"They are not professionals...they were invited to play and if they don't like the conditions there are 500,000 other cricketers in Australia who would love to take their places." These infamous words, by the Australian Cricket Board secretary Alan Barnes, were for decades associated with the curmudgeonly attitudes of the board in the years before the World Series Cricket split.

More than 40 years on, however, the barrier to the professional game is long gone and instead the current battlefield for cricket has far more to do with the latter part of the statement. The assumption about the number of cricketers potentially available to replace the likes of the Chappells, Lillee, Marsh, Walker and Thomson can now be far more closely monitored. And according to Cricket Australia's own numbers, that 500,000 figure may need adjustment.

This week saw the release of the annual Australian Cricket Census, trumpeting a headline participation figure of 1,650,030 men and women, boys and girls from a vast array of geographical and cultural backgrounds. Since breaking the million mark in 2014, this overall tally has grown every year, representing impressive work in terms of rolling out ever vaster and wider school and introductory programs to add more numbers to the total.

The telling numbers

But the more problematic area of the census does not often make its way into the top of the annual press releases or fact sheets. That's the annual check-up on how many junior and senior, male and female cricketers are formally registered to play with clubs - a far more robust indicator of their relationship to the game, whether it be playing, watching or organising. Over recent years, that area of the census reporting has grown increasingly opaque, as previously reported on ESPNcricinfo, with changing and broadening definitions not always adequately explained.

That has not necessarily reflected internal attitudes, and certainly since the appointment of Belinda Clark as the executive in charge of community cricket and by extension participation, CA has been a lot more frank with itself about how headline participation growth does not reflect a slowly creeping drain away from clubs. For the first time, the governing body has revealed its formal club cricket figures over the past six years since 2014, painting a far more challenging picture for cricket than has been previously publicised.

Over that time, club cricket totals rose from 356,681 in 2014 to 392,812 off the back of the 2015 World Cup and that year's Ashes tour in 2016. From that peak, however, the fall has been unrelenting, slipping to 388,242 then 375,915 and, as of this year, 365,076. Of course the time for club registrations last year also happened to be around the same time that the scathing review of CA's culture was released off the back of the Newlands ball-tampering scandal. That meant the most indelible images of cricket in the national mind in pre-season were those of the then chairman David Peever being walloped on television, a few days before he was forced into resigning.

CA knew at the time that those passages could not be good for the game's image, and earlier this year the head of participation Stuart Whiley forecast that a drop-off was expected.

Role models

Having now digested the census results in full, the acting head of community cricket, Kieran McMillan, said that the key point for growing CA's club cricket catchment ahead of this summer will be a far louder and better presence for the game on television screens between June and October. With the World Cup followed by an Ashes series and then the inaugural standalone WBBL running more or less one after the other, the landscape will be rather different to 2018.

"Last season we were slow out of the blocks in terms of registrations and in October we usually get a bulk of registrations, particularly in entry level programs," McMillan said. "That was a tough month for cricket last year. We've got more cricket on TV, high profile, in that period this summer. Our job now, with the benefit of a long lead-in to our planning is to really make the most of that from how we piggyback our marketing campaigns on top of all that."

History indicates that yes, these factors will encourage growth in the game's heartland this summer - food for thought for others in the game, not least the ECB in a summer where its home World Cup is being seen by a small subscription television audience in keeping with the deals done ever since the 2005 Ashes. McMillan said there was plenty of research indicating that any sport will slowly wither in the absence of strong role models.

"I think Sport Australia made it pretty clear in some of the research they've done of the importance of role models," he said. "I think the growth in girls' cricket is a good example of that where you've got a national women's team who've got some fantastic role models, and they're successful - they perform well on the field but they're fantastic off the field.

"You've got the WBBL as a world leading domestic product, it's high quality cricket TV. So you've got the stuff at the elite level and it's able to inspire. Then the work we've been able to do at that grassroots level, we've now got 100 associations offering girls-only competitions. So no matter where you are in Australia there should be somewhere where your young daughter can find a place to play cricket. Marrying that top down and bottom up is where the secret sauce is."

