us got injured like a day out from each.

"I guess that does throw the team off a little bit. but it's never easy. Even for someone like Petey [Handscomb], who has played beautifully over the last year, it's never easy coming in to a tournament in the last game, a semi. it's always tough work, especially against a good side in tough conditions."

Reflecting on the travel, train, play treadmill of international cricket, Khawaja said that he had long given up on the search for winning routines because he did not find it helpful to lapse into superstations.

"There's no right or wrong," he said. "If you don't train - there's been times when I haven't hit a ball at all and scored plenty of runs and nobody said anything. And I've had times when I haven't hit as many balls and haven't scored runs - and people are like ' maybe you need to hit some more'.

"Honestly there's no magic formula. Cricket has so many different variables. All anyone ever really concentrates on as a batsman is if you're scoring runs, as a bowler if you're taking wickets, as a team if you're winning games, but I haven't found the magic formula.

"That's why I don't have a routine per se, I don't have a certain way I need to do things. I go with how I'm feeling. If i feel like I need a hit for a long time, I do, if I don't then I don't. I found when game day comes up, I'd go and have the routine and do everything right and it was almost turning into superstitions to some extent. I was like 'this isn't helping at all'. I just threw them all out. Itwas a long time ago, go with the flow."

Ellyse Perry's unbeaten 47 in Australia's seven-wicket win at Hove made her the first player - male or female - to reach the all-round milestone of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in T20 international cricket.

Perry had brought up her 100th wicket by dismissing Nat Sciver in the World T20 final in November, and clipped a four off her pads to bring up the 1000-run mark in the closing stages of Sunday's chase.

Dominant in 50-over cricket, Perry's record in T20Is has been comparatively modest with the bat, with just three fifties in 60 innings, but she played a composed, measured innings to help Australia chase down their target of 122 with 13 balls to spare.

In characteristic fashion, Perry downplayed the significance of her achievement. "I guess it's lovely, but I wasn't aware of it," she said.

"I actually think in T20 cricket at international level, we probably play it as much as the men, so I have played a pretty big volume of games now - over 100, so I suppose when you've played 100 games you might get close to it. That's probably the only reason I'm there - because I've played a lot of games.

"It was really cool to be out there with Meg [Lanning, with whom Perry put on 87]. I really enjoy batting with her and she's incredible when she's going. To be at the other end is quite easy really.

"I think those kinds of totals are always tricky chases. You don't want to be too reckless but you also don't want to hold yourself back. Once we got settled, it felt pretty rhythmical and obviously Meg is in unbelievable form and she just carried on from where she left off in the last match."

Shahid Afridi (1416 runs and 98 wickets) had previously been the closest to reaching the milestone, while Shakib al Hasan (1471 and 88) is best placed to join Perry in coming years.

Perry also contributed with the ball, striking with her third ball to dismiss Amy Jones for the fourth time on this tour, despite bowling as few as ten deliveries to her.

And Perry suggested that Jones' struggles had come about primarily due to pressure and poor shot selection. "Quite honestly I haven't thought about it," she said, "and that's with no disrepect to Amy because I think she's a wonderful player.

"I'm not sure many of those balls have been particularly good balls. I think maybe - I hope she doesn't mind me saying - there's been some interesting decisions and I think she just feels the pressure a bit.

"She's trying to get things going and it's been her shot selection to various balls which have got her out rather than my good bowling. It's been one of those series where we've found ourselves up against each other a bit. I'm sure shell get out of it at some point."

Tammy Beaumont, who top-scored for England with 43, said that Jones had shown she was a "world-class player" over the past two years, despite her struggles against Perry. "She's a young player," Beaumont said, "and young players have hard times and you get a lot of low scores, but she'll come through that because she's a very good player and I fully back her."

Australia have dominated this series, leading 12-2 on points going into Wednesday's final T20I, but Perry suggested that the margin between the sides had been something of a surprise

"The way that we started with the three ODI wins, we were absolutely chuffed with that," she said.

"England are a phenomenal side and have been dominant over the last five or six years and they're world champions in the ODI format, so to be in the position that we are with one game to go does surprise me a little bit.

