The Los Angeles Lakers must continue to make Anthony Davis "the main focal point" of the team after he starred in their win over the Phoenix Suns.
Those were the words of LeBron James after the Lakers recorded their first 2-0 start to an NBA season with a 123-116 triumph over the Suns on Friday.
Davis finished with 36 points, becoming the third player after Elgin Baylor and Jerry West to notch at least 35 points in consecutive games for the Lakers.
It has been an impressive start for Davis, who, at age 31, and in his sixth season with the Lakers, is looking to take the torch from James as the team's leading man.
James, who finished the game with 21 points and eight assists, expressed Davis' importance this season, particularly how he can be kept involved effectively for the duration of the game.
"It's very important that he's the main focal point for us every single night," James said.
"We know what he's going to do defensively, but offensively, we have to find him in multiple places on the floor throughout the whole game.
"And we've done that through two games."
It also marked a memorable game for Los Angeles coach JJ Redick, who became the first Lakers boss to win his first two games since Phil Jackson in 1999.
The Lakers hired Redick in the offseason with the expectation that he would bring knowledge of the game of basketball along with an ability to connect with players.
There were immediate sceptics of the hire, as Redick had never coached professionally, but Davis was quick to praise his coach and the game plan that led to the win.
“The game plan, the schemes that he had on both ends of the floor," Davis said.
"He trusts us, and we trust him as far as what he teaches us and what he wants us to do on the floor, on both ends, and it’s our job to go execute it.
“I think we were very prepared tonight. Like I said, we executed the game plan to a T.
"I’m not going to tell you the game plan because I know Minnesota will probably be watching this and figure out how to try to beat us next time.
"But our game plan was elite, and we executed it and were able to get the win.”
Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc both expressed optimism over Ferrari’s start to the Mexican Grand Prix weekend, with the pair particularly encouraged by their long-run pace.
Sainz topped second practice after coming second in FP1, while Leclerc backed him up in fourth after missing FP1 due to Ollie Bearman’s latest outing for the Scuderia.
Bearman, who will join Haas next year, was involved in an incident with the Williams of Alex Albon in the first practice, sustaining damage to the front-left corner of the Ferrari.
Sainz and Leclerc's display comes a week on from an impressive showing in the United States, with the pair achieving a second one-two this year after doing so in Australia.
If they do so again in Mexico, it will be the first time since Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen in the 2008 season that Ferrari have managed three one-two finishes in a single year.
And Sainz is confident of their chances, saying: "We hit the ground running in FP1 with a good car, good set-up, then all FP1 and FP2 we just worked in fine-tuning a couple of things," Sainz said.
“Nothing major, so yeah, I’m quite happy with how everything feels. Especially the long runs feel good.
"I think when it comes to qualifying we’ll have a lot of challenge from our competitors, and over one lap it will be a tight battle.”
Leclerc echoed Sainz’s feelings after taking over from Bearman, with the Monegasque aiming to claim his fourth race win of the season that would surpass his 2022 total.
“It felt good. It was a bit of a messy FP2 for everybody with the red flag of George [Russell] at the beginning," Leclerc said.
“It was quite a good FP1 to miss on paper because we would have half an hour more in FP2, but at the end it was just not great, because in the FP2 we couldn’t do the maximum laps that we wanted to do.
“But anyway, the feeling is good with the car. For me, even though we did two, three laps, we were still straight away in the pace. The long run seems to be good, so that’s really positive.”
Vincent Kompany is hoping Bayern Munich will take the lessons learned from their defeat to Barcelona into their return to Bundesliga action against Bochum this weekend.
Despite Harry Kane cancelling out Raphinha's opener, the German outfit were swept aside at the Camp Nou, losing 4-1 to leave them 23rd in the new league standings.
The defeat saw Barcelona become the first team since Real Madrid in April 2014 to score three first half goals in a Champions League game against Bayern.
Raphinha also became the fourth player to net a Champions League hat-trick against Bayern, after Roy Makaay, Sergio Aguero and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Bayern have, however, fared better in the Bundesliga. They remain unbeaten in their seven league games and are top of the table on goal difference, ahead of RB Leipzig.