Keeping the kids

For the moment, at least, it is far from the happiest marriage. The problem of retaining club players, and also of bringing interested juniors across from school programs to a broader and deeper relationship with the game, is something occupying plenty of minds at CA, from the community cricket office to the executive and the board itself, now chaired by a former club president in Earl Eddings (North Melbourne). McMillan pointed to recent moves to modify junior formats to be more inclusive of all ages, sizes and skills as a pivotal step in creating more love for the game.

"You've now got almost 80% of all junior associations over the country running formats which are appropriate for those kids whether smaller teams, smaller boundaries, more fours, more sixes, more action, shorter timeframes," he said. "So the actual formats kids are playing from under 10s onwards, the results we've got from those are hugely encouraging in terms of the ability to then retain kids that are coming into the game."

One of the knock-on effects of the Newlands scandal and its aftermath was a slow start for CA's new entry level program, Woolworths Cricket Blast. As discouraging as that was, McMillan said the signs were there that in a more favourable environment, the concept had plenty of chance to grow. "Parents provide a score on whether they'd recommend the activity to other parents for their kids and it's on a scale of -100 to +100, so +100 is amazing, but above zero is a positive, and we're at +39. So parents are saying they're likely to recommend this activity to other parents.

"The other thing we've changed is the packs - they get a shirt with their name on it, aligned to their BBL team of choice. That linkage of what they can see on TV at a BBL game and being able to bring that kind of colour, excitement, personalisation to their local community club, I'm personally really excited about us really nailing the second year of Cricket Blast and I see if we get this right then we can get a lot more kids then we've got quality junior formats to retain them through to teenagers."

Alongside the census results sits the Sport Australia AusPlay sample data, based on detailed surveying of 20,000 Australians. Among its most salient findings was that the peak participation age for cricket is among children 11 years old, with a steady decline following every year thereafter. Australian Rules Football, by comparison, retains far more participants into the late teens. McMillan acknowledged that CA needed to become more "creative" in building better bridges between the schools where their programs introduce the game to children, and the clubs where their interest will grow into something deeper.

"I think one of the things that we have found out is that where there's successful recruitment from schools into clubs, there's a strong role the local club has to play in that school," McMillan said. "That might be because there's individual relationships where there's a parent from the club on the board of trustees or a teacher who plays for the seniors, but regardless there's a strong presence that club has with its local schools that enables that frictionless kind of transition to playing more regularly outside of school hours."

So while the landscape of the game has changed irrevocably from the time of Alan Barnes, the ACB and the cricket war with Kerry Packer and the players, there is plenty to be done to make that statement about "500,000 other cricketers" ring true once more.

We never got to be friends, exactly. We were more like soldiers who had fought in the same war. We talked in shorthand. I didn't have to explain eating a box of Girl Scout cookies in one sitting. He didn't have to explain trying to find a pair of pants that fit his waist and his thighs at the same time.

In a lot of the important ways, we had lived each other's lives.

In other ways, we hadn't. Jared Lorenzen had been a star quarterback at Kentucky and won a Super Bowl ring with the New York Giants. I'd had desk jobs my whole life, stringing together words for a living. That's why I was writing about him, instead of the other way around. But when we talked -- and we talked a lot, that spring and summer of 2014 -- I felt like I was talking to a mirror.

I'm just now realizing that we never ate a meal together. That would have been fraught for both of us.

I wanted to write about Jared because I was afraid to write my own story. Jared was known as the biggest quarterback anyone had ever seen; he often played at more than 300 pounds, and by the time I met him, he was somewhere about 400. But he wasn't as big as me. That year, I was closing in on a high of 460, and I had this weird two-sided life: I loved my work and loved my wife and loved my friends, but I often hated myself because I couldn't control my weight and I knew one day it would kill me.

For years, I had been hauling around the idea that I should write about all that -- that I should share the most important story of my life. But I was afraid to reveal the darkest parts of myself. And I was terrified of the damage it might do to the people I loved. So I stuffed all that back inside and kept writing about other people.

Telling Jared's story was a substitute for telling mine.

I went to his office. I went to the radio station where he worked part time. I watched him play Wiffle ball with comedian Jay Mohr. I hung out at the apartment he had just moved into, strewn with boxes and clothes and toys belonging to his two kids. The one thing he had managed to do was hook up the TV. On one of my interview tapes, you can hear golf announcers in the background, calling the British Open.

