Napoli forward Victor Osimhen will remain overnight in the hospital under observation after being knocked unconscious during the final minutes of Sunday's Italian league match at Atalanta.

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Osimhen fell awkwardly after a collision with Atalanta defender Cristian Romero and hit his head on the field. The Nigeria international was conscious as he was stretchered off and rushed to the hospital.

Napoli released a brief statement saying that "following his injury and head trauma ... he had undergone tests with negative results.''

The southern-based club said Osimhen would remain under observation in Bergamo until Monday. The incident occurred in stoppage time of Atalanta's 4-2 win over Napoli.

Osimhen joined Napoli from Lille at the end of July for a fee of around €80 million. He was injured on international duty in November and then tested positive for coronavirus over the winter break.

The 22-year-old Osimhen only returned to action on Jan. 24 after an absence of more than two months.

Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho has defended his coaching methods and staff's ability after his side slipped to their fifth Premier League defeat in six games against West Ham United on Sunday.

Spurs are now nine points off the top four after losing 2-1 at West Ham and the result continues their miserable run of form in the league. Mourinho refused to concede defeat in their race for a top four spot after the match, but he did admit "there are problems" at the club.

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With Tottenham's season hinging on cup form, with Spurs in the final of the EFL Cup and still in the Europa League, Mourinho is targeting success there, but after another loss -- despite a late rally and hitting the woodwork twice -- Mourinho was resolute postmatch.

When asked whether he had ever doubted his coaching methods amid this poor run of form, Mourinho answered: "No, not at all. The results are the consequences of multi-situations in football. Mine and my coaching staff methods are second to nobody in the world."

Mourinho also dismissed suggestions the team was in crisis but admitted there is "frustration and sadness" in the changing room, and said they are having a "bad run of results."

"Of course our team has problems, and the problems they have reflection on results and on points, but I also believe that a little bit of that light, a little bit of that luck that you also need in football to win matches, has to be back," Mourinho added.

"And if that light comes back, is different. You hit the post and the ball goes inside or goes outside. The VAR decisions, many times, I am not speaking about today because today I didn't watch, but many times are controversial, or are decisions by one inch.

"You sometimes need also a little bit of luck to go in your favour. I believe that if this team wins a couple of matches in a row, that the situation can change, and that we can still fight for top four. Of course if you say nine points now, it is difficult, is very possible."

But, talking to the BBC, Mourinho said there are problems in the club that are out of his control: "I feel that we are not in the position in relation to our potential -- even if I think for a long, long time that we have problems in the team that I cannot resolve by myself as a coach. Our potential is higher than where we are so there is frustration."

On a day when the United States women's national team stood -- and didn't kneel -- for the playing of the national anthem, U.S. defender Crystal Dunn said that the players are "past the protesting phase and actually move into putting all of the talk into actual work."

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Ahead of Sunday's 2-0 win over Brazil in its second match of the SheBelieves Cup in Orlando, the entire U.S. team stood while the anthem played. As it had in other matches, the team walked onto the pitch wearing wearing warmup jackets with the words "Black Lives Matter" emblazoned on the front.

In the U.S. team's previous match against Canada, some players stood while others knelt. The Canadians, ahead of their game against Argentina on Sunday, all knelt during their national team and wore T-shirts that read "Black Lives Matter."

Dunn said there wasn't a vote taken by the U.S. team to stand, but it was rather a collective decision.

"I think those that were collectively kneeling felt like we were kneeling to bring about attention to police brutality and systemic racism," Dunn said. "I think we decided that moving forward we no longer feel the need to kneel because we are doing the work behind the scenes. We are combating systemic racism. And we never felt we were going to kneel forever, so there was always going to be a time that we felt it was time to stand. I think we're all proud that we are doing the work behind the scenes and it was just a game that we felt we were ready to move into the next phase and just continuously fight for change."

