U.S. Soccer president Carlos Cordeiro contended Monday that analysis of federation finances showed that it paid members of the women's national team millions of dollars more than members of the men's national team over a period of nearly a decade.

Responding publicly for the first time to weeks of public and even congressional criticism since the U.S. won the Women's World Cup while national team players are in the midst of suing the federation for gender discrimination, Cordeiro sent an open letter to federation members that included the results of what he termed extensive analysis of 10 years of financial data.

Among the conclusions, which U.S. Soccer said were verified by an independent accounting firm, are that women's players were paid $34.1 million by the federation from 2010 to 2018 in salaries and bonuses (2018 the most recent fiscal year for which information was available). That also includes the National Women's Soccer League salaries paid by U.S. Soccer for national team-contracted players. Members of the men's national team were paid $26.4 million by the federation over the same period, the analysis concluded.

"Just as our WNT players have shared their perspective, I strongly believe that you -- as U.S. Soccer members, stakeholders, sponsors and partners -- deserve to hear ours," Cordeiro wrote Monday. "Now that the Women's World Cup is behind us, a common understanding of key facts will also help advance our shared work to grow women's soccer in America as well as the larger national discussion about equality."

The men's and women's teams operate with separate collective bargaining agreements and with separate pay structures.

Cordeiro's letter stipulated that the totals do not include money received by U.S. Soccer from FIFA for World Cup bonuses. With that money included, federation analysis said that the men earned $41 million for the same nine-year period, compared to $39.7 million for the women.

U.S. Soccer contends that it should not be held responsible for the inequity in FIFA prize money, with the winner of the men's tournament in Russia last year receiving more ($38 million) than the total prize pool for the 24 teams in the recently concluded women's tournament. Cordeiro said he continues to push FIFA president Gianni Infantino and the sport's global governing body to increase prize compensation for the signature event in the women's game.

As first reported by the Wall Street Journal, U.S. Soccer and lawyers representing the 28 players who filed suit in March have agreed to mediation. Cordeiro said he chose this time to commission and release the financial analysis because the federation did not want to disrupt the team's preparation for and participation in the Women's World Cup.

"This is a sad attempt by the USSF to quell the overwhelming tide of support the USWNT has received from everyone from fans to sponsors to the United States Congress," Molly Levinson, a spokesperson for the players, said in response to the letter. "The USSF has repeatedly admitted that it does not pay the women equally and that it does not believe the women even deserve to be paid equally. This is why they use words like 'fair' and 'equitable,' not 'equal,' in describing pay.

"The numbers the USSF uses are utterly false, which, among other things, inappropriately include the NWSL salaries of the players to inflate the women's players' compensation. Any apples-to-apples comparison shows that the men earn far more than the women."

While broadcasting and sponsorship revenue doesn't differentiate between the men's and women's teams, U.S. Soccer also pointed to ticket revenues as evidence in its favor.

The Wall Street Journal reported last month that women's game produced more total revenue than men's games in the three years after the U.S. won the 2015 Women's World Cup. U.S. Soccer countered Monday that from 2009 to 2019, the women's game produced a net loss -- ticket sales minus expenses -- of $27,544,953 compared to $3,130,980 for the men over the same period.

U.S. Soccer has faced significant public criticism for its stance on pay in the wake of the Women's World Cup, beginning with large numbers of fans in the stadium in Lyon, France, chanting "equal pay" minutes after the final against the Netherlands. A week after the final, Procter & Gamble, an official sponsor of U.S. Soccer, took out a full-page advertisement in The New York Times in support of the players and pledged more than $500,000 to the players association.

Congress has also weighed in to support the players in recent weeks.

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., introduced a bill earlier this month that would deny federal funds for the 2026 Men's World Cup, to be hosted jointly by the United States, Canada and Mexico, until the American federation agrees to pay its men's and women's teams equally. Last week, Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., and Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., introduced a similar bill in the House.

