Bath director of rugby Todd Blackadder will leave the Premiership club at the end of the campaign to become head coach at Japanese side Toshiba.

Blackadder signed a contract extension at The Rec until the end of next season in September, but the 47-year-old has been granted an early release.

Former captain Stuart Hooper is expected to take on Blackadder's role.

Bath, who are seventh in the table, said they would confirm their new coaching structure in the coming weeks.

New Zealander Blackadder will depart after Bath's last game of the season with the Somerset side still in contention to reach the play-offs.

They are due to face fellow top-four contenders Sale and Wasps and then strugglers Leicester in their last three regular season Premiership matches.

Blackadder joined Bath in 2016 after seven years as head coach of Canterbury Crusaders.

He led the club to consecutive top six finishes in the Premiership and qualification for the European Champions Cup.

"It's been an honour and a privilege to lead the Blue, Black and White for the past three years," he said.

"I'm incredibly proud of what we have achieved. It might not be silverware, but together we have built strong foundations and I leave knowing that the best is absolutely yet to come."

Hooper, 37, spent eight years as a Bath player before retiring in 2016 and is now their general manager.

COLUMBUS -- Ryan McDonagh sat in the silent Tampa Bay Lightning dressing room, where his teammates spent a few moments of quiet, frustrated contemplation before leaving for the offseason.

How could this happen? How could a Lightning team that had amassed 128 points and 62 victories -- earning a share of the all-time NHL record for wins -- lose in four swift games to the Columbus Blue Jackets, the last wild card in the Eastern Conference and a team that finished 30 points behind them?

How could a team that seemed destined for a Stanley Cup see it swept aside? How could a group that the Vegas sportsbooks pegged as a minus-400 favorite before the series cash out in four games?

"It's tough to pinpoint one thing," McDonagh said. "We hurt ourselves in a lot of different fashions. Strengths that were keys to us winning in the regular season didn't get it done in this series. They won all of those categories."

What caused this historic playoff collapse, marking the first time in history that the league's top team was swept in the first round in a seven-game series?

Here's the anatomy of the Lightning's loss to Columbus:

Jump ahead: Game 1 mistake | Injuries (and stupidity)
Un-special teams | The Wrath of Bob
They were out-coached | 'It wasn't our time'

The Jackets weren't an 8-seed

Before opening up the corpse of the Lightning to determine the internal causes of their demise, let's exalt the Columbus Blue Jackets with the praise they deserve.

This was not a No. 8 seed. This was the 13th-best team in the NHL based on points, with 98, a higher total than three Western Conference playoff teams in the Dallas Stars (93), Vegas Golden Knights (93) and Colorado Avalanche (90). They were 12th in goals per game (3.12) and 11th in goals-against per game (2.82), outpacing several playoff teams in each category. They were 12th in expected goals percentage (50.87), which was better than six playoff teams.

They were a completely adequate team that was turned into the largest of underdogs by virtue of the Lightning's juggernaut of a regular season, and the Vegas sportsbooks' projections for the series. (The Lightning were minus-400 on the money line to win the series.)

But where the punditry failed was in identifying two trends. First, that the Blue Jackets had been a different team since a Western Canadian road trip that ended on March 24. They had a team meeting that cleared the air on some issues, and that meeting was cited by several players as having gotten them on the right course. They won seven of eight games to close the regular season, giving up two or fewer goals in each victory. (That 6-2 home loss to the Bruins on April 2, in a critical game, threw us all off their scent as a contender.)

The other trend is that this is the third straight season the Jackets have made the playoffs. They went out in five to the Penguins in 2017, but gained experience. They won the first two games in Washington in 2018 and lost the series in six games, but gained more experience.

"The more and more playoff hockey you play, the more and more you feel comfortable in situations that you're put in. It's so important that it's been three years in a row for us. Guys are getting more minutes, more experience in situations and with surges. Hopefully, you're ready for that. It's not new to you," Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said.

So it wasn't new for the Jackets to start the series well on the road, and perhaps they learned a thing or two about protecting that series lead on home ice after last postseason.

In Game 1, the Lightning tried to win 8-0 instead of 3-0

The Blue Jackets were a punchline after one period of Game 1 in Tampa. They were down 3-0 as the Lightning tied a franchise postseason record for goals in the first period, and they looked thoroughly outmatched. This is what the Lightning did during the regular season: Score early and often (their 102 first-period goals were tied with San Jose for most in the NHL), and win by a large margin (30 of their 62 wins were by three or more goals).