Dunn is one of seven Black or biracial players on the current 23-player roster, but she said she feels that the dynamic within the U.S. side in terms of addressing social justice has improved. There is still more work to be done, however.

"For me personally I've always felt like I'm a testament to a lot of Black experiences," she said. "I am a Black athlete who has often felt like I have not been heard or not been seen and many Black people feel the same way. I think we've had those initial discussions, and I feel better about where this team is. But I do think moving forward, we're prepared to just continue working off the field and continuously having these conversations.

"Even though we are choosing to stand, it doesn't mean that the conversations go away, or they stop," Dunn added. "It's all to say that we are now, I think, ready to move past the protesting phase and actually move into putting all of the talk into actual work."

MANCHESTER, England -- Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is saying all the right things about pushing Manchester City to the wire, but he would be forgiven if he doesn't even believe it himself. Manchester United are back up to second in the Premier League table after a 3-1 win over Newcastle on Sunday, but with City making it 18 consecutive wins at Arsenal earlier on Sunday, the odds-makers give Solskjaer's team less than a 1% chance of winning the title.

To put it into context, the experts believe there's an equal probability of them being relegated instead.

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United have plenty left to play for this season and a trophy in either the FA Cup or Europa League would put a gloss on a campaign during which Solskjaer can already confidently point to progress. But Solskjaer's task over the summer is how to get closer to City; between now and then, his players are playing for their place in the squad for what the Norwegian hopes will be the next step forward.

Newcastle, meanwhile, are going in the other direction and an eighth defeat from their past 10 games left them just three points above the relegation places, piling more pressure on Steve Bruce. For Solskjaer, it was a positive end to a day that began with an announcement that Nicky Butt and Mark Dempsey would be required on the bench after a number of his staff were forced to self-isolate in line with COVID-19 protocols.

"We've got good staff elsewhere," said Solskjaer afterwards. "Of course, it was a different preparation for the boys, but that's the situation we are in. We have to be ready.

"In the first half, even though we had most of the possession, we didn't create enough. We had to step it up and we did in the second half.

"I'm never going to say [the title race] is done until it's done, you've seen so many examples of teams that just hang in there, keep working, do their own job and something might happen. It's not something we think about -- we think about our own performances and our own games; that's the only thing we can control. We have loads to play for and improve on."

Solskjaer will back his core of young players -- namely Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood, Scott McTominay and Aaron Wan-Bissaka -- to get better and better, helped by his established senior players like Bruno Fernandes and captain Harry Maguire. But conversations have already taken place between Solskjaer and his recruitment team about a plan for the summer transfer window, and the players already here have got three months to prove their positions are not in need of upgrades.

Club chiefs have not tried to hide the fact that the coronavirus pandemic, which has stopped supporters attending games at Old Trafford for almost a year, have affected the finances, but executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward and the Glazers will still make money available for transfers. The question now is how Solskjaer uses it. There will be no major overhaul because he prefers a gradual turnover of players, but as he approaches his two-year anniversary as permanent manager, the focus has to be how he ends the wait for a title.

Ask United fans what the team needs and you'll find several willing arguments that everywhere from centre-back to centre forward should be the priority, which shows the scale of the task, and it will be Solskjaer's job to decide on the positions most in need of fresh faces.

Watching on Sunday, Solskjaer will not have been happy to see his team concede from a speculative cross into the box that allowed Allan Saint-Maximin to briefly make it 1-1. It was the 32nd league goal they have shipped this season, the same as Fulham in 18th. At the other end, Anthony Martial's struggles as first-choice striker continued until he was replaced 20 minutes from time. After getting 17 league goals last season, the Frenchman has managed just four this term, two of which came in the 9-0 win over Southampton.

There's no doubt about Rashford's place in Solskjaer's plans, but the England forward had a far more productive night, scoring the first goal with a terrific run and thumping finish before his close touch and quick feet won a penalty for Fernandes to score his 22nd goal of the season. In between, Dan James scored his sixth goal in his last nine appearances for club and country and his third in as many games for United.