"The USSF fact sheet is not a 'clarification.' It is a ruse," Levinson said. "Here is what they cannot deny: For every game a man plays on the MNT, he makes a higher base salary payment than a woman on the WNT. For every comparable win or tie, his bonus is higher. That is the very definition of gender discrimination. For the USSF to believe otherwise is disheartening, but it only increases our determination to obtain true equal pay. If the USSF cannot agree to this at the upcoming mediation, we will see them in the court of law and the court of public opinion."

The U.S. women play their first game since the World Cup on Saturday against Ireland in the Rose Bowl, site of the famous 1999 World Cup final that cemented the team's place in the mainstream sporting consciousness.

METAIRIE, La. -- New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton says Zion Williamson's athleticism and physical stature would make the New Orleans Pelicans rookie and top NBA draft choice an intriguing NFL prospect at a handful of positions, starting with the defensive line or tight end.

But Williamson is making a case for quarterback as well, albeit in good fun.

The NFL's Saints and NBA's Pelicans are both owned by Gayle Benson, and their training headquarters are on the same campus. So the Saints have invited the 6-foot-7, 285-pound Williamson to watch their training camp practices, and on Monday included him in a quarterback challenge starter Drew Brees regularly organizes with Saints reserve QBs.

The latest challenge involved throwing a football through a basketball hoop. Williamson nearly did so from about 50 yards away.

In an interview on SiriusXM, Payton joked that the Saints thought about using a seventh-round draft choice on Williamson "in case there was a problem across the parking lot."

Payton said if he surveyed his staff on who would like a chance to develop Williamson, "there'd be five position coaches with their hands up right now, starting with the defensive line coach, the tight end coach."

"He's a tremendous prospect," Payton added. "I know they're excited and thrilled to have him here and we're excited for the Pelicans because, look, we are separated by a parking lot, and this winning culture is somewhat contagious."

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Toronto Blue Jays have called up top prospect Bo Bichette about two hours before first pitch against the Kansas City Royals on Monday night as they continued with sweeping changes to their big league roster.

The move came one day after Toronto shipped pitcher Marcus Stroman to the New York Mets for two pitching prospects and sent infielder Eric Sogard to the Tampa Bay Rays for a pair of players to be named later.

Bichette, the son of former major league outfielder Dante Bichette, is the third legacy player to join the Blue Jays' roster. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (son of Vladimir Sr.) and Cavan Biggio (son of Craig) arrived with the club earlier this season.

Bichette was playing shortstop and batting sixth for the series opener in Kansas City.

NEW YORK -- Marcus Stroman vows not to be one of those pitchers crushed by the pressure of pitching in New York -- after all, he's a native.

A 28-year-old All-Star right-hander who grew up in Medford on Long Island, Stroman was acquired by the Mets from the Toronto Blue Jays and hopes to debut for his new team on Friday at Pittsburgh as he fills a rotation slot vacated when Jason Vargas was dealt to Philadelphia.

"Oh, I think I'm ready for it. I mean, I think my personality kind of has shown that over the years, kind of never shy away from the bright lights," Stroman said Monday, a day after the trade was announced. "I get excited in the big moments, and I feel like I'm able to really kind of lock in. So I know that New York is obsessed with winning, and that's how I am. So I'm excited to kind of have that pressure behind me each and every start. I kind of enjoy that. I don't think the pressure behind it should faze me at all."

Stroman is 6-11 in 21 starts despite a 2.96 ERA that was fifth-best in the American League. He grew up near Mets starter Steven Matz, about 50 miles from Citi Field, and Stroman's family was excited by the trade.

"I'm going to be able to play baseball in kind of my backyard. They're going to be able to come watch me pitch every game," Stroman said. "I didn't actually grow up a Met fan -- I grew up a New York fan. I used to go watch Mets games as well as Yankee games. I actually played at Shea Stadium with my travel team when I was younger."