I talked to his mom and his ex-wife and his old agent and a bunch of his coaches. They all loved him and cared about him. None of them knew how to help him.

I try to keep myself out of stories I write about other people. But as I wrote Jared's story, it became clear I had to put myself in. My struggle was the whole reason I was writing about his. I started the story this way:

Jared Lorenzen and I are in love with the same woman. Her name is Little Debbie, and she makes delicious snack cakes.

The story on Jared ran that August and became one of ESPN's most-read stories that year. I got hundreds of emails and messages from readers who had their own weight issues and saw something in Jared's story that made them want to change. I forwarded a bunch of those emails to Jared. He was hearing from a lot of people too. His story moved so many.

One of the people Jared inspired was me. As I listened to him being so open and honest about his weight, I started to think that my story might be worth telling too. I wrote a book proposal for a memoir, and we found a publisher. That book, "The Elephant in the Room," came out this past January. Since then, I've heard from hundreds of more readers who were motivated to change because of the book or who used it as a way to connect with someone they know with a weight problem.

The book would not exist if not for Jared showing me the way.

I sent him a copy when it came out. We had kept in touch off and on over the years. He didn't say much except that he was doing OK. But every once in a while, I saw photos of him online. As I was getting smaller, he was getting bigger.

Jared died on Wednesday. He had gone into the hospital last week with an infection and heart and kidney issues. I don't know for a fact that they were related to his weight, but it seems likely. He was only 38.

After the story came out, he started a company called Throwboy Tees; one of his nicknames as a player was the Pillsbury Throwboy. He worked on the radio team at Kentucky football games. He always had a business idea or two in his head. But I don't know that he ever found anything with the clarity and purpose that football gave him.

A couple of years after the story, he finally went to the doctor and stepped on a scale for the first time in years. He weighed 560 pounds.

For a while, he did a video series called "The Jared Lorenzen Project" about his fight to get back in shape. When ESPN's show, E:60, did a piece on him last year, he had dropped down to 477. This past February, he was the subject of an online documentary series, also called "The Jared Lorenzen Project." The last clip on the series' Facebook page is from two months ago. He looks tired and stressed.

Jared had told the E:60 crew that he was willing to be the face of obesity, to be the one to stand up and say, "I'm fat," and then to show people what it took to get better. He had a desire to change people with the force of his personality, the way I always hope to change people with my words.

Wednesday night, on Twitter, a reader named Noble Brown told a story about reading my story on Jared. At the time, Noble was about to turn 40 and weighed more than 300 pounds. He read the story and stared at the unopened can of Dr Pepper on his desk. He resolved to never drink it. He started eating better and exercising. Now he lifts weights five times a week, and 5K races are a breeze.

His whole thread reads like poetry, and it ends this way:

As strange as it sounds

In some small way

Jared Lorenzen saved my life

I am deeply saddened to hear of his passing

He was younger than I was when I turned my life around

Perhaps in a few years, he might have done the same

I'm honored and humbled that the story on Jared has made a difference for so many. I wish my words had been strong enough to make the difference for Jared. His courage made so much of a difference for me.

HAGERSTOWN, Md. – Freddie Rahmer earned his first victory of Pennsylvania Sprint Speedweek during the third edition of the Johnny Grum Memorial Thursday at Hagerstown Speedway.

Robbie Kendall and Lucas Wolfe paced the field from the front row, and Kendall beat Wolfe into turn one and off of turn two to take the lead.

Kendall quickly drove his No. 55k into lapped traffic on the sixth circuit before a lap seven caution waved for the stopped car of Brandon Rahmer in turn one.

On the restart, Kendall repeated his original start, beating Wolfe and the field again to remain the race leader. At the halfway point, Kendall led Wolfe by a 1.63 second margin and once again was working through lapped traffic while rim-riding the top groove of the Hub City oval.

Just a few laps later, Wolfe worked the bottom groove underneath Kendall to take the lead coming off of turn two on lap 19. As Wolfe was leading, a four-car battle for second began between the cars of Kendall, Cory Eliason, Danny Dietrich, and Freddie Rahmer.

