Since 2015, a major part of Bangladesh's success in ODI cricket was because of their ability to take wickets with the new ball. However, since the start of 2019, their main quicks have managed only seven wickets in the first Powerplay, at a strike-rate of 113.14 and a bowling average of 103. This is the first problem their new bowling coach Charl Langeveldt will have to try to fix.

As a function of playing at home a lot, most of the Bangladesh fast bowlers know how to exploit pitches that are slow and partial to spin. The cutter, for example, is Mustafizur Rahman's go-to delivery, and he was able to put it to good use even in England where all 20 of his wickets in the World Cup came after the 30th over. However, for Bangladesh to be a successful bowling unit in all conditions, Langeveldt, who has previously been part of the support staff at South Africa and Afghanistan, said they had to work on their consistency and fitness.

"In all formats you need to be consistent with the new ball," he told ESPNcricinfo. "You need to be able to hit your length consistently, and bowl at least four or five balls in the right area from where you will be able to ask questions. Most of the time at home they will play one or two seamers but when you go to South Africa, New Zealand and Australia, you might have to go with three seamers. I have to identify three fit guys who will bowl consistently in good areas and be aggressive in that length.

"If you want to be the best, you need to be able to be consistent with the new ball. You have to be consistent with the length. [Mustafizur Rahman] is good with change of pace but it is hard with the new ball. The wicket is not gripping at times. For me it is to get the seam position nice and straight. He uses a lot of offcutters into the wicket but for me the key would be able to swing the ball back in to the right-handers, and take it away from the left-handers."

Langeveldt was the South Africa bowling coach in 2017 when they beat Bangladesh 2-0 with the visiting pacers picking up just nine wickets in the entire Test series.

"This is a good challenge for me," he said. "I was coaching the South Africa bowlers couple of years ago when we played against them, and we saw them struggle in foreign conditions. They were struggling with consistency in line and length. It is a thing that can be fixed, and I have to see if it is a technical problem. It will be my challenge."

Langeveldt pointed to the fast bowling revolution taking place in India as proof that teams from the subcontinent can do well abroad. "When you want to play well away from home, you need to have good seamers. India have improved because they play well all over the world. They have good spinners but they also have great seamers. I would like to ensure a few [Bangladesh] seamers come through the system and be able to compete in international cricket."

Langeveldt said that he is the type of bowling coach who likes to be up front with the players, so that he can quickly identify their strengths and weaknesses. "I will go to the bowler first, discuss things with him. What does he think? Then I would try to implement my coaching philosophy on him, and tell him if you want to be the No 1 bowler in the world, this is what you need to do.

"How can I help you? If this is a technical thing, I will definitely help him. But first it is a discussion between me and player, what his shortcomings are, and then we will take it forward from then."

Mushfiqur Rahim said that while defeat against Sri Lanka in Bangladesh's ongoing ODI series was disappointing, it didn't mean that the progress Bangladesh had made in the past few years amounted to nothing. Bangladesh lost the second ODI, giving Sri Lanka an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

The loss comes on the back of a World Cup campaign that fizzled out after promising much at the start, with Bangladesh eventually finishing eighth on the table.

Against Sri Lanka on Monday, the visiting team were in deep strife at 117 for 6, but Mushfiqur's unbeaten 98 steered them to a competitive 238 for 8. Mushfiqur was a study in patience as he held back his shots for a long time, ensuring there was no collapse.

"It is always disappointing to lose, no matter how many runs I score individually," Mushfiqur said. "After our World Cup campaign, this series was an opportunity to prove that we are on the right path. Maybe we haven't been able to do in the last two matches but that doesn't mean our progress from the last five to seven years will vanish suddenly. We are certainly going through a struggling period, so the challenge is to turn it around quickly. We are all trying our best to make it happen. We have another opportunity in the next match."

Mushfiqur didn't regret missing out on a century, though if his final-over plan of farming the strike and going big had worked, he might well have done so.