What they quickly discovered is that in the playoffs, opponents don't tumble to the canvas after three quick punches. They stagger around and wait for some mistake or miscue that gets them back into the fight. Which is why McDonagh's ill-advised pass, intercepted by the Blue Jackets and turned into a breakaway goal for Nick Foligno, was such a harbinger of doom.

Nick Foligno breaks out and beats Vasilevskiy to get the @BlueJacketsNHL> �� #StanleyCup>pic.twitter.com/chcW7yVUyE - Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 11, 2019

That pinch by Erik Cernak and that pass by McDonagh are the kind of plays you make in the regular season when you think the other guys are already thinking about the next stop on their 82-game journey. When Josh Anderson tips it away to Foligno, the Lightning have five guys below the top of the circles in the attacking zone. And then he just smokes it past Andrei Vasilevskiy.

From that point on, the Jackets took over the game at even strength, outside of a brief return to form from the Lightning to start the third period. They scored a short-handed goal against the Lightning's exalted power-play, and a power-play goal of their own.

Early this season, coach Jon Cooper said that to succeed in the playoffs, "We have to win games 2-1, and not 5-4." The Lightning tried to win Game 1 by, like, 8-0. Instead, one critical mistake got the Jackets back into the fight and helped them score the first of a series of upsets.

The Game 2 hangover

Lightning center Tyler Johnson said that the team had a crisis of confidence during Game 1, getting away from making the plays they had all season. That carried over to Game 2: While the Lightning had the advantage during the game in shot attempts at 5-on-5 and played well in the first period despite giving up two goals, their expected goals percentage for the second (42.39) and third (48.54) was indicative of their failure to carry the play. The Blue Jackets won the game 5-1 thanks to two power-play goals and an emphatic third period in which Riley Nash and Artemi Panarin scored 3:09 apart.

During the entire regular season, the Lightning lost back-to-back games once, in early November when Vasilevskiy was injured. They thought they could walk into Game 2 and snap back into form. They were wrong. Blowing that three-goal lead in the Game 1 loss damaged their psyche for Game 2.

"You're feeling pretty good about yourself when you're up 3-0. And then we gift-wrapped that one for them. The problem was that it carried into Game 2. That was a little bit surprising for us. They scored in the first five minutes, and we didn't respond like we should have," Cooper said.

Injuries (and stupidity)

In Game 3, the Lightning were without two of their most important players, for very different reasons.

Norris Trophy winner Victor Hedman clearly wasn't himself in Games 1 and 2. He was in the negative in shot attempts and goal differential. He was spun like a top by Jackets defenseman David Savard (of all people) on a critical Game 1 goal. He missed the last four games of the regular season with an upper-body injury. He missed Games 3 and 4 with an undisclosed injury.

Nikita Kucherov, the NHL's leading scorer with 128 points and the prohibitive favorite to win the Hart Trophy as league MVP, missed Game 3 while serving a one-game suspension for boarding Jackets defenseman Markus Nutivaara in Game 2. It was a cheap shot on a player in a prone position, delivered out of frustration with Columbus handily ahead in the game.

Did the loss of Kucherov affect the Lightning? Absolutely. They found their offensive game in the third period and trailed by only a goal. Not having Kucherov on the ice to score or set up the equalizer was critical. In that sense, perhaps he is their most valuable player -- glaring in his absence. Petulant, selfish plays that lead to suspensions aren't exactly the stuff of MVPs. (Luckily, the Hart votes are already cast for what is a regular-season award, and Kucherov had a stellar regular season.)

Un-special teams

After Game 4, Kucherov was still trying to figure out what happened to his heralded power play. "No power plays. One PP in two games. It's tough. I don't know what to say," he muttered.

No one does when it comes to the special teams disparity in this series. The Lightning had a power-play percentage of 28.1 in the regular season, which is the highest in NHL history for an 82-game season and the highest overall since the 1987-88 Calgary Flames were at 28.5 percent in an 80-game season. The Lightning had a 33 percent power-play percentage on the road, the highest since the NHL began tracking the stat in 1977.

Against the Blue Jackets? Their power play went 1-for-6, finally converting in Game 4. Part of the problem was not getting enough of them, which was a combination of specious officiating and the Jackets' discipline -- Columbus had the fewest times short-handed in the regular season.

Meanwhile, the Blue Jackets' power play morphed into the mid-1970s Montreal Canadiens, whipping the puck around and in constant motion. They finished 5-for-10 in the series against a Lightning penalty kill that finished tied for first in the NHL. Allowing your opponent a 50 percent conversion rate on the power play is the stuff of which sweeps are made.

The Columbus power play produced the game-winning goal in Games 1 and 2. The game-winner in Game 4 was also technically a special-teams goal, scored 6-on-5 during a delayed penalty.