James, the 23-year-old winger, has had to be patient this season, but he is vindicating Solskjaer's decision to reject loan offers from Leeds United last summer and in January. Back in the team, James has taken his opportunity to show he deserves to stay long-term. Others may not be so lucky.

"Dan is working hard, he is a great boy in and around the place," said Solskjaer, who also handed a debut to 17-year-old academy graduate Shola Shoretire. "He knows he has been very close a few times. When you score the amount of goals he has at the moment confidence must be sky high.

"Dan with the energy he has, the X factor and the pace, he gives us something that must be hard to play against if you are a defender. It's been a very good week for him."

Watching the United States women's national team is an exercise akin to finding flaws in the Sistine Chapel. On most days, there is nary an imperfection to be found. But on the rare occasions when a defect is located in the Americans' play, there's a discussion to be had about whether it's simple nitpicking or whether alarm bells should actually be going off.

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So what to make then of Sunday's 2-0 win over Brazil, one that all but clinches the SheBelieves Cup?

In many respects, the U.S. did what it normally does. It carried most of the play, and eventually broke through with goals by Christen Press and substitute Megan Rapinoe. The defense bent, but held firm. The result was less about perfection and more about efficiency, especially in both penalty areas.

The triumph was the 15th consecutive victory under manager Vlatko Andonovski, who took over from Jill Ellis following the U.S. team's second consecutive World Cup triumph in 2019. And it can't be overlooked that the U.S. prevailed against a Brazil side that is currently ranked eighth in FIFA's latest round of rankings.

Looking beyond that metric, Brazil certainly has enough talent to threaten the U.S. There is longtime attacking lynchpin Marta, even as she plays in a wider role for manager Pia Sundhage. Forwards Debinha and Ludmila are skillful enough and mobile enough to threaten any team in the world, and did so on this day. Add in the fact that many of the U.S. players are still in preseason mode, and there's every reason to think that the Americans' are in solid shape as this summer's Olympic Games come more into focus.

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"It's funny because I think every time I'm on this team, wearing this jersey, I feel like everyone expects us to never have a shot on goal against us, or no team to ever create a chance," said defender Crystal Dunn. "And I can sit here and say I think we played a great game. I think Brazil is a talented group of players."

But part of the reason why the U.S. women have been dominant for so long is precisely because the team is held to high standards, even if at times the expectations border on the ridiculous. And there were enough flaws in Sunday's match to think that there are some issues to keep an eye on as the departure for Tokyo gets closer.

The U.S. delivered a more fluid performance against Brazil than it did in the tournament opener against Canada. That was due in part because Brazil was more adventurous in attack, leading to a more wide-open affair.

But in both matches, the U.S. conceded some wide open chances in transition that weren't converted. In some situations, the U.S. helped itself with some astute covering tackles, like when Dunn slid over in the 13th minute to block Ludmila's shot, or when Julie Ertz's recovery run just before halftime spoiled a Brazil counter. Goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher contributed as well with a first half save from Ludmila.

But on other occasions, it was poor finishing by opponents that kept the U.S. net from being breached. Debinha will still be thinking about the opportunity she squandered in the 82nd minute. That is something the U.S. can't continue to rely on going forward.

The play of right back Emily Sonnet was a concern as well, as she came out second best in a number of duels, though Andonovski defended the player given she was up against Marta for much of the day.

"A couple of times that I thought she could have done a better job," he said. "But overall she's playing against one of the best players in the world right now, and she was able to step in front, deny some of those passes going to her. She was able to get the ball a few times so overall good performance."

To Andonovski's credit, the transition opportunities that were apparent in the first half were largely kept in check after halftime thanks to a few tactical tweaks. This included dropping Ertz a bit deeper to limit space for Debinha and Ludmila, as well as provide additional cover for center backs Abby Dahlkemper and Becky Sauerbrunn. The U.S. also did a better job of getting pressure on the ball in midfield and slowing down Brazil's attempts to play in transition.