But Kompany believes the defeat should not see his players lose sight of their aspirations this season as they aim to reclaim their Bundesliga crown from Bayer Leverkusen.
"We conceded four goals. But I would not just talk about that (defence). It's too easy. The responsibility lies with the entire team," Kompany said.
"We have the quality and players. I understand we lost and we have to accept the criticism.
"But I do not want to lose sight of what the boys can achieve if they take the next steps.
"The basis is that the team works and that it learns from such moments.
"We are not surprised that not all was perfect. It is normal. After all we did not win a title last season."
"There are games where it is clear what happened. But that was a game with a lot of moments and not everything went wrong," Kompany continued.
"There were also good moments which we did not use or were not too concentrated."
But Bayern have reason to be confident of recovering from their humbling defeat to Barcelona.
They travel to the Vonovia Ruhrstadion in impressive form on the road, scoring 17 goals in their first four Bundesliga away games this season, which is a league record.
Kompany's side have also found the back of the net at least three times in each of their last four top-flight games on their travels and would equal another league record should they do so again this weekend (set by Bayern themselves in 2019-20 under Hansi Flick).
But they have struggled to keep goals out at the other end.
Bayern have kept just one clean sheet in their last 15 Bundesliga away games, with only Bochum (31) conceding more goals on the road in 2024 than the Bavarians (29).
Hansi Flick hailed his "brilliant" Barcelona players as they look to further their advantage at the LaLiga summit against rivals Real Madrid on Saturday.
Flick watched on as he helped his side end a run of six-straight Champions League defeats against Bayern Munich with a stunning 4-1 victory in midweek.
Barcelona are now unbeaten in their last four games in all competitions, scoring 17 goals in those matches, but they face a stern test at the Bernabeu to keep that run going.
Los Blancos produced an equally impressive Champions League display, coming from two goals down to beat Borussia Dortmund 5-2, inspired by Vinicius Junior's hat-trick.
Flick will be managing his first competitive game as a coach against Real Madrid, and has been impressed with his side's ability to understand his way of playing.
"We have our ideas. Our philosophy is to press high and make it hard for the opponent to play out. Too much space between the lines doesn't work for us," Flick said.
"The players are brilliant and continue to adapt from game to game.
"The changes have worked, I believe in the team, they have so much quality and that’s what we want to see."
Flick will also be looking to become the first Barcelona coach since Gerardo Martino in 2013 to win their first official Clasico.
The Barcelona coach also heaped praise on Lamine Yamal for his performances this season, with the 17-year-old preparing for his fourth Clasico against Real Madrid.
Yamal made his 10th start in the Champions League in Barca's win over Bayern, becoming the youngest player at the time of doing so in the competition’s history (17y 102d).
He has also impressed in LaLiga this term, notching 10 goal involvements (four goals, six assists), a total only bettered by Robert Lewandowski (14) in the division.
"Specifically for the game against Bayern I wanted him to do one thing among many that he needed to do, which was to press (Alphonso) Davies from the last line into midfield because we knew how important he was when he started to attack," Flick said.
"Yamal is a fantastic player with the ball, you could all appreciate that against Bayern.
"It’s an honour to see what Lamine did for all of us and it’s important that he can improve as a defender. And he’s doing that very well."
Pakistan romped to a first Test series win on home soil since 2021 after coming from 1-0 down to clinch a series victory over England with a nine-wicket triumph in Rawalpindi.
The tourists were again undone by Pakistan's spin bowlers, with Sajid Khan and Noman Ali seeing England all out for 112, their lowest ever total in Pakistan.
England started 24-3 with Harry Brook and Joe Root at the crease, with the pair starting confidently before the former was caught by Mohammad Rizwan from Noman's delivery.
Ben Stokes (three) and Jamie Smith (three) followed shortly after, with Root then edging from another Noman delivery to all but England's slim hopes of a victory.
The tourists lost seven wickets for just 46 runs, with Noman (6-42) and Sajid (4-69) claiming all 10 dismissals in the second innings, with Pakistan set a target of just 36 to win.