It can't be stressed enough: The Lightning didn't play horribly at 5-on-5. The Jackets scored eight even-strength goals to Tampa's six. The Bolts had an expected goals percentage of 54.86, and 54.17 percent of the scoring chances over four games. But those extra four goals with the man advantage made all the difference.

"Special teams was huge for us in the season, and let us down in the playoffs. We didn't get the bounces on the penalty kill, and they got confidence on the power play as the series went on," Steven Stamkos said.

Suffice it to say, they really missed Hedman on both of these units.

The Columbus forecheck

Last month, we published an article titled "How the Tampa Bay Lightning can be defeated," long before anyone considered this plausible. One section of it seems particularly prophetic after the Blue Jackets' sweep: That a team playing an effective forechecking game could slow down an offensive juggernaut to a crawl.

The Washington Capitals proved this last season in playing a 1-1-3 trap that bounced the Jackets, Penguins, Lightning and Golden Knights en route to the Stanley Cup. Columbus played a 1-2-2 system against the Lightning that effectively clogged up the neutral zone. One lead forward attempts to disrupt the Tampa Bay puck handler; two other forwards provide neutral zone support to either pressure the puck carrier or take away passing lanes; get through them, and the Jackets' defensemen add another layer of support in front of goalie Sergei Bobrovsky.

"They've been on top of the puck. They've taken away the ice. It's our job to find areas around it. Move the puck and move our feet. Not allow them to get in their setup that often," McDonagh said.

Easier said than done. Until the offensive circus of Game 4, the Jackets had spent the previous eight periods plucking Tampa pucks -- they had 30 takeaways in the series -- and forcing the Lightning to play a chip-and-chase game when entering the offensive zone.

"We got behind and we got away from our identity, which is possessing pucks," Cooper said.

When the Jackets had the puck, they handled it methodically, which is another key to defeating the Lightning: Slowing down the pace. As of March 11, the Jackets were 26th in the NHL in pace of play. The Lightning were 14th.

When they were able to get through the defensive front, there was another problem: Bobrovsky finally became a playoff goalie.

The Wrath of Bob

One of the reasons the Blue Jackets had yet to advance past the first round in the franchise's history was Bobrovsky's rather horrid playoff performance history. In 17 previous playoff games with Columbus, Bobrovsky had a 3.41 goals-against average and an .898 save percentage. Not great, Bob.

But in this postseason, he's been a revelation: a .932 save percentage and a 2.01 goals-against average. Why the improvement?

"I think we have played pretty well in front of him along the way here. But he has, in times of games when we needed a huge save, he's made them," Tortorella said.

Remember that Foligno goal in Game 1? That only matters because Bobrovsky made a huge save on Nikita Kucherov that could have made the game 4-0. Later, he stopped Stamkos when the Bolts' captain could have made it 4-1.

In both games in Columbus, Bobrovsky weathered every offensive flurry the Lightning had, and outplayed Andrei Vasilevskiy across the ice. Vasilevskiy finished the series with a .856 save percentage and a 3.82 goals-against average. Among the many unpredictable facets of this upset, the Blue Jackets getting vastly superior goaltending was high on that list.

"I'm thrilled for him," Tortorella said. "He's got a bit of a burr, and that's a pretty good thing for an athlete to have."

The lack of adversity

One of Cooper's pet theories about the demise of his Lightning is that they couldn't simply flip the switch on for the postseason after coasting for months.

"When you have the amount of points we had, it's a blessing and a curse, in a way. You don't play any meaningful hockey for a long time. Then all of a sudden you have to ramp it up. It's not an excuse, it's reality," Cooper said after Game 4. "That's how it goes: You have a historic regular season and we had a historic playoff."

(Well, yes, it was historic: For the first time in the NHL, a team with the most points in the regular season failed to win a single game in an opening round seven-game series.)

Cooper's argument is that the Blue Jackets rolled into the playoffs having played meaningful games over the previous three weeks, and playing them well: Columbus won seven of eight games, giving up two or fewer goals in each of those victories. Meanwhile, the Lightning lost their confidence in Game 1 and had one bad stretch that cost them their season.

"We couldn't find our game. It's that clear. For six days in April, we couldn't find it," Cooper said. "It's unfortunate, because it puts a blemish on what was one hell of a regular season."

Then again, Cooper was out-coached

On March 26, the Lightning announced a contract extension for Cooper, perhaps with the anticipation that his stock (and the price of it) would rise if and when the team won the Stanley Cup.

"He is the absolute best coach for our hockey team," Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois said at the time.

