The Major League Baseball Players Association is fighting a bill in Delaware it believes exposes players to troublesome gambling conflicts, while the sponsor of the bill believes it will help benefit minor league players whose minuscule salaries force them into "difficult financial realities."

The Professional Athlete Funding Act, which this week passed through the Delaware House of Representatives and is scheduled to be voted on by senators Sunday afternoon in the last day of the legislative session, would enforce regulations on so-called "brand agreements." The deals, which have become commonplace in the past five years, typically offer players a lump sum of money in exchange for a fixed percentage of future earnings.

The bill's benefactor, former Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Michael Schwimer, has for two years lobbied legislators in Delaware to adopt laws he said will shield athletes from those seeking to take advantage of them. Schwimer is the CEO of Big League Advance, one of the most prominent brand-agreement companies, and has used venture-capital funding to pay more than $50 million for percentages of 167 players' potential major league salaries.

"There's one reason and one reason only for this bill: to protect players from bad actors," Schwimer told ESPN. "Unfortunately, the current law doesn't protect players."

The MLBPA believes the proposed law does not, either -- a sentiment that is backed by Major League Baseball, according to sources. Both agree the bill does not go far enough in regulating the industry after representatives rejected proposed amendments before passing the bill 29-12 earlier this week. If the senate passes the bill Sunday, it would go to Gov. John Carney (D) to be signed into law.

"The true purpose of this bill is not to benefit minor leaguers as a whole, but rather to immunize a very specific business model that affects only a tiny fraction [of minor league players]." Kevin Slowey, MLBPA special assistant

The bill proposes to protect athletes from "unscrupulous investors" by ensuring brand agreements are written in an athlete's native language, that they cap the amount of future earnings a player can offer at 15 percent, that payments end with the athlete's playing career and that the civil fine for violating the law can be up to $5,000.

Further, the bill's proponents said, it codifies another avenue for minor league players to receive money after Congress last year passed the Save America's Pastime Act, which stripped minor leaguers of minimum-wage-protection laws and was supported by more than $1 million in lobbying by MLB. Minor league players are notoriously underpaid, with a vast majority of the more than 7,000 earning less than $10,000 a year.

While the MLBPA does not disagree that regulation on brand agreements are necessary, it does not believe the Professional Athlete Funding Act goes far enough.

"The Players Association and I spent time in Delaware attempting to help the members craft a bill that would meaningfully protect minor leaguers from exploitation in their careers," MLBPA special assistant Kevin Slowey, who testified in front of the Delaware house, told ESPN. "We offered a number of amendments we felt would be critical to helping players both financially and from potential exploitation outside the financial world."

The amendments proposed by the MLBPA and rejected by representatives included:

• The debt obligation for an athlete ending when he or she has returned a particular multiple of what originally was given. For example, if a baseball player receives $1 million from a brand-agreement company for 10 percent of his career earnings and makes $300 million, he would pay 30 times the original sum given.

• Prohibiting the assignability of the contract. Big League Advance's brand agreements can be bundled and sold, similar to mortgages that get packaged into collateralized debt obligations, and athletes can owe money to entities with which they did not enter into an agreement.

• Barring individuals or companies with gambling interests from entering into brand agreements with players.

Schwimer, who is also CEO of a sports-wagering company, Jambospicks.com, and is a regular contributor to ESPN's Daily Wager TV show, does not believe there is a conflict running one business owning percentages of athletes' careers and another in which he offers advice on games that could include those players.

"Somebody can run two companies," Schwimer said. "Big League Advance, the company that's investing in players, has absolutely, unequivocally zero ties to anything gambling-related.

"All the union is trying to do there ... is cause confusion. Gambling -- that, to me, is hilarious. It's a joke. When they brought that up, I literally thought they were joking. If there's anybody that would never, ever, ever bet against a guy or tell a guy to throw a game, it's somebody that owns a percentage in their upside."

"There's one reason and one reason only for this bill: to protect players from bad actors. Unfortunately, the current law doesn't protect players." Michael Schwimer, CEO of Big League Advance

Rep. Tim Dukes (R), the house minority whip who opposed the bill, said there are flaws in Schwimer's argument -- and that the gambling-brand agreement conflict is real.