Barring more deals before Wednesday's trade deadline, he joins a rotation that includes National League Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Zack Wheeler and Matz -- a former high school rival and travel ball teammate. Stroman is eligible for arbitration next winter and can become a free agent after the 2020 season, and Toronto held only cursory talks over a long-term contract.

After Stroman was informed of the trade Sunday, he had a heated conversation with officials of the Blue Jays organization. That led to speculation he was unhappy with the swap. Toronto took the unusual step of keeping its clubhouse closed to media.

"The commotion was in a discussion that I had with some of our coaches, some of the higher-ups in our org, kind of just like an exit meeting," Stroman said. "I was just kind of voicing my opinion and I didn't like how a couple of things were handled along the process."

New York is 50-55 and started Monday six games back in the NL wild-card race, with six teams ahead for the two spots. Stroman denied he was disappointed he was not dealt to a team closer to a playoff berth.

"I knew that I could kind of be shopped anywhere," he said. "It all hit me kind of quick, and once I kind of settled and I talked to my family, the excitement kind of all settled in."

Neither Stroman nor Toronto general manager Ross Atkins would disclose details.

"This city and country is very important to him. This organization was very important to him," Atkins said. "So it was very emotional."

Stroman is 47-45 with a 3.76 ERA in six big league seasons. The 5-foot-7 pitcher often is animated, which he thinks New York fans will appreciate.

"My energy is extremely authentic," he said. "When I'm between those lines, it's kind of a different savage, a different demon that kind of is out there -- kind of go to a dark place to kind of put myself where I need to be, and I'm very passionate, very emotional. But away from the field I'm very relaxed and I'm kind of the opposite."

Toronto received 24-year-old left-hander Anthony Kay and 18-year-old righty Simeon Woods Richardson. As part of the swap, the Mets get $1.5 million from the Blue Jays to offset much of the $2,506,452 remaining on Stroman's $7.4 million salary this year.

Atkins said rebuilding Toronto narrowed eight-plus teams down to four in trade talks and did not have a firm offer until Sunday. His goal is to assemble a young roster around Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Cavan Biggio and Bo Bichette, a trio of sons of former big league stars. Bichette who was brought up from the minor leagues on Monday.

"It clearly doesn't make our current roster better," Atkins said. "Understandable that fans will be disappointed in not having Marcus Stroman and that absolute real asset today that we know can perform and make massive differences and wins and losses."

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – JR Motorsports co-owner Kelley Earnhardt Miller has been added to the BRANDT Professional Agriculture board of directors, company officials announced Monday.

Earnhardt Miller, one of the most prominent women in NASCAR, will bring drive, diversity and competitiveness to the company. She joins Chris Harbourt, Ph.D. – an assistant professor at the University of Illinois – as one of two new BRANDT board members.

“We just added two rock stars to Team BRANDT,” said Rick Brandt, President and CEO of BRANDT. “Kelley is an amazing businesswoman and leader; Chris is a unique marriage of academia and real world experience. Together, they are both entrepreneurs who know how to identify opportunities, build teams and run companies.”

Joining eight other directors and three consultants, Earnhardt Miller and Harbourt were elected for one-year terms by the BRANDT shareholders.

The daughter of late seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt, Earnhardt Miller is the backbone of JR Motorsports, overseeing the company’s race teams and its management team, as well as all business ventures for her brother, Dale Earnhardt Jr.

After she joined JR Motorsports in 2001 as general manager, the company has flourished, winning seven team championships at the highest levels of American stock car racing.

“I am excited to join the BRANDT board,” Earnhardt Miller said. “Like JR Motorsports, BRANDT is a family-owned company with a distinctive set of values and a clear vision for the future. I look forward to bringing my experience to the BRANDT board and the company overall.”

In addition to her duties at JR Motorsports, Earnhardt Miller serves on the board of The Dale Jr Foundation, which has raised over $8.1 million for various charities. She’s also the chairman of the board of Blueharbor Bank, a trustee for Iredell Memorial Hospital and a board member for Children’s Hope Alliance.

