British and Irish Lions bosses have started talks with the home unions over the creation of a women's team.

Meetings have been held with the English, Scottish and Welsh rugby unions with another scheduled with the Irish Rugby Union.

The men's team has been touring since 1888 and the growth in the women's game has led to calls for a female tour.

"We can confirm that we've begun initial discussions with the home unions," said a Lions spokesman.

"They have been positive, informative and constructive."

A women's schedule could target USA and Canada where the women's game is stronger than the traditional tour venues of Australia and South Africa.

No timescale has been set, but in June Lions chief executive Ben Calveley said it was a case of "when, not if" a women's Lions tour takes place.

Discussions have covered financial viability, timing and tour destinations.

Lions tours have traditionally been to the southern hemisphere men's rugby strongholds of New Zealand, South Africa and Australia.

New Zealand are ranked number one in the world in the men's and women's games.

But World Rugby's women's rankings have Canada fourth in the world and USA fifth. Australia are ranked seventh and South Africa 11th.

A tour in North America would also aim to boost the image of the game and the Lions brand in a market where men's rugby has struggled to make an impact.

The Lions are among the sport's biggest brands, and arguably its most commercially powerful.

It was estimated in 2017 that each four-year cycle between tours generates a turnover of £39m and more than 35,000 fans travelled to New Zealand for the last tour, with close to half buying packages from the in-house travel operator, Lions Rugby Travel.

Profits are distributed back to the four home unions and ploughed into the development of the game.

A successful women's tour in North America is viewed as a major commercial opportunity.

Pressure for the creations of a women's Lions has increased since the success of the 2017 Women's World Cup and the advent of a women's Barbarians team the same year.

The Barbarians played their first match against international opposition when they faced USA Eagles in April 2019, and followed that with a Test against England at Twickenham on 2 June.

Wales wing Jasmine Joyce played for the Barbarians and said the Lions should follow their example and create a women's team.

England captain Sarah Hunter told BBC Sport that the women's Lions should have a separate identity to the men and not just copy the existing formula.

Timing is another potential discussion point. Men's Lions tours are scheduled every four years, clashing with women's World Cup.

Women's tours would probably have to be scheduled in different years which risks clashing with the men's Rugby World Cup.

INDIANAPOLIS – The first look at the entry list for the second annual Driven2SaveLives BC39 powered by NOS Energy Drink was released by USAC officials on Monday.

Six weeks out from the event, 26 cars are already entered for the mega event on The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sept. 4-5.

Among those entered for the two-night NOS Energy Drink USAC National Midget Series extravaganza include 2017 series champion Spencer Bayston from Lebanon, Ind., aboard a car for owner Brodie Hayward.

Bayston and Tyler Thomas are the two past series winners signed up for the event thus far.

Thomas has shown his prowess in USAC’s AMSOIL National Sprint Car division as well, capturing a victory at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway in September of 2018.

He’s joined by a pair of drivers who’ve won in a USAC Sprint Car but are still seeking their first National Midget wins under USAC sanctioning in Brent Beauchamp and Matt Westfall.

Past USAC Western States Midget champion Shannon McQueen is entered, along with West Coast wheelman Cody Swanson, a two-time USAC Western States Midget winner in his career.

Meanwhile, Aaron Leffel is a two-time champion on the USAC Speed2 Midwest Thunder Midget trail, and Justin Peck has won in midgets and has also been a victor with the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions on the sprint car side.

Teams can file their entries for the event at https://www.thebc39.com/, where they may also purchase pit and parking passes for the two-night event.

With the expansion of grandstand seating around the quarter-mile dirt oval, teams purchasing pit passes for the BC39 will be able to add a grandstand seat.

Five-hundred reserved seats in Tier 3 (lower level) have been made available for purchase at a discounted rate until Aug. 15. Unsold tickets at that time will be made available at public prices and may sell out.

Oklahoma’s Brady Bacon was victorious in the inaugural BC39 in 2018, collecting $15,000 for the victory, which featured a USAC National Midget Series event record of 110 entries.