"Someone could go to a player," Dukes told ESPN, "and say: 'We fronted you $350,000. We need to make sure you give up five runs today. And if so, we can relieve some debt.' It sets up an avenue for gambling and wagering and paying off players. Honestly, I think it has the potential to ruin baseball."

Schwimer said capping the multiple on a rate of return could ruin his business -- and he sees brand agreements as a tool instead to save players' careers. He said players can take the money, which is subject to taxes, and use it for myriad things, whether it's better training, better nutrition, helping family or even paying rent, which a number of players struggle to do in-season. Schwimer said he approached the MLBPA during his two-year career with the Phillies with a proposal to raise minor league salaries but was rejected.

"I've been fighting since I was in baseball to raising minor league pay," said Schwimer, who criticized the MLBPA for not fighting harder for minor league players. The union technically represents only the 1,200 players on major league teams' 40-man rosters, 750 of whom are in MLB, though it does bargain for domestic and international amateur player signing rules.

MLB currently is formulating a plan to increase pay to minor league players, according to sources, and the Toronto Blue Jays planned to boost their pay scale for minor leaguers this season. Even then, it's unlikely to stifle the brand-agreement business.

"These agreements have allowed players to receive money when they need it most," wrote Jared Ruxer, a former minor league pitcher who said he signed an agreement with Big League Advance, in a letter to Delaware lawmakers last year. Ruxer, according to Schwimer, plans to testify Sunday before the senate vote.

Schwimer said he also has letters of support for the bill from a half-dozen other players, including one currently on a major league roster.

Slowey also intends to testify for a second time and wrote a letter this week to senators urging them to consider the amendments.

"The true purpose of this bill," Slowey wrote, "is not to benefit minor leaguers as a whole, but rather to immunize a very specific business model that affects only a tiny fraction [of minor league players]. This bill is designed to benefit and protect a specific type of lender, not minor league players as a whole."

In a statement, Rep. Valerie Longhurst (D), the sponsor of the bill, called brand agreements "an investment" and added: "Delaware is already nationally known as a leader in contract law, with many businesses across the country stipulating that their contracts are under Delaware law. We felt it prudent as a leader in contract law to expand our regulation onto player brand agreements to provide some regulation on a business that will continue to exist with or without these regulations."

Longhurst did not respond to further questions from ESPN.

"Why do we need this in Delaware?" said Dukes, one of the dozen representatives who voted against the bill. "We're trying to keep the riff-raff out. Well, I feel like it's already here. It's a poor reflection. I'm disappointed that it passed. I just hope that not too many young men get taken advantage of.

"I think it's indentured servitude all over again. I think it's unhealthy for baseball."

He pointed to the lawsuit filed in February 2018 by San Diego Padres catcher Francisco Mejia, who accused Big League Advance of "unconscionable" tactics in securing 10 percent of his career earnings for $360,000. Mejia dropped the suit in August 2018 and issued an apology to Big League Advance in which he said: "I am happy with my agreement with Big League Advance, and appreciative of the information and support they provided to me. To be clear -- I do not believe Big League Advance has ever deceived me. All of my interactions with Big League Advance and specifically Michael Schwimer have been very professional and respectful.

"I believe that Big League Advance offers a great option for all minor league players, and one that worked for me and helped me focus on baseball and fulfill my dream of reaching the major leagues," Mejia's statement continued. "I want to make clear that I fully intend to honor my original agreement with Big League Advance. I apologize to BLA for filing the complaint and I have agreed to pay a portion of their legal fees as a result of my actions. I am happy to be putting this entire situation behind me and I am looking forward to focusing on baseball and continuing my professional baseball career."

What's clear, Schwimer said, is that brand agreements are now a significant part of the baseball world -- and that the Professional Athlete Funding Act, if passed, would be "bad for companies."

"This bill guarantees that players will understand what they're signing," Schwimer said. "It's bad for companies. We could get away with whatever we want to get away with right now, and it's awful. That has to stop."

Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, who has won 27 singles title on the WTA Tour, is writing a column for the BBC Sport website during the championships at the All England Club.

The 29-year-old Czech, who has not played since pulling out of the French Open in May with an arm injury, faces Tunisian Ons Jabeur in the first round on Tuesday.

I had some doubts about whether I would play at Wimbledon but my arm is better, which is great.

The tear in my forearm has been an unusual injury - nobody knows how it is going to be and how much time I will need to be ready again.