LONG POND, Pa. – Kyle Larson may have been in a backup car on Sunday at Pocono Raceway, but he didn’t let that stop him from turning in an impressive performance in the Gander RV 400.

After a crash in Friday’s opening practice session relegated him to a secondary mount and a starting spot at the rear of the grid, Larson charged his way forward through traffic, ultimately ending up with a fifth-place finish at the end of the overtime-extended event in the heart of the Pocono Mountains.

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The Elk Grove, Calif., driver wasted no time moving forward, making it all the way to sixth within the first 50 laps and earning bonus points in both stages on Sunday. He ran as high as second in the race, but faded back to fifth in the final laps after nearly tagging the outside wall during a late restart.

“I didn’t hit the wall, but I got close,” noted Larson. “I knew I was going to be close to the wall, so I bailed out of the throttle to keep myself from hitting the wall and lost momentum. I felt bad, but it was better than ending up torn up like the last time I was aggressive on a restart. It was a good day. It was a lot better car than I thought I was going to have, so it just goes to show how good our team is right now and how good our cars are.

“Last week, I felt like we had one of the fastest cars and we didn’t get to show it. Today, I felt like we were one of the fastest cars,” he added. “If I could just race a primary car, who knows what we could do. I just have to clean up a bit of what I’m doing in practice and the races, and hopefully we can get a win.”

With Sunday’s strong result, Larson now has three top-five finishes in the past four Cup Series races, solidifying himself as a playoff contender in 14th in points with just five weeks left in the regular season.

“This just goes to show how good our cars are right now,” Larson said. “Any time you have a good run in a backup car, it’s satisfying. The past two weeks in a row I feel like we’ve had good speed in our backup cars, so I’ve been really happy with that.

“I don’t want to race backup cars, though, so I just have to stop crashing.”

The New Jersey Devils continued their summer upgrade on Monday, trading a third-round pick in 2020 and a second-round pick in 2021 for left wing Nikita Gusev of the Vegas Golden Knights.

The Knights brought Gusev, 27, over from the Russian Kontinental Hockey League for the Stanley Cup playoffs last season, but he didn't see any action. Gusev became a restricted free agent, and it became clear to Vegas that his asking price and their offer -- reported to be $2 million apart -- weren't in sync.

"When you have a roster comprised of players who are deserving of a certain salary range, you are not always able to make room for everyone. This is the reality of having a good team in the salary-cap world," said general manager George McPhee.

As they did in acquiring defenseman P.K. Subban from the Nashville Predators, the Devils utilized their cap space in landing a pricey asset. Gusev signed a two-year deal with New Jersey worth $4.5 million against the salary cap, a significant investment for a player who hasn't appeared yet in the NHL.

There are reasons to believe Gusev will thrive, however. He spent the 2018-19 season with SKA St. Petersburg in the KHL, where he totaled 17 goals and 65 assists for 82 points with 10 penalty minutes and a plus-39 rating in 62 games. He led the KHL in assists and points and was selected to his fourth KHL all-star game.

In his KHL career, Gusev totaled 332 points in 391 games, had 119 goals and won the league MVP award in 2017-18. He also had 34 points in 24 games at the IIHF worlds and 12 points in six games at the 2018 Winter Olympics, where he won gold.

With Devils star Taylor Hall holding down the top-line spot at left wing, Gusev could slot in on the second line with center Jack Hughes, taken as the first overall draft pick in June. New Jersey has now added Subban, Hughes, Gusev and winger Wayne Simmonds this summer.

As for the Knights, they now own nine picks in the first three rounds of the next two NHL drafts.

The New Jersey Devils continued their summer upgrade on Monday, trading a third-round pick in 2020 and a second-round pick in 2021 for left wing Nikita Gusev of the Vegas Golden Knights.