"I was trying to get the team to the 250-mark, which wouldn't have been easy to chase," he said. "I was trying to keep strike in the last over so that I can retain strike with twos, fours or sixes. Ultimately it is not a problem [to not get to a hundred]. Our focus is to win the next game, because it is a matter of pride."

Mushfiqur agreed that the senior duo of Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah being out of form - their struggles have coincided with Bangladesh losing their last four ODIs - meant greater pressure on the other players. "Tamim and Riyad bhai have been performing for years but when they are not clicking, the pressure is a little more on the other players. Big players can soak up the pressure in big games, and counter-attack," he said. "I think we are a little behind in that regard, but they are trying heart and soul. The quicker they can come back, it will be better for the team."

One moment, Kaleigh Gilchrist was celebrating an unprecedented third straight world championship for the U.S. women's water polo team.

In the next moment, she was headed to a hospital in South Korea.

Gilchrist was partying with teammate Paige Hauschild and other competitors from the world swimming championships when a balcony at a nightclub near the athletes' village collapsed early Saturday morning, killing two people and creating a chaotic scene in the southern city of Gwangju.

"We were having the best night ever celebrating our win, and somehow, a freak accident happened," Gilchrist told The Associated Press in a phone interview.

Gilchrist, a 27-year-old attacker from Newport Beach, California, who also was part of the United States' gold medal-winning team at the 2016 Olympics, sustained some deep lacerations on her left leg and needed stitches for cuts on her left thigh. But she said she had no broken bones or nerve damage.

Gilchrist had surgery later Saturday morning. She remained in the hospital Monday while doctors monitored her recovery, but she hoped to return to the U.S. on Tuesday.

She was counting her blessings, too.

"We are the lucky ones and our thoughts and prayers go out to the families who have lost loved ones," she said.

Gilchrist, who also has traveled the world as an accomplished surfer, remembers only parts of the harrowing night.

Hours after the Americans' 11-6 victory over Spain in the final, Gilchrist was on the balcony with Hauschild, U.S. men's water polo player Johnny Hooper and other athletes when it collapsed.

"It was all pretty quick, I think," Gilchrist said. "But I remember falling and I talked to Johnny and we kind of thought the same thing: It's like, we felt like (we were) falling for 10 seconds, which it probably ended up being one or two seconds. But everything kind of slowed down."

Gilchrist said the railing of the balcony was lined with glued-down beer bottles that shattered when it collapsed. She thinks she was helped up before she made her way out of the nightclub with Hauschild.

When Gilchrist got outside, she realized the extent of her injuries and laid down on the sidewalk. She then received help from players of several water polo teams, and Christopher Bates, a trainer for the U.S. men's team, joined the group.

"Chris was kind of just the biggest blessing," Gilchrist said. "He came, he's a trainer, he put his belt around my leg as a tourniquet and he came in the ambulance with me."

Through FaceTime, Gilchrist was in touch with her parents, Jenny and Sandy, and sister, Ali, shortly after she was injured. Bates and her U.S. teammates also provided updates. Larnie Boquiren, a trainer for the women's team, and team doctor Seth Schmoll also helped care for Gilchrist.

"My mom wanted to fly out, but I said, 'Don't worry. I'm here with our trainer, Larnie, and Dr. Seth,'" Gilchrist said. "They've been so great to me, so I told my mom don't worry and I'll be home in no time.

"She still wanted to come, but it's all good."

Hauschild, Hooper and U.S. center Ben Hallock also were hurt. Hauschild received stitches on her right arm and Hooper needed stitches for cuts on his left hand. Hallock had some minor scrapes on his legs.

Gilchrist said she should know more about her recovery after she returns to the U.S., but she is hoping to be back in the pool with the team in a few months. The U.S. became the first team to win three straight world water polo titles with the victory in South Korea, and it is a big favorite to win a third consecutive gold at the Olympics next year.

"It's awesome to be a part of history and I think there's something special about our team," Gilchrist told the AP. "It's just a bummer that an incident like this has to bring headlines to our team and not just the way we play the game and the way we work and grind. I think there's something to be said of the success and I think a lot of people could learn from us."

