Rhys Patchell will be Wales' back-up fly-half to Dan Biggar for the World Cup, after being named in Warren Gatland's final 31-man squad.

That means Cardiff Blues 10 Jarrod Evans, who started Saturday's warm-up loss to Ireland, misses out.

Lock Cory Hill is included despite currently being sidelined with a small fracture in his leg.

There is no place for Scarlets props Samson Lee and Rob Evans, or centre Scott Williams.

Evans was first choice during Wales' 2019 Grand Slam campaign but Saracens' Rhys Carre makes the plane to Japan as one of five props after making his debut against the Irish.

Nicky Smith, Tomas Francis, Dillon Lewis and Wyn Jones are the other props. Jones will cover both sides of the scrum with only two tight-heads selected.

Ken Owens, who is heading to his third World Cup, Elliot Dee and Ryan Elias are the three hookers in the squad.

"Selection is always the toughest part of the job and that is especially true come RWC time," said Gatland.

"Reducing the squad down to 31 has been extremely hard especially when you look at the depth we have created and the amount of work the training squad have put in."

Hill is not expected to be available for the start of Wales' campaign, which begins on 23 September against Georgia.

But the 27-year-old gets the nod in the second-row alongside captain Alun Wyn Jones, Jake Ball and Adam Beard.

Wales have named six back-rows in James Davies, Ross Moriarty, Josh Navidi, Aaron Shingler, Justin Tipuric and Aaron Wainwright.

Gatland has chosen 18 forwards and 13 backs in his 31-man squad.

Gareth Davies, Aled Davies and Tomos Williams are named as the scrum-halves.

Centre Owen Watkin has been given the nod ahead of Ospreys team-mate Scott Williams, while Hallam Amos is selected in the back three ahead of Owen Lane who scored on his debut in the 22-17 defeat against Ireland.

Jonathan Davies, Hadleigh Parkes and Watkin are the centres in the squad, with Josh Adams, Amos, Leigh Halfpenny, George North and Liam Williams included as back-three selections.

The nine players who have missed out on World Cup selection are Jonah Holmes, Lane, Steff Evans, Scott Williams, Jarrod Evans, Rob Evans, Lee, Leon Brown and Bradley Davies.

"We are really happy with the final 31, we feel there is an excellent blend to the squad, in terms of talent, experience and age profile and we are all incredibly excited about heading to Japan and what lies ahead," Gatland added.

"These players have performed and delivered for Wales and deserve the opportunity to represent their nation at the game's showpiece tournament."

What started as an extended training group of 42 players had already been reduced by two tournament-ending injuries to number eight Taulupe Faletau and fly-half Gareth Anscombe.

Wales begin their World Cup campaign in Japan against Georgia on Monday, 23 September in Toyota City before further pool matches against Australia, Fiji and Uruguay.

Wales World Cup squad

Forwards

Props: Nicky Smith (Ospreys), Wyn Jones (Scarlets), Rhys Carre (Saracens), Tomas Francis (Exeter Chiefs), Dillon Lewis (Cardiff Blues).

Hookers: Ken Owens (Scarlets), Elliot Dee (Dragons), Ryan Elias (Scarlets).

Second-rows: Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys, capt), Adam Beard (Ospreys), Cory Hill (Dragons), Jake Ball (Scarlets).

Back-rowers: Aaron Shingler (Scarlets), Josh Navidi (Cardiff Blues), Ross Moriarty (Dragons), Aaron Wainwright (Dragons), Justin Tipuric (Ospreys), James Davies (Scarlets).

Backs

Scrum-halves: Gareth Davies (Scarlets), Tomos Williams (Cardiff Blues), Aled Davies (Ospreys).

Fly-halves: Dan Biggar (Northampton), Rhys Patchell (Scarlets).

Centres: Hadleigh Parkes (Scarlets), Jonathan Davies (Scarlets), Owen Watkin (Ospreys).

Back three: Liam Williams (Saracens), Leigh Halfpenny (Scarlets), George North (Ospreys), Hallam Amos (Cardiff Blues), Josh Adams (Cardiff Blues.