"We know that if we give them a lot of space as a unit that they're going to expose it, and I thought in the first half, we didn't do a good enough job in closing the space" said Andonovski. "After we adjusted the structure a little bit, I thought we did an incredible job in the defending their transition."

It's worth mentioning however that in the prior game against Canada some transition opportunities were also conceded. It's certainly no time to panic in terms of the U.S. defense, but there is reason to be wary of how teams look to exploit weaknesses.

There seems to be a bit more patience attached to the team's attack, with Lindsay Horan's two assists the highlight, along with Rapinoe's "Rock the Baby" celebration, an ode to teammates Ali Krieger and Ashlyn Harris adopting a baby last week. Horan's performance was a reminder that the Andonovski has options behind the injured Sam Mewis. Press showed her quality as well with a well taken goal.

The return of Alex Morgan was also plus, given that it was her first national team start since giving birth last year. She put in an active shift over 71 minutes.

All of that said, the U.S. team needed to be tested in this tournament, and it has been, which for Andonovski was the point of these matches all along.

"We want to play the best competition possible," he said. "We want to play against different types of opponents, opponents that will present different challenges, for a reason. So we can go back in a room now, back in the office, and study, why is it that they were able to get 10 shots on goal? What is it that we could have done different? And we hopefully we can get better from it."

As for perfection, the U.S. is hoping that happens later this summer.

Tom Moody has been lined up on what is understood to be a three-year contract to become Sri Lanka Cricket's director of cricket, a newly-created role that will oversee almost every facet of the game in the country. The appointment will seek to utilise Moody's experience working within cricketing structures in Australia, England and India to keep Sri Lankan cricket up-to-date with the latest technological advancements and best practices in the sport.

"I think it will be important for him to come as an independent person with a different view, someone who has been involved in cricket in Australia and understands their structure, who has been involved in the IPL and those structures, a person who has been involved in county cricket with Worcestershire and understands their structure, and also being involved with the Caribbean Premier League," Aravinda de Silva told ESPNcricinfo.

De Silva heads up a sports ministry-appointed technical advisory committee overseeing the development of cricket in Sri Lanka - informally known as the cricket committee. Alongside him in the committee are former cricketers Roshan Mahanama, Muttiah Muralitharan and Kumar Sangakkara. Among their first moves has been the recommendation of Moody.

Moody enjoyed a successful spell as head coach of the Sri Lankan national team from 2005-2007, most notably helping the side to the 2007 World Cup final, and de Silva believes this experience will provide him with the right tools for the job at hand.

"We're a committee and we need someone responsible and neutral working on certain areas with an open mind, who understands the culture, the players, the country's culture, someone who's been around. We need to blend and get the administrative side as well as the cricketing side.

"He's got a lot of experience and understands more things about what some of the other countries are doing right, and we need to get the best things out of those countries that will suit our culture and then implement those."

If all goes as planned, Moody, who is director of cricket at Sunrisers Hyderabad, will take up the position as soon as the hire is ratified by the SLC Executive Committee. Moody's contract will allow him to split time between both roles, while SLC is expected to come out with a final decision on the appointment sometime over the next week.

The position itself is an overarching one, the specifics of which are yet to be ironed out. What is clear is that Moody will have the mandate to address any areas that he feels is in need of attention, in consultation with the cricket committee, national team coach Mickey Arthur, head of coaching at SLC Jerome Jayaratne, and any other appointments that are made going forward.

"He'll come in and work with the existing lot, and we will then see if we need anymore people in specialised areas, depending on the gaps we need to fill. The reporting lines will be finalised once we understand the existing structure. All the areas will come under the Director of Cricket - one coordinating person," de Silva said.

"A lot of areas [will be covered]. On the medical side, reporting on fitness, who will be monitoring those things and driving it all the way down to grassroots. We have to put all those structures in place, that's why it's for three years. These things cannot be done overnight, it's a long-term plan which we need to implement."