Jack Leach was able to grab the early wicket of Saim Ayub (eight), but Shan Masood (23) and Abdullah Shafique (five) steered the hosts to a memorable victory.
England's next Test series starts in New Zealand at the end of November, while an almost entirely different squad begins a white-ball series in the West Indies next week.
Data Debrief: Pakistan end home hoodoo
Having been beaten in six consecutive Tests and winless in 11 at home, Pakistan earned a memorable victory on home soil, spearheaded by Noman and Sajid.
Sajid rightly picked up the Player of the Series award, taking 19 wickets which included two five-wicket hauls, while also scoring 72 runs with the bat.
But Noman also played his part in the triumph. Along with Sajid, the pair took 39 of the 40 wickets in the final two Tests against England.
Anthony Davis scored 35 points, Austin Reaves added 26 and the Los Angeles Lakers rallied to beat the Phoenix Suns 123-116 on Friday night for their first 2-0 start since 2010-11.
LeBron James had 17 of his 21 points in the second half for the Lakers, who trailed by 22 points in the second quarter.
Davis is the 3rd Lakers player with consecutive 35-point games to start a season in franchise history, joining Elgin Baylor in 1962 and Jerry West in 1969.
Kevin Durant led Phoenix (1-1) with 30 points and Devin Booker had 23.
The Lakers were down 61-52 at halftime, then outscored Phoenix 35-24 in the third quarter to take the lead as Davis and James each scored 11 in the period.
Phoenix made 21 of its first 30 shots, including nine straight 3-pointers, before going 21 of 52 the rest of the game. Phoenix was 24 of 39 from the field in the first half, but 9 of 27 in the third quarter.
The Lakers trailed 81-74 with three minutes left in the third before scoring nine straight points to grab the lead. That was part of a 20-6 run during a nearly five-minute span from late in the third to early in the fourth.
Young lifts Hawks over Ball, Hornets
Trae Young scored 38 points and the Atlanta Hawks overcame LaMelo Ball's 34 points and career-best nine 3-pointers to beat the Charlotte Hornets 125-120.
Ball made 9 of 14 3-pointers, surpassing his previous career high of eight.
De'Andre Hunter added 24 points and Dyson Daniels scored 18 for Atlanta, which has won its first two games.
Ball scored 34 points in the Hornets' 110-105 win at Houston on Wednesday to open the regular season. He matched that total with his ninth 3 with 7:31 remaining.
The Hornets were without two starters, including guard Brandon Miller. The team said Miller will be out at least a week because of a strained left glute. Center Mark Williams was held out with a strained tendon in his left foot.
Despite missing two starters, Charlotte showed depth with four players in double figures. Miles Bridges scored 27 points, Tre Mann had 17 and Nick Richards tallied 12 points and 13 rebounds.
With the game tied at 90, Young's 3 gave the lead back to Atlanta. Following a tying 3 by Charlotte's Josh Green, Young answered with a short jumper.
Bulls sink 21 3-pointers to beat Bucks
Coby White scored 35 points, and the hot-shooting Chicago Bulls spoiled Milwaukee’s home opener with a 133-122 victory over the Bucks.
Zach LaVine added 25 points, Nikola Vucevic had 22 and Josh Giddey scored 17 for the Bulls, who shot 21 of 47 from 3-point range.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 38 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. Damian Lillard had 28 points, but only went 3 of 12 from deep.
After the first three minutes of the third quarter featured five lead changes, the Bulls broke a 72-all tie and pulled ahead for good by scoring seven straight points.
After Milwaukee's A.J. Green made a pair of 3s in the first minute of the fourth quarter to cut Chicago's lead to 102-101, Patrick Williams answered with a 3 of his own. Williams' basket ignited a 13-1 run, and the Bucks never seriously threatened again.
Freddie Freeman hit the first game-ending grand slam in World Series history with two outs in the 10th inning, giving the Los Angeles Dodgers a 6-3 victory over the New York Yankees in a dramatic opener Friday night.
Hobbled by a badly sprained ankle, Freeman homered on the first pitch he saw - an inside fastball from Nestor Cortes - and then dropped his bat before beginning a trot while greeted with a roar from the sellout crowd of 52,394.