Imagine being Marcus Stroman right now. He had to be 100 percent certain that he was headed to the Yankees or Astros as the missing piece for a World Series favorite.

Surprise, Marcus! Welcome to the New York Mets, a team that is decidedly not a World Series favorite, with a 50-55 record and odds of making the playoffs at 9.6%, according to FanGraphs. The Mets' chances of winning the World Series? A microscopic 0.3%.

Toronto, I love you...forever! ??

— Marcus Stroman (@MStrooo6) July 28, 2019

While the deal left most (including our Keith Law) scratching their heads, this trade, more than anything else, throws another kink into a completely unpredictable trade deadline that just got even more confusing -- and keep in mind that the one and only deadline this year is July 31. There is no backdoor route to deals in August like the Justin Verlander-to-Houston blockbuster of 2017.

Consider the immediate fallout of Stroman going to the Mets for pitching prospects Anthony Kay and Simeon Woods-Richardson:

-- Stroman is not going to the Yankees or Astros, the favorites to land the right-hander with a 2.96 ERA. Stroman is under team control for another season, so the trade would be similar in philosophy to when the Astros acquired Verlander, who was signed through 2018 at the time.

-- The Mets are apparently going for it, which seemingly would take Noah Syndergaard, one of the best and most intriguing starting pitchers in the rumor mill, off the trade market. In the tight NL wild-card race, things can turn around in a hurry. Four days ago, the Mets were 46-55 with playoff odds of 3.9%. A four-game win streak has made their playoff chances a little more viable, though they're still six games behind the Cubs, Cardinals and Nationals, who are tied for the NL Central lead and the two wild cards.

-- With Stroman traded and Syndergaard apparently (maybe?) staying put, the starting pitching market is suddenly a lot thinner, especially with the increasing likelihood that the Giants will hold on to Madison Bumgarner. The Giants took two of three from the Padres this weekend to win their seventh series in a row and are just 2½ games back in the wild-card race. Are they a playoff team? Probably not -- 23 of their next 26 games are against teams currently .500 or better -- but I can't imagine the Giants trading their ace and giving up on Bruce Bochy's final season when they're so close to a playoff spot.

-- The big winner in the Stroman trade might be the Texas Rangers, as Mike Minor's trade value probably just got a little higher. There's no guarantee that the Rangers will trade Minor -- he's signed through 2020 and could be the Opening Day starter in their new park next season -- but he now might be the best available starter, sitting on an 8-6 record with a 3.00 ERA in a tough hitter's park.

Maybe all this leads to what could really make this a crazy trade deadline: What will the Yankees do now? They are arguably one starter away from being a dominant team.

Will anyone take New York's prospects at the deadline? Domingo German allowed three runs in 5⅓ innings on Sunday, snapping an unfathomably bad run of pitching for the Yankees. They have allowed five-plus runs in nine consecutive games -- an average of 9.3 per contest. Even including German's start, Yankees starters have a 13.50 ERA in their past nine games, allowing 67 hits, 60 runs and 20 home runs in 37⅓ innings.

Has this nightmare stretch increased Brian Cashman's blood pressure enough to make him more desperate to make a deal? Add that CC Sabathia landed on the IL with right knee inflammation, and factor in the rotation's month-by-month ERAs:

April: 3.50
May: 4.07
June: 5.75
July: 6.32

You don't need a doctorate in sabermetrics to know that's not a good trend. Of course, Cashman doesn't have to get a starting pitcher. Maybe Sabathia's IL stint is more precautionary than anything, and maybe Luis Severino makes it back, and maybe James Paxton gets straightened out. German and Masahiro Tanaka have been pretty solid for the most part. Cashman could decide to add more bullpen depth and simply rely on the relievers carrying a big workload in the postseason.

Or he could go after Robbie Ray of the Diamondbacks. Or maybe the Indians will be willing to part with Trevor Bauer if they can pry super prospect Deivi Garcia from the Yankees. Or maybe New York will settle for Tanner Roark from the Reds.