There has been renewed enthusiasm for revamping Sri Lanka Cricket of late, much of it spurred on by the appointment of the Sri Lankan President's nephew, Namal Rajapaksa, as the country's sports minister. Rajapaksa, an athlete in his own right having captained the Sri Lankan national rugby team, has moved swiftly since his appointment.

He set up the National Sports Council headed by former Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene in August. Earlier this month, he signed off on the cricket committee headed by de Silva. The decision to bring in a director of cricket is understood to have been agreed upon "unanimously".

While optimism surrounding a genuine reworking of Sri Lanka's cricketing structure is being tempered by previous false dawns, the potential appointment of a director of cricket alongside a recent legal petition seeking to overhaul Sri Lanka Cricket's much-maligned constitution - long cited as the cause of Sri Lanka's ailing domestic structure - shows that hope among Sri Lanka's cricketing fraternity is nevertheless growing.

Reverse-swing was a key factor in England's victory in the first Test of their series in India, but James Anderson does not expect it to play much of a role under the Ahmedabad floodlights in Wednesday's third Test.

Anderson missed England's 317-run defeat in the second Test, with the team's management opting to rotate him to keep him fresh for the day-night match at the new Motera stadium, and as such has had plenty of time to examine the pink SG ball in the nets over the past two weeks.

He suggested on Sunday that there was little discernible difference between the pink SG and the Dukes and Kookaburra equivalents that he has used previously in Tests, and that the extra lacquer on the ball means it is likely to stay hard for a longer period of time.

"It doesn't feel a lot different [to other brands of pink ball]," Anderson said. "What we have found with all the pink balls, it seems like they have an extra bit of lacquer on them so it feels a bit more plastic, the coating, rather than on the red ball where you can feel the leather. It feels very similar to the Dukes in the hand.

"I think we will be unlikely to see reverse. It depends on the pitch - if the pitch is really abrasive you might see a bit of reverse, but from how we've bowled it in the nets I would be very surprised if it does reverse. It may well stay a bit harder for longer. We'll have to wait and see how it reacts after 40-50 overs."

England have been using various pink balls in training - including some that are "really old" - to tune up for their first day-night Test in nearly three years, but Anderson suggested that their initial plans will be similar to their standard new-ball approach with the red ball.

"I don't think we'll bowl any differently to how we normally bowl with the red ball," he said. "We'll be assessing conditions as we do and bowl accordingly. If it's swinging around we'll be more attacking, bowl a fuller length, have extra catchers in. If not, we'll go a little bit more defensive.

"It's all about assessing the conditions. We've got a couple of balls that are really old we've been practising with that are doing absolutely nothing and I think it's important we do that because you still need the option of taking wickets when it's not swinging around.

"We're trying to cover all bases and know what we're going to do if it doesn't swing. If it does swing, yes, potentially we'll bowl those slightly more attacking lines and lengths."

England's decision to keep Anderson fresh for the third Test was doubtless informed by his impressive record in his three day-night appearances to date, in which he has taken 14 wickets at 17.85. As per the global trend, he has enjoyed bowling in twilight, when batsmen have to re-adjust their eyes, and said that he was relishing the chance to play a game under floodlights, given how little one-day cricket he now plays.

"For us old guys who don't have the chance to play white-ball cricket any more it's a chance to play under lights again. I just feel it's something a little bit different - it's quite special playing cricket under lights.

"There is not a difference in how it [the ball] behaves as such. The difficulty will be adjusting the eyes to different lights. Twilight, the guys have said has been a bit tricky. We've found that in all the [day-night] Tests we have played, whether in England, Australia or New Zealand. It does take that bit of time to get used to as the light fades and the floodlights take over from the natural light.