It was reminiscent of Kirk Gibson's game-ending homer that lifted Los Angeles over the Oakland Athletics in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series at Dodger Stadium - one of the most famous swings in baseball lore.
Gibson, sidelined by leg injuries, came off the bench and connected off Hall of Fame closer Dennis Eckersley.
Freeman, who missed three games during the National League playoffs because of an injury to his right ankle, didn't have an extra-base hit this postseason until legging out a triple earlier on Friday.
In this much-hyped, star-studded World Series between two of baseball's most storied and successful franchises, Game 1 certainly delivered.
In the top of the 10th, Anthony Volpe grounded into a fielder's choice to shortstop, scoring Jazz Chisholm Jr. from third after he stole two bases, to give the Yankees a 3-2 lead.
It was the third straight World Series opener to go extra innings.
The speedy Chisholm singled off Blake Treinen and then stole second and third for a Yankees team not known for speed.
Jamaica’s senior Reggae Girlz fell 3-0 to powerhouse France in an international friendly contest that demonstrated their tenacity as much as it did the defensive lapses at the Stade Auguste-Bonal on Friday.
Facing a French team ranked 10th in the world, the Reggae Girlz showed early cohesion and confidence that hinted at the prospect of another brave performance similar to when they held the same opponents to goalless stalemate at last year’s Fifa Women’s World Cup.
But as the game wore on, France’s unrelenting pressure found cracks in Jamaica’s defence, resulting in two costly errors in the first half that set the tone for a challenging evening.
Clara Mateo (22nd), captain Wendie Renard (39th) and Sandy Baltimore (48th) got on the scoresheet for France, who in all honesty, could have won by a much wider margin.
Despite the result, Reggae Girlz Head coach Hubert Busby emphasized the value of facing elite teams like France.
“Coming up against a really good French team in a really competitive environment was always going to be tough, but I thought overall, as the game went on, the team got better. Again, I think these are the games that we want to play and we have to just keep on building on what we want to do as we head into the next window,” Busby said in a post-game interview.
“When you bring in new players into the group, you can see that they are a little bit disjointed, so the more that we can continue to be together and keep building as a group, the better we'll be. So as of right now, we kind of turn the page and get ready for the next window in Jamaica when we host South Africa. And then we look to build on the, the principles that we've laid this week and look to correct some of the things that we didn't do as well in tonight's match,” he added.
The Girlz showed no signs of being intimidated in the opening minutes, as they moved the ball effectively and kept France’s backline engaged at times.
But as France settled and pressed deeper into Jamaica’s territory, the Girlz’s defence began to struggle under the mounting pressure. The French breakthrough came when Chantelle Swaby attempted to clear, but the ball went astray and into the path of Mateo, who swiftly fired past Rebecca Spencer in goal for Jamaica.
France continued to apply pressure and consistently found gaps in Jamaica’s defence as they created numerous chances which required Spencer to be on her toes. On one of those occasions, the Tottenham Hotspur goaltender got down well in time to parry an effort from Kenza Dali.
However, minutes later Renard eluded Allyson Swaby and Vyan Sampson deep in Jamaica’s 18-yard box and used the full length of her lanky figure to soar high head home Mateo’s weighted corner kick to put France 2-0 up at the break.
Busby, seeing the need for adjustments, made tactical changes in the second half, particularly in the middle of the park, with hopes of getting in behind France’s high defensive line.
Still, the Girlz struggled to contain the French attackers and another defensive mishap saw them fall further behind. This, as Baltimore rifled a left-footer past Spencer after Delphine Cascarino’s cross eluded Tiffany Cameron, who attempted to head clear.
Though three goals down, the Girlz tried to play their game and Jody Brown skipped a defender on a break in the 63rd minute, but her shot was charged down by a second defender.
Five minutes later Kayla McKenna had a grand opportunity to pull one back for the Girlz, but her first touch to get around France’s goalkeeper Constance Picaud in a one-on-one situation was too heavy and the opportunity went begging.
