Amid all the announcements made by Cricket Australia earlier this week, the player with the biggest fall from grace was probably Mitchell Marsh who finds himself without a central contract six months after being named Test vice-captain. This is a look back over a rollercoaster 18 months for the allrounder

Ashes breakthrough?

Marsh was recalled midway through the 2017-18 Ashes for his hometown Test in Perth, returning in style with a maiden Test hundred which he pushed to 181. He followed that with another ton in Sydney, brought up in emotional scenes with his brother alongside him at the crease. Had things clicked for Mitchell?

Fades in South Africa

The runs continued in the first Test in Durban, his 96 the top score in Australia's first innings and helping them set up victory. He fought hard for 45 in the second innings in Port Elizabeth, chipping in with wickets as well, but South Africa levelled the series and the tour quickly turned sour from a personal and team perspective. As the ball-tampering controversy erupted, Marsh's runs dried up with 25 runs in the last four innings

Leadership promotion

As Australia tried to pick up the pieces of their Test side six months later in the UAE, Marsh was promoted to joint vice-captain alongside Josh Hazlewood - who missed the series against Pakistan - in support of new captain Tim Paine. "I've certainly grown as a leader in the past 12 months for WA, found out about myself and about my leadership," Marsh said. "But I absolutely love captaining WA, probably my biggest strength is that hasn't changed me as a person, and I certainly don't see the vice-captaincy role changing me as a person."

ALSO READ: The winners and losers from Australia's big day

UAE struggles

The two Tests against Pakistan proved difficult for Marsh as he made 30 runs across four innings having initially been promoted to No. 4. He was trapped lbw three times in four innings by Mohammad Abbas who tormented the Australia batsmen, particularly in the second Test where he claimed ten wickets in a crushing 373-run victory.

MCG misery

Australia reverted to six frotnline batsmen, a keeper and four bowlers at the start of the home series against India which meant Marsh was surplus to requirements in Adelaide and Perth. He was recalled for the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, when Australia wanted bowling reinforcements, and with the ball Marsh did a good holding role. Things went badly with the bat, however, as he failed twice with India claiming victory, dismissed by Ravindra Jadeja in both innings.

Test omission

Marsh was dropped for the final Test in Sydney and a few days later was ditched from the Test set-up altogether when he wasn't selected for the Sri Lanka series. His slip down the pecking order was reinforced when Marcus Stoinis was briefly called into the squad ahead of the second Test in Canberra, indicating he was the allrounder of choice. To compound things for Marsh, illness meant he didn't play the one-day series against India.

Solid in the Shield

He was left to focus on the latter half of the domestic season, firstly with Perth Scorchers in the BBL and then Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield. BBL runs were tough to come by until an unbeaten half-century in the Scorchers final match of a wooden-spoon season, but the last couple of rounds of the Shield provided some encouragement - after recovering from a nasty injury - as WA made a late push for the final. He claimed six wickets in victory over Tasmania then scored a century against Queensland although WA were ultimately pipped to the final by New South Wales.

ALSO READ: Pattinson, Warner, Smith handed central contracts; Mitchell Marsh dropped

Contract cut

However, that all-round showing wasn't enough for him to retain his CA contract when the 20-man list for 2019-2020 was announced. "It's really hard because he's like my little brother," head coach Justin Langer said. "And his dad, Swampy [Geoff], who is one of the really good guys of Australian cricket, he's been like my old man or one of my best mates. Again, it's tough, but it's not the end of the road. The message I guess there for him, or all the players, is there's great competition in Australian cricket now and you've got to be on top of your game all the time."

Glimmer of hope?

Perhaps there is already a route back for Marsh. Despite losing his contract he was named in both Australia A squads to tour England which runs concurrent to the World Cup and Ashes build-up. It has been made clear from the selectors that strong performances in the four-day portion will play a key role in Ashes selection. "We know how quickly it can change and we also know he's such a talented player, he's not far off," Langer said.

Heavyweight contender Jarrell "Big Baby" Miller has tested positive for the banned substance GW1516 ahead of his scheduled challenge of unified world titleholder Anthony Joshua, three sources with knowledge of the results told ESPN on Tuesday.

The fight is scheduled to take place on June 1 (DAZN) at Madison Square Garden in New York and to serve as the American debut for England's Joshua, but it is now in jeopardy because of Miller's positive test.

