NEW YORK -- Jurgen Klopp doesn't remember the name of the street, but he recalls the staggering traffic that delayed his arrival in Manhattan for the meeting that started it all. He can't distinguish exactly which high-rise building where that meeting was held, given the scale of steel structures painting the New York skyline, but he reminisces about the exhilaration of walking into the interview that would shape his life and one of the world's biggest sporting institutions.

The street was Lexington Avenue. The skyscraper was the law offices of Shearman & Sterling. The date was Oct. 1, 2015, and Liverpool wanted to assess the long-term vision of the man they coveted to become manager of the club.

It took Klopp six hours after landing at Kennedy Airport to navigate through to New York's East Side due to the annual gathering of the United Nations General Assembly, which was coincidentally the same amount of time Klopp spent outlining his blueprint.

Liverpool principal owner John W. Henry, Fenway Sports Group president Mike Gordon, chairman Tom Werner and the club's former chief executive officer, Ian Ayre, were so impressed by the German's depth of detail that they began drafting an agreement with Klopp's agent, Marc Kosicke, just 60 minutes into the chat. Klopp did not care for playing small; he swung big in his meeting, insisting he would restore the Reds as a powerhouse. And the Champions League-winning manager has delivered.

Create a certifiable on-pitch identity? Check. Reawaken the fan base? Check. Return Liverpool to being a force domestically and on the Continent? Check.

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At the iconic Lotte New York Palace hotel, a 10-minute walk from where he first sketched his strategy for the club, Klopp reflects on the evolution of the team in the nearly four years since his appointment.

"To be honest, that day when we were here and spoke we were full of hope, full of dreams, full of optimism," he tells ESPN FC. "Why would I not be? I signed [on] to become manager because it's a wonderful club. I liked the squad, I loved the history, all that stuff.

"So I was very, very optimistic that we'd be successful. In my dreams in that moment, we were probably more successful during these [past] four years than we have been actually," Klopp says with a laugh, but the reality is while Liverpool's progress under his watch was underlined by lifting the Champions League in June, the first trophy of his tenure, it is not solely defined by it.

Long-serving staff at Melwood, the club's football headquarters, share their perspectives on a "world-class change in every respect" at Liverpool, from nutrition through to recruitment, from the quality of the backroom team through to the upgraded playing personnel. Securing a sixth European Cup by beating Tottenham 2-0 in Madrid and getting 97 points -- seven more than Arsenal's "Invincibles" and 21 better than Manchester United's treble-winning class of 1999 -- in the Premier League last season was no accident.

"We have made a lot of decisions and will make much more in future and not all of them may work out at the end," Klopp says. "You have to accept that you need luck in these situations as well, so it means you can fail. But you have to try and you don't have to change things just for changing sake; it is so you can improve, and improvement means if you have the same person doing the same job for another year, he becomes better at it with the time and experiences.

"At the moment, it's not about bringing in new people and stuff like that. It's really about all of us using the experience we've had for being better than before. That means all this experience, all these better people will throw their knowledge together and we will be stronger. It's as easy as that and that's the plan. It's how it is with footballers, but it is also how it is with the backroom staff: There is development.

"I'm not afraid of not having a 100% hit rate with decisions or invent some new things for football or whatever. We don't have to; we just have to use our knowledge."

Klopp watched his supremely talented Borussia Dortmund side get picked apart by the game's apex predators in the transfer market: Nuri Sahin departed for Real Madrid, Mario Gotze and Robert Lewandowski were successfully seduced by Bayern and Shinji Kagawa made the switch to Man United. He did not want a repeat at Liverpool, who have become more equipped to fend off interest in their superstars under his guidance.

With the exception of Philippe Coutinho's £142 million transfer to Barcelona in January 2018, the club have not ceded a key player since Klopp took charge, and even in that instance, the Brazil international was made to wait six months to complete his "dream move" for the third-highest fee ever. At the same time, Liverpool have locked down the majority of their roster with minimum fuss. Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino, Jordan Henderson, Joe Gomez, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andy Robertson and Divock Origi have signed extended contracts with Liverpool over the past year. Virgil van Dijk wants to agree a new deal, James Milner is waiting on one and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is expected to be given fresh terms soon.

"That's actually our transfers, but nobody's interested in hearing that really because that's how it is," Klopp says.

"You have a player, he's good, you want to keep him, if he signs a new contract then for a few people, it means only that he will be more expensive when we sell him or whatever, or that it doesn't mean anything nowadays.

"In our case, these are our transfers. The new contracts and keeping these boys here is a strong, strong signal for the outside world. It's wonderful sign, to be honest. I like the fact that these boys are really at a good football age. They won the European Cup, which is good and helps of course because it increases your base."

Klopp preaches that the Champions League triumph would not have been possible without learning from the defeat to Real Madrid in the final a year earlier. In fact, all of Liverpool's "nearly moments" -- losing the 2016 League Cup final on penalties to Man City, the Europa League to Sevilla in the same season, and the heartbreaking scenes in Kiev, Ukraine, in May 2018 -- contributed to their eventual success.

Klopp explains how it played out.

"We are here, we are good. But are you a winner? People will question you and we are all influenced by the outside world, so if you don't win anything, you can't say, 'I'm actually a winner, but it just didn't work out yet.' So having the Cup helps each person, and on the other side, to go through the darker moments together is very, very important.

