Aaron Finch (Australia)

It's a good question, I think, England have been in great form over the last couple of years and along with India, they've probably been the standout performers. So you'd have to say England are definitely the favourites.

I think it's important that some of our guys have got that World Cup experience and having, I think, six players who have been a part of a winning World Cup will hold us in good stead going forward, hopefully. But it's a different tournament and, once you get out and start playing, the pressure takes over. So it'll be a great tournament.

Eoin Morgan (England)

I've no idea. I don't think there's anybody that's head and shoulders above everybody else. In a 10-team World Cup, the ten best teams in the world, it's going to be an extraordinarily competitive tournament. And I think there will be some quality cricket played. We're really looking forward to playing.

Of course being at home will be a factor. It's called home advantage for a reason. We get to spend a lot of time in our own beds, we'll see a lot of our families, and get to prepare like we have done for a number of years now. But England's a great place to come and play cricket, if you ask any of these guys or any of their players, they love coming here and playing.

Virat Kohli (India)

We've had both our warm-up games televised already so there's much pressure on the team wherever we play.

The way I look at it, there's always going to be a huge fan-base for us anywhere we play in the world. But I have to agree with Aaron, I think England is probably - in their conditions - the most strong side in this tournament, but I also agree with Morgs, that all ten teams are so well balanced and so strong, and the fact that this is a tournament where we have to play everyone once, makes it all the more challenging. I think that's going to be the best thing about this tournament, I see this as probably one of the most competitive World Cups that people are going to see

Sarfaraz Ahmed (Pakistan)

As Morgan and Kohli said, all the teams are really balanced, and all are good teams, so I wish them all the very best and I think people will watch great cricket here.

Definitely if you've seen the past results of Pakistan teams in England - I'm talking about the 1992 Test series, or the 1999 World Cup or 2017 [Champions Trophy] - Pakistan has been very good in England. So we are very confident, in'shallah, we will do very well.

Dimuth Karunaratne (Sri Lanka)

We have played good cricket and have good experience [of playing] in England as well, so we will try to do well, and do our best. We came early to get some confidence in the conditions, we are in good shape and will do our best.

Kane Williamson (New Zealand)

There are a few guys who were in the last World Cup, which is great, so there is some experience there. But naturally, with four years in between tournaments, there are a lot of new players as well. I guess there's been a lot of talk around rankings, favourites, underdogs, but I think the thing that stands out is how balanced all the teams are and, when it comes to the day, anything can happen, which makes the way for a really exciting competition.

Faf du Plessis (South Africa)

If you look at international cricket right around the circuit, you'll see very close competitive series home and away. It's not just more home teams that are dominating. So, like the other captains are saying, I think all of us are really excited to try this new tournament, with everyone playing everyone once. I think it's a great tournament.

Mashrafe Mortaza (Bangladesh)

We have a great team mix, probably as good as we have ever had. We have some young players coming through and we are very excited about them.

Jason Holder (West Indies)

To play every side is great for us. We worked hard with the qualifiers to get here, that means it is the top 10 in the world, we want to play them all and give ourselves a shot. The team that wins will definitely deserve it.

Gulbadin Naib (Afghanistan)

We have peace in Afghanistan now and cricket is a huge part of that. We are very happy and hopefully that can help us produce good performances. We're excited to be here in front of the crowds. It's the top ten teams in the world and we are proud to be representing Afghanistan.

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- New York Jets coach Adam Gase, whose relationship with Le'Veon Bell already is under a microscope, insisted Thursday that he's "excited" to have the star running back on the team.

Gase dismissed speculation he's interested in trading Bell before the season.

"That's ridiculous," Gase said. "That's the first I've heard of that."

The Gase-Bell pairing became an issue last week when the team fired general manager Mike Maccagnan, who lasted only four months with Gase. Sources said Gase objected to the Bell signing because of the steep price tag -- a four-year, $52.5 million contract.

In his first news conference since the front-office shake-up, which some believe was the result of a power struggle between Gase and Maccagnan, Gase praised Bell as a player, but hinted he wasn't a fan of paying that much for him in free agency.

"Whether or not we disagreed on anything financially, that's a completely different story than the person or the player," Gase said. "That's where a lot of this gets misconstrued. Le'Veon Bell is a great player. He's a good person."

Yup ✊? Let's get it Coach ✈️ https://t.co/1lZHScntjz

— Le'Veon Bell (@LeVeonBell) May 23, 2019

Gase was asked if the Jets overpaid for Bell.

"No, the contract was what it was," he said. "Everybody can criticize contracts all you want, but he's here. I'm excited he's here. I think the players are excited he's here. I think the coaches are.