BC39 Entry List (as of July 29)

1ST – TBA (Daryl Saucier)
2 – Ryan Hall, Midlothian, Texas (Mark Bush)
2x – Matt Linder, Hoschton, Ga. (Mark Bush)
3N – Jake Neuman, New Berlin, Ill. (Jim Neuman)
7u – Kyle Jones, Kennedale, Texas (Trifecta Motorsports)
8 – Randi Pankratz, Atascadero, Calif. (Wally Pankratz)
11L – Aaron Leffel, Springfield, Ohio (Chuck Taylor)
11T – TBA (Chuck Taylor)
14H – TBA (Mike Dickerson)
15s – Shannon McQueen, Bakersfield, Calif. (Broc Garrett)
15x – Carson Garrett, Littleton, Colo. (Broc Garrett)
17 – Justin Peck, Monrovia, Ind. (Bus Racing Team)
19 – Spencer Bayston, Lebanon, Ind. (Brodie Hayward)
20 – Cody Weisensel, Sun Prairie, Wis. (Kevin Weisensel)
21D – Justin Dickerson, Pittsboro, Ind. (Mike Dickerson)
28 – Ace McCarthy, Tahlequah, Okla. (Jim Neuman)
41 – Oliver Akard, Ft. Myers, Fla. (Dan Akard)
43 – Brent Beauchamp, Avon, Ind. (Kevin Arnold)
50 – Tony DiMattia, Malvern, Pa. (Tony DiMattia Motorsports)
54 – Matt Westfall, Pleasant Hill, Ohio (Steve Bordner)
56A – Colten Cottle, Kansas, Ill. (Travis Young)
57A – TBA (Bill Ecker)
57D – Daniel Robinson, Ewing, Ill. (McCreery Motorsports)
71s – Cody Swanson, Norco, Calif. (Marcie Campbell)
88 – Tyler Nelson, Olathe, Kan. (Tyler Nelson)
91T – Tyler Thomas, Collinsville, Okla. (Brian Thomas)

DALLAS, N.C. – Everyone mourns the loss of a loved one, and whether it is a parent, sibling, cousin, or a close friend, everyone has their own way of coping with the situation.

Local short-track racer and Dallas, N.C. native Adam Vandiver chose to do it through racing, a sport his ancestors took part in on a national stage in the past.

Adam’s father, Tom Vandiver, and uncle, Jim Vandiver, were among the top independent NASCAR Grand National Series (now Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series) performers throughout the 1970’s.

With Jim behind the wheel and Tom turning the wrenches, they were a team to beat alongside factory teams such as the Wood Brothers, Petty Enterprises and Junior Johnson & Associates.

Jim Vandiver had career highlights that included a third-place finish in the 1972 Daytona 500 and a runner-up effort in the 1969 Talladega 500. In all, he collected five top-five and 24 top-10 finishes in just 85 career top-level NASCAR starts.

He is also the only undefeated driver at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in the ARCA Menards Series, with victories in both 1970 and again in 1975.

When his father Tom passed away in January, Adam was in the process of building a new race car, and decided to have his car wrapped in memory of his father and his uncle.

“When Dad passed away about five months ago, I decided to do one side of the car the design of mine and his first car … and the other side a design like him and his brother’s NASCAR Grand National Series car from back in the 70’s.”

Even though Adam Vandiver was not born during the heyday of his elders’ career, he was quick to recall all the amazing stories he heard growing up.

“I’ve heard more crazy stories than anyone will ever know,” Adam Vandiver laughed. “I guess that is where I get my wild side from.”

Having been around his family from an early age, Adam Vandiver knew he would end up being in a race car one day, because racing was big in the household.

“The influence in racing growing up was huge; it was all I was ever brought up in,” he noted.

Vandiver made his debut in the car at East Lincoln Speedway for the $1,000-to-win Stock 4 race on Saturday night and said in advance of the event he would do whatever it took to win.

Though he came up one spot short and finished second, the younger Vandiver was still pleased with his effort.

“It would have meant a lot to win this race tonight, and I said going into it that I would tear it up if I had to, but it was a solid night,” he said. “Winning was the only thing on my mind, and even though we came up just shy of that, we still had a great run for this car.”

Vandiver made laps over the weekend with a heavy heart and a special color scheme, but the racer’s mentality placed inside him by his father told him to race as hard as he can in pursuit of a checkered flag.

“There’s no give up here,” said Vandiver. “That was the one of the biggest things my dad always taught me.”

CONCORD, N.C. — Hendrick Motorsports has named Cliff Daniels as the new crew chief for seven-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson.

Daniels will assume the role immediately and be atop the pit box for the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team during Sunday’s road-course race at Watkins Glen Int’l.