"You have to lose big to realise you are not a loser. You accept it has happened, yes, but that you can still be a winner. These are the things that made us all stronger and I'm happy that I have these boys, that I keep these boys together because they went through all these things.

"This group apart, the players that we signed last year went through a very dark Champions League defeat to a very bright moment at Madrid. And we lost against Real Madrid, but we won it in Madrid: It was like it was meant to be."

Leading up to that final, the manner in which Liverpool reacted to a undeserved 3-0 defeat to Barca in the semifinals of the competition at Camp Nou was flagged by Klopp as his standout moment. In the reverse fixture at Anfield, with Firmino, Salah, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita missing through injury before Robertson also had to be replaced at half-time, they pulled off a historic 4-0 comeback against all logic.

"I knew before that we can do all these things, but we are human beings so sometimes it works out that we come out on top and you can also have an off day," Klopp says. "But this was a perfect performance against Barcelona. Ali [Alisson] had to make a few good saves, but it was just a show of what's possible.

"Whatever we do, if we don't do it in a brave, big-balls way, then it doesn't work at the highest level. The way we played that day, that was the proof that, 'Wow, anything is possible.'

"'Each team is beatable on a specific day' is a phrase I used when I joined. We only have to make sure that they face the best us on the day. Having that experience as a football manager, being involved in this game, I don't feel pride a lot of time, but I was really proud of that moment. I really thought, 'Wow, that's special.'"

The sequence from that scarcely believable night that Klopp thinks and talks about most often is Alexander-Arnold's quick-thinking corner that caught everyone by surprise except Origi, who converted the set piece to send Liverpool to the final.

"When I tell people the story about Barcelona, you cannot not mention the corner," he says. "It's the smartest thing I ever saw footballwise. Then I tell people that the best thing is Trent is only 20. And even better, he's grown up like 200 yards from Melwood and I know how desperate the people are waiting constantly for these specific local figures. It could be sometimes too much pressure, but it's not for Trent."

A mural of Alexander-Arnold, commissioned and paid for by fan media outlet The Anfield Wrap, is currently being completed close to the stadium where the defining moment of the right-back's career transpired. Meanwhile Klopp, who has a wall painting in the Baltic Triangle area of Liverpool, jokes that the defender's portrait "should be around a corner" before telling him to expect a flood of pictures with friends and family posing next to it.

"I hope it's big enough, that he likes it and he has enough friends and family in Liverpool, who will be so happy with it," Klopp says. "I hope they take their pictures in front of it, like what happens with my little drawing."

Klopp's genuine care for and close bond with his players goes a long way in explaining how so many on the fringes managed to contribute during a phenomenal season for Liverpool despite being frustrated by a lack of game time. Origi scored five of the club's most important goals in 2018-19 despite being afforded only 583 combined minutes in the league and Europe. Joel Matip, who was injured and began the campaign as the fourth-choice centre-back, ended it by being as influential as Van Dijk.

"Daniel Sturridge, [Xherdan] Shaqiri ..." Klopp continues. "There was nobody who didn't do the job and that was brilliant.

"I heard now from Vicky [Jepson], the manager of our women's team, that she calls her players 'starters, finishers and supporters.' I like that idea. The best decision ever, and I'm very critical of UEFA, FIFA and whoever when we talk about the schedule, was to allow all the players to be on the bench in the Champions League final. Twenty-three were allowed and that was great.

"To be honest, one of my personal highlights is the moment Alberto Moreno jumps on my back because I didn't know it was him. It's not important that he jumps on my back, it's important to see how much that meant to him. Alberto Moreno, I could not think higher about him. I wish him all the best, from the bottom of my heart. I sent him a long message after he left [at the end of his contract to join Villarreal].

"I would've loved to have helped him more, but I couldn't, that's how it is sometimes in football: a 50-50 thing. He would've loved to play more, but how he was around the team and in the celebrations was unbelievable. That shows everything about him. We decide for ourselves what it means to us and obviously it meant everything to him to be part of that team and to be a Liverpool legend that he is now forever. It was a sensational moment."

Klopp was delighted that Sturridge and Moreno could say their goodbyes to Liverpool on a high, as European champions during a trophy parade attended by over 700,000 people. On his third anniversary at Anfield, the 52-year-old predicted, "When we win something, the city will explode in the most positive way," but even he couldn't envisage the sea of red that greeted the team when they returned from Madrid.

"It was not like anything I could imagine. No one could imagine something like that. That's the only good thing with not winning anything for a long time: It's like, you collect all the desire and stuff and all the dreams all comes together and you wait until you can use it the day when you win something. And it will be difficult to surpass that in the future, it will be difficult because it was really intense and I would love if any scientists can explain to me how 700,000 people can keep a tone, constantly over four hours.

"I have no clue how that works. Unbelievable. The noise was unbelievable and how they kept that going was unbelievable. And the eye contact, the little moments with different people were just outstanding and we knew before what it means to people obviously, but it's really different to see it face to face. And that was a big day in all our lives."

Liverpool are kings of Europe for a sixth time, but Klopp wants more. He has put a pin in revisiting the final following the club's preseason tour of the United States, with preparations for the new season to intensify during a weeklong training camp in Evian, France.

During the introductory meeting on Lexington Avenue, Klopp insisted Liverpool's greatest competitor will always be itself. An increase in greed and collective growth is therefore "not a demand, but the law."