All eyes will be on Cashman, but the team that has the most on the line this week might be the Dodgers. After falling short in the World Series the past two seasons, they once again have the best team in the National League, though one with an obvious weakness in late-game bullpen consistency. The Dodgers are ninth in bullpen ERA, but that masks what has been a problem late in games: Their relievers are 25th in the majors in win probability added. It hasn't been a clutch bullpen, which sounds all too familiar to Dodgers fans.

The Dodgers absolutely should be willing to make a big move to add to their bullpen. If that means giving up a couple of top prospects to get Felipe Vazquez from the Pirates, do it. The Dodgers have acquired Yu Darvish and Brian Dozier the past two seasons at the deadline, but neither required giving up any of their best prospects. L.A. should be willing to do that this year for the right reliever. Vazquez might be the difference between ending a 31-year World Series drought and losing for a third straight year in the Fall Classic.

But it's not all about the Yankees and Dodgers -- they're just the two teams most likely to turn this into a really crazy deadline. Otherwise, it might be a lot of shuffling of relief pitchers and back-end rotation help. Of course, those small moves could make a difference -- the Indians, A's, Red Sox and Rays are separated by four games for two wild-card spots (and the Indians are just two games behind the Twins in the AL Central). In the NL Central, the Cubs and Cardinals are tied for first, the Brewers are just a game back, and every NL team is within 7½ games of a wild card except the Pirates and Marlins.

What will happen? The clock is ticking.

LEXINGTON, Ohio – Two race weekends ago, Hunter McElrea trailed early season pacesetter Braden Eves by 41 points in the quest for the Cooper Tires USF2000 championship.

Now, it’s game on, as the duo vies for a scholarship to move up to the Indy Pro 2000 Championship presented by Cooper Tires, the next rung on the Road to Indy ladder.

After a second-place finish on Saturday and a hard-earned victory Sunday morning for Pabst Racing, New Zealander McElrea now trails Eves, whose Cape Motorsports team endured struggles all weekend, by just nine points heading into the final four races.

Saturday’s winner, Christian Rasmussen, maintained his excellent run of form by finishing second for Jay Howard Driver Development Colin Kaminsky rounded out the podium.

“It was a bit of redemption today. We really dominated this weekend, quickest in practice and double pole, but I had a bad first lap yesterday and Christian drove amazing,” noted McElrea. “Today was our day, though. It wasn’t easy – it’s never easy – but that was as close to a perfect race as I’ve come. I knew Christian would be quick early on because he had new tires, so I had to have a clean start and just keep hitting my marks. Once we had a good gap, it was just about maintaining that.

“I pushed a bit toward the end to get fast lap, because every point is important, but then we backed it off to bring it home,” he added. “It was an amazing weekend and we have momentum now. My focus is just to keep doing this, worrying about my own performance and getting as many points as I can. If I keep working hard, I’ll keep getting up here.”

McElrea started from the pole for the second day in a row, once again with Rasmussen for company on the front row of the grid.

Clearly having learned from his prior mistake, when he left a small opening for his rival, McElrea made an exemplary start to Sunday’s 20-lap race and maintained his advantage on the opening lap.

The pair exchanged fastest laps a few times in the early stages, but even though the gap between them never stretched to more than 1.2 seconds, McElrea remained in control before finally taking the checkered flag for his second win of the season by .5652 seconds.

Kaminsky chased gamely after the leading pair but was unable to offer a serious challenge. Instead, he came under increasing pressure from Zach Holden, who came up only a half-second shy of the podium.

Another tremendous start by Englishman Matt Round-Garrido saw his BN Racing Tatuus USF-17 vault from 10th on the grid to sixth on the opening lap. Unfortunately, this time he was unable to maintain that pace, and  slipped back outside the top 10 by the end.