"But I guess it speaks volumes for how much our team has developed over the last six moths and potentially how important our professional setup is back home."

GWANGJU, South Korea -- This time, Caeleb Dressel stands alone.

The American won his record eighth medal at the world swimming championships Sunday, helping the U.S. to silver in the 4x100-meter medley relay after anchor Nathan Adrian was overtaken in the closing meters.

"Part of me is very happy," Dressel said. "Part of me wants to cry that I'm done with it. I've got pimples on my face from just the stress of the meet. I'm probably losing some hair."

One night after becoming the first swimmer to win three golds in one night at a worlds for the second time, Dressel's haul included six golds at the biggest meet after the Olympics.

"It was a very tough week," he said. "I knew I was going to have to come with fire, passion and pride in every single race."

Two years ago in Hungary, Dressel tied Michael Phelps' record of seven golds at a single worlds, including three in one night.

Dressel hauled the U.S. from fourth to first on his butterfly leg with a split of 49.28 seconds. Adrian found himself in a three-way fight with Britain and Russia coming down the stretch.

Brit Duncan Scott surged ahead approaching the wall and got there first with a split of 46.14 to Adrian's 47.60.

"That last 15 meters, it's tough," Adrian said. "I was trying to be strong, I was trying to hold on, but this time I couldn't do it."

Luke Greenbank, Adam Peaty, James Guy and Scott took gold for Britain in 3 minutes, 28.10 seconds.

Ryan Murphy, Andrew Wilson, Dressel and Adrian finished in 3:28.45. It was just the second silver, and first since 1998, in an event the Americans have won 13 times.

"There's a time to get silver in relays, and it's at a world championships, that's for sure," Adrian said.

Russia earned bronze.

Dressel's golds came in the 50 and 100 free, 50 and 100 butterfly, mixed 4x100 free relay and 4x100 free relay. His other silver was in the mixed 4x100 medley relay. He was named the FINA male swimmer of the meet.

"He's a phenomenal talent," South Africa's Chad le Clos said. "He seems to get better throughout the days."

The U.S. team finished with the most gold medals (14) and overall medals (27). Australia was second with 19 medals and five golds.

Japan's Daiya Seto survived a last-lap challenge to win the men's 400 IM in 4:08.95.

Jay Litherland of the U.S. had the fastest final lap (27.89) to chase Seto to the wall. Litherland took silver in 4:09.22. Lewis Clareburt of New Zealand earned bronze.

Florian Wellbrock of Germany made history with his victory in the 1,500 freestyle.

With his earlier win in the 10-kilometer open-water race, Wellbrock became the first swimmer to win gold in two sports at a single world championships.

He pulled away going into the final turn to win in 14:36.54.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill said he planned to become a better person from the lessons he learned over a tumultuous offseason.

"I can't wait for my new journey,'' Hill said Sunday at Chiefs training camp as he answered questions publicly for the first time since being investigated for child abuse. "I'm excited. I'm working every day to be a better father, a better person, a better citizen, a better teammate and a better son, too, to my parents. I'm evolving every day. Something stood out to me as I was going through this long process. My mom told me, 'People don't need to change. They need to grow.' ... I want to grow. I don't want to change.''

Hill wouldn't get into the details of his situation, which began in the offseason with the investigation by the Johnson County (Kansas) District Attorney's office. Prosecutors eventually said Hill would not be charged, but audio surfaced of Hill and his fiancée discussing injuries to their son.

The Chiefs then suspended Hill from offseason practice. The NFL recently said Hill would not be disciplined and cleared him to report to training camp.

Hill did indicate regret for some of the comments in the audio recording. At one point on it, he referred to his fiancée as a "b----.''

"I wish I could get into all [the details of the case], but I can't,'' Hill said. "I'm just here to man up to what I did, on the audio my bad language. I going to man up to that. I don't want nobody talking to my little sister, my daughter that I have now, my mom like that. It's very disrespectful. My mom got into me, she like thumped me on the ear like, 'Come on, grow up out of that.' Never again.''

Hill also wouldn't disclose the conditions the Chiefs set for him to remain with the team in a recent meeting with chairman Clark Hunt.