Charl Langeveldt, the former South Africa fast bowler, will take over as Bangladesh's new fast-bowling coach. He will join the team full-time on a two-year contract.

The BCB has also appointed Daniel Vettori, the former New Zealand left-arm spinner, as Bangladesh's spin-bowling coach, on a short-term basis. Vettori will be with the team for 100 working days - which will include the tour of India later this year, and the T20 World Cup next year in Australia - and also conduct spin-bowling camps in Dhaka.

Langeveldt and Vettori replace Courtney Walsh and Sunil Joshi, whose contracts were not renewed following Bangladesh's eighth-place finish at the World Cup.

The BCB made these appointments during its board meeting on Saturday, where it also decided to renew the contracts of senior selectors Minhajul Abedin and Habibul Bashar, and extend the tenure of the white-ball batting consultant Neil McKenzie until next year's T20 World Cup.

The role of head coach remains vacant, with the BCB having spoken to a number of candidates since it parted ways with Steve Rhodes after the World Cup. "We spoke to some coaches, and Andy Flower is one of them," Nazmul Hassan, the BCB president, told ESPNcricinfo. "But nothing has been finalised. We are still talking to the coaches."

ESPNcricinfo has learned that Flower, who had initially shown interest, has declined the role due to personal reasons.

The future of fielding coach Ryan Cook could be in doubt, with the BCB displeased by Bangladesh's fielding during Friday's first ODI against Sri Lanka in Colombo. "After what happened yesterday, we have to ask the fielding coach what's wrong," Hassan said. "After that we will decide if we need a new fielding coach."

Langeveldt has previously held the role of bowling coach with South Africa (2015-2017) and Afghanistan (a short-term role in 2018). Vettori has vast experience of coaching at the franchise level, having served spells at Royal Challengers Bangalore, Middlesex, Brisbane Heat and Rajshahi Kings. He is also the current assistant coach of Birmingham Phoenix in The Hundred and head coach of Dublin Chiefs in the Euro T20 Slam.

"This is a team on the rise and there is so much experience and potential," Vettori said. "It will be a pleasure to work with the likes of Shakib Al Hasan, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam and the other up and coming youngsters which I am looking forward to with a lot of interest.

"Spin bowling has been a traditional strength for Bangladesh. I hope to share my knowledge as a player and coach of the demands of modern day spin bowling in all versions of the game and help the bowlers make good intelligent decisions so that they can maximise their talents and skills."

India A 312 (Dube 71, Saha 66, Cummins 4-40) and 97 for 4 (Bharat 28, Cornwall 2-18) beat West Indies A 228 (Cornwall 59, Blackwood 53, Nadeem 5-62) and 180 (Brooks 53, Nadeem 5-47) by six wickets

Wriddhiman Saha's back-to-the-wall 66 in his first first-class game since the Cape Town Test in 2018 and left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem's ten-wicket haul headlined India A's six-wicket win over West Indies A in the first four-dayer in North Sound.

Saha, who had been sidelined from the long format for over a year because of a spate of injuries, walked in to bat when India A were 134 for 4, 94 runs behind West Indies A's first-innings 228. He rallied the innings with 66 off 167 balls, batting for 207 minutes at a venue where he had contributed handsomely to the senior side's victory in 2016. Saha had followed his 40 off 88 balls with seven dismissals behind the stumps then.

In this game, Saha effected five dismissals to go with his half-century, and made his case to be the first-choice keeper for the senior team ahead of Rishabh Pant, who enjoyed a breakout tour of Australia in 2018-19. After fingerspinners Jomel Warrican and Rahkeem Cornwall made inroads for West Indies A, Saha put on 124 for the sixth wicket with Mumbai allrounder Shivam Dube - the highest partnership in the game. Fittingly, it was Saha and Dube who polished off India's chase of 97 before lunch on day four.

After opting to bat, West Indies A slid to 97 for 5, but fifties from Jermaine Blackwood and Cornwall propped up the hosts. Blackwood, who usually scores at a brisk clip even in the long format, ground out 53 off 116 balls while Cornwall made 59 off 100 balls. However, Blackwood's dismissal triggered another collapse as West Indies A went from 195 for 5 to 228 all out. Nadeem came away with first-innings figures of 5 for 62 in 22 overs.

In response, India A had a good start with Priyank Panchal and Abhimanyu Easwaran adding 61 for the first wicket. Warrican and Cornwall then accounted for both the openers and Shubman Gill to bring their team back into the game. KS Bharat, who is also on the radar of the national selectors, was dismissed for a golden duck.

Saha and Dube, though, revived the innings and handed India A an 84-run first-innings lead. By the time West Indies A wiped out the deficit, they were two down and middle order, too, folded against Nadeem and Mohammed Siraj. Captain Shamarh Brooks top-scored with 53 off 124 balls, but found little support from the other end as they were bowled out for 180. Barring Brooks, only opener Montcin Hodge passed 25 in West Indies A's second innings. Nadeem ended with match figures of 10 for 109.

Warrican and Cornwall once again made early inroads for the hosts, but Easwaran, Vihari and Bharat made small contributions to move India A close to their target before Saha and Dube wrapped up the chase with six wickets to spare.

Ashley Giles believes Ben Stokes' reinstatement as England vice-captain ahead of the Ashes is the logical next step in his development as a Test allrounder.