So ... does that still apply?

Cooper is a brilliant coach. If Barry Trotz doesn't win the Jack Adams for the post-John Tavares revival of the Islanders, Cooper will win it for one of the best regular seasons in NHL history. But in this series against the Blue Jackets, Cooper was out-coached and outmaneuvered by Tortorella. The Jackets committed to their system in ways the Lightning did not. Tactically, their defense trumped Cooper's offense, and the Lightning were slow to adjust to it.

He also made some flat-out mistakes, like failing to identify the psychological damage the Bolts had after Game 1; being unable to get Vasilevskiy off for an extra attacker in a timely manner in Game 3; and failing to make a coach's challenge on the Jackets' first goal in Game 4 for goalie interference, although he would successfully challenge one later on the basis of offside.

"It's little things that haven't happened during the year that snowballed during this series," said Cooper, in an understatement.

The stars didn't shine

The Blue Jackets got impact plays from impact talents. Matt Duchene had three goals and four assists. Artemi Panarin had two goals and three assists. Zach Werenski had five points, and Seth Jones had four points, both of them tallying a game-winning goal. Even Oliver Bjorkstrand's two goals were both game winners, to go with two assists.

The Lightning ... didn't. Stamkos, who had 45 goals in the regular season, had no points and was a minus-5 through three games. Brayden Point, who had 41 goals in the regular season, was scoreless through three, with a minus-2. Kucherov, who led the league with 128 points, didn't score in the first two games of the series and then got himself suspended for Game 3.

All of them hit the scoresheet in Game 4 in an effort to stave off elimination. But the fact the Lightning were in that position is very much a product of their lack of production earlier in the series.

'It wasn't our time'

Kucherov sat in his stall, looking stunned, fielding questions about Game 4. "This sucks, yeah. Not much to say," he said. "It's a playoff. There's no easy team. You have to give them credit. They fought hard. It wasn't our time, I guess."

This brings us to the last surgical exploration of the autopsy: The Lightning, despite all of their success in the regular season and being a statistical steamroller in so many ways, just might not know how to win in the playoffs.

"If you don't accomplish the goal of winning it all, it's a failure. We don't care about what happened in the regular season. We wanted to come in and play well. In that first game, we came out and got the early lead. And then we couldn't gain any momentum in that game. We didn't defend well enough as a team, this entire series," Stamkos said.

So one is left wondering how, then, the Lightning can learn to win in the postseason. How to handle adversity. How to transfer what they did best in the regular season to the postseason.

Maybe it just takes time, like it did for the Blue Jackets.

"I don't know," Cooper said. "It's funny: We're expected to go far this year, and we do nowhere. In 2015, no one expected us to go anywhere, and we went far, with the same core of players," he said. "It's hard to win in this league. It's tough not to be holding up the Stanley Cup at the end, but how many teams have gone through this? They knock at the door and knock at the door and then ... you look at Washington, for example? They had two remarkable years and got bounced in the second round, and the year no one expected them to do anything they won the Stanley Cup."

Changes will come for the Lightning. They have to, after a disaster of this magnitude. But given the core, and given the ages of the core, the window remains wide open to win.

Perhaps one day, while hoisting the Cup, the Lightning will think back to how this defeat was a formative moment. Or, perhaps, they'll think back to what might have been, as one of the greatest regular-season teams in NHL history saw its postseason last only four frustrating games.

David Beckham's five-year quest to bring an MLS team to South Florida has encountered another obstacle in the form of a lawsuit that could at least delay its efforts to redevelop Fort Lauderdale's Lockhart Stadium.

Beckham, his partners and Inter Miami CF won approval from the City of Ft. Lauderdale on April 2 to redevelop Lockhart, a project that would involve demolishing the existing structure, and replacing it with an 18,000-seat venue that, starting next season, will host the team for the first two years of its MLS existence, as well as a training facility. The team is scheduled to begin playing in MLS in 2020.

FXE Futbol has filed a lawsuit against @FTLCityNews and Miami Beckham United (a.k.a. @InterMiamiCF) to obtain a temporary injunction to prevent the demolition of historic #LockhartStadium #SaveLockhart @grantstern pic.twitter.com/ompixJ1zkd

— FXE Futbol (@FXE_Futbol) April 16, 2019

But on Monday, FXE Futbol, whose competing bid proposed a renovation of Lockhart Stadium, filed suit in Broward County court, seeking "expedited and declaratory injunctive relief."

