Lancashire 304 for 4 (Jennings 96, Vilas 70*) beat Middlesex 284 (Harris 117, Simpson 74, Mahmood 4-38) by 20 runs

There is, in case you missed it, quite a kerfuffle at present about the sudden availability of a genuinely quick new-ball bowler, a man with the potential to add a new level of pizzazz to England's World Cup attack. But not even in his wildest dreams could Jofra Archer hope to hoover up 25 wickets at 18.88 in his first nine matches of the tournament, to propel his team into the semi-finals.

Saqib Mahmood has done just that for Lancashire in the Royal London Cup. In spite of a startlingly heroic fightback led by James Harris, whose maiden List A hundred included a sixth-wicket stand of 197 with John Simpson that carried a spirited chase deep into the penultimate over, the ferocity of Mahmood's new-ball burst was an intervention that could not be patched over in the final analysis.

It was, nevertheless, the most improbable sporting thriller since … well, the midweek Champions League fixtures. Somehow, Middlesex clawed their way back from oblivion at 24 for 5 in the tenth over, as a batting line-up that had been denuded by injury and international call-up - with Paul Stirling, Dawid Malan and Eoin Morgan all missing from their first-choice XI - instead found itself relying on a makeshift No.6 whose previous highest List A was a paltry 32.

Harris arrived in the middle with his side in freefall and Mahmood enjoying the ultimate Master-and-Apprentice learning experience alongside the ageless Lord of Lord's, Jimmy Anderson, who produced yet another Pavilion End masterclass, and even topped and tailed his day with a pair of direct-hit run-outs.

Screaming to the crease with the biomechanical purity of Brett Lee, allied to a splayed-limb final flourish that evoked Waqar Younis in his pomp, Mahmood blew away Sam Robson and Stevie Eskinazi - the latter to a rabbit-in-the-headlines hook that spiralled to square leg - before producing an off-stump snorter that a batsman with the class and form of Ross Taylor could only nibble to the keeper.

The game was a goner - and long before half-time this time - so Harris decided to trust both his eye and his partner, and enjoy the rare opportunity to set out his stall for the bulk of a 50-over innings.

For a full 30 overs, he thrived - bossing the change bowlers, not least the legspinner Matt Parkinson, on a pitch that Lancashire's own batsmen had already demonstrated was full of runs. Without ever exerting themselves, Lancashire had themselves eased to a total of 304 for 4, with Keaton Jennings' 159-run stand with Stephen Croft providing the backbone before Dane Vilas' 70 not out from 67 had applied some late urgency.

However, it seemed for a long while that Lancashire would regret not getting more of a wriggle on against a Middlesex attack lacking the senior statesmen, Steven Finn and Tim Murtagh, and which at times seemed to be relying on a combination of bluff and guts to stay in touch. No-one had epitomised that better than the medium-pacer George Scott, whose early diving catch at midwicket to remove Liam Livingstone was the outstanding fielding moment of the day, and whose looping leg-stump yorker somehow wriggled into Jennings' timbers to extract him for 96 and complete a notable maiden List A wicket.

But Harris simply kept his composure, and once Mahmood and Anderson had been withdrawn after six overs each, he correctly ascertained that by batting through the overs, the runs would have to come on a pitch as true as Lord's. He brought up a superb century from 90 balls, with nine fours and two sixes in consecutive overs off Matt Parkinson and Graham Onions, and the increasing frequency of Lancashire's brains trust gatherings was a clear indication of their mounting doubts.

But then, in the 41st over, everything changed again. Swinging across the line to Parkinson, Harris let his back foot twitch fatally as his toe strayed out of the crease, and then two balls later, calamity struck, as the new man, Scott, slapped an inside-out drive to mid-off, and sold Simpson a dummy as Anderson's dead eye pinged down the stumps at the far end.

Though Scott made amends as best he could, with Toby Roland-Jones also digging deep in an eighth-wicket stand of 45, Mahmood would not be denied. Back he came at the death, finding his yorkers at will to strangle the scoring rate, before earning a somewhat fortuitous fourth wicket, as Scott was pinned on the knee-roll by an inswinger, albeit outside the line.

With the situation getting frantic, Nathan Sowter ran himself out with a suicidal single to the keeper, before Roland-Jones picked out deep midwicket one ball later to end Middlesex's spirited campaign. It's been 31 years and counting since they last won a List A title - but there has been much to admire in their white-ball endeavours this year.