I had a few MRI scans during the period when I couldn't hit and it didn't show that it's 100% ready but sometimes in our life, nothing is really ready!

I only held a racquet again a few days ago after hurting it the day before my match five weeks ago at the French Open. Before that I couldn't do anything for a couple of weeks and was glad to just do something simple like holding a drink in that hand.

I'm happy that I hit on Saturday and I have no pain. That is really important.

After so many problems I've been through in my life already, which have been well documented, I think I feel my body more and I'm not as risky a person as I was probably before.

I do have my age as well, so sometimes I have to really think about it. But of course, if I do have pain in my arm I won't play. So far it's OK - there's a few more days so anything can happen.

'It took me a while to get over Australian Open defeat'

Reaching the final at this year's Australian Open in January was a huge result for me. I had a great two weeks in Melbourne.

But losing in the final was so painful. It took me a while to get over it but it was a big motivation to continue the work I had been doing before and how I was getting ready for matches. And I still have that motivation.

Unfortunately I missed the French Open but life is continuing and I am still going to try my best and be prepared for everything.

Winning a Grand Slam or becoming world number one are pretty connected with each other. If you win a Grand Slam, you have a big chance to be world number one.

It would be great if it happened that way for me. Of course, I'm missing the world number one ranking in my career but on the other hand I always was focusing on the tournaments and on the results, especially in the Grand Slams.

'I love Wimbledon'

In the past I did used to come here and do things like looking for my name on the winners' board but after so many years on the tour, it's a little bit more familiar.

Of course I love it here, I love this club, I love playing on the grass - it's always very special for me.

When I was growing up in the Czech Republic we played on clay in the summer but in the winter we played indoors where the surface was so fast. I think that's where I have got the game for grass because it was pretty low and pretty fast. So I always played the fast game and not really the clay game.

I do have Wimbledon twice already so it would be great to win another one but Wimbledon is the most famous one. If I win another Grand Slam, it doesn't matter which one.

My expectations here are not really high but maybe this can help me relax more on court. But also, I know from the past that sometimes I don't need to have hit for that many hours to be ready.

Petra Kvitova was speaking to BBC Sport's Sonia Oxley

UNION, Ky. — Jonathan Davenport posted a flag-to-flag victory in Saturday night’s 33rd annual Ralph Latham Memorial at Florence Speedway.

Davenport held off a furious late-race challenge from Jimmy Owens for a $12,000 payday. Davenport’s triumph marked his eighth Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win of the season.

Davenport and Owens ran first and second the entire 50 laps, battling nose-to-tail in the early stages of the race. Hudson O’Neal; the defending race winner; and Josh Richards exchanged the third spot on several occasions in the final laps before O’Neal edged out Richards. Mike Marlar rounded of the top five finishers in a race that went the entire distance without a caution flag.

Davenport earned his second-career Ralph Latham Memorial win and was very pleased in Lucas Oil Victory Lane.

“I had a good spot to watch the race last night at Tazewell,” Davenport said. “I think we had a car that could’ve won last night. We started in the back and I went too hard too early. I thought the rain was right on us. I wasn’t going to give this one away. After they watered the track tonight, I had no idea where to go. I knew Jimmy [Owens] was under me and I wanted to give him some room.”

Owens was coming off of a fifth-place finish at Tazewell and hounded Davenport for the entire race.

“I didn’t expect it to go caution free,” Owens said. “We have a lot of professional drivers out here and everybody did a great job. I was needing some oxygen there about half-way through. I was pounding on that cushion and that just wasn’t for me. It was a rough night at Tazewell last night. The crew busted their tails to get this thing ready for tonight.”

O’Neal charged from 11th to pick up the third spot.

“I wasn’t hoping for a caution I was praying for one. We needed one there. We got behind early tonight. We were pretty good in the heat race. We drove up through there in the feature and I can’t complain a bit, we have had a really good weekend. I know we have wins but we have been missing that consistency. This is a race track we have been waiting all year to come to. I can’t wait to come back here in August.”

The finish:

Jonathan Davenport, Jimmy Owens, Hudson O’Neal, Josh Richards, Mike Marlar, Tyler Erb, Kent Robinson, Kody Evans, Earl Pearson Jr., Tim McCreadie, Nick Hoffman, Dale McDowell, Michael Norris, Devin Moran, Darrell Lanigan, Kyle Strickler, Kyle Bronson, Stormy Scott, Shanon Buckingham, Billy Moyer Jr., Gregg Satterlee, Trevor Landrum, Boom Briggs, David Douglas, Scott James.