Jak Crawford emerged in fifth place, marking a strong debut for the Cape Motorsports team by once again emerging as the Florida-based team’s best finisher, but Darren Keane posted the drive of the race after charging from 17th on the grid to sixth.

Series leader Eves ended his disappointing weekend with a lackluster seventh-place finish.

PORTLAND, Ore. – Veteran Greg Pickett delivered on his post-qualifying promise, reeling off a stunning series of fast laps early and romping to victory in Sunday’s Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli West Championship race at Portland Int’l Raceway.

What Pickett didn’t predict was a race-long challenge from Michelle Nagai, whose No. 72 Berkeley Jet Drive Inc. Chevrolet Corvette out-jumped second qualifier Simon Gregg’s similar machine at the start and stuck to the rear wing of Pickett’s white Mustang through the first six laps before ever-so-slowly slipping back.

Through two yellow-flag periods, Nagai kept Pickett honest, and she finished a strong second, 15 seconds back after a virtuoso performance in only her fourth Trans Am start.

“I did qualifying laps every lap trying to stay with him,” said an excited Nagai. “I learned so much from him, found such a smooth rhythm. And zero problems with the car for once! I looked at the back of him for longer than I ever expected.

“Second is second, but it’s not the first loser today.”

Pickett, celebrating his 22nd career Trans Am victory, was quick to offer praise.

“Michelle, would you be a little easier on an old guy? No, she will not!”

“I love coming to PIR — this is three wins in a row up here,” Pickett continued. “The fans are most gracious, the weather’s always beautiful — we appreciate the people of PIR. And of course, thanks to my wife Penny who’s allowed me to do this all these years. I’m deeply appreciative; those memories are precious to me. Thanks everybody — thanks to my competitors, and congratulations to that great TA2 race I came upon from time to time.”

Gregg had a low-key weekend, qualifying second but slowly slipping back into the clutches of a race-long TA2 powered by AEM class tussle, ultimately finishing third in TA following Michael Fine’s retirement in the No. 66 Architectural Glass Systems Chevrolet Camaro.

Third place, though, was enough to clinch the Trans Am West championship – the Floridian’s second career TA title after winning the 2012 national crown.

Meanwhile, blue skies, a gentle wind and cooler temperatures were the unlikely backdrop for a heated, intense TA2-class battle that stretched through all 53 laps.

Local driver Brad McAllister led every lap from the pole, but that fact belies the fierce jockeying for position behind.

Second at the finish was teenage soon-to-be pre-med college student Matthew Butson, whose No. 19 Butson Racing Chevrolet Camaro dogged Anthony Honeywell for the first 10 laps until Honeywell’s team boss suggested he started saving tires and let Butson by.

On lap 16, a full-course yellow brought the pace car out, as TA2 runners Michele Abbate and David Smith tangled in the final corner, forcing Nicholas Rosseno off track as well.

Butson closed right in on McAllister on the restart, but Honeywell dropped back. His Camaro’s handling was suddenly off, with what was later discovered to be a broken A-arm.

McAllister’s hard pace took him right to the tail end of the TA field, but he pulled Butson along with him, the white Camaro finishing just two seconds behind the black Mustang.

“Winning on my home track is long overdue,” said a happy McAllister on the podium. “The last two years I’ve had mechanical issues. This year, I got stuck in traffic in the closing laps, and I had Matthew in my mirrors. Luckily the yellows worked out, the tires were great, brakes hung in there, but Matt was right there behind me the whole time.

“This is long overdue, but I’m glad it’s here!”

Honeywell finished a distant third, fortunate to make it to the end with a damaged suspension, while Tim Lynn was fourth and Mitch Marvosh fifth after almost a race-long duel.

With his win, pole and laps in the lead, McAllister moves to the top of the TA2 standings by two points over Honeywell, with just one race remaining to sort out this year’s title.

Beau Borders was the lone survivor in the GT class, after Roger Eagleton retired with a failed alternator on lap 42.

Before that, the pair had swapped the class lead back and forth five times at start-finish, perhaps more often on the back part of the course – a thoroughly entertaining scrap that sadly didn’t carry to the flag.

