Eleven days into the regular season, you might not expect huge changes in our Power Rankings, but you'd be wrong. Teams and players are already making indelible first impressions on this season, and it's showing in the standings -- and our first regular-season rankings of 2019.

You can start with how first-place votes were split between the Dodgers (two), Brewers (two) and Mets (one), but don't sleep on the Phillies -- they might not have gotten a first-place vote, but they advanced eight slots to reach the No. 2 perch. The single largest leap between our initial preseason Power Rankings and this one was achieved by the Mariners, who jumped 11 spots to crack the top 10. Meanwhile, the Mets' 10-rung move brought them into the top five. The Padres also advanced 10 spots, suggesting that their rebuild might be ahead of schedule.

Equally dramatic, the slow starts of the reigning World Series champion Red Sox and the Cubs sent both clubs spiraling out of the top 10, as Boston fell 10 spots from No. 1 to 11th overall, and the Cubs tumbled 13 spots to No. 19. Will these early-season corrections for high expectations get turned around quickly, or will both of these expected playoff contenders dig even bigger holes in the week to come?

This week, in running through all 30 teams, we asked Bradford Doolittle to give us a snapshot of which players have greeted the new season by making great first impressions so far this season and which are already having Aprils they might rather erase from fans' memories. Joining Doolittle in voting for this week's rankings were ESPN's Christina Kahrl, Eric Karabell, Tim Kurkjian and David Schoenfield.

Preseason rankings

1. Los Angeles Dodgers

2019 record: 8-2
Preseason ranking: 4

Cody Bellinger has been playing bam-bam baseball in the early going, propelling himself into way-too-early MVP chatter. He's slugging better than .600 against fastballs, off-speed pitches and breaking balls. In other words: He's mashing everything thrown his way. The only fly in the Dodgers' ointment to date has been the unsightly performance of new setup reliever Joe Kelly, whose early ERA sits at 14.40, allowing two home runs and 11 baserunners in just five innings.

2. Philadelphia Phillies

2019 record: 6-2
Preseason ranking: 10

Has Bryce Harper made a good first impression with the volatile fans in Philadelphia? Three majestic home runs and a .556 on-base percentage say yes. That doesn't mean those passionate fans don't have someone to boo. David Robertson was tasked with sealing the back of the Philadelphia bullpen. Instead, he has a 9.82 ERA, with 12 baserunners allowed against 11 total outs.

3. Milwaukee Brewers

2019 record: 8-2
Preseason ranking: 5

We already knew about Josh Hader, but the Brewers' beat-up bullpen would be suffering if not for the continued dominance of one of the game's toughest lefties. Hader allowed just one hit and one walk in his first five outings, striking out 13 and picking up five saves while throwing virtually nothing but high fastballs. That kind of focused approach has extended to a Milwaukee offense that has been long-ball-heavy so far, but that trend has not included hulking first baseman Jesus Aguilar, who managed just four singles in his first eight games.

4. New York Mets

2019 record: 6-3
Preseason ranking: 14

You can't be better than Jacob deGrom was last season -- unless you happen to be Jacob deGrom. The big righty has continued his 2018 roll with 13 shutout innings and 24 strikeouts to begin the season. That's 16.6 K/9, if you're keeping track at home. Teammate Brandon Nimmo hasn't been able to keep his own 2018 magic alive so far. Nimmo has started his campaign 3-for-29 with 17 strikeouts.

5. Tampa Bay Rays

2019 record: 7-3
Preseason ranking: 13

The Rays stayed away from established sluggers over the winter, in part hoping the void could be filled by unlocking the power potential of former Indian Yandy Diaz. Diaz is slugging .667 with three home runs. That has helped prop up a lineup that has been dragged down by some slow starts. Particularly distressing has been the showing of young shortstop Willy Adames. Instead of taking a second-year leap, Adames is 4-for-34 with 15 strikeouts and zero extra-base hits or walks to start the campaign.

6. New York Yankees

2019 record: 5-4
Preseason ranking: 3

Imagine where the injury-riddled Yanks would be without offseason pickup DJ LeMahieu, who has gone 12-for-28 to start his New York career, mostly while filling in for Miguel Andujar at third base. Meanwhile, the first 12 times that Aaron Judge put the ball in play, the ball failed to leave the yard. For Judge, that qualifies as a slump. Of course, then he went deep on his next two plate appearances.