The Knights brought Gusev, 27, over from the Russian Kontinental Hockey League for the Stanley Cup playoffs last season, but he didn't see any action. Gusev became a restricted free agent, and it became clear to Vegas that his asking price and their offer -- reported to be $2 million apart -- weren't in sync.

Who came out ahead in the swap? We grade both GMs:

The deal:

Devils get: LW Nikita Gusev

Golden Knights get: 2020 third-round pick, 2021 second-round pick

New Jersey Devils: A

SINGAPORE -- It was clear that word had spread around town that Inter were on the way back from their morning training session. All of a sudden, a crowd gathered outside the JW Marriott, the Philippe Starck-designed hotel where the team were lodging in Singapore. Tens of Inter fans hung around the foyer, an eclectic bunch of people for which the South Korean artist Lee Lee Nam's seven-meter-high wall installation, popping and mixing in the entrance, felt like an analogy.

There were locals, expats and practically every nationality from the Southeast Asia region. Kitted out in new and old replica jerseys, the names and numbers on the back reflected what an odd time it is to be an Inter supporter. Aside from the guy who had bought stock early in Andrea Pinamonti, the teenage striker Inter sold (with a buy-back clause) to Genoa this summer, the other members of the blue and black flock congregating along this stretch of South Beach were identifying with an excommunicado, Mauro Icardi.

Icardi was not on the bus returning from Choa Chu Kang stadium, where Inter had completed the first of their daily double sessions. Sent home from Inter's first training camp of the offseason in Switzerland, Icardi had effectively been quarantined, made to train alone as far from the team as possible, while the club awaited in hope -- and, for now, in vain -- for the right offer to sell him. Stripped of the captain's armband in February after the latest in a series of provocations that split the dressing room, there is no way back for a player who, at 26, is already Inter's eighth all-time top scorer and had the chance to eventually succeed Giuseppe Meazza at the top.

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"The Icardi situation is very clear, the club was very clear," Antonio Conte would say in a news conference before the July 20 meeting with Manchester United in the International Champions Cup. "He is out of Inter's project." Despite there being more than 10,000 kilometres between them, Icardi would still find a way to irritate the club by making an impromptu trip to Ibiza while the rest of the squad were sweating it out in Singapore.

'Frustrated is a big word'

When Inter's transport finally arrived and the players and coaching staff filed into the lobby, security had to intervene to protect only one of the Inter party from the autograph and selfie hunters.

Raised in Belgium but of Indonesian origin, Radja Nainggolan has a huge following in this part of the world. He stopped, signed autographs and smiled, emerging as the biggest rival to the Inter colour-coordinated Lamborghini Urus parked outside the hotel for the title of most popular photo opportunity with fans. And yet when game day arrived, Nainggolan would not even make the substitutes' bench.

Conte and Inter's general manager, Beppe Marotta, had been clear at the coach's presentation to the media two weeks ago: Nainggolan is in the same boat as Icardi. He crossed the line last season. It doesn't matter that his skill set is exactly what Conte wants from a midfielder. The goal he scored to clinch Champions League qualification on the final day of last season apparently changes nothing. Nor does his presence on tour.

Those who thought it was indicative of a rethink on the club's part were wrong. For all the compassion shown to Nainggolan amid the news of his wife's fight against breast cancer, the club is not wavering its stance regarding his future. Conte has ideas for Inter's midfield, and they do not include the 31-year-old who likes a smoke and a late night on the town.

The prevailing sentiment in Singapore amounted to this: The team is here, just not the team everyone hoped to see. It was one thing for the fans to feel that way, another entirely to learn that no one felt it more than Conte. Barely a fortnight after his unveiling as Inter's new coach, he gave the opposite of the vibe of being on honeymoon in Asia, instead cutting the same figure he did for much of his second year at Chelsea.