LEXINGTON, Ohio – Scott Dixon is still the king of Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

The five-time NTT IndyCar Series champion scored his sixth career victory at the 13-turn, 2.258-mile circuit during Sunday’s Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio.

It was Dixon’s 46th career Indy car win. He now pulls to within six of Mario Andretti’s total of 52, second on the all-time wins list.

Dixon defeated rookie teammate Felix Rosenqvist by .0934 seconds – the closest Indy car finish at Mid-Ohio and the third-closest Indy car finish on a road or street course.

Only races at Portland Int’l Raceway in 1997 and 1986 were closer than Sunday’s thriller.

“These days are huge,” Dixon said. “I think I understand and know what it takes to get something — I think the ones like this coming from eighth and being able to pass cars and make the strategy work and as a team effort and have a one-two finish for Chip (Ganassi, his team owner) I think is huge. It could have been a one-two either way there (on) the last lap with Felix Rosenqvist.

“But I’m just super proud of the team. It’s almost unheard of to have cars that were sixth and eighth on the grid come through and drive through the field like we did today to finish first and second.”

Dixon started eighth and raced his way to the lead on a set of Firestone red tires, that gave him the speed and advantage he needed.

He was involved in a brilliant side-by-side battle with Will Power that could be best described as a “man’s race” when the two champions fiercely fought for position in what would ultimately be the determining factor in getting Dixon to the lead.

That battle began on lap 32 after their first pit stops and Power was on black tires. The two drivers raced through the tight turns of the track, even bumping a time or two, before Dixon passed Power on lap 34.

At the time, it was a battle for ninth and 10th place, but with a mixed-up field of pit strategy, it ultimately allowed Dixon to drive to a huge lead once he took over first place on lap 46.

Dixon would ultimately build a 14.2908-second lead over his rookie teammate Rosenqvist.

“Honestly, from where I sat, he didn’t really give me any room, which I was kind of disappointed, especially on the approach,” Dixon said of Power. “When you’re coming in there at 185 miles an hour and he was giving me kind of a half a car width into turn four, I expected a little bit more from him on that. And then obviously when I got around him in five and then he just drove me off, obviously it’s good for a spectator, but for me it was not so good. I knew we were going to get him, it’s just – it added like another five- or six-second delay to what I had.

“But Will is going to drive tough. He’s racing for wins right now, and he’s a hell of a competitor, and as we’ve seen, the guy is super-fast. But I probably would have expected a little bit more (respect) from him in those situations.”

SONOMA, Calif. – Robert Hight finished off a standout weekend by racing to his 50th career Funny Car win on Sunday during the NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway.

Billy Torrence (Top Fuel), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were also winners in their respective categories at the 15th of 24 events during the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season.

Hight, the current points leader, qualified No. 1 in his Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro SS and earned his fifth win in 2019 by going 3.973 seconds at 325.45 mph in the final round against Matt Hagan’s 4.030 at 316.60.

With the victory, Hight’s second straight at Sonoma, the two-time world champion became just the third driver in Funny Car history to reach 50 career wins.

To get there, he knocked off Blake Alexander and Tommy Johnson Jr., while Hagan picked up his 58th final-round berth with round wins against J.R. Todd, Jack Beckman and John Force.

Hight and Johnson also clinched spots in the Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship.

“The first national event I ever attended was right here, and I never honestly dreamed I would get to drive a Funny Car,” said Hight, who now has three wins in Sonoma. “I still have to pinch myself. It’s hard to believe I’m at 50 (wins). Matt Hagan had the best car out there in the second and third round, and we had to step up in the final.

“We didn’t want to get outrun, and we really pushed in the final and got the win.”

Top Fuel’s Billy Torrence scored his second win this season and third in his career thanks to his final-round run of 3.804 at 320.20 in his Capco Contractors dragster to beat No. 1 qualifier Clay Millican’s 3.842 at 321.65.