7. Houston Astros

2019 record: 5-5
Preseason ranking: 2

After his back problems last season and a neck injury late in spring training, Carlos Correa has looked spry in the early going for the Astros, going 6-for-22 with four extra-base hits in his first six outings. Less encouraging has been the start for utility player Aledmys Diaz, acquired as the replacement for super-rover Marwin Gonzalez. Diaz is 2-for-13 to begin the season and has already committed a pair of errors.

8. Atlanta Braves

2019 record: 5-4
Preseason ranking: 8

Lefty Max Fried has dazzled as both a reliever and a starter in the early going. He has allowed just one hit among the 26 batters he has faced and looks as if he's going to fill Atlanta's need for a No. 5 starter for now. The news isn't as cheery for free-agent acquisition Josh Donaldson, who is 5-for-30 with a lone extra-base hit to begin the campaign.

9. Cleveland Indians

2019 record: 6-3
Preseason ranking: 7

Trevor Bauer, baseball's ultimate tinkerer, has emerged from his winter lab with a newfound appreciation for his changeup, which he has thrown about 10 percent more often than he did last season. You want results? Opposing hitters are 0-for-11 against Bauer's change so far, even though he doesn't have the luxury of facing that Cleveland outfield everyone was so worried about entering the season. The consternation seems well-founded for a group that combined to hit .179 with no homers and six RBIs in the Indians' first nine games.

10. Seattle Mariners

2019 record: 9-2
Preseason ranking: 21

Seattle has four regulars acquired over the winter who found themselves in the midst of the Mariners' soft rebuild. Two of them -- Tim Beckham and Domingo Santana -- rank among the league leaders in runs created. Beckham has a 1.314 OPS for what has been the game's best offense so far. If only the thin bullpen could meet that standard. Offseason signee Cory Gearrin has a 10.80 ERA and began a high-leverage outing in Chicago by throwing 10 straight balls.

11. Boston Red Sox

2019 record: 3-8
Preseason ranking: 1

On a team that has made a roster-wide poor first impression, the defending champs still have J.D. Martinez doing what he has done since his mid-career metamorphosis. Martinez is hitting .333/.404/.548, and if those were to be his season-end slash stats, would you really be surprised? The other side of this coin is most starkly exemplified by Chris Sale, who has allowed a .885 wOBA with his four-seamer thus far, a pitch averaging just 90.7 mph.

12. Washington Nationals

2019 record: 4-4
Preseason ranking: 9

Thus far, free-agent-to-be Anthony Rendon has been left out of the onslaught of high-dollar contract extensions. As if the Nationals needed reminding, Rendon has gone out and hit .433/.528/.967 to start the season. The Nats' infield needs that kind of production from Rendon, especially now that shortstop Trea Turner has hit the injured list. New second baseman Brian Dozier began the campaign in a swoon, going just 2-for-25 with no extra-base hits to start his Nationals career.

13. San Diego Padres

2019 record: 6-4
Preseason ranking: 23

Fernando Tatis Jr. has mostly dazzled as baseball's youngest regular thus far, putting up an .833 OPS in the Padres' first nine games. Just as important: Tatis has played nine straight errorless games in the field while providing plenty of fodder for highlight-reel editors. It has been almost entirely good news for San Diego so far. One sore spot has been setup relief, as the bullpen has allowed seven of nine inherited runners to score. Robert Stock leads the club with three high-leverage appearances but allowed five runs of his own, plus another three of four inherited runners scored.

14. St. Louis Cardinals

2019 record: 4-5
Preseason ranking: 11

Kolten Wong should have won a Gold Glove last season, and perhaps because he did not, he's taking out his revenge on opposing pitchers. The Cardinals' second baseman has six extra-base hits, including three homers. Wong and newcomer Paul Goldschmidt have been bright spots for the so far disappointing Redbirds. What appeared to be a potentially dynamic, high-leverage relief crew has struggled, with Jordan Hicks, Andrew Miller and Alex Reyes combining for 13 runs allowed in their first 11⅓ IP.

15. Minnesota Twins

2019 record: 5-3
Preseason ranking: 17

On a national scale, Jorge Polanco might not have been the sexiest name on baseball's lengthy list of spring contract extensions, but he began the season as if he's intent on earning all of those future riches, slugging .688. On Friday, he hit for the cycle while banging out five hits. No one in Twins/Senators history had done that since Joe Cronin in 1929. To his right in the infield, Marwin Gonzalez is off to a slow start as a Twin, going just 4-for-22.