JOLIET, Ill. — Kyle Larson was disqualified while leading Saturday night’s Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1/IRA Outlaw Sprint Series feature at the Dirt Oval at Route 66 and Aaron Reutzel drove from the fifth row to a $5,000 payday.

Ruetzel romped through the field after rebuilding a destroyed race car as the result of a flip during the dash.

With the help of an array of sprint car teams scattered throughout the pit area, Reutzel and the familiar Baughman-Reutzel Motorsports, No. 87 entry made the main event call.

The victory not only bumped Retuzel’s 2019 All Star Circuit of Champions win total to four, leading all competitors this season, but the win also bumped Reutzel back on top of the All Star standings, now with a two point lead over Dale Blaney.

Blaney finished second on Saturday night at Route 66, followed by Paul McMahan, Cory Eliason, and multi-time IRA champion, Bill Balog.

“What an effort by this team. I really can’t say enough about these guys. We weren’t sure what to do, but we ended up fixing the car that we flipped. Actually, if it wasn’t for everyone else jumping in to help us, I’m not sure we would have been able to get back out there without having to go to a back-up car. Being able to start ninth rather than 24th made all the difference,” Reutzel said. “A big thanks to the entire Rudeen Racing team, Brian and Stacy Kemenah, Paul McMahan, Mike McGhee and his guys, Thomas Meseraull; they all helped us get things back together. What a group of guys out here traveling with the All Stars this year. They all jump in and help each other.”

Larson, who started from the pole position on Saturday night before leading the first 13 circuits, was eventually disqualified during a red flag break on lap 14. A work area violation forced the disqualification, as one of Larson’s crew members left the designated work area to speak with Larson.

Larson won the USAC midget feature later in the program.

Regardless of Larson’s speed and eventual disqualification, Reutzel was a sure-fire favorite, as the defending All Star champion climbed ahead from ninth to fifth in just four circuits. By lap seven, Reutzel was third, charging his way around Paul Nienhiser and Parker Price-Miller as the trio battled in traffic.

A caution on lap 13 allowed Reutzel the opportunity to drive by Paul McMahan for second. Although the opportunity prevailed, action was soon halted yet again, this time for a red flag incident on lap 14. Larson’s aforementioned disqualification occurred at that time.

Although two additional red-flag incidents would halt action on lap 22, and again on lap 30 – setting up a green-white-checkered finish – it was all Reutzel, pulling away every time to a commanding advantage.

“I felt like I was catching Kyle [Larson]. I’m not sure what kind of a pace he was keeping because I know when I got the lead, I slowed my pace down,” Aaron Reutzel continued. “I think I was just as good as Kyle was during that first half. I know we are tired of getting beat by him, and he doesn’t like to lose races. I’m sure it would have been a great race with us two up front.”

The finish:

Feature (30 Laps): 1. 87-Aaron Reutzel [9]; 2. 11-Dale Blaney [10]; 3. 13-Paul McMahan [2]; 4. 26-Cory Eliason [11]; 5. 17B-Bill Balog [6]; 6. 70-Brock Zearfoss [5]; 7. W20-Greg Wilson [13]; 8. 99-Skylar Gee [8]; 9. 73AF-Joey Moughan [12]; 10. O7-Gerard McIntyre [21]; 11. 70X-Justin Peck [23]; 12. 65-Jordan Goldesberry [17]; 13. 9X-Paul Nienhiser [3]; 14. 9K-Kyle Schuett [18]; 15. 2W-Scotty Neitzel [24]; 16. 43-Jereme Schroeder [19]; 17. 23-Russel Borland [14]; 18. 71P-Parker Price-Miller [4]; 19. 64-Scotty Thiel [15]; 20. 57-Kyle Larson [1]; 21. 28-Brian Paulus [7]; 22. 5J-Jeremy Schultz [22]; 23. 40-George Hobaugh [16]; 24. 73-Ben Schmidt [20] Lap Leaders: Kyle Larson (1-13), Aaron Reutzel (14-30)

JOLIET,Ill. — Kyle Larson had a special motivation starting Saturday night’s USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Summer Slash feature at the Dirt Oval at Route 66 and it showed.