To reach the final round, Torrence beat Steve Faria, Austin Prock and his son, points leader and defending world champ Steve Torrence.

It ended Steve Torrence’s impressive string of nine-straight final rounds in 2019, while Millican beat Brittany Force and Antron Brown to earn his 16th career finals appearance.

“We had a good car going into raceday and we were just steady,” Billy Torrence said. “We had a really tough race against Steve, and we knew Clay had a good car. It took it all (to beat him). We have a good car and we’re capable of winning everywhere we go. I couldn’t do this without Steve’s team and it takes all of those guys. They make certain I have a very well-prepared car every time I show up, and they make me look good.”

Pro Stock’s Anderson kept his hope alive to sweep the Western Swing after winning his second straight race this season and 93rd of his career, going 6.602 at 208.71 to beat No. 1 qualifier Alex Laughlin in his Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro in the final.

Anderson, who is the only driver in Pro Stock history to sweep the Western Swing, will have a chance to follow his 2004 sweep next weekend in Seattle.

He reached the final round with victories against Kenny Delco, Jeg Coughlin Jr. and teammate Jason Line, while Laughlin beat Val Smeland, Erica Enders and points leader Bo Butner to reach his sixth career final round.

Butner also earned his spot in the Countdown to the Championship.

“It’s been a long time since I won two races in a row and it’s more of a mind game than anything, and you’ve got a find a way to get that right,” said Anderson, who has a class-best six victories at Sonoma. “This is going to do a lot for me. Sonoma has always been one of my very favorite tracks on the circuit. I love the tracks where the cars run fast.

“As two races have shaken out, I’m the only guy standing with a chance to (sweep the Swing), and I’ll go into Seattle with a smile on my face, eager to race and see if the cards can fall the right way again.”

Pro Stock Motorcycle points leader Hines made it a double-win weekend by earning his seventh victory of 2019 and 55th in his career with a 6.790 at 198.00 on his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson FXDR in the final round.

Hines beat Matt Smith’s 6.822 at 197.36. It follows his win in the Mickey Thompson Pro Bike Battle on Saturday, and gives the winningest rider in class history the Pro Stock Motorcycle version of the Western Swing sweep.

Hines won last weekend in Denver and the class doesn’t race next weekend in Seattle. The seven victories are also a career-best in a single season for Hines.

He beat Kelly Clontz, Scotty Pollacheck and Jerry Savoie en route to the final round, while defending world champ Smith beat Jianna Salinas, Ryan Oehler and Hector Arana to advance to his 53rd final round.

Eddie Krawiec, Smith and Hector Arana Jr. all clinched berths in the Countdown to the Championship this weekend as well.

“It’s absolutely mind-boggling what we’ve been able to achieve this year,” said Hines, a three-time winner in Sonoma. “The confidence with my motorcycle and my team, and the level of performance and professionalism the guys bring to the starting line every single time, it’s unsurpassed right now.

“I can sit on that starting line with confidence and it’s just unreal. I feel I’m probably riding the best in my career and I just want it that much more.”

When Australia announced their six-strong fast bowling cartel for the Ashes series on Friday, Jhye Richardson's absence slipped quietly by.

One of the stars of Australia's last Test series against Sri Lanka, and arguably the gold nugget find of their toughest home summer in decades, was instead sitting in a hotel room in Darwin preparing for a guest appearance in a club match for Nightcliff the following day, his first outing since dislocating his right shoulder against Pakistan in Sharjah in March.

There was a small hope, after a careful build up, that he might be given the opportunity to be added to the Ashes squad for the back end of the Test series should his playing return go smoothly. But despite getting through Saturday's match, where he took 1 for 67 from his 10 overs, the selectors had already told him two days earlier that they would settle with the pacemen they had in England.

Richardson, 22, has every right to be bitter at the cricketing gods. A selfless act of desperation to save his team a boundary in Sharjah cost him the opportunity of a lifetime, appearing in a World Cup and an Ashes in the same English summer. But there was no bitterness, just a slow realisation and acceptance.