Lancashire, meanwhile, march on to face Hampshire in the semi-final on Sunday, and with a world-class strike bowler bubbling up in their ranks, they may yet believe that today's hard-fought win was but a dress rehearsal for their own overdue return to trophy-winning ways at Lord's.

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Afghanistan 269 for 3 (Rahmat 113, Hashmatullah 59*, Shahzad 55) beat Scotland 325 for 7 (MacLeod 100, Coetzer 73) by two runs (DLS method)

Just over a year ago in Zimbabwe, Scotland's pursuit of a World Cup berth ended in heartbreak after a flash rain storm curtailed their tense chase against West Indies at Harare, resulting in the Saltires being on the short end of the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern calculation by five runs.

On Friday in Edinburgh, one of the two sides that benefited from the intervention of the weather last year in Harare - Afghanistan - wound up on the right side once again as a crucial boundary from Hashmatullah Shahidi to begin the 45th over while rain intensified at the Grange helped them stay ahead on DLS to secure a two-run win over the hosts. The result is another 1-0 series win for Afghanistan in Edinburgh, repeating the same margin from their two-match series in 2016.

For Afghanistan it was sweet revenge after the defeat they suffered to Scotland last year at the Qualifier. On that occasion, Calum MacLeod struck a magnificent 157 not out against the vaunted spin triumvirate of Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman.

MacLeod repeated the three-figure feat again at the Grange, making an even 100 for his eighth ODI ton and third in his last eight matches. Scotland's No. 3 helped plunder 99 off the last 10 overs aided by a blistering cameo from George Munsey in which the left-handed pillaged 21 off new captain Gulbadin Naib in the 42nd with a pair of fours and sixes.

It spoiled Naib's figures after he had been a lone figure helping to somewhat stem the flow of runs in the absence of Rashid, Nabi and Mujeeb, making Afghanistan's ability to squeeze out a win without their three aces all the more remarkable. The allrounder ended a 76-run opening stand getting Matthew Cross for 32 prodding an edge to Mohammad Shahzad just after the drinks break. He then lured his opposite number Kyle Coetzer into slapping a return catch at thigh height for 79, then bowled Richie Berrington for 33 off 20 missing a slog in the 40th.

At 296 for 4 after 47, Hamid Hassan did brilliantly at the death to help limit the damage. In his first ODI for nearly three years, Hamid took two wickets in the 49th, teaming with Najibullah Zadran for a sharp pair of takes at deep square leg to claim both MacLeod and the ominous Craig Wallace two balls later for 20. After a fruitless four-over opening spell of 0 for 9 in which he hustled Coetzer and Cross off a newly shortened run-up, it was a just reward for Hamid on his comeback, after grinding through injuries and rehabilitation, and helped ensure Scotland added just 29 in the last three overs on an exceptionally flat pitch.

The death bowling made all the difference on a ground where Scotland made 371 last year, albeit with the boundary ropes dragged a bit further in. Whereas Scotland were circumspect in reaching 38 for 0 in their Powerplay after opting to bat first, Afghanistan were far more aggressive in their first ten behind Shahzad, Hazratullah Zazai and Rahmat Shah to reach 58 for 1. It took a sensational catch running back from mid-off by Coetzer to remove Zazai, otherwise wickets never looked likely while Shahzad and Rahmat were together in a 93-run stand.

Shahzad raised his fifty off 61 balls with a four slashed past the wicketkeeper. Despite Afghanistan being well ahead of the game, he continued taking risks to up the ante until he fell flicking Alasdair Evans to Wallace at deep square leg for 55.

Man of the Match Rahmat was a rock at the other end though, repeating his own heroics from Afghanistan's last visit to the Grange in 2016 when he scored his maiden ODI ton. The classy right-hander, who fell agonisingly short by two runs of what would have been Afghanistan's maiden Test ton in March against Ireland, would not be denied of his fourth one-day century, bringing up the landmark off 107 balls in the 38th over.

At that stage, Afghanistan were 215 for 2, four ahead of the DLS par score as sunny skies quickly turned bleak. Offspinner Tom Sole had been bowling much of his spell with sunglasses on but took them off as the storm clouds drew closer. He struck in the 40th, getting Rahmat to chip loosely to Berrington at midwicket in the ring for a sharp low catch. It brought Scotland nearly even on DLS, but Afghanistan continued finding key boundaries when they needed them.

Scotland's bowlers struggled to finish off an over, conceding a four or a six on the final ball on six occasions, including a crucial moment in the 39th to Rahmat. Every time Scotland threatened to inch ahead on DLS, Hashmatullah and Asghar Afghan found the requisite four to ease the pressure.