France thought they had another when Renard again headed home from close range, but the goal was called back by VAR for an offside in the build up play.
John Mousinho was left upset and disappointed by his Portsmouth side as they remained bottom of the Championship following a 2-1 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday on Friday.
Connor Ogilvie handed Portsmouth a deserved lead a minute before half-time after a corner kick found the defender unmarked at the back post to fire home.
But Wednesday responded strongly after the break, levelling through Josh Windass who finished from close range after Michael Smith's clever knock-down.
Smith then sealed the win in stunning fashion in the 70th minute, rifling a sweet first-time strike from outside the box into the top corner against his former club.
Portsmouth are still without a win at Fratton Park since their return to the Championship, and have now lost 12 points from winning positions in the second tier this season, more than any other team.
"I’m disappointed, especially with the nature of losing after going a goal up into half-time," Mousinho told BBC Radio Solent.
"It was a contrasting performance, from Tuesday night at Cardiff, but ultimately, we haven’t done enough to win the game and weren’t quite good enough to do it.
"I’m still really upset with the fact we lost it, but there was a very different message to the players in the dressing room compared to Tuesday.
"That being said, we still have to be a lot better."
But for Sheffield Wednesday and Danny Rohl, they are now unbeaten in their last three away games, and moved into the top half of the table ahead of this weekend's action.
The Owls face Premier League side Brentford in the last 16 of the EFL Cup next Tuesday, and Rohl believes the comeback win can only be a positive moving forward.
"It was a strong comeback after being 1-0 down," Rohl told BBC Radio Sheffield.
"First half we were okay but we changed things at half-time. Coming from behind at Coventry and now here shows a step forward in our development.
"It's just three points, we climb the table eight places with a win but if you lose you drop down.
"But for me it's more important to improve and there is still room for that."
Nottingham Forest's Chris Wood is not aiming to rival the "formidable" Erling Haaland for the Premier League's Golden Boot after netting a brace against Leicester City.
Wood took his tally to seven for the season with two second-half goals in Forest's 3-1 win over rivals Leicester, after Ryan Yates saw his opener cancelled out by Jamie Vardy.
The 32-year-old's double saw him move level with Stan Collymore on 22 Premier League goals for Forest, with only Bryan Roy (24) scoring more for the club in the competition.
Only Manchester City's Haaland (10) has scored more times than Wood this term, though the New Zealander was not getting carried away with his fine start to the campaign.
"I just want to keep scoring as many as I can. He's [Haaland] a very formidable man, and he's probably going to score 30 goals this season," Wood said.
"He's a very formidable man to chase. He's {Nuno Espirito Santo] come in and put an emphasis on putting the ball in the box. He's worked on that in the training pitch."
It's been a remarkable turnaround for Wood, who has flourished under Nuno Espirito Santo since his arrival at the City Ground.
Since Nuno's first game in charge of Forest in December 2023, only Haaland (18) has scored more non-penalty goals in the Premier League than Wood (17).
"It's consistency with what Nuno's been working on. We got better and better last season but we also conceded poor goals at times," Wood continued.
"I think consistency is the biggest thing. I wouldn't say it fuelled us, we conceded a lot of set-piece goals and we worked at that and we've got to keep going."
Nuno also sung the praises of his in-form forward, saying Wood deserves all the praise he is receiving at the moment.
"He's done an amazing job. He's very honest and he gives everything on the pitch for us. We are delighted and we want to continue. Chris deserves his plaudits," Nuno said.
For Leicester, meanwhile, it marked a tough encounter for Steve Cooper, who was facing his former side for the first time since leaving the club almost a year ago.
Coming into the game on the back of consecutive wins, the Foxes' defensive lapses were ruthlessly punished by Forest.
James Justin's poor clearance allowed Yates to open the scoring, before Harry Winks' poor pass and Wout Faes' mistimed header were gobbled up by Wood.
“It's self-inflicted, no doubt about that, and it's on us. We all have to take responsibility for how the game panned out," Cooper said.
"We made poor mistakes for the goals, no doubt about it, and we were punished for it but I just think conceding so early on in the second half was obviously not a good thing.