Rahmer made the best of the battle, settling into second and began his chase of Wolfe on lap 23, and worked the low groove to pass Wolfe for the lead on lap 24.

From then, Rahmer looked poised to pull away until a lap 28 caution waved for the spun car of Brock Zearfoss on the backstretch.

This setup a two-lap dash to the finish, but Rahmer was too strong at the end, and took the checkered flag.

The win for the Salfordville, Pennsylvania driver in his Leffler Energy No.51 was the first of his career at Hagerstown.

“I don’t know how good I was at the end, but it was good enough to hold them off,” said Rahmer. “It’s pretty cool to get my first win at Hagerstown.  I always love coming here. I wish we could race here more. The track flows perfect for sprint cars and Late Models. It’s all good racing.”

Wolfe held onto second, followed by Eliason, Dietrich, and fifth-place finisher Anthony Macri.

The win put Rahmer into the points lead at the time for the PA Sprint Speedweek championship with two races remaining.

The finish:

Freddie Rahmer, Lucas Wolfe, Cory Eliason, Danny Dietrich, Anthony Macri, James McFadden, Rico Abreu, Robbie Kendall, Dylan Cisney, Logan Wagner, Tony Stewart, T.J. Stutts, Mike Wagner, Chad Trout, Jared Esh, A.J. Flick, Justin Whitall, Brock Zearfoss, Troy Fraker, Chase Dietz, Carl Bowser, Brandon Rahmer.

CHICAGO -- Mexico defender Carlos Salcedo isn't getting carried away with Mexico's traditional status as a regional giant ahead of Sunday's Gold Cup final against the United States.

Mexico scraped past Haiti 1-0 after extra time on Tuesday in the semifinal to set up a championship game against El Tri's bitter rival, but Salcedo doesn't believe there is any favorite on Sunday.

"In football, there aren't any giants anymore," he told media after the game against Haiti. "You have to play the games. History says we've won a lot of Gold Cups [seven], but that isn't going to help us win on Sunday. We can only show our quality by lifting the cup."

Mexico received some criticism for taking so long to put away a Haitian side ranked 101st in the world by FIFA, but the Tigres defender stressed taking a balanced approach is the best way to analyze the tournament so far.

"If you play well against Sweden and lose, there is criticism," Salcedo said. "In Mexico there is no middle ground. We aren't looking for the spotlight, we aren't looking for people to tell us what we are doing well or badly, the team has to give explanations to the coach. We are in a final and we're going to give it all to win."

Meanwhile, the former Eintracht Frankfurt player also has been linked with a move back to Europe this summer, but he isn't focused on his club future at present.

"I have to wait," he said. "I don't want to put my head in that situation. I want to wait. I haven't talked to my agent and that's one thing I have to do: sit down with my agent, go through everything and then I'll see.

"Right now I'm focused on national team and after that I'll focus on Tigres, which is my team right now."

Australia A went through the one-day leg of their tour unbeaten, but now things get really interesting with the red ball coming into focus and places in the Ashes squad to play for. They face Sussex and England Lions over the next couple of weeks before the selection showdown between two Australia teams in Southampton after which the squad will be confirmed. Here's what's up for grabs

Openers

There are two elements to this area: who is the first-choice to partner David Warner and whether Australia want to include a third opener in the squad or rely on Usman Khawaja to be back-up if needed. If there's only space from one then it's a three-way race between Marcus Harris, Joe Burns and Cameron Bancroft. Harris is leading the way after his promising performances against India and a prolific domestic season. Burns' chronic fatigue syndrome has set him back but he scored 180 last time out against Sri Lanka while Bancroft, who will continue playing for Durham, has made a timely return to the runs including a compelling duel with James Anderson in the latest round of County Championship matches. The selectors have previously talked about Matt Renshaw as well, but he scored just 118 runs in six innings for Kent earlier in the county season.

Locked in David Warner
In the mix Marcus Harris, Cameron Bancroft, Joe Burns

Middle order

Kurtis Patterson should have a head start here after his maiden Test hundred against Sri Lanka. The decision around the other names could come down to how many positions the player needs to cover. Peter Handscomb, who has been called into the World Cup squad, the prolifically in-form Matthew Wade, and one-day gloveman Alex Carey could be back-up to Tim Paine; Marnus Labuschagne is an incumbent Test player and has churned out runs for Glamorgan, plus can provide some handy overs, while there may, again, been the debate about a seam-bowling allrounder. Then there's the Glenn Maxwell question. Does he have a Test future?