In announcing their 14-man squad for the first Test against Australia starting at Edgbaston August 1, the ECB also revealed chairman Colin Graves had approved Stokes' re-appointment on the recommendation of Ashley Giles and chief executive Tom Harrison.

Stokes had been stripped of the role during investigations into the fight outside a Bristol night club in 2017, over which he was ultimately found not guilty of affray. Stokes subsequently faced an ECB disciplinary hearing, which resulted in him being fined and banned for eight international matches in December 2018, a punishment that he had already served in missing five months of cricket, including the 2017-18 Ashes.

Giles, the managing director of England men's cricket, said Stokes was highly respected within the team environment.

"He is a natural leader and has a great understanding of the game," Giles said. "He will offer tremendous support to Joe Root as part of the senior playing group.

"Over the past 18 months, he has come a long way and has shown a great degree of maturity on and off the field.

"I have no doubts that the added responsibility will also help him to continue his rise as a world class all-rounder in the Test arena."

Stokes will take over the vice-captaincy from Jos Buttler.

Stokes scored in the 70s and 80s four times in his last five innings at the World Cup and was Player of the Match in the final at Lord's after guiding England's run-chase with an unbeaten 84 from 98 balls, as well as adding a crucial 8 from 3 in the decisive Super Over.

Jofra Archer, who is in line to make his Test debut after also being named in England's Ashes squad, credited Stokes with offering some calming words when he was chosen to bowl to New Zealand in their Super Over, with Stokes having been through a similar experience - although with a different outcome - when charged with bowling the final over of the 2016 T20 World Cup final against West Indies in Kolkata.

"If we had lost today, I don't know what I would have done tomorrow," Archer said at the time. "But Ben Stokes told me even before the over: 'Win or lose, today does not define you. Everyone believes in you.' He came to talk to me because of Kolkata. He probably went through the same emotions but was on the losing side."

There must have been a time - a simpler, happier time - when the conclusion of each Test didn't precipitate another bout of hand-wringing about the frailties of England's top-order batting.

But like roadworks on the M1, the saga of Brexit and Shahid Afridi's career, it seems England's search for a solid top three might really be endless. That Jack Leach, a county No. 11 who came into the Lord's Test averaging 4.66 this season, now has the second-highest score by an England opener since the retirement of Alastair Cook speaks volumes. As does the fact that the one man with a higher score - Keaton Jennings - has already been discarded.

So it was that, hours after England sealed their dramatic victory over Ireland at Lord's, the England management tried once more to persuade Joe Root to move back to No. 3. No matter that he has said, many times, that he doesn't want to do it. No matter that, just one Test ago, Trevor Bayliss suggested England had accepted that the side's middle-order - from No. 4 to No. 8 - was a strength that should not be weakened. No matter that the Burns-Roy experiment had been given just one innings to bed-in. The England management were clearly concerned by the fragility of their side's batting at Lord's and continue to look for a new solution.

That's understandable. The top three in action in the first innings at Lord's have just 11 Test caps between them. The promotion of Root might add some experience and solidity. Rory Burns, in particular, looked short of form and confidence. It wasn't so much that he twice nicked off, as much as he did it defending a wide ball in the second innings; a stroke that suggested some uncertainly over the position of his off stump and a scrambled mind. He has reached 30 just once in his last 10 Test innings and not at all in his last six. That is not a sustainable run of form. And while the selectors are probably right to give him a prolonged run in the side - England have been down the road of revolving door selections; it didn't work - Burns will know opportunities are running out. That knowledge won't make his job any easier.

So, if the off-field team management have their way, Root will bat at No. 3 (where he averages 40.47) at Edgbaston. That means Jason Roy could move to No. 4 and Joe Denly could open with Burns. By comparison, Root averages 48.00 at No. 4 and 71.44 at No. 5. He has made it abundantly clear he prefers to bat at No. 4 and, as captain, the decision will rest with him.

"Joe knows how I feel," Bayliss said. "It's been my thought for a few years [that Root should bat at No. 3]. But he's the captain and he'll make the final decision. He knows how I feel."

There were other options. Dom Sibley, the top run-scorer in Division One of the County Championship (he has 940 at an average of 62.66), has learned to play much straighter (he has taken to using Alastair Cook's old coach, Gary Palmer), and has recently enjoyed a run of seven centuries in 20 first-class innings. And while his somewhat old-fashioned approach may not be to England's current taste - nobody in the top 30 of the Division One batting averages scores as slowly as Sibley (41.44 runs per 100 balls this season) - the selectors may reflect that it is being bowled out too quickly rather than scoring too slowly which is England's primary problem.

In the longer-term, Zak Crawley, the 21-year-old Kent opener, looks an outstanding prospect. It seems, however, the selectors were keen not to risk a potential 10-year career by blooding him six months early and against an especially daunting pace attack. Both he and Sibley - who opened together for England Lions recently - could break into the side before the end of the series, however. James Vince's star fell during the World Cup but he, too, could yet return.

It was surprising to hear Root be quite so critical of the Lord's surface on Friday afternoon. Not just because it is out of character - if Root has such views, he has tended to keep them to himself - but because if England are going to win the Ashes, they are going to have to play on surfaces assisting their seam attack. So while this Lord's surface may have been an extreme example of a green seamer, it was hard not to think back to Trent Bridge and Edgbaston in 2015 and wonder how different this really was.