ELDON, Mo. — Capitalizing on Cannon McIntosh’s late-race misfortune, Thomas Meseraull assumed the lead with five laps remaining on Saturday night at Lake Ozark Speedway and held on for his fourth POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League victory.

With 24 cars in attendance for the POWRi National / West Midget show, a trio of heat races were presented to the enticed Labor Day weekend crowd.

As Zach Daum and Meseraull brought the 24-car field to life in the main event, it was T-Mez powering his Matt Estep owned, Envirofab, Spike/Toyota No. 7x to the point. Commanding the opening six laps, Meseraull was quickly chased by fourth-starter Cannon McIntosh, who maneuvered by Daum and set his sights on the race lead.

Taking the top spot on lap seven, McIntosh wheeled his Dave Mac Motorsports, Drive WFX, Spike/Toyota No. 08 to the front and looked to cash in for his first-career POWRi National Midget triumph.

Driving away and holding a tight grasp on the lead, it looked as if McIntosh was finally due to break his spell of bad luck and strike gold with that elusive victory. However, heartbreak soon ensued, as mechanical issues on lap 25 saw the Bixby, Okla., 16-year old retire from the lead in devastating fashion.

Assuming the lead in the midst of McIntosh’s woes, Meseraull was back at the point and had only five laps separating himself from the checkered flag. The San Jose, Calif. native survived the final restart with ease and ran away to victory.

Rounding out the top five behind Meseraull were Daum, Jesse Colwell, Tucker Klaasmeyer and Michael Pickens.

The finish:

Feature (30 Laps): 1. 7X-Thomas Meseraull (2); 2. 5D-Zach Daum (1); 3. 71-Jesse Colwell (6); 4. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer (10); 5. 1NZ-Michael Pickens (8); 6. 67-Holley Hollan (3); 7. 91T-Tyler Thomas (20); 8. 32-Trey Marcham (12); 9. 97K-Jesse Love (5); 10. 42-Hank Davis (11); 11. 9-Daison Pursley (17); 12. 20G-Noah Gass (16); 13. 97-Maria Cofer (21); 14. 2H-Jordan Howell (22); 15. 08-Cannon McIntosh (4); 16. 7M-Chance Morton (7); 17. 44S-Andrew Felker (14); 18. 8M-Kade Morton (19); 19. 00-Luke Howard (18); 20. 21KS-C.J. Leary (13); 21. 3N-Jake Neuman (9); 22. 28-Ace McCarthy (15); 23. 71K-Tanner Carrick (23); 24. 3321-Chad Winfrey (24).

CALISTOGA, Calif. — Dominic Scelzi passed Chase Johnson with only three laps remaining to score Saturday’s exciting King of the West by NARC Fujitsu Sprint Car Series feature at Calistoga Speedway’s Louie Vermeil Classic.

The victory was worth $6,000 for Scelzi and the Dennis and Teresa Roth HR Livestock Transportation KPC team.  It was their fourth series win of the season.

Johnson claimed the Sunnyvalley Bacon dash to earn the right to start the 25-lap affair on the pole. He jumped out to a healthy lead and despite some early race cautions consistently held his closest pursuers at bay. Ryan Bernal moved into the hunt and reeled in the frontrunner as the pair negotiated slower traffic midway through the event.

Bernal managed to get past Johnson in the third corner on the 16th circuit and quickly expanded his advantage over the next mile and a half until his right rear tire shredded.  This brought out the caution and handed the lead back to Johnson for the restart.

Both Scelzi and Willie Croft immediately jumped into the fray and the front trio battled wheel-to-wheel for a couple of laps until Johnson’s ride sputtered going down the front straightaway. Both drivers jumped on the opportunity to get past the leader. Scelzi would hold on to his advantage and hold off Croft to score the win.

“I got lucky,” said Scelzi. “Chase had a good car for most of the race, until I saw it sputter.  That got me fired up because I knew I had a shot. I’m just glad I could get this win for my team at Calistoga. It’s special to win here.”

Croft secured second in his Amerikote/Holey Smokes BBQ sprinter. Eighth starter Bud Kaeding locked down the third spot in the Alviso Rock Maxim.

King of the West by NARC championship point leader D.J. Netto finished fourth in the Netto Ag/Rotella Shell KPC.  Bullet Impressions fast qualifier Rico Abreu rounded out the top five in his Abreu Vineyards/McDonald-sponsored car.