Daniels, 31, won the 2016 Cup Series championship as Johnson’s race engineer. The Smithfield, Va., native joined the No. 48 team in December 2014, moved into Hendrick Motorsports’ competition systems group following the end of last season and then rejoined the No. 48 team as Johnson’s race engineer last month at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway.

“We have great confidence in Cliff’s ability to win races with Jimmie and the team,” said Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick. “He’s a natural leader and tremendously talented from both a technical and communication standpoint. Cliff’s familiarity with Jimmie and the No. 48 team culture will benefit us a ton. He will bring the spark that’s been our missing ingredient.”

Daniels will replace Kevin Meendering, who will remain with Hendrick Motorsports in a senior competition role. Meendering joined the No. 48 team following the 2018 season.

“Kevin is a talent,” Hendrick said. “We have areas where he can make a major impact and help all four of our teams be successful. Everyone thinks the world of him, and we plan to keep him as a key member of our organization for as long as he wants to be here.”

Through 21 races in 2019, Johnson, 43, has one pole position and eight top-10 finishes, including three top fives. He is currently 17th in the driver standings, 12 points below the playoff cutline.

“Cliff has really shined since he came back to the No. 48,” Johnson said. “When he returned, there was an immediate change in the team dynamic that all of us felt. We’ve worked together for a long time, have a ton of mutual respect and a shared vision. I have no doubt the strong connection and working relationship is going to pay dividends right away.

“I’m so grateful to Kevin. He’s a truly awesome person who I think very, very highly of. I’m looking forward to continuing to work with him in his new role. He’s a brilliant guy and will make all of us better.”

Daniels is a former stock car driver who raced late models in and around Virginia at tracks like Langley, Southside and South Boston. After earning a mechanical engineering degree from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, he was hired by RAB Racing in 2011.

He was a race engineer for driver Tony Stewart at Stewart-Haas Racing for two seasons (2013 and 2014) before joining Hendrick Motorsports.

“We have an opportunity to win an eighth championship and a lot more races with Jimmie,” Daniels said. “I’m proud to be in this position and have total faith in the team and our ability to perform at the level everyone expects. We have the best driver, the best organization and the best leadership, so everything we need to be successful is in place.

“It’s always been my goal to become a crew chief, and I’m thankful to Mr. Hendrick for his confidence.”

The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy to an eight-year extension worth $76 million, the team announced Monday.

"Since joining the organization Andrei has shown unmatched work ethic and professionalism both on and off the ice," Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois said in a statement. "We look forward to him continuing his career in Tampa Bay for the foreseeable future."

The extension begins with the 2020-21 season and keeps Vasilevskiy with the team through the 2027-28 season. He will make $3.5 million next season -- the final year of a deal he signed in 2016.

We assess the deal within the context of the "don't pay for goalies" movement:

In three seasons as the Lightning's primary goaltender, Vasilevskiy has established himself as elite. For goalies with at least 4,000 minutes played, he's fourth in goals saved above average (46.58) and save percentage (.921). Using Evolving Hockey's expected save percentage via Fenwick shot attempts, he's second (94.24).

If you're someone that appreciates wins as a goalie metric -- looking at you, Ben Bishop -- then Vasilevskiy's led the league with 44 and 39 victories behind a very good Lightning team in the last two seasons. It's no coincidence, then, that he was a Vezina finalist in those years, winning his first award this June.

All of this is great. But the deal only makes sense if you're one that believes that any goalie should be given a term of seven years or more.

When Vasilevskiy's contract extension kicks in for the 2020-21 season, there will be at least five other goalies with contracts of seven or more years that they signed in their 20s. Two of these goalies have won Stanley Cups. The others ... haven't.

Two of them look like bargains: Anaheim Ducks goalie John Gibson, who is arguably better than Vasilevskiy, is signed to a $6.4 million AAV through 2027, making this perhaps the best contract in the NHL at the moment, considering he's just 26. Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask, 32, has a $7 million cap hit on an eight-year term that runs through 2021.

Two of them are a bit more specious. New Jersey Devils goalie Cory Schneider signed a seven-year extension with the Devils at age 28 at $6 million AAV, and hasn't posted a save percentage above .908 since 2016. Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick signed a 10-year, pre-CBA adjustment deal in 2012 at a $5.8 million cap hit, a deal that the Kings are still trying to move as he turns 34 next season.

Then there's Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price and his $10.5 million AAV on an eight-year term that runs through 2026 -- a contract the Habs will tell you was signed out of necessity for a franchise player.