The test results, which came to light on Tuesday, were from a random Voluntary Anti-Doping Association-conducted urine test Miller submitted to on March 20.

Miller (23-0-1, 20 KOs), 30, had accused Joshua of using PEDs during their media tour to announce the fight in February.

"We are in the process of obtaining further information about VADA's finding and will have more to say soon on this developing situation," Dmitriy Salita, Miller's co-promoter with Greg Cohen, told ESPN after he was informed of the positive test result. "In the meantime, Jarrell continues to train for his June 1 fight against Anthony Joshua."

Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn, who represents Joshua, also acknowledged the positive test.

"We have been informed by VADA that there has been an adverse finding in Jarrell Miller's sample collected on March 20th, 2019," Hearn said in a statement. "We are working with all relevant parties and will update with more details soon. AJ's preparation continues for June 1st at MSG."

If Miller is dropped from the fight, it will cost him millions. He is due to earn a career-high purse of $4.875 million, not to mention additional money he stands to earn from a percentage of the profits from the fight on Sky Sports Box Office pay-per-view in the United Kingdom. Miller's deal with DAZN calls for two comeback fights worth $1.5 million apiece in the event that he loses to Joshua, which would disappear if there is no fight.

The biggest purse of Miller's career was a little over $500,000 for his fourth-round knockout of Bogdan Dinu on Nov. 17.

GW1516, also known as Cardarine and Endurobol, is on the World Anti-Doping Agency's banned list and is classified as a metabolic modulator. An athlete might use it to assist in fat loss or use it as an endurance booster. WADA has warned athletes of health risks connected to the drug, which in early trials caused cancer in laboratory mice.

Miller is likely to face a hearing on the matter before the New York State Athletic Commission, which probably will decline to license him for the fight if it handles this as it has similar recent situations. On Dec. 22, for example, Willie Monroe Jr. was due to challenge interim middleweight world titlist Jermall Charlo at Barclays Center in New York, but when Monroe tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone, the commission would not license him, and Charlo faced late replacement Matt Korobov instead.

Whomever Joshua (22-0, 21 KOs), 29, faces, he will be making his seventh title defense and fighting outside the United Kingdom for the first time. The 6-foot-4, 300-pound Miller got the matchup with Joshua thanks to his ability to sell a fight with his mouth and because he defeated a series of former world title challengers the past two years to earn his title shot.

COLUMBUS - The Tampa Bay Lightning will be defined by their failure, swept out of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs in the first round by a Columbus Blue Jackets team few felt had a prayer of hanging with the Presidents' Trophy winners.

That's one way to look at them. Here's the spin the Lightning had after Tuesday night's stunning 7-3 defeat in Game 4 of the first round: That they were victims of their own success.

The Lightning had 128 points in the regular season, with a points percentage of .780, the second-highest rate in NHL history for an 82-game season behind the 1995-95 Detroit Red Wings (.799). They tied that Red Wings team with 62 wins, the most recorded in the 100-plus years history of NHL hockey. They clinched a playoff spot after just 68 games, and were coasting well before reaching that mark. They weren't just winning -- they were crushing opponents. They had the league's best power play, best penalty killing and were the highest-scoring team on average (3.89) since the 1995-96 season. Of their 62 wins, 30 of them were by a margin of three or more goals, which was tied for the most since 1992-93.

It all came so easy for Tampa Bay -- until it didn't.

"When you have the amount of points we had, it's a blessing and a curse, in a way. You don't play any meaningful hockey for a long time. Then all of a sudden you have to ramp it up. It's not an excuse, it's reality," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said after the team's 7-3 defeat in Game 4. "That's how it goes: You have a historic regular season and we had a historic playoff."

Indeed, the Lightning made history in the 2019 playoffs, just not the kind any coach would ever want. For the first time in the NHL, a team with the most points in the regular season failed to win a single game in an opening-round seven-game series.

"If we had the answers, we would have found a way to win a game. It sucks," said captain Steven Stamkos.

There are some obvious factors behind the Lightning's stunning demise:

• The Blue Jackets put on a defensive clinic in the series, playing a 1-2-2 forecheck the slowed the pace down, owned the neutral zone and never allowed the Lightning to find their way offensively. The Jackets had 30 takeaways in four games, while Tampa had 21. "Columbus is pretty good at shutting it down. They never did that in the regular season, because they were always chasing us," Cooper said. "The last time we played here, we had a 5-1 lead and they had completely outplayed us. We just scored every time we went down the ice."

• Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky had the best postseason of his career, with a .932 save percentage and a 2.01 goals-against average. Even when the Lightning could break through the Columbus defense, Bobrovsky made key saves. In contrast, Tampa goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy finished the series with a .856 save percentage and a 3.82 goals-against average.

• Perhaps the biggest disparity was on special teams. The Lightning had the most effective power play since 1988-89 in the regular season at 28.1 percent. They were playing a team, however, that was short-handed the fewest times in the regular season. The Lightning scored once on just six power-play opportunities in this series; the Blue Jackets, meanwhile, were a stellar 5-for-10 with the man advantage. "No power plays. One PP in two games. It's tough. I don't know what to say," said Nikita Kucherov, the Lightning's star winger who won the scoring title in the NHL this season.

Kucherov was suspended for Game 3 of the series for an illegal check in Game 2. Star defenseman Victor Hedman played hurt in Games 1 and 2, but missed the final two games of the series.

Asked if this Lightning core can still capture a Stanley Cup at full strength, Stamkos replied, "Yeah, we believe in it. But it's one thing to say it and it's another to execute. They executed a detailed game plan to slow us down, and we didn't have a response to it. You have to give them some credit. Everyone's going to talk about us losing the series, but they did a lot of good things. We just didn't have an answer."

This core was together when the Lightning lost in the 2016 conference finals, losing Games 6 and 7 to the Pittsburgh Penguins. It was together when they lost Games 6 and 7 (again) to the Washington Capitals last season. Against the Blue Jackets, they squandered a 3-0 lead in Game 1 and never recovered when the Jackets rallied to win.

"I don't know," said Cooper when asked if there's a fundamental flaw to how the team handles adversity. "It's funny: We're expected to go far this year, and we go nowhere. In 2015, no one expected us to go anywhere, and we went far, with the same core of players.

"It's hard to win in this league. It's tough not to be holding up the Stanley Cup at the end, but how many teams have gone through this? They knock at the door and knock at the door and then ... you look at Washington, for example? They had two remarkable years and got bounced in the second round, and the year no one expected them to do anything they won the Stanley Cup."

From Oct. 6, 2018, through April 6, 2019, the Lightning were the favorites to win the Stanley Cup and one of the most dominating regular-season teams in the history of the league.

And then the playoffs started.

"We couldn't find our game. It's that clear. For six days in April, we couldn't find it," said Cooper. "It's unfortunate, because it puts a blemish on what was one hell of a regular season."

"If you don't accomplish the goal of winning it all, it's a failure. We don't care about what happened in the regular season," said Stamkos.

We're tied at 54 after a disjointed, frustrating first half in Portland that featured 29 fouls and 27 free throws. Nonetheless, the stars have shined: Paul George, Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum all have 16 points. The Blazers have controlled the game with both starting lineups on the court but struggled to score with Lillard on the bench to start the second quarter.

New York Mets starter Steven Matz allowed eight runs without recording an out in the first inning of Tuesday night's 14-3 loss to the host Phillies, something done only five other times since 1893.

In the space of 20 minutes, Matz's ERA shot up from 1.96 to 4.96.

The left-hander threw 31 pitches, faced eight batters and allowed six earned runs on four hits, including two home runs.

And he hit Bryce Harper on the wrist with a pitch, earning the inning's biggest boos from the crowd at Citizens Bank Park.

"Frustrated to not get out of the first," Matz said after the game.

Only the Mets, Cincinnati Reds and Oakland Athletics have had a starting pitcher allow eight runs without recording an out since the mound was placed at its current distance in 1893. They've now each had it happen twice.

Mets right-hander Bobby Jones did it on Sept. 17, 1997, against the Atlanta Braves.

The last starting pitcher to give up eight runs without recording an out was Cincinnati's Paul Wilson on May 6, 2005, versus the Los Angeles Dodgers. Wilson did it in 2003, as well.

Oakland starter Blake Stein did it in 1998, and so did the A's Bill Krueger, in 1984.