Locked in Usman Khawaja, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Tim Paine
In the mix Kurtis Patterson, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Marcus Stoinis, Peter Handscomb, Will Pucovski, Matthew Wade, Alex Carey, Glenn Maxwell

Pace bowlers

Who will join the big three now that Josh Hazlewood is fit again? It seems certain that James Pattinson will and be earmarked to provide a cutting edge at key times in the series. Five Tests will be too much for him and, perhaps, a number of the fast men so the reserves will be vital. Four years ago Australia made the mistake of not playing Peter Siddle before it was too late, but has his time now passed? Jackson Bird can make the Duke ball talk and can bowl long spells. The selectors would have loved to include Jhye Richardson but he is still recovering from the shoulder injury sustained in March that ruled him out of the World Cup and, as it stands, there are no plans for him to join the A squad which would appear to leave him an unlikely option. Chadd Sayers is also in the UK playing for Gloucestershire having replaced Dan Worrall who has been ruled out with a back injury.

Locked in Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, James Pattinson
In the mix Peter Siddle, Chris Tremain, Jackson Bird, Michael Neser, Chadd Sayers

Spinners

Being the second spinner in the squad behind Nathan Lyon would likely be a drinks-carrying role and the selectors could gamble on not picking cover although that risks the morning-of-the-game injury scenario. Jon Holland, the Victoria left-arm spinner, is with the A squad and played against Pakistan in the UAE last year. It's a worthwhile debate to have whether Holland or Steve O'Keefe is the next-best first-class spinner in Australia, but it seems like Holland or no one.

Locked in Nathan Lyon
In the mix Jon Holland

Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon watched the final 5½ innings of his team's 11-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates from the clubhouse Thursday after getting tossed following an exchange with those in the opposing dugout over their insistence on pitching up-and-in.

Maddon appeared to take exception with Pittsburgh's Jordan Lyles pitching up and in to All-Star Javier Baez in the top of the fourth inning. After a 3-2 pitch just missed hitting Baez and fouled off the knob of his bat, Maddon had to be restrained by plate umpire Joe West while appearing to make his way toward the Pirates' dugout.

Following the game, Maddon said the Pirates have a reputation around baseball for throwing pitches up and in.

"I mean, pent up frustration is one thing, but when your guys keep getting thrown at their head that's another thing too," Maddon said. "It's an industry-wide concept that we know that they are into and I have it from really good sources."

Maddon walked onto the field pointing his finger in a direction where Pirates manager Clint Hurdle was standing. West and Kris Bryant, who was on deck, teamed up to hold Maddon back while Hurdle watched from just outside the Pittsburgh dugout.

Maddon said he wasn't directing his ire toward Hurdle but didn't identify his target.

"Well [West is] concerned that I am inciting something and I wasn't even yelling at Clinton," Maddon said. "I had direction."

Lyles didn't hit a batter in the game and Hurdle pointed out that he's hit just one batter all year.

"Nobody likes the ball up and in, so I can understand there is some angst involved," Hurdle said. "There's always going to be angst involved in the game of baseball. A manager is always going to try to protect his team and share his feelings."

Lyles shook off the criticism, pointing out going inside is part of his typical game plan.

"I throw a lot of heaters up at hitters' hands," Lyles said. "And then I think it was the foul ball, which created Joe to come out. But other than that, Baez said he was good. Everything was fine. Maybe he was trying to get the boys to get a little light up in them."

The inning following Maddon's ejection, Pirates reliever Clay Holmes hit Cubs third baseman David Bote in the head with the bases loaded -- a moment that didn't surprise Maddon given what was happening all series.

"It was getting way too out of control, culminating in David getting hit in the head," Maddon said. "I have no issues with pitching inside. I'm an advocate, but when you [throw] that many pitches, not just that tonight, but it's been that way somewhat during the entire series. They have their pitching philosophy which again I appreciate outside, I don't appreciate up and in. Neither do the rest of us, they just need to be careful."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.