Larson had been disqualified from the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions sprint car feature earlier in the night for having a crew member outside of the designated work area during a red flag.

Larson started his Keith Kunz No. 97 sixth in the midget main event after setting the fast qualifying time.

Larson just missed the lead by a wheel at the line on both laps one and two as he rolled the bottom and series Rookie Jesse Colwell ripped the top.  Colwell hung tough, but on the third lap, Larson set up Colwell for a slider, clearing him in turn two to capture the lead.

From there, Larson set off toward a half-straightaway lead that was deleted on lap 10 when USAC Triple Crown champ J.J. Yeley snagged the turn four curb, sending him into a violent crash down the front straightaway.  Yeley spiraled three times through the air before landing and flipping once more, coming to a rest just shy of the flag stand.

The common assumption was Larson was in a zone of his own.  However, following the lap-11 restart, defending series champ Logan Seavey, who started 12th, was on the prowl, melting Larson’s advantage down to two car lengths by lap 13.  Seavey pasted himself to Larson’s trail and, on lap 15, dove to the bottom of turn one, sliding up to the top in turn two to snare the lead.

“I felt like I was running good laps,” Larson recalled.  “Then, Logan threw a slider on me.  I guess I was running 90 percent.  I was like, ‘crap, I got to step it up,’ and that’s when I started making mistakes.”

There was no mistake on the following lap on behalf of Larson.  Seavey, though, bobbled atop the turn four cushion on lap 16, allowing Larson to get a run on the bottom, which he used to slide Seavey back into turn one to regain the advantage up front.

On a lap-24 restart following a Cole Bodine turn-three spin, Seavey’s pursuit of Larson fell apart just as it resumed.  Seavey snagged that same turn four curb that had bitten others throughout the night, riding like a bucking bronco for a moment before continuing on.  That allowed Larson to break away and series point leader Tyler Courtney to capitalize with a slider of his own in turn two for second.

The curb was definitely something that had weighed on Larson’s mind during the feature.  But he found a countering measure in the second half that kept his mind slightly at ease.

“I was just so scared of the curb off of four,” Larson said.  “It was really tall. These midgets, when they hit it, it’s difficult to be consistent. There in the last half, I just started following it around and it was definitely a lot easier to run, and I could have more straightaway speed.”

However, the deck was reshuffled when third-running Seavey spun in turn two with less than two laps remaining that set up a green-white-checkered finish.  Larson was perfection as soon as the green dropped, riding the rim over the final two laps to take a 0.775-second win over Courtney, Tanner Carrick, Chris Windom and Kevin Thomas, Jr.

The win was the first of the season for Larson, who had made two previous starts during the recent Indiana Midget Week” It was also the 16th victory of his USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget career, equaling him with Rico Abreu, George Amick, Billy Cantrell, Lee Kunzman, Bobby Olivero and Henry Pens for 39th all-time.

To see full results, turn to the next page.

MOST, Czech Republic – Lasse Soerensen fended off Giorgio Maggi to win Sunday’s NASCAR Whelen Euro Series ELITE 2 event at Autodrom Most.

The two battled for the lead for 14 laps, with Soerensen emerging as the victor.

Soerensen started from second and took over the lead in the first corner of the race. The Dexwet-df1 Racing driver survived pressure from Maggi during the entire race, but kept him at bay to take his fourth win of the season.

In his first six NASCAR Whelen Euro Series starts, the Soerensen always finished in the top-three. With Sunday’s win, Soerensen climbed up to third in the overall standings and reduced his gap from Maggi to 33 points.

“It was a really tough race, but I had a good start and I was able to overtake Giorgio on the outside of turn one,” said Soerensen. “It seemed that I was faster in the first one and a half sectors and he was better on the rest of the track. We had an almost identical pace. I think I had him under control, I’m happy for the whole team and my sponsors back home.”

Maggi, who started from the pole, spent the entire race on Soerensen’s rear bumper. After winning the inaugural ELITE 2 race at the Autodrom Most Saturday, Maggi ended up second Sunday to increase his championship lead to 16 points on Vittorio Ghirelli, who got a one championship point penalty for not giving back a position after a turn one shortcut.