The finish:

Dominic Scelzi, Willie Croft, Bud Kaeding, D.J. Netto, Rico Abreu, Colby Copeland, Mitchell Faccinto, Jason Statler, Sean Watts, Chase Johnson, Nathan Rolfe, Geoff Ensign, JoJo Helberg, Matt DeMartini, Nathan Shank, Shane Golobic, Ryan Bernal, Kenny Allen, Shane Hopkins

ALGER, Wash. — Despite overheating issues and a minor rear-end fire with three laps remaining, Logan Schuchart led every lap to win Saturday night’s World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series races at Skagit Speedway.

He swept the weekend doubleheader at the three-tenths-mile track and won the $15,000 payday – $23,000 between the two days. It was his sixth victory of the season.

“If you would’ve told me a couple of years ago or at the beginning of this year you’re going to be winning a couple of races in-a-row and have six wins on the season… you know, I knew it was something we were capable of doing,” Schuchart said. “I’m just really proud of this team. It’s awesome to get big wins like this.”

Friday night he led all 30 laps en route to the victory. Saturday night he did the same, but with 10 more laps. Unlike Friday night, though, where Schuchart stretched his lead throughout the race, Sweet made Schuchart work for his second win at Skagit Speedway.

The start of Saturday’s 40-lap feature was almost a mirror image of Friday night’s race. Schuchart drag raced side by side with polesitter Tim Kaeding down the frontstretch on the initial start. The two stayed that way into the corner, but Schuchart, riding the high line, had the better grip. He rocketed by Kaeding for the lead down the backstretch.

While Schuchart pulled away, catching lap traffic on Lap six for the second night in-a-row, Californians Kaeding and Sweet were the show for the opening eight laps. The two raced side by side, lap after lap, corner after corner. Kaeding ran high, while Sweet threw dive bombs to the bottom each lap.

Kaeding eventually put distance between he and Sweet, but a lapped car hindered his run off turn two, allowing Sweet to stay in the throttle and dive underneath him again in turn three. This time it worked for the “Big Cat.” Sweet cleared Kaeding off turn four on lap eight and began to hunt Schuchart.

It wasn’t much longer before Sweet was to Schuchart’s bumper with the help of a caution on lap 12 for Kraig Kinser spinning in turn two. However, the Drydene No. 1s car accelerated better than Sweet on the restart and pulled away with the lead by several car lengths. Once Schuchart hit lapped traffic again a few laps later, Sweet was able to make up ground.

On lap 23 Sweet was close enough to throw a slide job into turn one, sliding up in front of Schuchart by turn two. The Shark Racing driver was ready for it, though. He held his line and charged underneath Sweet on the exit of the corner, making slight contact with the NAPA Auto Parts No. 49 car before reclaiming the lead.

“I tried to cross back underneath him and he kind of blocked me a little bit and we kind of touched,” Schuchart said. “I was just happy to get back by him. As the race went on I felt like I had a line that felt good to me that I could make moves but also defend myself.”

Sweet tried the same move again four laps later, but didn’t have enough of a run this time to put his car in front of Schuchart. He slid up next to the No. 1s car and then watched it drive away down the backstretch. It was the closest he was going to get to trying to pass Schuchart, even with several late cautions.

“We sure did try,” Sweet said. “Every time we timed it pretty good in traffic Logan was able to counter. We made a little contact that one time, but it was all hard racing. I knew I needed to get the lead and kind of went a little too hard and burned up my tire. The track was really aggressive when you’re running high.”

Behind Schuchart and Sweet, Kaeding, Donny Schatz and Daryn Pittman had a fierce battle for third.

Schatz eventually bested the two with aggressive maneuvers to take the spot. Those moves further paid off on a late restart with three laps to go. Schatz snuck his way by Sweet to end the race in second.

“It’s (the season) winding down,” Schatz said. “You want to get the best finishes you can when you can’t win. Logan was obviously really good and set a pretty good pace. I pretty much used everything up getting to that point. It was pretty aggressive up there (on the high side) on the tires. I tried to save as much as I could, but at the end I was sliding and moving around a bit and that’s what got us the spots we got.”