"We didn't make a few plays, first and foremost," Mets manager Mickey Callaway said. "Rough night when that happens."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

NEW YORK -- Boston Red Sox ace Chris Sale says he's "as frustrated as I've ever been on a baseball field," calling his performance this season "flat-out embarrassing" following an 8-0 loss to the New York Yankees on Tuesday night.

While Sale flashed the high-powered fastball and biting slider that defined him as he established himself as one of the game's best pitchers, Yankees hitters still tuned him up for four runs in five innings. Sale's season ERA dropped to 8.50, and he suffered his fourth loss of the year, matching his total for the entire 2018 season.

"I just flat-out stink right now," the winless Sale said. "I don't know what it is. When you're going good, it's good. When you're going bad, it's pretty bad."

Pitching at Yankee Stadium on six days' rest, Sale cruised through the first two innings, with his fastball topping out at 97 mph after languishing in the low 90s in his first three starts. A pair of two-out, run-scoring singles in the third from DJ LeMahieu and Luke Voit plated the Yankees' first two runs. An inning later, outfielder Clint Frazier whacked a hanging Sale changeup out to right field -- the fifth home run that Sale has allowed in 18 innings this season -- and rookie Mike Tauchman doubled home another run to stake James Paxton a healthy lead.

Paxton didn't need much. He won the battle of hard-throwing left-handers, striking out 12 and allowing two hits over eight shutout innings.

As Boston's record dropped to 6-12, the Red Sox tried to keep perspective on their perplexing start following a World Series title. Manager Alex Cora took solace in the return of Sale's raw stuff, expecting that it would lead to more come his fifth start this season.

"I don't want to say it's a work in progress, because we're not here to build up," Cora said. "I'm not going to be surprised if, in his next outing, he's right where we need him to be. ... He's very close to the 'real' Chris Sale."

Sale did not take the same solace. Even as his looping slider held the Yankees at bay, New York teed off on his fastball, going 5-for-8 in at-bats that ended with the pitch.

"Doesn't matter how hard you throw or how fancy it looks," Sale said. "You need to throw up zeros."

Sale is far from the only Red Sox pitcher who has struggled to do so. Boston's team ERA this season is 6.09. The Red Sox have allowed a major league-leading 114 runs. The Red Sox's minus-40 run differential is the worst in the American League and only three runs ahead of the Miami Marlins'. Boston's offensive struggles have only compounded the pitching travails.

In better times, Sale was the salve for such troubles. On the eve of the season, the Red Sox signed him to a five-year, $145 million contract extension that begins in the 2020 season. However concerned the organization might have been about Sale's shoulder troubles last season or low velocity in spring training, it did not intend to let the left-hander reach free agency this winter.

Now, Sale is in the midst of what he called the worst stretch of his 10-year career, which has included six consecutive top-5 finishes in AL Cy Young balloting and, coming into the season, a 2.89 ERA, 103-65 record and 1,789 strikeouts in 1,482⅓ innings.

"I've got to find a way to pitch better," Sale said. "This is flat-out embarrassing. For my family, for my team, for our fans. This is about as bad as it gets. I have to pitch better. I keep saying the same things, but at the end of the day, you go out there and give up four runs here, five runs here, seven runs here ... if I get into the sixth or seventh inning like I should -- that's who I am.

"I'm supposed to pitch into the sixth, seventh, eighth inning, finish games and stuff like that, save our bullpen, cut it off when we're losing and keep winning streaks going. That's not who I've been."

Asked if, as Cora said, the "real" version of him is coming, Sale said: "You'd better f---ing hope so."

NEW YORK -- Since he was in the minor leagues, James Paxton, whether he wins, loses or draws a no-decision, has done the exact same thing in the days after he makes a start.

He picks up the phone.

The left-handed pitcher's post-outing routine regularly includes long conversations with the dedicated sports psychologist he connected with years ago after signing with mega-agent Scott Boras.

On the heels of a disappointing five-run, four-inning shelling at Houston last week, and with his first foray into the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry looming this week, the southpaw felt compelled in recent days to chat not just once with the psychologist -- but twice.

"It was big," Paxton said. "Those conversations definitely helped."

A 12-strikeout two-hitter across eight masterful innings was evidence of just how much they did.

Making his rivalry debut, Paxton gave the battered, bruised and banged-up Yankees precisely what they needed in an 8-0 win Tuesday night over the similarly scuffling Red Sox.