"I saw the pitch over the last couple of days and it's got a lot of grass on it but I can see a lot of red soil underneath which says to me it could well spin if they take a bit of grass off. All the seam bowlers want really is a bit of carry, which we haven't really had throughout the series. We're keeping our fingers crossed there's a bit more in it for the seamers."

Anderson also admitted that he did find it "frustrating" to have been rested for the second Test after his impressive performance in the first, but said that he could "see the bigger picture" given England's packed schedule in 2021.

"The idea was if I missed that one, that would give me the best chance of being fit and firing for the pink-ball Test," he said. "So that's where I am at, at the minute: I am feeling good and fresh and ready to go again if called upon. It's hopefully going to keep me going for longer, and Stuart [Broad] has said the same too.

"I've seen the last couple of years - 2019, when I missed the Ashes, and the start of 2020, when I got an injury in South Africa - [that] when the workload goes up - and it's the same for all bowlers not just me - those injuries do happen.

"We've got 17 Test matches this year and the best way of getting your best players firing for as many of those as possible is to take little rests every now and then it's just a case of trying to make sure you're not wearing someone out until they completely break in half."

Islamabad United 151 for 7 (Gregory 49*, Brathwaite 2-23) beat Multan Sultans 150 for 8 (Rizwan 71, Wasim 3-29) by three wickets

Lewis Gregory dragged Islamabad United across the line in their season opener against Multan Sultans in Karachi with 49 not out from 31 balls to seal a three-wicket win with six balls to spare.

Mohammad Rizwan underpinned the Sultans' total of 150 after they had been asked to bat, but despite posting the highest score of the season's opening weekend, they looked short of par, not least having been 92 for 3 after 11 overs. The United's chase was derailed by the Shahid Afridi show in the middle overs, as they slumped to 74 for 6 after 11.1 overs, but Gregory's cameo saw them home.

The United had won two of the first three PSL titles but failed to reach the play-offs for the first time in 2020, finishing bottom of the league stage and winning only three of their 10 fixtures. But they have recruited well ahead of this season, with Alex Hales, Gregory and Hasan Ali among the star names to join the squad, and have started with a win despite not quite clicking.

Star of the day
Gregory underwhelmed for Brisbane Heat in the BBL, but starred on debut for his new franchise. With the ball, he removed his compatriot James Vince, who slashed him to deep third man, and had Khushdil Shah caught at long-on. His final over, the 17th, cost only six runs as he finished with 2 for 31 from his four overs.

But he was the United's match-winner with the bat, ruthlessly targeting Sohail Tanvir at the death and hitting him for 26 off 11 balls in all. With 20 needed from 11 balls, he hit Tanvir for a six then three fours to finish the job, picking his gaps with strong shots around the ground. Gregory was aided by Faheem Ashraf, who chipped in with a cameo of 22 off 12.

Tragic hero of the day
It was a great injustice that Afridi ended up on the losing side after taking 2 for 24 from his four overs. His returns with the bat have dried up as his career has worn on, as evidenced by his first-ball duck, but he shows no sign of age with the ball, continuing to evolve as a bowler. On Sunday night, he mainly bowled from very wide on the crease, looking for his trademark drift at pace, and consistently landed the ball on a good length, attacking the top of the stumps.

His first strike was vintage Afridi. The in-form Hales had reached an ominous 28 off 17 in the powerplay, looking like a banker to continue his run-scoring streak from the Big Bash, but he failed to pick up the length as Afridi fired one through at 60.5mph/97.4kph with a characteristic spring in his action. Hales went back when he should have come forward, and was foxed by an in-drifter which pegged back middle stump.

Afridi was hit for six in his second over, as Hussain Talat top-edged a reverse-sweep, but struck with the first ball of his third, deceiving Asif Ali in the flight as he picked out Vince at long-on. That left the United at 73 for 4, needing a partnership to keep their hopes alive.