To be fair, those 2015 Ashes surfaces were a little better than this. They offered more pace, more even bounce and less lateral movement. And Root may well argue that, having already arranged to use the 2018 version of the Dukes ball - with its prominent seam and propensity to swing for much of the day - his bowlers do not require further assistance. But pitch preparation is not an exact science and Root may reflect that his side are far better suited to surfaces offering too much rather than those offering too little.

Certainly it is worth thinking back to the previous couple of Ashes series and remembering what happened when the sides met on good batting surfaces. Whether it was in London (Australia won heavily at both Lord's and The Oval) or in Australia, England's seamers struggled for penetration on good batting tracks and the extra pace in Australia's attack proved crucial. Put a little simplistically: if the Ashes is played on good batting surfaces, Australia may well be favourites.

"You don't have to be Einstein to work that out" Trevor Bayliss on whether a lack of top-order runs could be England's biggest obstacle to regaining the Ashes

All of which means England's batsmen probably face more tough days. And all of which means we probably have to be just a little more understanding of the challenges facing top-order batsmen in England. It is a desperately tough job. It is inevitable that the statistics may look grim. It's just a question of how much grimness is acceptable.

Elsewhere among the batsmen (or the all-rounders, anyway) there might have been a case for replacing Jonny Bairstow (averaging 24.42 in Test cricket since the start of the 2018 English season) with Ben Foakes and a case for replacing Moeen Ali (averaging 17.00 in Test cricket since September 2017) with Leach. But neither was especially likely at this stage. Moeen was the top-wicket taker on both England's winter tours (albeit equal with Leach in Sri Lanka) and Bairstow enjoyed a good World Cup. Still, that late middle-order - they remain likely to bat at No. 7 and No. 8 - is not quite so daunting as it once was. England will require more from both of them.

The selectors also have some difficult decisions to make with the seam bowling. Only James Anderson is, if fit, guaranteed to play (there is every indication he is fit), with the other two specialist seamers (Ben Stokes' position can be taken for granted) to be taken from a list including Jofra Archer, Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes and Olly Stone.

Odd though it sounds for a man who has yet to make his Test debut, Archer is probably an automatic selection if he is deemed fully fit, too. But England are admirably keen to protect a once-in-a-generation asset - not since the emergence of Broad, or perhaps Steven Finn, has an England seamer promised as much - who has not played a first-class game this year. So Archer's involvement at Edgbaston is not certain. And, with England keen to include some pace in their attack (and with Mark Wood being injured), Stone could yet sneak into the team. His pace, his skills and his control looked every inch Test quality at Lord's. Woakes' superior batting may give him a slight edge on Broad, but Broad's Ashes experience, record and temperament render him a strong contender. Whoever misses out can consider themselves unfortunate.

But it remains the batting that is the concern. And much remains reliant upon Root who admitted, after the Ireland Test was won, that "it would be wrong to say I'm not" feeling the exertions of recent weeks. "It's been 10 weeks of hard cricket of high emotion and of ups and downs," he admitted. "It does take a lot out of you."

There is much to like and admire about Root. Not least his appetite for the game and his desire for hard work. He is a special player and the natural leader of this side. But he may, at some stage, need protecting from himself. The only game he has missed this year - and it wasn't even a proper game - was the World Cup warm-up match against Australia. And he only missed that because one of his family died. To give him just two clear days off between the World Cup and this Test and just one between this Test and the start of the Ashes seems dangerously demanding. As does asking him to bat in a position in which he is uncomfortable. The ECB talk a good game about understanding the dangers of anxiety, stress and burn-out these days and they have, no doubt, improved. But until the schedule is tailored to allow for fallow periods, their words will ring hollow.

"You don't have to be Einstein to work that out," Bayliss sniffed dismissively when asked if an absence of top-order runs could be England's biggest obstacle to regaining the Ashes. "They have been for the last six or seven years." That we are still here, juggling players, considering alternatives, desperately searching for a solution, doesn't reflect especially well on the system.

Zimbabwe captain Hamilton Masakadza has written to sports minister Kirsty Coventry to ask for "urgent intervention" after Zimbabwe Cricket's suspension by the ICC. Masakadza's letter follows similar communication from women's captain Mary-Anne Musonda, who had asked the minister to step in and resolve the apparent impasse between Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) and the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC).

While it was the ICC's perception of government interference that initially lead to Zimbabwe's suspension, the leaders of both senior national teams have openly called for the government to step in directly to resolve the situation.

The ICC has ruled that the "unconditional" reinstatement of ousted chairman Tavengwa Mukuhlani's board is required to end the suspension, and both Masakadza and Musonda have thrown their weight behind this solution.

"It is important to note that ICC, as the world cricket governing body, has made its ruling and at this stage it is pointless to argue whether they were right or not," Masakadza wrote in a letter addressed to Coventry.

"We implore you to get the SRC to give the game a chance and reinstate the recently-elected ZC board," Musonda had written in her letter to Coventry. "Police action, anti-corruption action all that can always be done while we are playing and those found on the wrong side can then be arrested. As for now only one decision needs to be made: reinstatement."

The captains' letters follow the statement from the SRC earlier this week, in which it insisted that it was up to ZC to ensure an end to the suspension, and that "SRC and the interim committee are not required to do anything" in terms of the ICC's directive.

"The SRC expresses its total confidence in the ability and willingness of the suspended Board members of ZC in ensuring for an outcome that is in the best interests of Zimbabwe's cricket, particularly the players themselves, in the shortest time possible," SRC's statement had said, leaving the situation deadlocked as it placed responsibility for action on Mukuhlani and his board.