"We have to take responsibility for it. It's a setback after winning a few games coming into this.
"We have to accept it, completely on us and me and we’ve got punished for the poor giveaways on the goals."
Sweden put one foot in the second round of the Women's Euro 2025 qualification play-offs by beating Luxembourg 4-0, while Czechia routed Belarus 8-1.
Sweden, semi-finalists at the last European Championships in 2022, were comfortable winners in the first leg of their tie, with Arsenal's Stine Blackstenius and Chelsea's Johanna Rytting Kaneryd joining Filippa Angeldahl and Evelyn Ijeh on the scoresheet.
They were not the most convincing victors of the day, though, as Czechia ran riot in Velika Gorica despite going down to 10 players when Eliska Sonntagova was sent off in the 55th minute.
Katerina Svitkova and Kamila Dubcova both scored twice for Czechia, who had six different goalscorers in their win.
Earlier on Friday, Norway all-but secured their spot in the next phase with a resounding 5-0 victory in Albania.
Arsenal's Frida Maanum opened the scoring, driving home after latching onto Caroline Hansen's flick, before centre-back Guro Bergsvand added a first-half brace to take the game away from the hosts.
Lyon great Ada Hegerberg came off the bench on the hour mark and scored with her first touch – a sumptuous volley – just 45 seconds later, then Mathilde Harviken round off the scoring in the 74th minute.
Portugal also recorded a dominant success, winning 4-1 in Azerbaijan after racing into a three-goal lead within the first 26 minutes.
Early goals from Ana Capeta, Tatiana Pinto and Diana Gomes put the visitors in command, with Diana Silva restoring their three-goal advantage late on after Nazlican Parlak had pulled one back for Azerbaijan.
There were also victories for the Republic of Ireland, who triumphed 4-0 in Georgia, and Scotland, who edged out Hungary 1-0 on their travels.
The return fixtures take place on Tuesday, with 14 ties taking place in total to decide who advances to the second round, set to take place in November and December.
Seven more places are up for grabs at the tournament, which will begin in Switzerland on July 2 and finish on July 27.
Sarina Wiegman believes England's 4-3 defeat to Germany was exactly the preparations needed in order to defend their European Championship crown next year.
In a repeat of their 2022 Euros final, Germany exacted their revenge at Wembley, helped by an impressive first 30 minutes.
The visitors were awarded a penalty when Millie Bright tangled with Linda Dallmann, with Giulia Gwinn firing home before notching her second seven minutes later.
Klara Buhl added Germany's third in the 29th minute, but the Lionesses responded with a penalty of their own when Gwinn was penalised for handling the ball in the area.
Georgia Stanway tucked away the spot-kick and grabbed her second soon after, flashing the ball into the top corner from close range after being picked out by Beth Mead.
But after the break, Germany were awarded another penalty when Alessia Russo was penalised for fouling Pia-Sophie Wolter, with Sara Dabritz scoring from 12 yards.
However, Lucy Bronze handed England a lifeline 10 minutes from time after pouncing on an error by visiting goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger, but Germany held on for the win.
"That is why we play those games. Top level games where you get challenged and if you don't get the things right then you get exploited," Wiegman said.
"That is what we want; to see where we are at, get as much information as possible and get players minutes to build connections.
"That is what we want to build preparations for the Euros."
But there were concerns about England's defence at Wembley, with several errors allowing Germany to capitalise at Wembley.
Captain Leah Williamson's misplaced pass ended up in Bright bringing down Dallmann, before Jess Carter failed to track Gwinn as she raced through unmarked to fire a second past Hannah Hampton.
Hampton was then beaten at her near post by Buhl's strike, with the Lionesses giving Wiegman plenty of food for thought at full-time.
"Losing the ball at moments that we should not lose the ball. Germany challenged us but if we had taken out more of those unforced errors then they can't counter attack," Wiegman said.
"There were moments that they challenged us tactically - we wanted to press higher but we needed to find out the triggers.
"When do we stay compact and wait, versus when do we go?"