The champagne moment arrived five balls later. Talat nudged him towards short midwicket and set off for a single, and Afridi pounced in his follow-through. In one smooth motion, he picked up and hurled the ball at the keeper's end, his direct hit leaving Iftikhar Ahmed stranded a long way short of his ground. Having celebrated in his trademark manner for his two wickets, Afridi could not contain himself, instead setting off on an Imran Tahir-style run and punching the air in celebration.

After shelling a straightforward catch at mid-off in the 16th over, he held a similar chance four balls later and hurled the ball into the ground, frustrated at his earlier mistake. He celebrates his 41st birthday in eight days but Afridi's enthusiasm for the game is unrelenting.

Miss of the day
Perhaps an unexpected choice, after he continued from where he had left off in Pakistan's T20I series against South Africa by racing to a 31-ball half-century, but Rizwan's deceleration ended up costing his new franchise. Rizwan struggled badly for rhythm at the death, adding only 21 runs off his last 22 balls, and bizarrely decided to play out Shadab Khan's final over just as he should have been looking to hit out. Multan's total was 10 or 15 short of what it could and should have been due to his slowdown - though he lacked support from the rest of the top order.

Honourable mention
Mohammad Wasim, who was playing for Pakistan at the Under-19 World Cup just over a year ago, made his first professional T20 appearance and was hugely impressive. He conceded a couple of boundaries in his first over, the fourth, but varied his pace well in his second.

He picked up his first PSL wicket when Sohaib Maqsood holed out to deep midwicket, but it was his final over that stood out: he ripped through Rizwan with a searing yorker that tailed in to knock out off stump, and dismissed Afridi a ball later as he looked to drag him into the leg side. Overall figures of 3 for 29 were a fair reflection of an excellent debut.

But for Covid, England Women would be two weeks into the defence of their 50-over World Cup, with two out of seven group games to go and the semi-finals looming. Instead, the tournament has been postponed by 12 months, and they have not played an ODI in 436 days.

That streak will finally come to an end this week, with their three-match series against New Zealand starting on Tuesday in Christchurch. After the vast majority of their home summer schedule was cancelled, England are starting from scratch: remarkably, this will be their first ODI under Lisa Keightley's stewardship, nearly 16 months after her appointment as head coach.

The wait has been particularly frustrating for those players who had hoped to nail down their places after their most recent series, against Pakistan in Malaysia in December 2019 with Ali Maiden taking temporary charge of the squad.

Nobody embodies the frustration better than Danni Wyatt. Wyatt turns 30 in April, and the fact that her batting average is a shade below 20 in both ODI and T20I cricket prompts a double-take. Anyone who has seen either of Wyatt's two T20I hundreds will know how talented a batter she is, but she has struggled to realise her potential in international cricket, perhaps hampered by regular shifts up and down the order.

She is a player who relies on form and rhythm, which jars with the sporadic nature of the women's international calendar. In that series in Malaysia she appeared to have finally cracked ODI cricket, making her first hundred in the format with an innings of 110 off 95 balls to set up a convincing win; since then, she has faced six balls in an ODI shirt.

"It's fair to say - and Danni will say this herself - that she hasn't quite nailed ODI cricket yet," Heather Knight, England's captain, said on the eve of the New Zealand series. "She's batted in a few different positions and it was obviously a real shame for her that she had that great hundred in Malaysia and then wasn't able to back that up with the big break.

"I really think it's going to be a huge series for her - and a huge year - in terms of really nailing down her ODI cricket and what she could do for us at the top of the order. She naturally scores very quickly, and there are going to be times, probably, when she gets out early because we want her to be aggressive, play her natural game, and take the game on. But I'm really excited about what Danni could do."

The early signs are positive. Wyatt endured a tough 2020, managing a top score of 29 in 12 innings across the tri-series in Australia, the T20 World Cup and the home series against West Indies, but started the New Zealand tour with two enterprising innings: 35 off 42 balls in the first warm-up game, and 54 off 42 in the second.