Afghanistan were level with the DLS par score of 267 after 44.4 overs as the showers progressed into a full-fledged storm. Evans waited at the top of his mark while wicketkeeper Cross held up his arms at the umpires, but Kumar Dharmasena was unmoved. A wicket off the fifth ball would have put Scotland ahead on DLS by three runs. Instead, Afghan clipped an attempted yorker off his pads for two to put Afghanistan in front for good, as Dharmasena could ignore the elements no more and the players were taken off with no chance of play resuming before the 7.30 pm cutoff.

Afghanistan move on to Ireland next week, with two ODIs scheduled for May 19 and 21. Scotland have a week to regroup before welcoming Sri Lanka for two ODIs on May 18 and 21 at the Grange.

Shreyas Iyer has referred to Delhi Capitals' run to the IPL playoffs as a "dream season" and one he expects his team to build on next year. He also said he was "proud" of the way his team bounced back after a poor 2018 season with many of the players "showing initiative and taking responsibility'.

Capitals made it to the playoffs after a six-year gap and won a tight eliminator against Sunrisers Hyderabad before being outclassed by Chennai Super Kings in the second qualifier in Visakhapatnam. "It's been a dream season for us and it's just the start," Iyer told the host broadcaster after the match. "We've got a lot more to come next season and yes, we have gelled as a team and we've found the pace and now it's time to grow from here on.

"I am really proud the way [Capitals] played this season. The last season specially was really disappointing for us and the way we came out this year, everybody took that initiative and responsibility till this game."

The one grievance most of the Capitals' management had expressed throughout the season was regarding the low and slow nature of the pitch at the Feroz Shah Kotla, their home ground. Coach Ricky Ponting had said after the home defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad that the pitch did not suit Capitals' style of play, whether it was the fast bowlers or the free-flowing batsmen. Capitals lost three out of their seven matches at home and Iyer also said it was an issue they needed to think about.

"It's something to think about, the home games especially we didn't win that many matches," Iyer said. "But can't really complain about the wickets. We have played a lot of our games on slow wickets, we've been practicing a lot, even the wickets we practice on in Delhi aren't that safe for the batsmen because they have uneven bounce."

Iyer felt that a poor Powerplay and lack of partnerships throughout their innings proved to be Capitals' undoing against Super Kings. Capitals lost openers Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw in the first six overs, only managing to put 41 on the board in that period. While Super Kings only bettered that Powerplay total by one run, they didn't lose a wicket.

The highest partnership for the Capitals was the 22 added by Rishabh Pant and Sherfane Rutherford for the sixth wicket and while four of their top five batsmen got starts, none of them got a substantial score. By contrast, both Super Kings openers went on to to score fifties, virtually killing the chase with their 81-run stand.

"We also expected the same, coming from Delhi, if the wicket was slow, it would have really helped us because we play in that soil and the wicket played quite similar," Iyer said.

"We didn't get that many runs as we expected, we really had a disappointing start, lost two wickets in the Powerplay, it was really tough to continue after that. We know that they have amazing spin bowling in between, it's really difficult to control in that part. None of the batsmen took initiative to take the team through and there wasn't any partnership building up."

DALLAS -- It was difficult to miss Tony Romo's enthusiasm in his first words as he walked to the scoring tent after his second-round 74 at the AT&T Byron Nelson on Friday.

"I think we've got a chance," Romo said.

Romo's 74 left him at 8-over for the tournament and well off the cut line to play the weekend in a PGA Tour event for the first time, but the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback shot his best round in his third sponsor's exemption over the last two years.

"I think more than anything, I got a sense to be able to hit a lot of high-quality shots under what is a pressure situation for me," Romo said. "That's encouraging and shows that the work you're doing holds up when it counts. And from there, you just got to find the little things that allow you to keep things going and not derail a round. Just small stuff, technique-wise, but we're coming on."

Romo hit nine of 14 fairways and 11 greens Friday after hitting just six fairways and eight greens in Thursday's first round. He shot 40 on the back nine Thursday and was even par on Nos. 10-18 on Friday (his first nine), including a 17-foot birdie on the par-5 14th hole.

He got to as low as 4-over with a birdie on the par-5 first hole for the second straight day and as high as 9-over with three bogeys and a double-bogey in a five-hole stretch. He moved back to 8-over with a birdie on No. 7 for the second straight day, nearly made a birdie on No. 8 and hit a pitch to within 2 feet for par on No. 9, a hole he double-bogeyed Thursday.