"When you get a chance to coach a great player, a guy who has done things nobody else has done in the league, we're excited for that opportunity. I'm excited to get him in the offense so I can start figuring out what else can we do with him, and what he hasn't done."

Bell has skipped the majority of the voluntary workouts, including the first three OTA workouts. Gase said he's in "constant communication" with Bell via text and that Bell sends him his workout videos, which he posts on social media.

"All that stuff you get on Instagram, I get it first," Gase said.

The Jets already have paid $11 million to Bell, so the idea of trading him before the season makes little sense, especially since the team would incur a massive cap hit. But that didn't stop speculation from spreading in recent days.

Asked point-blank if they will trade the former Pittsburgh Steelers star, Gase said, "No."

Gase also shot down the notion that he wasn't keen on middle linebacker C.J. Mosley's record-setting, five-year, $85 million deal in free agency.

"We did everything we could to get him," Gase said. "I think I took a pay cut. Whatever we had to do to get him, that's what we were going to do."

Gase was on the defensive, reiterating that he had no role in the ownership's decision to fire Maccagnan. Sources said there was a rift between the two men, and Gase admitted there were "disagreements on a few things, but there was no personal rift."

Instead of giving them a season to work out their differences, CEO Christopher Johnson made the decision to fire Maccagnan after having empowered him to hire Gase, spend unprecedented money in free agency and run the draft.

Now they're in the early stages of a GM search. Gase, who has the title of interim GM, confirmed he will be involved in the process. He downplayed the notion he will pick the next GM, saying it will be Johnson's call.

"I don't really hang out with yes men, so if it's somebody I already know, it's probably not going to be somebody who is a yes man," Gase said.

The new GM will have final say on the roster, as Maccagnan did. Gase, who controlled the roster in Miami, said he's fine with the Jets' power structure. He said "a group of us" will present their ideas on the search to Johnson and then will begin interviewing candidates.

"There's a mold of what some teams are looking for in a GM," Gase said. "He's looking for something a little bit different."

PARIS -- Rafael Nadal will start his campaign for a record-extending 12th title at the French Open against a qualifier. And if he makes it to the second round of the clay-court Grand Slam, another qualifier will be waiting.

The defending champion was handed what looked like quite an easy draw Thursday at Stade Roland Garros, where the Spanish player attended the ceremony and said he was happy with his form.

Nadal won his first title of the season last week at the Italian Open, where he looked close to his best after some uncharacteristic struggles on clay.

"It was an important title for me," Nadal said. "I played very well throughout the tournament, I'm very happy to find myself in this situation."

In the women's draw, Simona Halep will open the defense of her title against Ajla Tomljanovic. Serena Williams was drawn into the top half of the draw and will take on Vitalia Diatchenko in the first round.

Roger Federer, in his first French Open match since 2015, will face Lorenzo Sonego of Italy and top-ranked Novak Djokovic will begin his run against Hubert Hurkacz.

The tournament starts on Sunday.

MIAMI -- Phoenix Suns big man Richaun Holmes was arrested for misdemeanor possession of cannabis after a Miami-area traffic stop.

Twenty-five-year-old Holmes was arrested Tuesday night along with former Brooklyn Nets forward James Webb III after authorities say the found a recently used marijuana joint inside their vehicle.

Both men posted bond soon after being booked into a Miami jail.

Holmes became an unrestricted free agent this summer and averaged 8.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per game this past season.

He's the second Suns player to be arrested in South Florida this month after swingman Josh Jackson was detained when police say he refused to leave a music festival VIP area he had entered without a pass.

It wasn't immediately known whether either man has a lawyer.

Kevin Durant is unlikely to play at the start of the NBA Finals as he continues his recovery from a strained right calf, the Golden State Warriors announced Thursday.

In a release, the Warriors said Durant still has not been cleared for on-court activities but added there is still hope he plays at some point in the series.

DeMarcus Cousins also could return from his torn left quad during the Finals, but the team said "the exact date is to be determined and depends on his progress."

The next update on the players' status is planned for Wednesday. The NBA Finals begin next Thursday.

Durant has not played since suffering the injury during Game 5 of the conference semifinals on May 8. Cousins has been out since April 15 after playing in the first two games of the playoffs.

Without both, the Warriors swept the Portland Trail Blazers in the Western Conference finals to make their fifth straight Finals.

The three finalists for the NBA Most Valuable Player award -- Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden and Paul George -- led the balloting for the All-NBA teams, which were announced by the league Thursday afternoon.

Milwaukee's Antetokounmpo and Oklahoma City's George were named to the two forward spots on the first team; Stephen Curry of Golden State joined Houston's Harden as the guards. Rounding out the first team was Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic. Antetokounmpo and Harden were unanimous selections.