To see full results, turn to the next page.

WEST LEBANON, N.Y. — Kenny Tremont Jr., who clinched his 15th Lebanon Valley Speedway modified championship by taking the green flag, celebrated with a convincing win in Saturday night’s 101-lap Mr. Dirt Track USA event on the high banked half-mile.

The Super DIRTcar big block series win, worth some $25,500, was Tremont’s second consecutive score in the event.  It came at the expense of polesitter Ronnie Johnson, who got the best of front row companion Brett Hearn n the initial start and prevailed through a handful of restarts that saw Hearn get even but not quite by before Johnson’s momentum off the banked turns put him back in command.

As the duo battled, Tremont was clawing his way forward from the eighth starting position, surviving especially hard battles with first Wayne Jelley and then Danny Johnson.  As the race neared the halfway point, he finally got by Johnson to take over fourth, then had a back and forth tussle with Andy Bachetti for third that saw Tremont finally prevail on a lap 48 restart.

That put Tremont on arch-rival Hearn’s bumper and after another set of side by side laps, he put Hearn away on lap 53 and set out after Johnson.

A yellow for a Mike King spin on lap 65 that collected J.R. Heffner and series leader Matt Sheppard saw Bachetti and Hearn swap third back and forth on the restart while Tremont started working on Johnson, using the low groove to attack in the turns but not quite getting by.

“I was working hard there and decided I had to start moving around on the track because I knew I couldn’t do what he was doing,” said Tremont. “I finally got so I could hit the turns in the middle, then cut down under him and it paid off.”

Pay off it did, as Tremont, Lebanon Valley’s all-time leading winner, ran even with Johnson on lap 92, then pulled off a slide job the next time they hit turn three to take command.  From there he pulled out to a turn lead before the checkers flew.

“Losing one to Kenny Tremont here is nothing to be ashamed of,” said Johnson. “I was good, but he’s got a lot more laps here than I do.  We got beat by experience tonight.”

Hearn, who rounded out the podium finishers, tipped that he “was trying to play possum and be ready to go at the end but to do that, you have to have your tires at the end.  I had a tire that chunked off and I thought that Kenny’s right rear was coming apart too but when it was time to go, he went.”

Bachetti was fourth, with Mat Williamson turning in a strong run to claim fifth.

Jelley led the second five, trailed by Eddie Marshall, Stewart Friesen, Pete Britain and Marc Johnson.

When asked about Hearn’s observation about his tire, Tremont said “I worked it hard getting to the front and it’s used up, but it felt good the whole way. I should probably get a medal for working so hard to get by Wayne (Jelley) and Danny (Johnson). Danny and I may have touched once there but nothing serious.”

Notable events that changed the complexion of the race included fast timer Keith Flach hitting the turn three wall on lap 44 while climbing through the field and a frontstretch melee caused by Mike Mahaney’s crippled car that slowed on the frontstretch, then turned sharply, collecting Jack Lehner and Brian Berger.

In supporting action, Jason Casey claimed the track Pro Stock championship with a win over Chad Jeseo and Nick Arnold while Whitey Slavin prevailed over Jeff Watson and Rob Maxon in the crash-filled sportsman finale.

The finish:

Feature (101 Laps): 1. 115-Kenny Tremont [8][$]; 2. 2-Ronnie Johnson [1][$8,000]; 3. 20-Brett Hearn [2][$3,000]; 4. 4-Andy Bachetti [5][$1,800]; 5. 88-Mat Williamson [6][$1,600]; 6. 45-Wayne Jelley [7][$1,400]; 7. 98-Eddy Marshall [16][$1,300]; 8. 44-Stewart Friesen [15][$1,200]; 9. 21A-Peter Britten [11][$1,100]; 10. 33-Marc Johnson [4][$1,000]; 11. 111-Demetrios Drellos [17][$800]; 12. 9s-Matt Sheppard [13][$700]; 13. 25-Erick Rudolph [25][$600]; 14. 98H-Jimmy Phelps [9][$575]; 15. 91-Billy Decker [24][$550]; 16. 55-Mike King [21][$525]; 17. 26-Ryan Godown [26][$500]; 18. 74-JR Heffner [20][$500]; 19. 99L-Larry Wight [14][$500]; 20. 27j-Danny Johnson [3][$500]; 21. 11A-Kyle Armstrong [12][$500]; 22. 43-Keith Flach [10][$500]; 23. 37-Paul StSauveur [27][$500]; 24. 99-Kolby Schroder [22][$500]; 25. 35-Mike Mahaney [19][$500]; 26. 2L-Jack Lehner [28][$500]; 27. 606-Brian Berger [29][]; 28. 35L-LJ Lombardo [18][]; 29. 97-Bobby Hackel [23][]