The suit alleges that the City of Ft. Lauderdale failed to adhere to Florida state law as it relates to unsolicited offers for the development of public land by a private entity by not getting "an architect, landscape architect, or an engineer licensed in this state" to review the proposals. State law also requires an "independent analysis" to demonstrate the public-private partnership's cost-effectiveness.

FXE Futbol also accused Inter Miami of falsely stating to the city that the FXE Futbol's proposal wasn't viable because of the "tremendous amount" of asbestos on the site, thus making a renovation unfeasible.

"We can no longer stand on the sidelines while our due process is being violated," said FXE's managing partner, John F. Reynal, in a statement posted by the company on Twitter. "Not only do we believe the ranking was carried out without the proper statutory review, but the subsequent signing of the interim agreement to demolish Lockhart would render our proposal impossible to deliver.

"While we are not asking for preferential treatment, we do demand that we and all future bidders in front of the City of Ft. Lauderdale receive a fair, open review in accordance with the mandated legal process."

Beckham's Miami project was announced with great fanfare back in February of 2014, only to encounter numerous missteps as it related to a stadium site. The group, Miami Beckham United, thought it had secured land in Miami's Overtown neighborhood, only to run into local opposition.

When the ownership group was altered to include MasTec chairman Jorge Mas, the group switched directions and opted for a $1 billion stadium and commercial project on Melreese golf course. Miami commissioners are currently negotiating a 99-year lease.

Barcelona are close to reaching an agreement to sign defender Matthijs de Ligt from Ajax, club sources have told ESPN FC.

The La Liga leaders have the situation "under control," according to the sources, and not getting the deal over the line now would provide similar levels of disappointment to last summer when they were turned down by Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann at the last minute.

Juventus and Bayern Munich are also keen on De Ligt but one source has said the Netherlands international "only wants to listen to Barcelona." The same source added that "as was the case with Frenkie de Jong, Ajax will warn [Barca] if any other clubs make a serious move for [De Ligt]."

De Ligt's agent Mino Raiola is in regular contact with Barca, who value the signing of De Ligt on the same level as the arrival of his Ajax teammate De Jong, who will join the Catalans for €75 million in June.

Barca, though, remain keen to respect the protocol put in place by Ajax, who still have a lot to play for this season and want their players to remain focused on sporting objectives.

Ajax are level with PSV Eindhoven at the top of the Eredivisie table and will face Willem II in the Cup final. They also qualified for the Champions League semifinals for first time since 1997 with De Ligt scoring the winning goal as they knocked out Juventus in Turin.

Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu told ESPN FC in an exclusive interview he knows what will happen with De Ligt in the summer "but now is not the moment to talk about it."

The club are expecting to pay somewhere close to €80m to get the deal over the line, which sources have said is possible even though they have to be careful with how they manage their finances this summer.

A number of players will leave Camp Nou in the postseason to fund the moves for De Jong, De Ligt and potentially another forward and a left-back. Sources have told ESPN FC the club are looking to make as much as €300 million in sales.

The Spanish champions are well covered in the centre-back positions. Gerard Pique and Clement Lenglet have been in great form this season, while Samuel Umtiti has just returned from injury. Jean-Clair Tobido, a January signing, is also tipped to have a big future in the game.

Thomas Vermaelen, though, will leave for free in the summer and Barca do not plan on exercising an option to make Jeison Murillo's loan deal permanent, creating space for one new defender.

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is targeting at least one signing in every area of his squad this summer, sources have told ESPN FC.

Solskjaer said after the chastening Champions League exit to Barcelona on Tuesday night that he is facing a "rebuild" at Old Trafford before United again challenge for top trophies.

The work is set to start at the end of the season with Solskjaer looking to strengthen each area of his team with two new defenders, two midfielders and a forward.

Goalkeeper David De Gea will enter the final year of his deal in the summer but progress over an extension has been slow.

Sources have told ESPN FC the United manager will be backed with significant funds during the summer transfer window and will also be allowed to spend any cash generated by player sales.

Club captain Antonio Valencia is set to lead the exodus after the club decided against triggering a one year extension in the 33-year-old's contract. The Ecuador international has not started a game for United since the 2-0 win over Newcastle on Jan. 2 but, according to sources, is nearing a comeback and could return to the squad for Sunday's trip to Everton.

Ander Herrera is set to leave for Paris Saint-Germain this summer after failing to agree terms on a new contract. Juan Mata is yet to sign a new one-year deal and will become a free agent on June 30 if the stand-off continues.

There are also doubts over the futures of Matteo Darmian, Marcos Rojo, Eric Bailly, Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez although sources have told ESPN FC there are no plans to sell Paul Pogba despite interest from Real Madrid.