By making a second consecutive All-NBA team, Antetokounmpo put himself in line to receive the largest contract in NBA history next summer: a five-year deal from the Bucks worth $247.3 million, according to ESPN's Bobby Marks. Antetokounmpo will be one year away from free agency next July.

LeBron James was not a first team All-NBA selection for the first time since 2007, when he was named to the second team.

James did, however, extend his streak of consecutive All-NBA selections to 15 -- tying him with Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most in NBA history -- by earning a third-team nod in his first year with the Los Angeles Lakers.

The second team consisted of Damian Lillard and Kyrie Irving at guard, Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard at forward and Joel Embiid at center.

Beyond James, the third team consisted of Russell Westbrook and Kemba Walker at guard, Blake Griffin at forward and Rudy Gobert at center.

Thursday was a hugely important player for several players and teams, as it determined whether or not they would be eligible for a designated veteran extension this summer -- better known as a "supermax" -- by making it onto one of the three All-NBA teams. Specifically, Lilllard and Walker qualified, while Bradley Beal and Klay Thompson did not.

Now, the Portland Trail Blazers have a decision to make regarding whether to extend an extension to Lillard worth four years and $191 million this summer, while the Charlotte Hornets must decide if he should give a five-year, $221 contract to Walker as a free agent on July 1, with both numbers according to Marks.

Lillard is expected to sign the extension in July, per sources, while it is unclear, after the Hornets missed the playoffs, what Walker will decide to do as an unrestricted free agent.

HOUSTON -- The Chicago White Sox turned a triple play in the third inning Wednesday night against the Houston Astros.

With runners on first and second, speedy Jake Marisnick hit a grounder down the third-base line to Yoan Moncada. He stepped on the bag for the first out and threw to Yolmer Sanchez at second. Sanchez relayed to first, where the ball just beat Marisnick.

It was the first triple play in the majors this season and Chicago's first since July 8, 2016, against the Atlanta Braves. Houston last hit into a triple play on April 19, 2018, against the Seattle Mariners.

"It takes a perfect alignment of the stars,'' Astros manager AJ Hinch said. "It was not our night.''

Because he was in the perfect spot to grab Marisnick's grounder, Moncada thought the White Sox might be able to get three outs as soon as he touched third.

"Honestly, yes,'' he said through an interpreter. "I just reacted and from there the play was easy.''

The White Sox beat the Astros 9-4.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The New York Mets placed starters Robinson Cano and Jeff McNeil on the 10-day injured list Thursday.

Cano, a second baseman, has a quadriceps strain. McNeil has a left hamstring strain.

Cano has struggled in his first season with the Mets and was criticized for not hustling in two games when the Mets were swept by the Miami Marlins last weekend. He is hitting .241 with three home runs and 13 RBIs.

He suffered the injury hustling to first base on a grounder in the third inning of Wednesday night's 6-1 victory over the Washington Nationals. He had an MRI during the game, which showed a low-grade strain.

McNeil, who has started games in the outfield, at third base and at second base this season, is third in the National League with a .333 average. He also has two home runs and 15 RBIs.

McNeil has a tight left hamstring, which he thinks occurred while trying to steal second base in the ninth inning of a 6-5 win Tuesday. New York hasn't sent him for any image testing, and manager Mickey Callaway and McNeil both described the IL move as precautionary.

With its top two second base options out, the Mets expect to shuffle through options at the keystone. Adeiny Hechavarria started there Thursday, but Callaway described it as a "day-by-day'' decision.

The Mets now have four starters sidelined, as outfielders Michael Conforto (concussion) and Brandon Nimmo (neck) also are on the injured list.

Conforto is eligible to return from the seven-day concussion list Friday, but Callaway said he is unsure if the outfielder would be cleared. Conforto has been participating in baseball activities and was set to do so again Thursday, but he will need to be evaluated Friday before a decision can be made.

Pete Alonso, Wilson Ramos, Amed Rosario and Juan Lagares are the only position players from the Opening Day lineup who aren't injured.

Despite the health woes, New York has won three straight over the Nationals, getting key contributions from backups such as J.D. Davis, Carlos Gomez and Hechavarria. Rajai Davis was called up from Triple-A late Wednesday, arriving via Uber from Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the third inning, and hit a key three-run homer as a pinch hitter in the eighth.

"The guys aren't giving up,'' said Callaway, who got a front office endorsement Monday amid speculation about his job security. "Our depth is really stepping up.''

Infielder Luis Guillorme and left-handed reliever Ryan O'Rourke were recalled from Triple-A Syracuse to take the injured players' places on the roster.