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LONDON -- Gunnersaurus Rex had just finished greeting Burnley off their bus in the bowels of the Emirates, extending his great green claws toward manager Sean Dyche, Ashley Barnes and Ben Mee. Goalkeeper Nick Pope had taken a conspicuously wide turn to avoid him, and someone in the small crowd of observers registered displeasure -- "That's a bit out of order" -- but Gunnersaurus seemed unfazed by Pope's blind eye. His toothy grin stayed, as ever, glued to his friendly face.

He waited for his Arsenal to arrive. When their own bus eased up, Gunnersaurus tapped the crest of his red jersey, made sure his feet were planted squarely on the cement floor, and opened his arms. Matteo Guendouzi, the curly haired midfielder, was among the first to reach him. Guendouzi accepted a hug with all of his heart.

After the last of the players had passed him, Gunnersaurus made for the elevator that would take him to the concourse behind the family section of the stands. He had a minder but still banged his head on a beam along the way. It's hard to be 7 feet tall in England. He rode up, and the lift doors opened. An elderly woman waiting on the other side had to put her hand to her chest to keep from falling over. She wasn't expecting to see a dinosaur at a football game.

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It's been more than 25 years since Gunnersaurus first appeared at one, and people still register the most complete surprise whenever they see him. Their faces light up. Their eyes go nearly as wide as their smiles. Gunnersaurus is like a machine custom-built to spread joy.

An admiring crowd of supporters surrounded him. He was soon trapped in the concourse, unable to move, a modern-day Gulliver tied to the ground by the Lilliputians and their curious love. Children have a particular affinity for Gunnersaurus, and he does for them, but adults also express an unabashed affection for him. Gunnersaurus responds without a whisper of irony. He is particularly drawn to people in wheelchairs. He smothers them in the warmest embrace.

There was a huge poster on the wall of the concourse where he stood. It depicted a young Arsene Wenger, then the overseer of the Invincibles, the unbeatable Arsenal of 2003-04. It included a quote from Brian Clough, marveling at the 49-game winning streak Arsenal then enjoyed. "It's better than being in heaven," Clough said.

Gunnersaurus stood in front of that poster and dispensed hug after hug. One boy, maybe 12 years old, forgot that he was supposed to be cool, and he turned his back to Gunnersaurus and executed a trust fall into his belly. Gunnersaurus draped his arms around the boy, the boy closed his eyes, and his father took a picture of him with a smile of pure bliss.

Arsenal are highly secretive about Gunnersaurus and his private truths. The contents of the ark of the covenant would be easier to see; there are royal families that are less guarded.

Here is what we do know: According to official club lore, Arsenal embarked on a rebuild of the North Bank at Highbury Stadium in the summer of 1993. Deep underground, workers discovered what at first seemed a large boulder. Or perhaps, they feared, it was an unexploded bomb from the war. You can imagine their alarm when they carefully brushed away the last of the earth and learned what they had really found. It was an enormous egg.

The egg was warm to the touch. Memories have been clouded by time, but some of the workers claim that the egg shook a little. They carefully lifted it out and carried it to a sheltered corner of the ground. They wrapped the egg in Arsenal blankets. It didn't take long for it to crack. Some of the workers stepped away from the egg and its mysterious occupant. Others were drawn toward it.

At last, the egg broke wide open and Arsenal officials will say only that they were "shocked and surprised" by what they saw next. They were almost certainly much more than that. Because out came a baby dinosaur. It was green, round in the middle, with a long, full tail. He soon grew 7 feet tall. Arsenal fitted him in a full kit, complete with football boots. And on Aug. 20, 1993, they revealed him to the public at Highbury before a match against Manchester City.