16. Oakland Athletics

2019 record: 6-7
Preseason ranking: 15

How do the A's do it? With an offseason rotation depth chart populated by a string of questions, Oakland's fivesome of Marco Estrada, Mike Fiers, Brett Anderson, Frankie Montas and Aaron Brooks posted a collective 2.91 ERA in their first 12 starts. Behind them, the A's turned to former top Rangers prospect Jurickson Profar to replace Jed Lowrie at second base. So far, no good: Profar began the season 5-for-47.

17. Colorado Rockies

2019 record: 3-7
Preseason ranking: 12

German Marquez has a contract extension and reinforced status as the Rockies' ace starter, with just one run allowed in his first two starts. The Rockies' rotation has been settled since last season, but Colorado had two lineup holes open over the winter with the departures of DJ LeMahieu and Carlos Gonzalez. The Rox filled both slots with internal options: Garrett Hampson and Ian Desmond. They have combined to go 5-for-59 in the early going.

18. Pittsburgh Pirates

2019 record: 5-3
Preseason ranking: 19

Any run into contention by the Pirates figured to be powered by pitching, and that's exactly what happened in Pittsburgh's first seven games. The Bucs used 13 pitchers in those contests, seven of whom did not allow a run in any outing. That's a lot of 0.00 ERAs, even for this early in the season. Pittsburgh has needed to be stingy with runs, given a slow start on offense, exemplified by new shortstop Erik Gonzalez, who started the season 4-for-24.

19. Chicago Cubs

2019 record: 2-7
Preseason ranking: 6

We recently found out that Joe Maddon's forthcoming restaurant near Wrigley Field will feature renowned Chicago chef Tony Mantuano. That's about the best development of the Cubs' spring. The worst? The team that bad-mouthed PECOTA has since gone about proving it to be the most clairvoyant prognosticator since Edgar Cayce.

20. Arizona Diamondbacks

2019 record: 5-5
Preseason ranking: 20

Christian Walker has done a pretty good Paul Goldschmidt impression early in the season, clubbing three homers already, all against righties. With Jake Lamb hitting the injured list, Walker has an excellent opportunity to build on that hot start. On the other hand, 3B Eduardo Escobar has started the season 7-for-40.

21. Los Angeles Angels

2019 record: 4-6
Preseason ranking: 16

Will Mike Trout have a string of career seasons, or will he actually have one campaign that stands out in his flawless performance record? Perhaps this is the one: Trout started the season with a 1.581 OPS, striking out just three times in 10 games. The Danny DeVito to Trout's Arnold Schwarzenegger has been Zack Cozart, who started the season 1-for-26 in his bid to bounce back from last season's injury-plagued campaign.

22. Texas Rangers

2019 record: 5-5
Preseason ranking: 25

The Rangers' offense has propelled a solid start, led by resurgent veteran Elvis Andrus. Andrus has 15 hits in 10 games to start the season. Sadly, Texas' run prevention is shaping up to be as leaky as feared. The Rangers' average game score from their starters is just 43, the third worst in baseball. Texas just lost veteran Edinson Volquez to an elbow injury, which, if it turns out to be another UCL tear, has him talking retirement.

23. Detroit Tigers

2019 record: 7-3
Preseason ranking: 27

Jordan Zimmermann has mostly struggled since he joined the Tigers, but in his first two starts, he reminded everyone why he was a two-time All-Star during his days in Washington. Zimmermann has allowed just one run in 13⅔ innings to begin the year. The fountain-of-youth scenario isn't playing out that way for Miguel Cabrera; Miggy did not have an extra-base hit in Detroit's first 10 games.

24. Toronto Blue Jays

2019 record: 3-8
Preseason ranking: 22

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. started 2-for-8 with a double for high-A Dunedin upon his return from a spring oblique strain. From there, it's on to Buffalo, then tick, tick, tick .... Toronto's placeholder at third base is Brandon Drury, who has started 7-for-39 with no homers or RBIs while striking out an AL-high 17 times. In other words, he has done little to quell the cries for the arrival of Vladi Jr.