Masakadza detailed the "catastrophic" effects of Zimbabwe's suspension, emphasising the human cost of the sanctioning and warning of the dire consequences for cricket in the country should Zimbabwe not comply with the ICC's directive. He also bemoaned the power struggle that has put Zimbabwe in this position, and hinted at a rift within the national team.

"At this stage the whole issue has regrettably been reduced to a contest of who has the strongest argument or who has the power, when what is at stake are human lives and the very future of the game.

"I wish to have it on record that our meeting last week was the first official communication by the Zimbabwe senior men's team since the suspension of the ZC board by the SRC. I am doing this because it has come to my attention that there are some players who have been making statements saying they are speaking on behalf of the team. Their actions are divisive and in fact compromised change-room harmony during our tour of Netherlands and Ireland," he wrote.

Masakadza added that he would like to "dissociate the team from the actions of those players who were seen at the ICC meeting in London," adding weight to a rumour that at least two players tried to talk directly to the ICC at their board meeting.

While the Zimbabwean players who agreed to speak to ESPNcricinfo about Masakadza's letter - on condition of anonymity - were united in their desire to be able to play cricket for Zimbabwe again as soon as possible, the response to the full contents of this letter was mixed.

One player said that Masakadza's comments about division did not fully represent what the squad felt, while another suggested that many were not even aware of the contents of a letter that Masakadza said was written on their behalf.

Another said that whatever was in the letter, Masakadza was simply trying to act to get Zimbabwean cricket back on its feet and that many players agreed with most of the contents of the letter. Masakadza himself had not responded to ESPNcricinfo's request for a comment on the letter at the time of publication.

B.J. Boston, the No. 7 recruit in the ESPN 100 for 2020, committed to the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday.

Boston was coming off a visit to the Wildcats' campus after already taking official visits to Duke and Florida and an unofficial visit to Auburn. He had trimmed his list to those four schools in June, before adding Oregon in recent weeks.

Duke was initially thought to be the favorite, but Kentucky prioritized Boston and closed strong on his visit.

A 6-foot-6 wing from Georgia, Boston recently transferred to Sierra Canyon (California) for his senior season. He's ranked as the No. 3 small forward in the ESPN 100 for 2020.

Boston was one of the top scorers on the Nike EYBL circuit this spring and summer, averaging 22.8 points and 8.1 rebounds for the AOT Running Rebels.

Boston is John Calipari's first commitment in the 2020 class. The Wildcats have emerged as the favorite for five-star shooting guard Joshua Christopher and top-50 wing Cam'Ron Fletcher, and are also a player for five-star center N'Faly Dante, who could reclassify into the 2019 class and enroll in college this fall. Kentucky offered ESPN 100 forward Lance Ware on Friday and the Wildcats are in a strong position for him as well.

Kentucky could lose up to five or six players from next season's roster, as Nick Richards and EJ Montgomery both tested the NBA draft waters this spring. Nate Sestina only has one year of eligibility, incoming freshmen Tyrese Maxey and Kahlil Whitney have one-and-done potential, and sophomore Ashton Hagans is expected to take a step forward and emerge as a first-round pick.

DAYTON, Ohio -- Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green was carted off the field with an apparent left foot injury during the team's first practice of the season on Saturday.

The ninth-year player sustained the injury toward the end of Cincinnati's practice at Welcome Stadium, after making contact with cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick.

First-year coach Zac Taylor was hesitant to give any indication on the severity of the injury.

"We'll find out a little bit more about him later on," Taylor said. "I don't want to speculate on anything. We'll find out more."

Green's left shoe was removed before he departed the field. Last season, he missed seven games with a right toe injury.

That campaign marked only the second time Green did not have at least 1,000 receiving yards in a season during his career. The 30-year-old participated in Bengals minicamp in June.

Green is entering the final year of his current contract.

"I felt like he had a good summer," Taylor said. "Sometimes, today, freak things happen."

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- In yet another blow to the New York Giants' receiving corps, Golden Tate has been suspended for four games for violating the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing substances, he confirmed Saturday.

Tate, who said the banned substance was a prescribed fertility medication, has scheduled an appeal for Aug. 6 and a resolution is expected before the start of the regular season, league sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

In a statement, Tate said he believes he has a legitimate case to win his appeal.

"This past April, during the off-season, my wife and I decided to see a specialist for fertility planning. I started the treatment prescribed to me and just days later I discovered it contained an ingredient that is on the league's banned substance list," Tate said in a statement. "I immediately discontinued use, I reported the situation to the Independent Administrator of the NFL Policy on Performance-Enhancing Substances, and I spoke with my coaches and general manager. I did all of this well before a failed test was even confirmed.

"Per NFL protocol, an initial suspension was imminent, but myself and the Giants organization are confident in the facts, and eagerly await my appeal to put this behind us."

However, according to the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing drugs, it might not be that easy. It states, "Players are responsible for what is in their bodies and a positive test will not be excused because a Player was unaware that he was taking a Prohibited Substance."

The Giants were already down two receivers after Corey Coleman (torn ACL) and Sterling Shepard (fractured thumb) suffered injuries on the first day of training camp on Thursday.

Coleman is likely to miss the entire 2019 season, while Shepard will be evaluated on a week-to-week basis with a possibility of returning in time for the season opener in six weeks.