United usually work towards a plan of signing three players during the summer but with more players than usual expected to leave, Solskjaer is set to get special dispensation to bring in more targets.

There is interest in Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly, Real Madrid centre-back Raphael Varane, Atletico Madrid midfielder Saul Niguez as well as young English trio Declan Rice, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Jadon Sancho.

Sources told ESPN FC that after the 3-0 defeat at Camp Nou, Solskjaer told his players he is determined to build a squad capable of reaching Barcelona's level.

"They played very well," said Sanchez, who was applauded onto the pitch on his return to his former club after coming on for the final 10 minutes following his return from a hamstring injury.

"We had very clear chances, but this is football, this is the Champions League, if you get something wrong or fail then the other team gets on top of you. That's what Barcelona do.

"When I came on to the pitch I heard the applause and the truth is I am very happy about this.

"It was a nice moment for me. With the other players we won good things here and I am very happy to return from my injury and I am also very happy with the applause from the crowd."

Former West Indies batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan will mentor the West Indies side ahead of their next month's tri-nation ODI series against Bangladesh and hosts Ireland, and the World Cup following it.

Sarwan, who retired in 2016 after a 13-year long international career, has already joined the ongoing week-long training camp in Barbados ahead of next month's trip to Ireland.

Incidentally, Sarwan was not part of the support staff announced by Cricket West Indies (CWI) on Monday for the Ireland tour and the World Cup. However, Sarwan has been roped in specifically to work with the batsmen. It is not yet clear whether he will travel to the UK for the World Cup.

Sarwan said the offer had come from former West Indies wicketkeeper Jimmy Adams, who is CWI's director of cricket. Although it's a short stint, Sarwan said he was "overwhelmed" by the assignment.

"I am very excited to be here," Sarwan said. "When I received the call from Jimmy, I was very overwhelmed at being asked to assist West Indies cricket again.

"I have come here to act as kind of a mentor to the players and try my best to assist them in any technical ways and with any shortcomings where I think they can improve, and to offer as much help to the head coach, Floyd Reifer, and his coaching staff."

Following retirement, Sarwan has been residing in Florida. In an interview with ESPNcricinfo in 2016, Sarwan said the biggest thing in West Indies cricket was the absence of a good cricketing structure that would help the young talent grow.

Now, Sarwan has been given the opportunity to do exactly that and he has already identified areas where he can contribute. He spent time with batsmen Darren Bravo and Shai Hope in the nets on the second day of the team's training camp, currently underway at the Cave Hill campus of the University of the West Indies, on Tuesday.

ALSO READ: Gabriel, Carter, Dowrich picked for ODI tri-series in Ireland

Sarwan pointed out that one of the key areas he wanted the batsmen to focus on was strike rotation and stated that it would take them time to improve it.

"I know our batsmen have struggled in the past with rotating the strike, so I am trying to see how best we can get them to improve in this area," he said. "It's not an overnight fix, but it's important to share ideas with them, so that they have something to build on."

Reifer, who was recently appointed as the interim coach following a review of West Indies' coaching and selection policies led by newly-elected president Ricky Skerritt, outlined the importance of having someone like Sarwan around the team ahead of the big tournament.

"It was very important to have him here," Reifer said. "Sarwan was a player that was outstanding for West Indies. A very good batsman. A very good 'finisher' in limited-overs matches. We thought that a guy like Sarwan, coming into the camp with us whilst planning for the World Cup, would bring a wealth of knowledge.

"We are hoping he can help the batsmen get a better understanding of how to finish games, the mindset, how to approach batting first, how to approach batting last, so we thought that kind of knowledge was very important to share. He fitted in very well. He did a lot of talking and a lot of work with the batsmen."

Shubman Gill is not getting opportunities to bat higher in the Kolkata Knight Riders line-up because the top and middle-order positions have been firmed up in favour of more experienced hands, their captain Dinesh Karthik explained. Karthik said that Gill did open once this season when their regular opener Chris Lynn was unwell, but otherwise he had to look at the team "as a whole and not just one bright kid on the block".

"I've been asked this a number of times... Look, we've made it clear to Shubman that, as and when opportunities arise, he will be sent up the order," Karthik told the Telegraph. "Shubman was promoted to open when Chris Lynn was unwell. He grabbed that chance and got 65. Now, when Lynn was available, we had to give him back his position. He's done a lot for us and we have to show faith... Sunil Narine, for his part, stays as the other opener.