25. Chicago White Sox

2019 record: 3-5
Preseason ranking: 24

Early as it is, Yoan Moncada looks like a player who has taken a leap this season -- not just because he's averaging an absurd 96 mph in exit velocity but also because so far he has sliced his strikeout rate in half. On the flipside, phenom Eloy Jimenez has looked a bit unbalanced at the dish thus far as he adjusts to pitchers throwing him sliders more frequently than any other player in the majors except Minnesota's Jonathan Schoop.

26. San Francisco Giants

2019 record: 3-7
Preseason ranking: 26

Has MadBum returned to the elite? Madison Bumgarner has looked like his old self early on, allowing just two runs while striking out 13 in his first two outings. Oh, he also homered and leads the Giants in OPS. Other big-name players looking to recover a little lost glory are still searching: Buster Posey and Evan Longoria are both trying to climb above the Mendoza line.

27. Cincinnati Reds

2019 record: 1-8
Preseason ranking: 18

Armed with one of the game's best changeups, Luis Castillo is emerging as the No. 1 starter the Reds have been aching for since Johnny Cueto was traded. Castillo has allowed just three hits while striking out 17 in his first two starts. Meanwhile, Reds fans waiting on Joey Votto to recover his power stroke are still waiting. Votto was hunting for his first homer of the season until Saturday, when he went deep in Pittsburgh.

28. Kansas City Royals

2019 record: 2-6
Preseason ranking: 28

As good as Adalberto Mondesi has been so far, he isn't leading the Royals in OPS. That would be Royal emeritus Alex Gordon, who is off to a .929 start with eight RBIs. Sadly, a bad impression has been made by anybody who has passed through the Royals' bullpen gate this season, a problem that has kneecapped what otherwise would be a fun start for rebuilding Kansas City.

29. Miami Marlins

2019 record: 3-7
Preseason ranking: 29

Young righty Sandy Alcantara threw eight shutout innings in his season debut, and that's pretty much the sum total of the good news in Miami. Even that news is tempered by Alcantara's second outing: a zero-strikeout, five-walk effort on Saturday. A bad impression? The Marlins are averaging fewer than 10,000 fans at home so far.

30. Baltimore Orioles

2019 record: 4-5
Preseason ranking: 30

The early days of a rebuild often mean the reemergence of forgotten names, such as minor league journeyman Hanser Alberto. Used in a bit role thus far, Alberto has seven hits in his first 14 Orioles at-bats. Unfortunately, another winter's contemplation has done nothing to coax the reemergence of once-feared slugger Chris Davis, who began the season 0-for-23 with 13 strikeouts. Davis is now hitless in his past 44 at-bats dating to last season, two shy of a big league record no one wants.

BRISTOL, Tenn. – One of the biggest points of confusion following Sunday’s Food City 500 was the late-race black flag and pass-through penalty issued to Brad Keselowski after the race’s final restart.

Keselowski, who dominated the event at Bristol Motor Speedway along with his Team Penske teammates, came to pit road for tires and blended back out onto the track in a gaggle of cars.

The catch? Some were a lap or more down, while two of those cars were on the lead lap.

That led to chaos as to where Keselowski should have lined up when the green flag waved for the final time with 14 to go.

He and his team believed they should have been fifth. In actuality, they were seventh, because neither Ryan Newman nor Clint Bowyer had pitted and both should have been ahead of Keselowski.

NASCAR tried to communicate this fact through Keselowski’s spotter, Coleman Pressley, but the message never got through to Keselowski and he was three wide when the restart occurred, leading to the black-flag decree from NASCAR officials.

Rather than bringing home a likely top-five finish, Keselowski ended up a lap down in 18th and was frustrated after climbing from his No. 2 Ford Mustang.

“Nobody could figure out the lineup,” Keselowski said. “There wasn’t enough communication and it was just a tough deal.”

He then went to the NASCAR hauler for an explanation, and after getting home from Bristol Sunday night, Keselowski admitted that NASCAR “made the right call” on penalizing him and explained where the breakdown in communication and positioning occurred.

“When I pitted, I came out on to the race track and I merged that I thought were the lapped cars,” Keselowski said on Periscope. “But hidden in those lapped cars were … two lead-lap cars, who by the rules, should get to go in front of us even if we pit and beat them off pit road. Lead lap cars that don’t pit always go in front of lead lap cars that do pit. But we couldn’t see them.