"I hit so many good shots today," Romo said. "I mean, I kind of know that the driver is going to be the ability to go low because you have to put yourself in position to attack the pins consistently. I think you found the next step of what we're going to be working on [with the driver]. I think it's more just your ability to keep your misses small. Out here, golf is a game of misses."

Scottie Scheffler, who also received a sponsor's exemption, shot a second-round 69 and came away impressed with Romo's improvement. He played with Romo at the Web.com Tour qualifying school last September, and he has played with Romo at different courses over the years.

"It's drastically different," Scheffler said of Romo's game. "When we played together at first stage, he was going through a lot of swing changes, so he didn't really have his best game. But this week, those first nine holes, I was pretty impressed. He's made a lot of improvements. I mean even from when I played with him a couple of months ago, he's gotten a lot better."

Romo's other playing partner, Dylan Frittelli, grew up in South Africa and did not know who Romo was until he arrived at the University of Texas.

"His golf is really good," said Frittelli, who is 3-under through two rounds. "I've heard from other guys who've played with him in mini-Tour stuff and amateur events in the States, 'Oh, he's pretty good. He can hold his own.' But I didn't expect that [level of play], to be honest. He's got all the pieces to the puzzle to be a really good golfer.

"As we were chatting around the course, his driver is the one weak point right now. If he can tighten that up ... it's just a matter of time. You could see he was much more comfortable today. He was used to the people and the crowd and the way the course is playing. So a lot more experience will definitely help. If he keeps making jumps like that, I mean I'm not going to say he's going to get on Tour, but he can definitely play some mini-Tour stuff, make some money and get some invites here and there and surely make the cut. If he keeps playing, he's definitely going to be able to make a cut on the PGA Tour."

It might be slightly more difficult to make 3-pointers next season.

The NCAA Men's Basketball Rules Committee has proposed moving the 3-point line back to the international basketball distance, more than one foot farther than the current line.

The international 3-point line is 22 feet, 1¾ inches, while the current 3-point line is 20 feet, 9 inches. It was moved from 19 feet, 9 inches prior to the 2008-09 season.

The proposal must next be approved by the Playing Rules Oversight Panel on June 5. If passed, it would go into effect next season in Division I and, because of potential financial impact, the 2020-21 season for Divisions II and III.

"After gathering information over the last two seasons, we feel it's time to make the change," said Colorado coach Tad Boyle, the committee chair. "Freedom of movement in the game remains important, and we feel this will open up the game. We believe this will remove some of the congestion on the way to the basket."

The 2018 and 2019 National Invitation Tournaments used the international 3-point line among experimental rules.

According to the committee, moving the 3-point line back would clear the lane for more drives to the rim, make 3-point shots more challenging and therefore less prevalent, and improve offensive spacing.

"The time is right because it gets college guys close to the NBA line," Villanova coach Jay Wright told NCAA.com. "The shooting has improved enough that moving back is warranted. The line back will create better spacing and help with freedom of movement."

The committee also recommended four other proposals:

• Resetting the shot clock to 20 seconds after offensive rebounds;

• Players being assessed Flagrant 2 technical fouls and ejections for using derogatory language about an opponent's race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation or disability;

• Allowing coaches to call live-ball timeouts in the last two minutes of the second half and overtime;

• Conducting instant replay review for goaltending or basket interference calls in the final two minutes of the second half and overtime.

TAMPA, Fla. -- A determination has not been made as to whether Tampa Bay Buccaneers star pass-rusher Jason Pierre-Paul will need neck surgery, but coach Bruce Arians says the best-case scenario would be that the defensive end is out five to six months.

"I think [the evaluation] is still ongoing, and like [GM] Jason [Licht] said, we've got our fingers crossed and praying for him," Arians said, speaking for the first time since Pierre-Paul was involved in single-car crash in Broward County last week.

Sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter that Pierre-Paul suffered a fractured neck, which could force him to miss the season. Last year, Pierre-Paul led the team with 12.5 sacks, becoming the first Buccaneers player to reach double-digit sacks since 2005.

"[It's] very unfortunate," Arians said. "All we can do is just pray and hope for the best and hope it's one of those five- or six-month things and go from there."

On May 2 at 2:35 a.m., Pierre-Paul and a passenger, James Harold Thompson, were traveling southbound on Interstate 95 when Pierre-Paul lost control of his Ferrari and veered off the roadway to the left, colliding with a concrete barrier.

Pierre-Paul was not given a citation. The Florida Highway Patrol told ESPN that they did not deem that he was distracted, nor did they suspect impairment, which is why a field sobriety test wasn't conducted.