"Question is whether we can bat Shubman at No. 3 or No. 4. Well, Robin Uthappa and Nitish Rana have won us matches from those positions and, again, it's a matter of showing faith. India is obsessed with novelties, and even I like novelties, but I have to look at Knight Riders as a whole and not just one bright kid on the block. I need to show faith in Shubman, yes, equally I have a responsibility to give Robin and Nitish enough opportunities. As the captain, I have to show faith... Is Shubman upset at going down the order? I don't think so."

Gill made his IPL and T20 debut last year for Knight Riders and played 13 of their 16 matches. He impressed with his strokeplay and scored 203 runs at average of 33.83 and strike rate of 146.04. Apart from the odd chance in the top order, Gill batted three times at No. 6 and six times at No. 7 in IPL 2018 to play the finisher's role. This season, too, he has batted three times at No. 6 and twice at No. 7 so far, and once each as an opener and No. 4 batsman.

Gill was asked how he prepared for facing only six-odd balls when he bats at No. 7. "To face those six balls you have to practice at least 100 balls at nets," he told kkr.in. "If you practice less, you'll lack confidence even to hit four out of those six balls. The mentality shouldn't be to practice less just because you are going to face just those number of balls. So to make the most of those six balls, one must utilise their net sessions."

England have deferred the question of whether Jofra Archer will make their World Cup squad after naming an unchanged 15 for the ICC's preliminary deadline. Archer is set to make his England debut, however, after being included for next month's ODI in Ireland and a T20I and five ODIs against Pakistan, potentially giving him seven outings to make his case.

Chris Jordan, Archer's Sussex team-mate, is the other extra member in the expanded 17-man squad ODI to play Pakistan, having maintained a late push for World Cup consideration with his T20I performances in the Caribbean last month, despite last playing a 50-over international in 2016.

Joe Denly, whose last ODI appearance came in 2009, keeps his place as back-up spinning allrounder ahead of Liam Dawson, although he could be among a small number of players, including Liam Plunkett and Tom Curran, who will feel the pressure if Archer performs well over the next few weeks.

A smaller party of 14 will take on Ireland in Dublin on May 3, followed by a T20I against Pakistan two days later. Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes - all regulars at their IPL franchises - have been rested, as has Chris Woakes, as part of managing a long-term knee problem. Sam Billings and James Vince are included, to contest the second-reserve batting spot, with Alex Hales inked in as the designated spare batsman within the 15.

The potential inclusion of Archer, the Barbados-born allrounder who qualified to represent England last month, has been the subject of much debate among the squad's incumbent fast bowlers, but the decision by national selector Ed Smith will ensure peace for now, as well as setting up what is effectively a World Cup play-off for the last bowling spot.

Smith described Archer as a "very exciting talent".

"The selection panel would like to give Jofra Archer the opportunity to stake a claim for the final World Cup squad, which will be announced in a little over a month," Smith told Sky Sports News. "He's someone who has very quickly shown what he can do on a big stage.

"I like to keep things very simple on the selection panel: who's available? Of those who are available, what's the strongest squad that gives us the best chance to compete and play well? So, as soon as Jofra became available, we discussed whether we would select him in squads ... as soon as he became available, we have given him the opportunity."

Soon after learning the news of his selection on Tuesday, Archer took 3 for 15 for Rajasthan Royals in their IPL defeat to Kings XI Punjab.

"He's a very relaxed person, he has a very understated manner," Smith said. "He was very excited about the opportunity. He obviously had a game to go and play for Rajasthan, which obviously went pretty well for him. So I think the most important fact is not necessarily what he said, even though he was very pleased and excited, but also what he did. Ultimately that's the business we're in."

Those players selected by England who are currently at the IPL will be required to return by April 26. The final date for the World Cup squad to be confirmed is May 23.

"In line with ICC regulations, we have to name a preliminary squad of 15 for the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup before April 23," Smith said. "However, all 17 players named in the Royal London ODIs against Pakistan can stake a claim to be in the final 15-man squad, finalised at the end of that series.

"The selection panel has been impressed with Jofra Archer's performances in domestic and franchise cricket. He is a very talented and exciting cricketer. Chris Jordan, a regular in T20 squads over the past few years, has continued to develop as a cricketer - as we saw in the T20s in the West Indies. He fully deserves his return to the ODI squad.

"With regard to resting players, we are conscious of managing player workloads leading into such an important summer so that players are in the best possible condition for the World Cup. That was also a factor in the way we have selected these three squads."

England preliminary World Cup squad: Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Tom Curran, Joe Denly, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

England squad for Pakistan ODI series: Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Tom Curran, Joe Denly, Chris Jordan, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

England squad for Ireland ODI/Pakistan T20I: Eoin Morgan (capt), Jofra Archer, Sam Billings, Tom Curran, Joe Denly, Chris Jordan, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, James Vince, David Willey, Mark Wood

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

Ambati Rayudu and Rishabh Pant might have missed the bus for the World Cup, but the two could yet be a part of the action in England and Wales after being named as standbys - along with uncapped paceman Navdeep Saini- by the selectors.