"I think just progressively I got the understanding that I wasn't quite ready to go," Richardson told ESPNcricinfo on Saturday. "But I gave it my best shot. I had a lot of good people around me. I did everything I could. That was in the back of my mind. I said to myself you've done everything you can and it wasn't meant to be.

"When [the injury] first happened, initially I'd like to think I was pretty calm. Obviously your adrenaline is still going because a highly traumatic injury has just happened and you're still buzzing around trying to figure out what's going on. You probably don't understand the true effect of what's just happened at that moment. When I got home, the magnitude of the potential of having an extended time on the sideline probably sunk in a little bit more. But I think with that though, having the plan or the goal to get to the World Cup helped a lot. It gave me a lot of positivity. Whilst it was quite ambitious it sort of allowed me to keep track on something and really put my mind to something."

"While it would be great to go over there it would be just as good to watch the guys go about their business over there and hopefully win an Ashes series. If something goes down, I'll try and get over but if that doesn't happen, we've still got a lot of cricket in Australia as well in the Australian summer. If the pace bowling stocks do get tested a little bit then I'm ready to go."

Unlike Josh Hazlewood, who found it hard to watch the World Cup having also missed selection, Richardson's only trouble was staying up late enough in Perth. "I watched a bit of it," he said. "Most games on the TV. I didn't quite make it through all of them."

He watched while the Ashes carrot was still dangling in front of him. Cricket Australia's selectors and medical staff liaised with the WACA high performance team in Perth to put a program in place. He did join the Australia A squad for their training camp in Brisbane in early June and then returned to Perth to progress to eight to ten-over spells in the nets ahead of Saturday's game in Darwin. CA even sent cameras and an analyst to Darwin to record data on his return.

Despite already knowing he had missed his chance, he was upbeat about his performance in his comeback clocking the mid-130kph mark.

"Obviously I was very, very rusty," Richardson said. "It was the first game in three or four months so I couldn't expect miracles. In terms of shoulder wise, I coped fine. The pace was okay. Probably a little bit better than I expected. From all reports here, the day's gone well. After today, it gives me a little bit more confidence that I'm ready to go. Practice is always good, but just being able to play in a game over bowling in the nets with no batter, just gives myself a better idea of where I'm at, and where I'm at I'm pretty happy with."

Richardson will not stay in Darwin to play more cricket. Instead he will head back to WA to resume pre-season training with the Western Warriors. He has no shortage of inspiration within the WA squad. Nathan Coulter-Nile suffered a shoulder dislocation in a BBL game in December 2015, and returned to play international cricket in March the following year, while Ashton Turner is also currently recovering shoulder surgery after missing World Cup selection.

Richardson's durability is another source of confidence. Last Australian summer he played more days and bowled more overs than Pat Cummins in all formats. Five consecutive Shield games before Christmas, where he delivered 190 overs and took 27 wickets, propelled him to his Test debut.

"Everyone speaks about needing to be in such a good rhythm to bowl well," Richardson said. "And they say you bowl your fastest when you're not trying to bowl your fastest. So bowling a lot of overs takes a bit of pressure off steaming in trying to bowl as fast as you can. It's a big mental game. It's trying to get on top of the batsman and figuring out what their weaknesses are. I think bowling a lot of overs does help get your body accustomed to bowling a lot so the more balls you bowl the better you're going to get. It definitely helped in that respect."

The development of his fast bowling craft has been the most impressive feature of his meteoric rise. As a teenage tearaway his radar was not always on song, but he has learnt the value of control at the professional level.

"It's just been a thing over time," Richardson said. "Obviously coaches are there to help you, but on a personal level, bowling to the best batsman in the world it doesn't quite work trying to bowl as fast as you can because they still have the most time to hit the ball where they want to. You feel like bowling 145kph is still not quick enough. I kind of just, over time, gained an understanding that it's not the be all and end all of fast bowling. There's probably something else that you need to work out, whether that's swinging the ball or seaming the ball or have a few variations."