In other moves, the Mets claimed outfielder Aaron Altherr off waivers from the San Francisco Giants and designated Tim Peterson for assignment

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Trio help to launch British Athletics’ Festival of Athletics at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

European 100m silver medallist Reece Prescod, World Para Athletics long jump champion Stef Reid and two-time Paralympic T44 100m champion Jonnie Peacock have been announced for the Müller Anniversary Games.

The three athletes were confirmed as part of the line-up for the event at the London Stadium on July 20-21 as they helped to launch British Athletics’ Festival of Athletics, which will be taking place this summer at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, focused around the Anniversary Games.

As part of the launch event, Prescod, Reid and Peacock led a session with local schoolchildren at the Olympic Park as they took on an Anniversary Games-themed Tumbleator.

“The Müller Anniversary Games provides the chance for fans to see the best athletes in the world compete on the same stage, in a stadium with such great memories for the nation,” said Peacock.

“The event is vitally important for athletes ahead of a busy end to the year with the World Para Athletics Championships and I can’t wait to race again in front of what is always an outstanding British crowd.

“We’ve had so much fun today showing these young people how much fun athletics can be, and what a setting to do it next to the London Stadium.”

The Festival of Athletics will see a host of activity taking place across Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, including a Couch to 5K event, a London Boroughs: Connect Relays competition and fundraising for Track Academy, which has recently been confirmed as the official charity partner to the 2019 Anniversary Games.

The Couch to 5K event will take place on July 21, with the all-female mass run beginning at 9:45 and ending on the track inside the London Stadium. All entrants will receive a ticket to the second day of the Anniversary Games.

The Connect Relays competition will involve the 32 London boroughs, with the top teams lining up to compete in the Anniversary Games, while the partnership between British Athletics and Track Academy will see the charity receive donations from ticket purchasers who will have the opportunity to donate £0.25, £0.50 or £1.00 at point of ticket confirmation for the Anniversary Games.

Former British athlete and current equality, diversity and engagement lead at British Athletics, Donna Fraser, said: “The Festival Athletics will see the ultimate celebration of athletics for communities in London this summer, with the pinnacle being the Müller Anniversary Games in July.

“Athletics is the perfect family sport for spectators and participants. This is one of the many reasons athletes enjoy competing at the Müller Anniversary Games so much because as well as having world-class athletics on show, we see first-hand how accessible and inclusive the sport is. With so much going on across the weekend of 20-21 July, it’s a great chance for the public to enjoy the sport in different ways.”

Tickets for the Müller Anniversary Games are on sale at www.britishathletics.org.uk.

A 10-strong GB team has been selected for the event on June 1-2

Commonwealth hammer champion Nick Miller and British indoor shot put champion Sophie McKinna are among the British athletes to have been selected for the Halle Throws International.

A 10-strong GB team has been named for the event on June 1-2.

Miller opened his season with victory at the IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge in Brazil last month and is one of five British throwers chosen to return to Halle for the second year running, having finished third in 2018.

McKinna will once again take to the shot put circle in Germany after a great start to 2019 that has seen her hit the qualification standard for the IAAF World Championships in Doha later this year. She has fond memories of Halle, setting a still-standing British junior record there in 2013.

Taylor Campbell makes the step up to the senior competition after finishing third in the under-23 hammer event last year while Welsh athletes James Tomlinson in the discus and Sarah Omoregie in the shot put both return for the under-20 competition.

Omoregie’s selection comes after she achieved the qualifying standard for the European U20 Championships with a personal best of 15.37m at the Loughborough International.

Javelin thrower Harry Hughes was also in career best form at the Loughborough International, becoming the first Brit to throw over 80m in seven years with his 80.32m personal best, and he earns selection for the under-23 event in Halle.

Reigning indoor and outdoor British shot put champion Scott Lincoln and discus thrower George Armstrong, who broke the 60m barrier for the first time in his career last month, will compete as a senior and under-23 respectively and complete a quartet of British men.

Charlotte Payne and Charlotte Williams have both been chosen for the under-20 hammer competition having achieved the European U20 Championships qualifying standard this year. Payne will make her British debut in Halle.

“It is a pleasure that each and every year we are able to take a team to such a highly-rated and world-renowned event in Halle,” said Peter Stanley, head of field and combined events at British Athletics.

“We have once again selected a strong team of British throwers, many of whom have started the season in career best form.

“Halle is a perfect opportunity for both senior and age-group athletes to test themselves against the best in the world as an important year for all involved continues.”

British team

Senior men
Taylor Campbell – Hammer
Scott Lincoln – Shot put
Nick Miller – Hammer

Under-23 men
George Armstrong – Discus
Harry Hughes – Javelin

Under-20 men
James Tomlinson – Discus

Senior women
Sophie McKinna – Shot put

Under-20 women
Sarah Omoregie – Shot put
Charlotte Payne – Hammer
Charlotte Williams – Hammer