The dinosaur, the bewildered crowd was told, had been named Gunnersaurus Rex, which became Gunner to the lazy and disrespectful. Arsenal went on to beat City 3-0, and if anyone that day had been scared of the dinosaur that had taken its place among them, they weren't scared of him anymore. Besides, he seemed such a happy dinosaur. No matter what happened around him -- rain, defeat, moments of silence -- he smiled his big smile. Gunnersaurus could stay. He had found his forever home.

In the summers of my youth, I was a mascot: Boomer, the Parks Canada beaver. Unlike Gunnersaurus, of course, I wasn't real. I was wearing a costume. I was exposed to countless curiosities whenever I put it on. When I was Boomer, children gathered around me like birds to bread. Adults surrounded me in concentric circles, too. I was always amazed by how many, including the grown-ups, forgot that inside that costume, there was a man. So many people seemed only too willing to accept that a giant anthropomorphic beaver, dressed like a park ranger, was suddenly bumbling about in their midst.

There were vulnerabilities in playing such an outsized part. I couldn't see my feet, which made it surprisingly hard to walk. My enormous head became wedged in door frames. I was very, very hot. A certain segment of the population takes deep pleasure in watching mascots suffer; I was once set upon by a group of first-graders who beat me within an inch of my natural human life. I had nightmares that I would fall into the nearby canal and nobody would try to rescue me, because they would see that I was smiling and would confuse my frantic pawing at the air for waving. The white of my beaver teeth, each the size of a book, would be the last that they would see of me when I disappeared into the murk. No wonder they would think I was fine. I wasn't a man with dreams drowning inside a costume. I was a beaver returned to his habitat.

I can't imagine what it's like to be an actual dinosaur, unable to speak, unable to express any emotion beyond quiet delight. Gunnersaurus knows all too well: This summer, he was hit hard in the gob by a child taking a penalty kick, yet his mask remained.

What is it like to be so famous and yet so unknown? Gunnersaurus recently won the online World Cup of Football Mascots, besting FC Metz's Grayou, a dragon; West Brom's Boiler Man, a hot-water heater with arms and legs; and Partick Thistle's Kingsley, a surly sun, maybe, with a unibrow. He has been invited to appear at hundreds of weddings and bar mitzvahs and birthday parties, and he recently gained his 100,000th follower on Instagram. He is easily the most popular dinosaur in the world. In football, as in life, everything changes. But Gunnersaurus is always there.

A 37-year-old man in Cambridge named Peter Lovell claims to have "invented" Gunnersaurus. Lovell is a man of enthusiasms, the sort of person who walks into a bar filled with strangers and leaves with friends. He has materials to support his claim, including the drawings of Gunnersaurus he allegedly made when he was 11 years old. His parents were Scotland Yard detectives, he says, and massive Arsenal fans, which made him an Arsenal supporter with a prodigious eye for detail. In 1993, the Junior Gunners held a contest to design a new mascot, his story goes; inspired by "Jurassic Park," which had come out that same summer, he sat down at his kitchen table and soon produced his fully realized proposal for a dinosaur named Gunnersaurus Rex. He won the contest, and the Gunnersaurus of his imagination came to life that August. He hasn't stopped telling people what he believes he did, mostly because it means he rarely buys a beer. "It's the ultimate anecdote," he says.

Some of Lovell's story checks out. "Jurassic Park" did, in fact, give a lot of people dinosaur fever in the summer of 1993. Lovell's drawings, with front and side views of a dinosaur that looks very much like the actual Gunnersaurus, resemble the mug shots his parents would have brought home and laid on that same kitchen table. (Lovell's Gunnersaurus was yellow, not green, and his only uniform was a jersey. The real Gunnersaurus, thankfully, also wears shorts.) Lovell's eyes even go wet with tears when he talks about how much his supposed young success changed the course of so many important things.

"It always gets me," he says. "It was one of those moments in the history of my life, if it hadn't have happened. ... How it transformed me, helped to form a growing mind, the confidence it gave me, the belief. So much has come from that belief. That's the moment I went from being intimidated by the world to believing that I could do anything. It's beautiful."