The official crash report states that slippery road conditions and rain contributed to the crash. Both men were transported to Broward Health Medical Center with injuries deemed "non-incapacitating," according to the official crash report.

Arians said he talked to Pierre-Paul after the accident.

"[I told him] he has my prayers and just stay positive," Arians said.

As for how they will replace Pierre-Paul, Arians said, "I don't know what the answer is yet, if he's gonna play, if he's not gonna play. [You] just practice with the guys you have, just like if anybody else gets hurt, on the field or off the field. You march on."

Before his right calf injury on Wednesday, Kevin Durant wasn't just leading the Golden State Warriors in scoring, he was the leading scorer in the entire NBA playoffs. As the Warriors face the Houston Rockets on the road in Game 6 (Friday, 9 p.m. ET on ESPN) without KD, how they replace his incredible 34.2 points per game this postseason is the biggest immediate question.

Can Golden State find new, reliable ways to score? In a series in which all five games have been decided by six or fewer points, the answer to that question may determine who makes it to the Western Conference finals. Points are the ultimate currency in these games, and Durant has scored a whopping 29 percent of the Warriors' points this postseason.

His shot chart leaves little doubt that he's one of the best scorers in the world, but he's also by far the Warriors' most proficient 2-point threat. Durant has made 90 2-pointers in the playoffs; Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson have combined to make 91.

Still, if there's one team that can absorb his loss, it's the superteam from Oakland. Any conversation about replacing KD has to hit on three key elements: scoring, depth and defense.

All eyes will be on Curry -- the two-time MVP and greatest shooter known to man -- to ignite the offense. His usage rate this postseason is 25.2 percent, lower than that of Pascal Siakam. Curry is averaging 23.5 PPG. He has to take charge, and both his usage and his scoring have to surge.

That won't be easy. Curry has never averaged more than 28.3 PPG in the playoffs, so it's unreasonable to expect him to replace more than a fraction of Durant's scoring load, particularly in a world where Houston can now assign a lot more defensive attention to slowing down his splashy ways.

From Houston's perspective, Durant's absence frees up the defensive resources of PJ Tucker. Per Second Spectrum tracking, Tucker has matched up against Durant more than twice as often as any other Houston defender in this series. With Durant sidelined, Tucker will likely spend more time hounding Curry and Draymond Green.

Tucker has a way of reducing the effectiveness of both of those dudes. Each of the two Warriors has exhibited downticks in usage, shooting efficiency and scoring when being defended by him over the past two seasons.

Replacing KD's 34 points per contest is a massive task, and it's going to be a team effort. Curry and Thompson must be on the front lines of that push. They both scored 25 or more points apiece for the first time this postseason in Game 5, which is encouraging. It's also a good barometer to watch: The Dubs have gone 9-3 during their playoff appearances when both Splash Brothers drop at least 25.

But it's not just about the scoring.

No Warrior has played more minutes this postseason than Durant, and given the fact that this team was already dangerously thin following the DeMarcus Cousins injury, depth is a major concern here. Head coach Steve Kerr has a total of 240 minutes to distribute among his team in Game 6. Thus far, Durant has chewed up 16 percent of that time. Where will those minutes go?

In the Houston series, Kerr has largely relied on an eight-man rotation that includes the Hamptons 5, Shaun Livingston, Kevon Looney and Alfonzo McKinnie. But after KD went down in Game 5, Jonas Jerebko cracked the rotation, and Looney played nine of the game's final 14 minutes. These fellas are fine players. But not only do they represent a huge step down on the offensive end, they're a downgrade on defense as well.

The most underrated component of Durant's game is his ability to deter buckets. He has turned into an awesome defensive piece for Golden State. The same combination of smarts, skills and length that makes him a terrifying scorer also makes him versatile and effective on defense.

Per Second Spectrum tracking, he spent more than 75 percent of his time defending Tucker, Eric Gordon, James Harden and Chris Paul in this series. Those just happen to be Houston's top four scorers against the Warriors. The loss of Durant the defender means the Rockets can hunt for better matchups for their top scorers.

Durant's replacements have to step up on defense as well as offense, and dudes like Jerebko and Looney don't scare anyone on that end.

Although Andre Iguodala does the lion's share of the work defending Harden, Durant has arguably done the best work while matching up with Harden over 10 times per game this series.

Check this out:

Durant is one of the best two-way players in the world right now, which means his effectiveness is virtually impossible to completely replace. But if anyone can do it, it's the defending champs.

They have found ways to win through injuries in the past. One of the perks of being a superteam is that the proverbial next men up are named Curry and Thompson.