With the disappointment of back-to-back losses hanging heavy in the air, the West Indies will enter Saturday’s final One Day International (ODI) against Sri Lanka, hoping to avoid a 3-0 sweep at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.
In fact, West Indies captain Shai Hope was not shy to admit that this last contest in the three-match series is about more than just pride, it is about learning from mistakes and building resilience for the future.
The West Indies struggled with both bat and ball in the first two encounters, which they lost by five wickets. Hope acknowledges that those matches have exposed key areas that his side must improve upon, particularly their handling of spin and situational awareness under pressure.
“There are several factors we can point out, but I just think not adapting to the conditions fast enough was our main problem. Obviously, we didn't win the crucial stages of the game, and obviously, the spin department has been the only thing we have going right now for us. But yeah, the thing is, there are a lot of lessons that we need to take from the series. We can't change the past right now; we have to learn from it, and it's very important we do so quickly,” Hope said in a pre-game interview.
Hope emphasized that players need to improve individually and as a whole to support one another and create a solid, cohesive unit. He noted that achieving that level of synergy would take time but remained optimistic about the direction the team is headed.
“We have to keep trying. We have to keep finding ways to get better. I think it's more mental than anything at this point in time because skill work is skill work, yes, but we have to make sure we find ways to adapt as quickly as we can. One day of practice is not going to make us into the greatest batter or the greatest bowler ever. So there's more mental prep that we need to do right now at this stage and plan well,” Hope argued.
With the series outcome already decided, Saturday’s match will serve as a final test of character for the West Indies team, with fans and players alike hoping for a redeeming performance. However, to achieve that feat, the top order of the batting lineup will need to counter Sri Lanka's challenging spin attack, while the bowling unit will also have to be on point.
“Yeah, for sure, it has not been good enough. We asked the openers and the top-order batters to set the platform for the guys in the middle, and it's clear to see we didn't do that in this series, and we had to depend a lot on the lower order, which they played really well, in my opinion. But if we get those good starts or if we get that good start in this last game here, I think it would be a whole change to the context of the game,” Hope noted.
That said, the skipper singled out middle-order batsman Sherfane Rutherford, who scored 74 and 80 in the first two games, including sharing in an historic 119-run nine-wicket partnership with Gudakesh Motie in the second contest.
“He's been playing really well. He's been putting a lot of work off the field, and a lot of people won't see that, but the way he's progressed and matured for his career so far, I think, is tremendous. I think there's a lot that he can take from these few performances that he's had so far,” Hope said.
“He's shown that he's capable of batting and adapting to those conditions that we speak about in the team room. But, yeah, I think he's got a lot more to offer, and it's great to see he's getting those big scores now and all that hard work he's putting in is coming to fruition,” he ended.
Chris Wood continued his fine form for Nottingham Forest as his two goals helped them to a 3-1 East Midlands derby win over former boss Steve Cooper and Leicester City.
Ryan Yates profited from Leicester’s failure to clear their lines for the opening goal, curling an effort beyond Mads Hermansen for only his second Premier League strike.
The Foxes drew level through talisman Jamie Vardy soon afterwards, though, with the veteran forward rounding off a fine move with a neat finish at the near post.
But two goals in 13 second-half minutes from Wood sealed Forest's win, the striker finishing brilliantly on the turn before heading home to make it a brace against his former club.
The result moves Forest to within a point of the top four ahead of this weekend's action, while Leicester remain in 14th.
Data Debrief: Wood hands Leicester an early Halloween scare
Having scored 20 goals in 62 appearances in all competitions for Leicester, Wood has found a new home in the East Midlands with Forest.
The New Zealander's brace moved him level with Stan Collymore on 22 Premier League goals for Forest. Only Bryan Roy (24) has scored more for the club in the competition.
This season, only Erling Haaland (10) has scored more goals than Wood (seven), while since Nuno Espirito Santo's first game in charge of Forest, only Haaland (18) has netted more non-penalty goals in the Premier League than Wood (17).
Forest have now won back-to-back Premier League games for the first time since December 2023. The Tricky Trees have won four of their nine league games this season (D4 L1), as many as their final 18 of last term (W4 D4 L10).
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