The Giants have known about Tate's possible suspension for quite some time and haven't made any significant moves at the position over the past few weeks.

"We'll just wait and see what happens with Golden and his appeal," Giants coach Pat Shurmur said Saturday. "You guys saw [Shepard] running around yesterday out there. He's going to be fine. We have other guys that are competing to make our team. So just keep moving."

Tate was the Giants' big offseason acquisition following the trade of Odell Beckham Jr. to the Cleveland Browns. Tate signed a four-year, $37.5 million deal in March after finishing last season with the Philadelphia Eagles.

The veteran wide receiver has spent the bulk of his career with the Seattle Seahawks and Detroit Lions. He has caught 611 career passes for 7,214 yards with 38 touchdowns and made the Pro Bowl his first season with the Lions in 2014.

Tate's transition to the Giants had been rather seamless. He is expected to play a major part in filling the production left behind by Beckham.

Shurmur said Tate's statement spoke for itself, adding, "when this situation arose, he's been very honest with us. It's just getting to the point now where I think he's going to have his appeal."

During the suspension, Tate can continue to practice with the Giants and can play in preseason games.

With the suspension and injuries, the Giants' receiving corps currently is comprised of Cody Latimer, Russell Shepard, Bennie Fowler, Reggie White Jr., Alonzo Russell and rookie Darius Slayton, among others.

Slayton, a fifth-round pick this year, is dealing with a hamstring injury.

The Giants signed Amba Etta-Tawo following a workout Saturday morning, according to his agent David Canter. Etta-Tawo spent last summer with the Giants, and he was on the Giants and Texans' practice squads for parts of last season.

The Giants also signed receiver T.J. Jones, sources told ESPN. He spent the past four seasons with the Lions.

"We'll let the transactions speak for themselves," Shurmur said.

Serious questions still remain about the Giants receiving corps heading into the season.

"That's how we like it. We have nothing to lose," veteran wide receiver Russell Shepard said. "That's what you want. You want people to doubt you at times so you can prove them wrong. You want people to kind of give up on you. That is what this group of guys is going to do. We're going to go out and show why we deserve to be here, why we're going to be here and why we're going to help this team win games come Sunday."

On Friday, Tate had said the wide receivers' room was "deflated" by news of Coleman's injury.

While with the Seattle Seahawks in 2013, Tate was critical of two teammates who received suspensions for substance abuse violations, calling them "selfish."

"You are affecting way more than yourself," Tate told 710 ESPN Radio at the time. "I feel like that was kind of a selfish move on both those guys' part. But it is what it is. The show must go on and that's what we're gonna do."

On Saturday, Tate said the prescribed medication did not provide any "competitive advantage" and that he prided himself for following the league's protocol throughout his 10 seasons.

"During the entirety of my 10 year career, I have taken great pride in playing this game the right way, have been an ambassador for the NFL and have never had any issues with the league's policy," Tate said. "The treatment this past April had no effect on the upcoming season, and I did not, and could not have undergone this treatment in April for any competitive advantage.

"I deeply appreciate the support from the New York Giants Organization, and will continue to hold the highest level of character and integrity, while being a leader in the locker room."

When the NBA's board of governors convened earlier this month in Las Vegas, the owners' heads were spinning from a league-shaking flurry of deals that reshaped their realities in a matter of days.

The powerful men and women, some through clenched teeth and others with open arms, asked themselves two basic but important questions: What the hell just happened? And what should we do about it?

What followed was a potentially pivotal discussion that exposed fears, examined inner workings and authored fixes aimed at trying to level an offseason playing field that has gone full tilt.

Within days, the league opened an investigation centered on the timing of some of the earliest reported free-agency deals on June 30, sources familiar with the matter told ESPN.com. The scope of that investigation is developing. It is expected to include interviews with players and possibly agents and team employees, sources say. It will also touch on other questions that were raised in the Board of Governors meeting outlined below -- including methods of circumventing the salary cap to provide stars extra benefits, sources told ESPN.com.

The league has the power to punish teams it finds to be guilty of tampering ahead of June 30 at 6 p.m. Eastern Time -- the first minute that teams are allowed to speak with representatives of free agents. It also might seek information on the timing of negotiations so that any revised free-agency calendar might better align with what is actually happening.

The investigation followed a tense owners meeting, which multiple sources described to ESPN. Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan, speaking as the head of the labor committee, discussed the possible need to revisit free-agency rules in the next collective bargaining agreement, sources said.

Marc Lasry, co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks, spoke of his concern of the gray areas of tampering rules; it was lost on no one in the room that Milwaukee's franchise player, Giannis Antetokounmpo, could be the most sought-after star in free agency in 2021 if he does not sign an extension with the team before then. Other owners expressed frustration that some deals had apparently been agreed to well before the official start of free agency.

Commissioner Adam Silver encouraged the open airing of grievances in Las Vegas, sources said, when it became clear during the two-day meeting at the Wynn Hotel that frustrations were simmering below the surface. There have been more intense sessions over the years -- hashing out revenue-sharing rules earlier this decade is remembered as one of the spiciest -- but this was not a routine summer agenda.

In the midst of it, Rick Buchanan, the NBA's longtime general counsel, issued an evenhanded but sobering message to the room, multiple sources said.