Neither team may be leading the American League East right now, but the Yankees are hopeful a performance like the one their entire team had in such a meaningful early-season game might spark a run of some kind.

"This is a big game for us," Paxton said. "The rivalry really got the juices flowing, got the boys going, and everyone played well: defense, we hit the ball really well, we were taking good at-bats, pitched well. Everything kind of came together, and hopefully we can build off of this and get on a roll."

If the 7-9 Yankees do begin rattling off wins, many of them might credit Paxton's stellar outing for getting it all started.

"Paxton was unreal tonight," left fielder Clint Frazier said. "He was confident. From the get-go, he was out there throwing 100 [mph]. And when you're doing that, it's going to be hard to hit a guy whenever his stuff's going like that.

"There's a reason he's here, and it's for moments like that. That's really impressive to go out and watch."

Officially, Paxton's four-seam fastball peaked at 99.2 mph. It was the 99.1 mph heater he threw to close out an 11-pitch 1-2-3 first inning that helped convince the southpaw he was about to have a special night.

Part of Paxton's conversations with his psychologist revolved around establishing himself as the aggressor as early in Tuesday's start as possible. That meant not only relying on his gas, but leaning heavily upon it. After two innings, 20 of the 26 pitches Paxton had thrown were four-seamers.

"Everything comes off my fastball," Paxton said. "Because I was throwing hard, they had to cheat to it, and that allowed me to throw the breaking ball later in the game and get some chases on that because they were cheating to the fastball. When I'm throwing that fastball like that, everything plays off of it."

Catcher Austin Romine noticed the life in Paxton's fastball very early in the game. He decided to call it often.

"Anytime you get someone throwing upper 90s -- 98, 99 -- that's a weapon that you've got to use," Romine said.

As good as Paxton's fastball was early, it was just as strong late. While facing four batters in a full eighth inning, he was still living in the upper registers of the 90s. In a seven-pitch at-bat against Mookie Betts to close out the eighth, Paxton's six four-seamers registered the following on the radar gun: 97.3 mph, 97.1, 97.2, 98.5, 97.7 and 97.4.

The 98.5 mph fastball came on Paxton's 108th pitch of the game.

"I feel like he's settled in," manager Aaron Boone said. "I know he wanted to be a little more aggressive and pitch with more intent and confidence, and he went out there and did it himself, and completely set the tone for the night just with his stuff and his pounding of the zone."

Of the 110 pitches Paxton threw, 78 were 95.0 mph or faster.

Virtually unhittable, this was the 12th time in Paxton's seven-year career that he had 10 or more strikeouts in a game. His 12 strikeouts also were the second-most in his career in a single game, outpaced only by the 16 he had against Oakland last May.

"That's what he's capable of when he has his really good stuff," Boone said.

Paxton also became the first Yankees pitcher to record an eight-inning, 12-strikeout game against the Red Sox since Sept. 2, 2001, when Hall of Famer Mike Mussina was perfect for 8 2/3 innings before Carl Everett reached with a base hit.

Paxton also became the first pitcher in Yankees history to have 12 or more strikeouts and allow two or fewer hits versus the Red Sox at either iteration of Yankee Stadium. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he's also the first Yankees pitcher to have 10 or more strikeouts in a start against Boston, and allow no runs.

"It's a big deal because it's against Boston -- especially being here -- we want to beat Boston every time," said Paxton, who also had a 10-strikeout game against the Red Sox while pitching for Seattle two seasons ago. "It was a big start for me, just to get my feet under me and show myself that I can be here and do this."

As Paxton prepared for this start, he watched video of his past outings against the Red Sox that came while he pitched for the Mariners.

Something that stood out in particular Sunday while he was at home watching his July 2017 and June 2018 starts against Boston was the aggressiveness with which he pitched with. He was really driving his body toward home plate, generating momentum that he wished to replicate.

Paxton had already had one conversation with his psychologist about his mindset entering this start, but after seeing his old successful self, he wanted to reinforce what he saw. So Tuesday, hours before he took the mound, he had one final talk to be ready for the raucous environment that comes with Sox-Yankees in the Bronx.

The psychologist's charge?

"Just to embrace it," Paxton relayed. "Go after it and be aggressive and enjoy the intensity of it."

Apparently Paxton listened.