ESPNcricinfo understands that the selectors had proposed having the three of them as the back-ups in case there is an injury in the 15-man squad that was announced on Monday. There is no order in which they will be picked - if the situation crops up at all - and the selectors will make their choice depending on the requirements of the team.

Of the three standbys, only Saini will travel to England with the main squad as he is also part of the quartet of net bowlers that has been approved. Along with Saini, Deepak Chahar, Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan would be part of the Indian entourage.

The development comes as a bit of solace for Rayudu, especially, and Pant, who were leading contenders in the lead-up to the selection meeting. MSK Prasad, the chairman of India's selection committee, clarified afterwards that Rayudu had lost his spot to Tamil Nadu batting allrounder Vijay Shankar because the latter brought "three dimensions" to the table; he is an excellent fielder along with being a dependable batsman and medium pacer.

Although Pant has not reacted in any form, Rayudu posted a message on his Twitter feed on Tuesday, saying he had ordered 3D glasses to watch the World Cup. It is understood that both the BCCI and the selectors have noted Rayudu's reaction, but have described as emotional.

PORTLAND, Ore. -- After Tuesday's deflating 114-94 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 2, the Oklahoma City Thunder are heading back home in an 0-2 series hole with Russell Westbrook taking responsibility for the team's poor performance and vowing to play better in Game 3.

"Starting with myself, I've got to play better," Westbrook said. "And tonight, the loss, I'm going to take full responsibility for tonight. Because the way I played was unacceptable. I'm going to be better, so I'm not worried one bit. My job is to make sure I continue to come out and will and lead our guys and make sure we have a chance to win the game."

Game 2 contained standard elements for the Blazers playing great: Damian Lillard was electric with 29 points; CJ McCollum poured in a game-high 33; and, like Game 1, the Thunder shot the ball miserably from 3-point range (5-of-28).

The storyline of Game 1 largely centered around Paul George's shoulder and his struggles shooting the ball, but he bounced back with 27 points on 11-of-20 shooting in Game 2, looking far more comfortable with his jumper.

It was Westbrook, though, who didn't do the complementing this time around. He finished a rebound away from a triple-double, but with six turnovers and some sloppy moments -- including a sequence where he shot an air ball in the second quarter, then didn't hustle back on defense, which led to Jerami Grant fouling Lillard on a made 3 -- Westbrook didn't make his typical impact in Game 2.

There's a history between Lillard and Westbrook, with the two sharing some trash-talking moments as longtime division rivals, and they scuffled slightly again on Tuesday. Late in the second quarter, Westbrook was corralling a loose ball as Lillard tried to tie him up. Westbrook called timeout, there was some contact and Westbrook fell back. After a review, there were no personal or technical fouls assessed.

"They're both pit bulls," McCollum said. "You've got competitive guys who play hard. Well-known All-Stars, faces of their franchises and the stakes are high, so if you're a competitor, you look forward to these moments and these opportunities to not only put yourself on the map, but you're team on the map, as well."

Lillard went on to outplay Westbrook in Game 2, leading the Blazers on a series of runs that culminated in a 60-40 second half. Lillard played a stellar defensive game, locking in on Westbrook with physical, hounding defense, knocking the ball away in post-ups and challenging Westbrook into questionable shots.

"I don't really have a choice but to embrace it," Lillard said. "That team is going to go as far as him and Paul George."

Lillard, who has hit one fewer three in this series (nine) than the entire Thunder team (10), was a plus-27 to Westbrook's minus-27. In Game 1, Westbrook was able to charge downhill at the Blazers, especially in transition, but he wasn't able to find the same kind of space in Game 2.

It's a bit of standard fare for Westbrook to sit at the podium and take responsibility or make a proclamation after a disappointing playoff performance.

For example, after Game 3 against the Utah Jazz last postseason, a contest in which Ricky Rubio had 26 points, Westbrook said, "I'm gonna shut that s--- off next game though, guarantee that." In that following tilt, Westbrook came out overaggressive and picked up four fouls in the first half.

This series turns to Oklahoma City for Game 3 on Friday, a virtual must-win for the Thunder.

"They won their first two home games, obviously wanted to try to steal one when we can, but let's just stay with it," Westbrook said. "We're a great basketball team, a lot of great guys on this team that I trust in to make shots and make plays on both sides of the basketball. And we'll be all right."