But Peter Lovell must be delusional. As earnest as he appears, as much as it would be lovely to think that a boy with some paper and crayons could sit down at a table and conjure something so wonderful as a dinosaur that has brought happiness to thousands for more than a quarter-century, Gunnersaurus is real. He wasn't invented. He was born out of a giant egg and grew 7 feet tall.

I've seen him. I've hugged him. I have felt his comforting squeeze, the buttress-like strength of his arms, the gentle trace of his claws on my shoulders, his fuzzy green skin on my face. Gunnersaurus is as real as Santa Claus. He is as real as grace. He is as real as every last one of our childhood hopes, the affirmation that good things will come to us if only we believe.

That beautiful day I spent with Gunnersaurus at Arsenal, a teenage boy with hearing aids in his ears made his approach in the concourse. Gunnersaurus sensed his presence and turned. The boy held out his arms and Gunnersaurus held out his, and they fell into a cuddle. The boy took a long time to let go. When he did, he smiled and put his hand to his lips and then opened his palm toward Gunnersaurus. He signed "Thank you" to the dinosaur. Then Gunnersaurus signed "Thank you" back to the boy.

If that encounter wasn't real, if that moment wasn't as true and heart-swelling as it felt in the suddenly blurry light of that magical afternoon, then what is?

If Josh Hazlewood is happy that the pressure he has applied on England's top order has helped force the hosts into a change in batting order for the upcoming Test at Old Trafford, then his words about what that change represents apply equally to Australia given the sorts of adjustments being pondered by the touring side.

It is plausible that Australia may make as many as four changes to their team from the XI that took the field in Leeds, recalling the fit-again Steven Smith and Mitchell Marsh and also including Mitchell Starc - Peter Siddle is also in contention for a return. Such a shift would certainly outstrip England's shuffle of Joe Denly up the top and Jason Roy to No. 4, raising questions about exactly which team is better-placed entering the penultimate Test of an absorbing series.

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Having got so infuriatingly close to retaining the Ashes in England for the first time since 2001, the Australians have been confronted with the dilemma of balancing introspection about Headingley and Ben Stokes with the fact that their plans so far for this series had taken them to the very brink of victory.

In that sense, Australia's situation heading into the fourth Test bears the essence of the British General Bernard Montgomery's remark that operation Market Garden, a failed attempt to capture a series of bridges into Germany to shorten the Second World War, was "90% successful" because every bridge but the last one, over the Rhine at Arnhem, was taken. Hazlewood noted that while Australia's bowlers had been "90-95%" successful, there was plenty about the remaining 10% that needed work.

"Whenever the other team are changing plans [it] means you're doing something right," Hazlewood said. "Whoever is at the top, whatever the order, it's the same plans, what we've talked about before, keeping it simple, patient, disciplined.

"It certainly feels like I'm bowling well. Ever since I bowled at Worcester a few weeks back, I took it into Lord's and Headingley. I think I'm not trying to do too much, try and be very simple, not try and swing the ball, occasionally I do when it gets a bit older but just hitting that right length with the new ball, making them play, not try and do too much, try and keep it simple. Dry that scoreboard up, build pressure with maidens, make him play on the front foot, not try and do too much as a whole group."

"It's a bit like one-day cricket: nice, soft ball, the wicket's really good and we spread the field. It was extraordinary hitting." Hazlewood reflecting on the final phase of England's chase in Headingley

Having been the dominant bowler of the Headingley Test, claiming nine wickets through a masterful combination of control, optimum pace and movement both ways, Hazlewood's final over was to be thumped for 19 by Stokes. Weighing up how the final hour of the Test played out, he reckoned that better communication between the captain Tim Paine and the bowlers may have been useful.

"It can feel like it's moving pretty quickly in those situations," Hazlewood said. "The crowds are quite loud as well, it's hard to hear people, we certainly could have taken our time a little bit more and communicated a little bit better with the field, the skipper and bowler. I thought we stayed pretty calm throughout it. Things happened pretty quickly at certain stages, good learning experience, hopefully better for it.