"All I'm going to say is I've just got to work on my life skills,'' Hill said.

In the news conference that lasted about eight minutes, Hill thanked his teammates, Hunt, coach Andy Reid and general manager Brett Veach for their support. The Chiefs drafted Hill in 2016 after he had pleaded guilty in Oklahoma to punching and choking his then-pregnant girlfriend.

"They trusted me in this organization and that's what I'm so appreciative of,'' Hill said. "They gave me a chance at life so I could change my family life, my kids' lives and everyone around me. I came from nothing.''

The support for Hill from Chiefs fans at camp has been strong. They have chanted his name before and during practice and cheered for him after routine plays.

"The love feels good,'' he said. "To come back out here and hear the chants, it's crazy. I'm back. The Cheetah is back. The fans here are amazing. They do a good job as well of making me feel like I'm family.''

Edinson Volquez said Saturday that the 2019 season will be his last in the majors but that he is working hard to try to return to the mound for the Texas Rangers before the season ends.

The right-hander has been out since suffering a right elbow strain on April 5. He threw a bullpen before the Rangers' game on Saturday against the Oakland Athletics.

"I don't want to go out like this," Volquez, 36, told reporters. "If there is a chance, I can do it for two months or two weeks, why not. I'm not doing this to try and get a contract for next year. I just want to prove it to myself. If I can come out of the bullpen for the Rangers, that would be great."

The Rangers signed Volquez in 2017 while he was recovering from Tommy John surgery. He missed all of last season before returning to the majors this season and making two starts before injuring his elbow in April.

Volquez is 93-87 with a 4.43 ERA in 14 major league seasons. He was selected to his only All-Star Game in 2008 when he won a career-best 17 games and finished fourth in National League Rookie of the Year voting for the Cincinnati Reds. He won a World Series title with the Kansas City Royals in 2015.

The New York Yankees placed CC Sabathia on the 10-day injured list with right knee inflammation Sunday, one day after the veteran left-hander struggled in a loss to the rival Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.

Sabathia, 39, has failed to reach the fifth inning in both of his past two starts, allowing 11 earned runs and six home runs over 8⅓ innings in that span.

The six-time All-Star yielded five runs and nine hits in 4⅓ innings Saturday as the Yankees lost their third straight game to the Red Sox.

"Just didn't make enough pitches," said Sabathia, who plans to retire at season's end. "That's a good lineup over there, and left too many pitches over the middle. ... With the stuff I have now, I have to be pitching to the corners."

Over the past seven games, New York's starters have given up 52 runs (48 earned) on 52 hits in 26 innings. The staff overall has been pounded for 73 runs in that span, with 65 coming in the past six, the most in a six-game stretch in the franchise's illustrious history.

Since June 29, the rotation has posted a 7.09 ERA, the second-worst ERA in the majors across that span. Only the Detroit Tigers' 7.30 mark is worse.

Sabathia, who is 5-6 with a 4.78 ERA this season, called the rotation's recent stretch "frustrating."

Information from ESPN's Coley Harvey was used in this report.

The Tampa Bay Rays acquired infielder Eric Sogard from the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday, bolstering a lineup beset by injuries with a veteran who can play every infield position as well as corner-outfield spots, sources familiar with the deal told ESPN.

The 33-year-old Sogard is hitting .300/.363/.477 after signing a minor league deal over the winter with Toronto following a disappointing 2018 season. He excelled as a utilityman for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2017, and his power spike this season has led to a career year.

Tampa Bay continues to be among the most aggressive teams in pursuing trades before the July 31 deadline, according to sources. The Rays' desire for versatility is perfectly embodied by Sogard, who was also pursued by the Chicago Cubs among other teams.

The Blue Jays are expected to receive two players to be named later in exchange for Sogard.

With Sogard's departure, the Blue Jays could soon summon Bo Bichette, their top prospect and a middle infielder, to join fellow rookie Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and other core players in their rebuild. The Sogard deal was the first of a number of expected moves that include trading starter Marcus Stroman and relievers Ken Giles and Daniel Hudson.