Inter have already bought four players for Conte. Leaving aside the gnarled Uruguayan defender, Diego Godin, who joins for free after a sparkling stint at Atletico Madrid, they have committed €101 million in fees to sign the new recruits. If a series of performance-related bonuses are met and activated, the €49m deal for Cagliari midfielder Nicolo Barella could end up breaking the club record for most expensive signing ever. The problem, as Conte saw it, was writ large on the team sheets for the Lugano and Manchester United games.

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Starting up front in both matches were Samuele Longo and Sebastiano Esposito, the former a 27-year-old centre-forward about to go out on loan for a 10th time, the latter the next big thing out of Inter's academy, a 17-year-old playmaker already part of Mino Raiola's stable who, for all the hype, still looks like a boy playing a man's game.

The solution, as Conte saw it, could be found down the sideline in the United dugout at the National Stadium. Romelu Lukaku wore a blue and black training top and left the ground with Inter's emerald-coloured away shirt, but he remains a United player. Asked if he was frustrated about the lack of progress in closing a deal for the Belgian striker, Conte said: "Frustrated is a big word." Over the course of his answer, it became clear it was not big enough.

Inter haven't bought all the players he wants, nor have they sold all the players he wants rid of. Lukaku and Edin Dzeko are not on board yet. Icardi and Nainggolan still are. Buyers for Joao Mario and Borja Valero are yet to be found, and the clock is ticking. Without the money from their sales, Inter can't deliver Conte's top targets.

"I'm optimistic," Conte bluffed. "Still, I expected we'd be further along. Problems need solving. We're behind and need to get our act together because, as I like to say, time waits for no one. You all know how important it is to me to have the players at my disposal."

Conte's strategy of ratcheting up the tension continued after the 1-0 loss to United, as he concluded publicly that Ivan Perisic doesn't have the stuff to play as the left wing-back in his system. Conspiracy theorists among the press pack speculated whether or not this constituted signalling of a different kind. Less Perisic representing a bad fit for Conte's system, more of a "GoFund Lukaku" alternative.

The pressure is on, and Conte appeared to question whether decision-makers at the club felt it as much as he did. His reputation as a serial winner -- with three Serie A titles as Juve boss and a Premier League title with Chelsea since 2011-12 -- means people are expecting instant success, and Conte knows it. Inter's season ticket allocation at San Siro sold out in a flash, and nine years without any silverware has only heightened anticipation. Millions of Inter fans consider Conte the best chance of ending that drought.

'When the games that matter come around, we'll be ready'

In Nanjing, China, the home of Inter owners Suning, Conte seemed to walk back his demands, striking a more realistic and diplomatic tone providing expectations are lowered, too. Anyone familiar with Conte, though, knows he will not settle for second place and the messaging within the camp is very different from that without.

"I'm confident," Antonio Candreva said after the United defeat, and he isn't the only one. His teammate, midfielder Roberto Gagliardini went further. "I'm convinced it's going to be a great year for us. It's only the beginning and there's a lot of work to do, but when the games that matter come around, we'll be ready."

As for Barella, he didn't have to join Inter. Former club Cagliari accepted an offer from Roma before coming to agreement with the Nerazzurri, but there was never any doubt in his mind about where he wanted to go. "I was totally convinced by Inter's project, I'm an ambitious kid," he said. "I think I've joined an ambitious club with a great coach, a great club. They want to improve, I want to improve, so I think I've joined the best club for me."

There's still a lot of work to do on and off the pitch. United, Juventus and Spurs all attracted more fans in Singapore. The Straits Times described Inter's arrival as "generally an inconspicuous affair," and but for a couple of thousand at the National Stadium, the crowd was almost entirely red. "Today was Old Trafford," Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said. "It felt like we were at home. The atmosphere was unbelievable."

When Inter's goalkeepers came out to warm up, Tommaso Berni applauded the crowd, thinking the roar from the stands was for them. Little did he know United's players were running out behind him. The International Champions Cup hype man, busy highlighting the players to look out for, elicited a big reaction while listing off the names of David de Gea, Paul Pogba and new signing Aaron Wan-Bissaka. When he switched to Inter, it was evident Samir Handanovic and Stefan de Vrij, both fine players in their own right, didn't capture the imagination in quite the same way.