Buchanan told the governors that as partners they were entitled to expect all teams to abide by a common set of enforceable rules for free agency -- and that the league office would come back with a proposal for a revised set of rules that would then be strictly enforced. He asked the group if they were comfortable with the league "seizing servers and cellphones," a line that stuck with many in attendance, according to sources who recounted the scene later.

Buchanan's tone was not threatening, or aggressive, sources say. He appeared to be offering guidance: This is what strict enforcement might look like.

In the past, when the NBA has cracked down on deals that fell outside of the league's rules -- Juwan Howard's voided contract with the Miami Heat in 1996 and Joe Smith's under-the-table agreement with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 1999 were referenced in the room -- it was as a result of limited-scope investigations.

That was then, and this could be now. With star players of immense value moving liberally from team to team, the circumstances around those moves have never been more important.

Among the specific issues discussed during the Las Vegas meetings and since:

• The possibility of allowing teams to talk to free agents and their representatives immediately after the end of the NBA Finals or a few days later, even if there is still some moratorium on striking official deals until some set time after the draft.

Team executives and agents report that free agency now unofficially begins at the draft combine in May, when those days of meetings with agents over draft picks often expand to their coming free-agent clients, despite the rules.

So if some teams are talking to players days or weeks before June 30, then just let everyone do that openly, the thinking goes. Of course, some teams might then be tempted to start even earlier than the end of the Finals.

• A more extreme version of this same general change: conduct free agency, signings and all, before the NBA draft. But this change, while practical, may not be in the immediate offing.

The Houston Rockets formally proposed this change last year. When the league polled the 30 teams on Houston's proposal this month, only 10 supported it, though several responded that they did not care either way, sources familiar with the poll results say.

• Failing more extreme change, there is support among lots of teams for reducing the current moratorium on official signings -- which extends from June 30 through July 6. The primary obstacle to any shortening of the moratorium has been the league's need to account for all the income from the previous fiscal year -- including the full NBA Finals -- and accurately set the salary cap for the next season.

• If players can continue to recruit each other freely and at all times, the general sense was that teams should have more time and methods of communicating with impending free agents.

The league's constitution grants Silver the authority to fine and suspend any player who "induces, persuades, or attempts to entice" any player under contract with another team "to enter into negotiations for his services" -- i.e., player-to-player tampering. The league has essentially punted on enforcing those rules. Some league and team officials find the prospect of such enforcement almost an invasion of privacy. LeBron James and Anthony Davis should be able to get dinner and talk shop. Draymond Green has admitted to contacting Kevin Durant while Durant was still technically a member of the Thunder. Monitoring such talk is impractical to the point of being impossible. Cracking down on it raises a ton of uncomfortable questions.

Governors in Las Vegas (and since) discussed ways to close the communication gap. Perhaps teams should be more free to talk earlier to their own impending free agents, and their representatives, without cloaking such discussion under the guise of negotiating an extension to the player's current contract. One issue there: The same agent might represent that player and other players on other teams set to hit unrestricted free agency. Discussions of the first might naturally lead to informal chitchat about the second. Can the league really expect teams and agents to silo such discussions? Does it want to be in the business of monitoring chatter to make sure they do?

Perhaps general managers should be able to talk to upcoming free agents from rival teams (and their representatives) once those teams' seasons end -- at the end of the regular season, or whenever the free agent's team is eliminated from the playoffs.

That could disadvantage teams that advance to the conference finals and NBA Finals -- and are preoccupied with things other than free agency. Two of this summer's biggest free agents, Kawhi Leonard and Durant, played in the Finals.

Some such talk surely happens now, including all that intel gathering at the draft combine. Some teams are more wary than others of engaging in it. No one -- or at least almost no one -- wants to live in a world where teams can freely recruit superstars on expiring contracts (through their representatives) all season. That is pernicious. It can ruin teams. But teams are searching for wiggle room.

• It isn't just teams complaining, by the way. Even powerful agents have registered concerns about the timing of free agency to both the players' union and league office, per several sources. Agents and players benefit from a known and concrete starting point to free agency, too. If some deals are done early, that means cap room vanishes before those acting at the agreed-upon kickoff time even initiate talks.

• One item discussed openly and explicitly: frustration that family members of players were almost acting as agents and asking for benefits outside the scope of the collective bargaining agreement. Vague reports in the local Toronto media that Leonard's uncle and adviser, Dennis Robertson, asked for such benefits clearly sparked the discussion, but it was pointed out that he would not have been the first family member to do so -- and would not be the last.

Silver appeared to reference this in his remarks to the media after the meeting when he mentioned that "frankly, things are being discussed that don't fall squarely within the collective bargaining agreement."

Some suggested that any family member acting as a player's de facto representative should have to pass through the union's certification process for player agents, sources said.

Buchanan, sources say, distinguished any situation in which a team were to circumvent the salary cap to provide star players with extra benefits: The league would use all investigative tools at its disposal and use its immense power to punish any team caught doing that. He reminded the governors of this, even though there are no credible allegations of circumvention at this time, sources say.

• There was confusion about the tendency for players to turn down the extra year(s) and connected salary that incumbent teams can offer.

In any case, it's important to remember the league is just coming down from a period of intense activity and drama. Teams and league officials are still grappling with it. For many of them, the emotions are raw. The end result may be a minor change to the calendar, phased in down the line, or no change at all.

But the events of the first week of July have stakeholders across the league discussing the underpinnings of how the NBA does business with a new urgency.