Which brings us back to Vasilevskiy.

Price was signed to a deal worth 14 percent of the salary cap at the time, with a full no-movement clause for the duration of the deal. Vasilevskiy signed for 11.66 percent of the current cap. Of course, this is where Montreal fans will scream about state tax advantages, although those don't account for Vasilevskiy only having a full no-movement clause for half his contract vs. the total protection Price has.

Price's contract was also front-loaded with $45.75 million in signing bonus money in the first four years, while Vasilevskiy's has $30 million. Yet in the final two years of Vasilevskiy's deal, he has $3 million signing bonuses in each. The contract is structured so the Lightning can pay him a bonus in summer of 2026 and then ship him out to one of the teams on his list who will pay him $5.5 million on average for the next two seasons for a $9.5 million cap hit.

Of the two "franchise goalie" deals, there's no question Vasilevskiy's is the shrewder investment on paper.

One goalie on a long-term deal we haven't mentioned is Sergei Bobrovsky, because he just signed his massive seven-year, $70-million deal with the Florida Panthers (12.27 percent of the cap) as a 30-year-old. His previous contract carried a $7.425 AAV on a four-year term, which he signed as a 26-year-old with the Columbus Blues Jackets two years after his first of two Vezina wins. The hand-wringing on Bobrovsky's new deal isn't about the money, but rather the term. Yet there's far less concern that he won't be good for, say, the next three seasons.

To that end, the Lightning have just locked up a goalie -- who projects to have the kind of impact that Bob has had -- for the next nine seasons, or until he's 33. Or, he ends up being a cautionary tale like Cory Schneider. Long-term deals for goalies can go either way.

The other aspect of this deal, obviously, is what it means for the Lightning's economics. Center Brayden Point is a restricted free agent who needs a new contract this summer, and the Lightning have about $5.5 million in cap space available before Ryan Callahan's $5.8 million goes on LTIR. So they should be able to get under this season without any more moves like shipping out J.T. Miller last month.

Next summer, they'll have a bit more room, but will have to sign Anthony Cirelli and Mikhail Sergachev to their second contracts. Those, plus the Point money and this contract for Vasilevskiy, probably means the departure of someone like Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat or Alex Killorn -- and unlike the other two, Killorn's trade protection moves to a partial no-trade clause next summer.

GM Julien BriseBois has made it clear with this contract that the Lightning consider Vasilevskiy the kind of foundational player you build around, like Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh and Steven Stamkos. There's enough evidence to believe he might be right, even as the term remains a frightening one for a goalie in general. But we imagine there are more than a few NHL teams in a constant scramble for certainty in the crease that'd kill for the chance to have a Vezina winner in his mid-20s locked up for nearly the next decade.

Overall grade: B-plus

Andorra, who are owned by Barcelona defender Gerard Pique, have bought Reus' place in the Spanish third division for almost €500,000, the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) confirmed on Monday.

Pique's company, Kosmo Global Holding, took control of Andorra in January when the club were playing in the Catalan Premier Division, a regionalised league within the fifth tier of the Spanish football pyramid.

In addition to purchasing Andorra, the Catalan has also been involved in the restructuring of the Davis Cup in tennis through Kosmos. Kosmos recently struck a partnership with the International Tennis Federation for a 25-year, $3 billion partnership to transform the Davis Cup and generate substantial revenues for global tennis development. Pique has also launched business ventures in esports, video games, eyeglasses, isotonic drinks and organic hamburgers.

Following investment in the winter transfer window, the club ended the campaign celebrating promotion to the fourth division after a 22-game unbeaten streak.

However, they will now go straight to Segunda B instead, which is just two divisions below La Liga and consists of four groups of 20 teams. They will be in the same group as Barca B, the Spanish champions' reserve team.

Andorra saw off competition from Zamora, Jaen, Intercity and Linares to replace crisis-stricken Reus.

The club, which is based in the independent principality of Andorra situated between France and Spain, had to deposit €452,022 to be assured of their inclusion in the league.

Bankrupt Reus were relegated from the second division to the third division midway through last season due to financial problems but have been unable to come up with the money to take their place in Segunda B.

Andorra are coached by former Barcelona player Gabri and Pique has said he wants to make them fully professional in the long-term. A place in Segunda B could speed up those plans.

English cricket will "redress the balance" between red and white-ball cricket over the next few years.