“It’s great to expand the championship lead,” said Maggi. “The start was okay, but Lasse was able to overtake me. I tried a few times to make a move in turn one. He blocked very well, so there was nothing I could do. I tried to force him into a mistake but he was very consistent. In the end I’m happy with the second place. I’m looking forward to Venray as I have some experience there. It’s something new for me and I’m very excited.”

PK Carsport driver Ghirelli ended up third under the checkered flag.  Nicholas Risitano finished fourth and American Myatt Snider gained six positions on track to complete the top-five.

Ian Eric Waden won the battle in the Legend Trophy class by finishing 12th ahead of Michael Bleekemolen and Mirco Schultis, who closed the top-three in the classification for drivers 40 and over. Arianna Casoli won the Lady Trophy by securing a 17th-place finish.

United States international Weston McKennie has signed an extended contract with Bundesliga side Schalke.

Earlier this year, reports linked the Texas-born midfielder with a move to Liverpool.

?? He's here to stay ?✍️@WMckennie has signed a contract extension until 2024! ?⚒️⚪ pic.twitter.com/HUL6TErIn8

— FC Schalke 04 (@s04_en) June 30, 2019

But on Sunday Schalke announced that the 20-year-old, who turned professional at FC Dallas before making the switch to Germany in 2016, had extended his contract until 2024.

"The decision was very easy for me, because I've constantly been able to enjoy the unbelievable support of our fans," McKennie was quoted as saying on Schalke's website.

"The board have likewise always stood behind me. I'm looking forward to what the future holds."

McKennie is in America, playing for the national team in the Gold Cup. They take on Curacao in the quarterfinals.

Manchester United are ready to make Marcus Rashford one of their highest paid players after a breakthrough in contract talks, sources have told ESPN FC.

Rashford is close to signing a new five-year deal, with the terms of the agreement set to reflect his importance at Old Trafford.

Sources have told ESPN FC that Rashford's new wage will not match Alexis Sanchez's £391,000-a-week deal but will see him earn around £200,000 a week.

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United have been aware of interest in the England international from clubs including Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester City, but there is growing confidence they have done enough to tie the 21-year-old down to a fresh contract.

An academy graduate who has been at the club since the age of seven, Rashford is central to manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's vision for the future.

Another former academy star, Jesse Lingard, has been pencilled in for the next round of contract renewals, although formal talks have not yet started.

Rashford is still on the terms agreed after his breakthrough season under Louis van Gaal in 2016. He has scored 45 goals in 170 appearances since making his senior debut in February that year, winning 32 England caps.

Months of negotiations could conclude soon, with an announcement before the start of the season in August.

It is a boost for Solskjaer, who has made Rashford one of his key players since taking over from Jose Mourinho in December.

That has seen Romelu Lukaku fall down the pecking order, and sources have told ESPN FC that Lukaku would be open to working with Antonio Conte at Inter Milan if a fee can be agreed. United are holding out for £80 million.

Meanwhile, former United striker Wayne Rooney, now at D.C. United, praised Van Gaal for his approach at Old Trafford.

"Van Gaal is by far the best coach I have worked with," said Rooney, who has revealed he plans to go into management when his playing career ends.

"His tactical skills, his way of preparing and his attention to the finest of details I found amazing. I admired that in him. I had never looked at stuff like that before."

The Zimbabwe women team have pulled out of their tour of Ireland, citing funding and logistical issues. They were due to arrive in Ireland on Sunday ahead of a one-day and T20 series double-header with the men's side, who are already in Ireland, but did not travel. The ongoing impasse between Zimbabwe's Sports and Recreation Commission (ZSRC) and the suspended Zimbabwe Cricket board appears to be the cause of the cancellation.

"We received correspondence late this afternoon from Zimbabwe Cricket in which we were informed that due to a funding issue, Zimbabwe Cricket will not be sending their women's team to Ireland," Cricket Ireland (CI) chief executive Warren Deutrom said in a statement.

"With the team due to arrive on Sunday, there is clearly no time to find an alternative and, after urgent consultation with the ICC to seek clarification, we regret to confirm the women's tour has been cancelled. This will not, however, impact upon the men's tour which will proceed as scheduled," Deutrom added.