As a result, Knight is optimistic about the prospect of her flourishing in this series in a likely opening partnership with Tammy Beaumont, hinting that she will be given licence to attack early on and make use of the initial fielding restrictions.

"She's had a little bit of a lean year, to be honest," Knight said, "but the signs are really good. She's worked really hard over the last couple of months to be in a really good place with her game. The way she played in that second warm-up game was exactly how we want her to play. I'm excited to watch her bat, because you always think that something is going to happen.

"[Her role] is slightly different to T20 cricket where it's pretty much to go from ball one. She can take a little bit more time in ODI cricket, but her natural mindset is to be aggressive and score. She certainly puts pressure on bowlers and pressure on captains, so that's her role: to go out and be herself, and back her shots."

England's touring party have a clean bill of health ahead of the series, meaning that Anya Shrubsole (knee) and Katie George (back) are the only absentees. Knight was unwilling to give much away in terms of selection, but it appears that the one remaining call revolves around whether Freya Davies or Tash Farrant is picked as the third seamer alongside Kate Cross and Katherine Brunt.

"We've got some really strong depth in the seam-bowling department," Knight said. "We'll have to see what we go with later today and to see what the conditions are like as well. We haven't played ODI cricket for a long time and New Zealand are a very strong side [so] it's going to be a really good test for us.

"Our preparation has been a little bit disjointed but I feel like as a team we're really ready to play ODI cricket. Obviously, we've got a year before the World Cup in 2022, so that year is going to be key in terms of our preparation and showing us where we need to be and how we want to play our ODI cricket. I'm really excited to start that journey: it feels like a long time coming."

Pat Cummins and Alex Carey will return to Sheffield Shield cricket for the first time in more than a year after being named in the New South Wales and South Australia squads.

Cummins, who captained New South Wales in the Marsh Cup last week, is a swap for Josh Hazlewood who has been rested after the match against Victoria at the SCG where the home side suffered a four-wicket defeat.

"We mapped out a plan for Josh and with quick games back to back we have given him this game off but he will play our third game in this stretch of matches," New South Wales coach Phil Jaques said.

"It's a busy season and we have to manage all of our players, especially the quick bowlers so we have them all firing towards the back end of the season."

The return game against Victoria which had been due to be played at the MCG was switched to Bankstown Oval in Sydney because of border restrictions out of Melbourne.

Cummins' previous Shield outing came in November 2019 when he faced Western Australia and Carey last turned out for South Australia in the December of the same year. Both players were at the IPL when the first part of the first-class season took place earlier this summer. For Cummins it will be just his sixth first-class match for New South Wales since the start of 2017 season.

South Australia, who are bottom of the table, have left out five players who were part of their previous squad in November along with Callum Ferguson who has retired from first-class cricket. However, Ferguson has been included in the Marsh Cup squad to face Western Australia.

Legspinner Lloyd Pope, who took a five-wicket haul in his first innings of the season before finishing with an average of 86.25 from four matches, has been dropped from the Shield squad and left out for the one-dayer.

The uncapped legspinner Peter Hatzoglou, a breakout star in the BBL for the Melbourne Renegades, has been included in the Redbacks' one-day squad.

Jake Weatherald, who left the Shield hub earlier in the season to manage his mental health, has not been included in the four-day side and will instead captain a 2nd XI match in Adelaide but will travel to Perth for the Marsh Cup game.

New South Wales Shield squad Peter Nevill (capt), Sean Abbott, Harry Conway, Trent Copeland, Pat Cummins, Moises Henriques, Daniel Hughes, Nick Larkin, Nathan Lyon, Kurtis Patterson, Steven Smith, Daniel Solway, Mitchell Starc

South Australia Shield squad Travis Head (capt), Alex Carey, Wes Agar, Will Bosisto, David Grant, Henry Hunt, Corey Kelly, Jake Lehmann, Harry Nielsen, Chadd Sayers, Liam Scott, Daniel Worrall