Ashley Giles, the managing director of England men's cricket, accepts that white-ball cricket took priority in the previous four-year cycle and he accepts the strategy, put in place by his predecessor, Andrew Strauss, paid off. England went from also-rans at the 2015 World Cup to champions in 2019.

But he also accepts England's Test cricket may have "suffered a little bit." England are currently No. 4 in the ICC's Test rankings while they are No. 1 in the ODI and No. 2 in the T20I rankings. So, while he is keen to pay tribute to Strauss' influence, he feels that winning the World Test Championship - which is launched at the start of the Ashes series which starts on Thursday - should be the new goal of English cricket. And to that end, he feels the red-ball game should now be given greater priority in terms of planning, scheduling and investment.

"When Strauss came in he said we have to swing the balance right towards white-ball cricket and that's what we did," Giles said. "All the attention and the way we play county cricket was definitely focused on the shorter formats.

"It was the focus we needed. It was the strategy that led to us winning the World Cup which we looked miles away from doing in 2015. It was important that the pendulum didn't swing back to 50-50, it had to swing right back to white-ball cricket. We had never approached things in that way before in this country.

"Has Test cricket suffered a little bit? Well, perhaps a little bit. We need to do that in red-ball cricket now. Whether it's the World Test Championship or not, Test cricket is really important to us in this country. We haven't neglected Test cricket for white-ball cricket, but focus has definitely been more on that side and we just need to redress that balance now.

"In the future we need to work with the counties on producing future Test players. Our focus has certainly been on white-ball cricket and we need to redress that balance now to try and even things out."

Giles' task is not straightforward. The county schedule will continue to see white-ball cricket take precedence in peak season - there will be no County Championship cricket played in the white-ball window built for The Hundred and 50-over cricket from 2020 - which means domestic first-class cricket will continue to be played in the margins of the season when pitches tend to provide substantial assistance to seam bowlers.

But there some tools available to him. For a start, county cricket is already using a brand of Dukes ball with a less prominent seam that provides a little less help for bowlers. The counties have also been encouraged to provide better batting surfaces in the hope that seamers are required to work harder for their wickets and batsmen can gain some form and confidence in a more meritocratic environment. It is also hoped the combination of flatter wickets and less helpful balls will encourage the development of faster bowlers and spinners.

That prioritisation will also be demonstrated in the value of the new central contracts. While players in all formats will receive a substantial pay rise when the new contracts begin in October - those contracted for red and white-ball cricket will earn just under £1m a year before appearance fees - the percentage rise will be greater for those involved in Test cricket. Meanwhile young fast bowlers will be taken on to incremental contracts - a scheme that will replace the fast bowling programme - which will allow the England management to rest them, or place them in overseas cricket, as they see fit.

There may also be less leeway for Test players to take part in T20 leagues, including the IPL. While appearances in such leagues have helped England's player develop in the white-ball game - and while there is a World T20 Cup at the end of next year - Giles is keen to ensure candidates for the Test squad have both rested and reacclimatised to English conditions before returning to the Test team. He hopes the value of the new central contracts - which will see some England players earning between £1.2 and £1.5m a year when appearance fees are included - will diminish the allure of such leagues for his top assets.

Most of all, though, he wants the county game - and the ECB pathways - to deliver better results. That means creating an environment where top-order batsmen have a better chance to develop, where counties are rewarded for producing players and where the qualities required to succeed in Test cricket are replicated and cultivated.

"It's fundamentally important that our county cricket is system is producing good players," Giles continued. "And what we've seen this year is sides preparing better pitches to play on. As a result, scores have been better and there seems to be better cricket round the country; really competitive cricket. The stats would say that when we've had a deep and successful [Test] batting order, we've had a really strong County Championship with high scores, lots of runs and batsmen scoring 1,000 runs a season. We certainly need the network and county system to work with us.

"Even just saying 'we're going to win the World Cup' in 2015 placed a lot of emphasis on our focus in terms of how we grew players, grew talent and spotted talent. Now we do need to redress that, so placing more emphasis on how we support and improve our long-form cricketers. And some of that is about working with the counties and collaborating much more on growing a bigger pool of players to prepare to play Test cricket.

"But it not going to be an overnight change. We won't suddenly start producing dozens of top-order players. In the short term, the Test Championship has to be on our to-do list. It doesn't get much tougher but we have to have that as a goal. Test cricket's really important to us and we need to be trying to compete for that Championship and if not this one then the next one.