The T20 part of the series was supposed to have provided vital preparation for the upcoming ICC Women's T20 World Cup Qualifier, for both Ireland and Zimbabwe, and CI have been left scrambling for an alternative. "We will look into alternative arrangements so our senior women's team will not be completely disadvantaged by these disappointing circumstances," Deutrom said.

The cancellation of the women's tour is yet another chapter of the turmoil that has engulfed Zimbabwean cricket since the SRC, who are the governing body of all sporting associations in Zimbabwe, suspended the Tavengwa Mukuhlani-led ZC board and installed an interim committee in their place.

The SRC has alleged that the suspended officials have sought to intimidate the remaining ZC staff into vacating their roles, and ZC's offices have been virtually empty over the past week.

While the SRC claim to be acting in the best interests of cricket in the country, the suspension and subsequent power struggle are threatening to completely disrupt the sport and Zimbabwe are in danger of losing their ICC membership. Both the former and current ZC leadership are understood to be in contact with the ICC, who are yet to comment on the matter.

"It is not without coincidence that staff continue not to return to work despite clear messages from both the SRC and the interim committee that they should do so," SRC board chairman Gerald Mlotshwa said earlier this week. "The absence from work on Monday has severely compromised the ladies (team) preparations for their tour of Ireland.

"There continues to be a clear and deliberate effort to sabotage Zimbabwe Cricket by some of the suspended ZC officials. A formal police report has now been made regarding these shenanigans. It appears that every effort is being made to frustrate an inquiry into the financial affairs of Zimbabwe Cricket, key amongst these issues being the assessment of a debit of some US$2.8 million on ZC's account with a local banking institution with historical ties to it.

"The police have been alerted to this issue as well, as it is clear that no co-operation will be forthcoming from those with knowledge of the details and reasons for this historical debit," said Mlotshwa.

Softer than marshmallow, slower than a tortoise, Sri Lanka's middle order has had a poor tournament. Across five team innings, Sri Lanka have five half-centuries, but two each are from openers Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Perera. Nos. 4-7, in 20 combined innings, have contributed only one fifty: Angelo Mathews' unbeaten 85 against England.

Worse even than that output, has been their rate of scoring. Between Mathews, Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva and Jeevan Mendis, the best tournament strike rate belongs to Kusal Mendis, who has gone at 63.52. Jeevan, meanwhile, has struck at 37.25.

Against South Africa, several batsmen in the middle order attempted to hit out, but were not only unsuccessful in their attempts to raise the strike rate, they also frequently lost wickets playing big shots. So modest is their collective form, captain Karunaratne admitted, that like the turtles on their eco-friendly team shirts, some Sri Lanka batsmen have retreated into shells.

"Our middle order han't scored a lot of runs, and they don't have that confidence," he said. "If you don't have runs behind you, there's always a doubt in your mind as to whether you're going to get out when you go for a big shot. It's important to get settled before you go for those shots. What South Africa did in the last game was keep those fielders up. When we tried to hit out, it didn't work - we lost wickets in a row.

"We have to know how to handle those situations and how to escape from those traps. I haven't told everyone that same advice, but we are trying to work with some players on getting out of situations like that. In a big tournament like this, when you have a must-win match on the line, maybe it's better to have a more positive mindset."

The top three - meanwhile - consisting of Karunaratne, Kusal Perera and Avishka Fernando - have largely been able to find runs somewhere. Karunaratne has accumulated, while Kusal Perera and Fernando have been aggressive, often piercing gaps in the infield, or hitting aerial boundaries. Their contributions have not been enough to get Sri Lanka to even a single score in excess of 250, however - their 247 against Australia, in pursuit of 335 having been their highest total.

"We know that we weren't able to make a score in excess of 250 - that's the biggest factor in our team performance so far in the tournament," Karunaratne said. "If two or three batsmen get set, then we can definitely get to 250. It's very difficult when you only make 200, 220 to tell the bowlers to then take the opposition wickets. We need to take responsibility as a batting unit and make a big score."

Before the defeat to South Africa, Sri Lanka had the chance to make it to 12 points with three consecutive victories, but with a ceiling of 10 points now, several other results must go their way if they are to make it through. If England win at Edgbaston, Sri Lanka's window shuts completely.

"Now we have to wait for other results," he said. "We're not a side who should be in this position. We have talent, and skill to compete with anyone. But we only performed in certain games. It's our bowlers who mainly performed as well. Our batting line up hasn't fired altogether yet."