The absence of a superstar with a truly international profile hit home to all but the magnificent Inter Club Indonesia, who did the Curva Nord proud. Led by a megaphone-wielding capo ultra, they marched to the ground, sang Inter songs and unfurled the choreography they brought with them from Jakarta.

In Nanjing, Inter's "second home," roughly 5,000 fans greeted the team at the airport. Juventus anticipated that Wednesday's Derby d'Italia would be a bit like playing at San Siro, so it came as a something of a surprise that their Chinese fans outnumbered Inter's. Call it the Cristiano Ronaldo effect. Put it down to this decade belonging to Juventus, the irresistible draw of glory, and factor in the efforts made to internationalise the club.

All told, it served as a reminder of the task ahead of Conte and Inter. The "little war machine" he created at Juventus is now a global juggernaut, and taking it down represents the biggest challenge of his career.

David Warner and Jonny Bairstow may have formed a blistering opening partnership in this year's IPL but Bairstow expects that will all be forgotten on the field once the pair line up on opposite sides for the first Specsavers Ashes Test, which begins on Thursday at Edgbaston.

The pair combined for an IPL opening partnership record when they blitzed 185 runs in 16.2 overs for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Royal Challengers Bangalore ahead of the World Cup. It was an eyebrow-raising combination, not just because of the brutal power-hitting on display but that it came after the 2017-18 Ashes series in Australia, during which rumours swirled about excessive sledging aimed at Bairstow by the Australian.

"I've spoken about batting with Dave a few times," Bairstow said, before a training session with partially sighted cricketers in Birmingham on Monday. "It's still England v Australia. Part and parcel of franchise cricket around the world - you'll play with people, it's something you get used to doing.

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"He'll be wanting to win for Australia, I want to win for England, but we'll still shake hands off the field. Know what I mean?"

"A lot of cricket, a lot of things have happened since Brisbane. It's so long ago. They will be looking to target people, of course they will. They will be looking for areas in people's games - like we analyse them. It is part of professional sport."

Earlier in the day Ashley Giles spoke about England handling a World Cup "hangover" and Bairstow was one of several players who backed up from the Lord's final by playing in the Test against Ireland and struggling with the bat, making a pair for the first time in Tests. But Bairstow said he had no qualms about playing in the match and was particularly eager to get back into the rhythm of wicketkeeping ahead of the Ashes.

"I didn't want to be going into the first Ashes Test having not kept - I wanted to get back keeping and the rhythm of my keeping and that was the main reason for playing in the Ireland Test," Bairstow said.

"Keeping in white ball is different to keeping in red ball - back into the rhythm. The shuttles, the moving, getting your angles with the fields - the general gist back into the swing of red-ball cricket again. Everyone was bedding back in - we haven't played it for a few months."

Bairstow is relishing the challenge of being behind the stumps for the express pace of Jofra Archer at some stage during the series, having only briefly kept to newest member of England's bowling attack after subbing in for the injured Jos Buttler against Bangladesh during the World Cup.

"Jos was having a laugh about it, saying, 'Good luck!' I've not kept to him [much] yet but it's exciting. That's another decision that has to be made - whether he starts. He's put the body through a fair bit."

While the memories and euphoria of winning the World Cup are still fresh in the mind, Bairstow believes it's important that England capitalise on the feel-good factor during the Ashes.

"I don't think that will be lost if we didn't win the Ashes. There have been series since the 2005 Ashes but everyone remembers it fondly, there have been World Cups since the rugby win in 2003 but the impact of it wasn't lost. But it is important to keep the momentum going 100 percent. It could be the biggest summer in the history of English cricket if we win the Ashes and the World Cup."

Jonny Bairstow trained with the Birmingham Vision partially-sighted cricket team ahead of the Specsavers Ashes Series opener at Edgbaston