"In the shorter term we've got two T20 World Cups. Next year in Australia probably represents a really good opportunity for us to win that and wouldn't it be great if we could hold both white-ball trophies at once?

"Having our resources, we should be trying to compete across as many formats as we can. In the really short term you might swing some of your focus towards T20 cricket instead of 50-over cricket as we're four years away from another 50-over World Cup. But we need to give Test cricket the focus it deserves."

Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur termed Mohammad Amir's decision to retire from Test cricket "unsurprising", saying the bowler had been thinking about it for over a year. Arthur revealed the management had tried to ease Amir's workload over the past year, and experimented with the possibility of making him an overseas-only bowler. Ultimately, however, Arthur said he respected Amir's decision, and hoped it would give Pakistan a "rejuvenated" limited-overs bowler.

"It was on the cards for a long while," Arthur told ESPNcricinfo. "Amir had been speaking to me about it with me for some time now. His Test career was taking a strain on his body. It's not about management here. It's about his desire to play Test cricket and the effects it has on his body. I think Amir's an unbelievable bowler and reluctantly I accepted his decision because that's what he wanted to do and that's what he thought was best for himself. What it does do is give us a white-ball bowler that I think we can get a longer period from."

ESPNcricinfo understands several people behind the scenes involved with Pakistan cricket had attempted to talk Amir out of the Test retirement, and offered up the possibility of reduced workloads, or games in conditions that were more conducive to his strengths. It was part of the reason the Pakistan selection panel managed him the way they did over the past home season, with the bowler sitting out the five Tests in the UAE before coming back into the fold for the three-match Test series against South Africa.

Amir has only played four Tests in the UAE, Pakistan's home for his entire career. Strong as they have been in the desert, however, Pakistan ended up on the losing side in three of those four games, representing over a third of all Test losses in the UAE over this period. The case could be made that not playing him in the UAE was as much a dropping as it was diligent management.

Arthur, too, was emphatic Amir could have been used in Test cricket like that over the long run. "Of course there was [a possibility Amir would only play away]", Arthur said. "We managed him through the South African series. He didn't play any Test cricket during the UAE last year. That was part of his management, and we started putting that in place because we wanted him for the South African series."

Arthur even acknowledged he would have "loved for Amir to stay on", but conceded the fast bowler's "mind and body weren't in the format anymore". In an interview with ESPNcricinfo, Amir had suggested he might cut back on Tests as early as last year, but Arthur believed the real damage had been done when he was banned for five years for spot-fixing in 2010. In that period, by Amir's own admission, he didn't prepare himself for returning to international cricket, which meant he was ill-equipped for the workload that would be thrown his way after five years of indolence.

"He had five years out of the game, we mustn't forget that. In those five years, he didn't do anything. His body was not up to the rigours of day in, day out Test cricket. We pushed him as much as we could during the England and South Africa series, because he is such a good bowler whom we wanted during those tours. We've tried everything we possibly could with Amir.

"He could have managed those five years better. He'd be the first one to acknowledge that. But I understand where he was in his whole life, so it was a tough period for him. I understand all that. I've got a very soft spot for Mohammad Amir. As a person and as a cricketer, I admire him greatly. Yes, I am disappointed he won't be playing Test cricket for us. But it was made in the best interests of his white-ball cricket in mind."

Amir had been fading in limited-overs cricket since the 2017 Champions Trophy, having gone 13 consecutive ODIs without a wicket in the first Powerplay. But his reputation saw him sneak into the World Cup squad at the last minute, and there, he was a different cricketer once more, finishing as the most prolific Pakistan bowler at the tournament with 17 wickets, which only six bowlers bettered. It is that big-match temperament that has Arthur licking his lips.

"We get a white-ball bowler who's going to be rejuvenated, refreshed, and with a T20 World Cup just around the corner, in 18 months' time we've got a potential match-winner because we know he performs on the big stage. Like every other player who plays for Pakistan, he's going to need to put in match-winning performances. But he'll certainly get the opportunity to do that, and he will start in our white-ball cricket."

Arthur wouldn't be drawn on where Amir placed in the storied pantheon of great Pakistani fast bowlers, going down the route of wistfulness instead.

"The Amir hype all those years ago was justified because he is a quality bowler. When the ball swings there's not much better. But he's not the bowler now that he was in 2009 and 2010. He was different, his body was different. Making a connection between the bowler now and then would be wrong. But had he not had those five years out of the game, I think he would be up there with the very best Pakistan have ever had."