"We looked at it on the whole - a very good performance from our bowling group. We got beaten by a helluva player at the end. We've certainly talked about that, what we could have done differently with fields, different bowling, more of a one-day game at the end, different ways to get Leach on strike to face a few more deliveries. We'll hopefully do a bit better next time. We always sit down and discuss what happened and we could have done better and what we did well as well.

"That's important to discuss what we did well: 90-95% of that game we bowled really well. So don't gloss over that either and obviously talk about what we could have done better. I bowled the one over in that hour, hour-and-a-half. It's a bit like one-day cricket: nice, soft ball, the wicket's really good and we spread the field. We probably could have changed a few things there. It was extraordinary hitting. I thought Nath [Lyon] was the best chance of getting a wicket or a catch somewhere, get Stokes out. There were a few big chances."

Starc's potential inclusion for one of the final two Ashes Tests, having worked assiduously on his economy and lengths over the course of this tour so far, would add a more destructive edge to the Australian attack when it comes to yorkers and knocking over the tail. His scorcher to tunnel under the bat of Stokes at Lord's during the World Cup will be remembered ruefully by Australians present at Headingley, and Hazlewood said Starc's ability to blast out tail-enders had now been augmented by greater control and also a constructive attitude to being left out.

"You come to expect that these days. He bowled really well with the new ball as well," Hazlewood said. "He hit some really good lengths, found some swing. The pace looked up there throughout the whole game, he looks fit and firing. That's where we want to get to as a squad, I think, have those six [bowlers in the squad] all firing, even Michael Neser bowling really well this game keeps pressure on you as a player in the team. It's always good, healthy competition.

"He [Starc] has worked really hard on a lot of things in the nets and we've seen it in this game as well. I think it's how hard the guys work off the field, the 6-7 [in the squad] who aren't playing. That's a great measure of how the group's going. That they are putting pressure on the guys who are playing. That can make the difference. They can easily mope around. It's a long tour. They're buzzing around, and working on their games, and it's great."

India Green 440 (Akshath 146, Lad 64, Wakhare 5-103) and 98 for 3 (Shorey 44*, Unadkat 1-8) drew with India Red 441(Lomror 126, Nair 90, Jadeja 4-135)
Points: India Red 3, India Green 1

India Green qualified for the final of Duleep Trophy 2019-20 on the basis of a superior quotient despite Avesh Khan's 56-ball 64 from No. 10 denying them a first-innings lead against India Red on day four in Alur.

India Green had to avoid a collapse in the second innings to make it to the final. Although they lost their openers - Faiz Fazal and Akshath Reddy - with just 24 on the board, Dhruv Shorey's unbeaten 44 ensured they were always well ahead of India Blue's quotient. With no result in sight, both captains shook hands at tea.

The final, to be played between these two teams, will start from September 4 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Earlier, India Red started the day on 404 for 9, still 36 in arrears. But Avesh's maiden first-class half-century took them to 441, one run ahead of India Green's first-innings total. Avesh, who struck two fours and seven sixes in his knock, added 73 for the tenth wicket with Sandeep Warrier, the latter contributing only 5.

On the third evening, Avesh had come in with the side on 368 for 8 and saw Akshay Wakhare falling on the same score, with India Red trailing by 72 at that stage. But in one Dharmendrasinh Jadeja over, he smashed four sixes, three off them on successive balls and took the side past 400. On Sunday morning, he hit two more sixes - both off Rahul Chahar - but the shot that brought the loudest cheer from the dressing room was a reverse shot off Chahar that almost went for a six. With the legspinner targetting the rough from round the wicket, Avesh hit with the spin and found the deep-cover boundary to level the scores.

In the 138th over of India Red's innings, Priyam Garg was hit on the back of the neck while fielding at silly point. Garg found himself in the line of the ball while taking evasive action against a back foot punch by Avesh Khan. Garg's helmet had a neck guard, which softened the impact.

Garg was conscious but in pain and lay down near the pitch as the team physio applied an ice pack to the injured area. An ambulance was brought on to the field and as a precaution, he was taken to hospital to run some tests where he cleared the first concussion test.

"Initially, we had suspected a concussion and that's why took him for some scans. But he never showed any signs of a concussion," India Green physio Prasanth Panchada said. "Still we are sending the MRIs to another radiologist for a second opinion but as of now he is fine and can bat as well."