“Things happen so fast at Bristol, we didn’t know,” Keselowski added. “As a team, we kind of miscommunicated. There are four of five checks and balances to make sure that doesn’t happen and pretty much every one of them fell through, starting with me not seeing those cars mixed in with the lapped cars and kind of carrying all the way throughout the team.

“The last check, which was NASCAR … we struggled with that one, too, but I can’t really be too mad with them because we had at least two or three opportunities to get it right on our end. We didn’t get it right on our end.”

NASCAR Senior Vice President of Competition Scott Miller joined SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Monday morning and further clarified things from NASCAR’s point of view.

“The thing is, it’s really actually pretty simple,” Miller said. “We were trying to get him in the right spot in the lineup and we were communicating with his spotter via the race channel, which is their responsibility to listen to per the rule book. Numerous times we told him the (No.) 6 car (of Ryan Newman) belonged in front of him, and to give him space to get in there, and he didn’t. As we talked to Brad after the race, there was a breakdown in communication on their side, because he never really received that communication from his spotter.

“That’s where the problems started and obviously, unfortunately, it didn’t end the way Brad wanted it to end,” Miller added. “However, it’s their responsibility to monitor what we’re saying and what we’re trying to get things to do, and it didn’t appear that happened as it should have.

“We expected Brad to be there when we got (back to the NASCAR hauler) and he certainly was.”

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Luke Wright, Sussex's former England allrounder, has announced his retirement from first-class cricket with immediate effect. The 34-year-old, who captained Sussex between 2015 and 2017, has signed white-ball only extension to his contract.

Wright was not selected for Sussex's opening Championship fixture - a seven-wicket defeat to Leicestershire - and after indications from the club's head coach, Jason Gillespie, that his involvement was likely to be reduced he decided to focus on the shorter formats - beginning with the Royal London Cup, which starts next week.

The trend for players switching to white-ball only deals has been growing - Notts seamer Harry Gurney last month following the example of team-mate Alex Hales - and Wright hopes it will help add a few more years to his career.

"I worked hard on my red-ball cricket over the winter, but once it became clear that I was going to have a lesser role in the four-day team, it made sense for me to commit my long-term future to the white-ball game only," Wright said. "I'm hoping to carry on playing for the next five to six years and therefore I'm delighted to be committing my future to Sussex with this contract.

"I'm hugely proud of my first-class record - it's something that has often surprised people who think of me as having been a white-ball specialist - and I was lucky to join Sussex under Peter Moores and Chris Adams ahead of a period of unprecedented success for the county.

"I'll miss first-class cricket greatly and would always advise any youngsters making their way in the game that four-day runs are always the most rewarding. Dizzy [Gillespie] and Browny [Sussex captain Ben Brown] have my full support going forward and I believe in what they're trying to achieve with this exciting young team."

A World T20 winner in 2010, Wright played more than 100 times for England in limited-overs internationals, although they arguably never saw the best of him. He has subsequently carved out a reputation on the T20 circuit, featuring in the Big Bash and IPL and becoming one of a select band of players to make more than 300 T20 appearances.

Gillespie said: "I'm delighted that we'll be benefitting from Luke's skills and leadership in the shorter forms of the games for the years to come. He's in great shape and I'm sure he'll be playing for a long time yet.

"I sat down with Wrighty at the end of last season and he was keen to work over the winter to try and cement his role in the four-day side. He missed out on selection for the first game with a couple of the other lads given an opportunity and he has been very selfless in making way for other players to come through.

"Luke's been brilliant for Sussex in first-class cricket for many years and his record reflects what he has achieved in that form of the game."

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Rick Barnes, who resurrected the Tennessee basketball program and took the Vols to a No. 1 ranking in the polls this season, is wrestling with a decision to remain at Tennessee or accept a lucrative offer to be UCLA's next head coach, sources told ESPN.

UCLA began aggressively pursuing Barnes last week with a package that would pay him $5 million a year, not counting bonuses and incentives. Barnes was named Naismith Coach of the Year on Sunday and met with Tennessee athletic director Phillip Fulmer later that evening. They had additional conversations on Monday, including some correspondence with interim university president Randy Boyd, about a new deal at UT, sources said.

Barnes, who will turn 65 in July, is expected to make a final decision within the next day. A source told ESPN that he loves living in East Tennessee and loves the people in Tennessee, but also is intrigued by the chance to restore UCLA to its past glory and finish his career at such a tradition-rich basketball school.

Barnes has been at Tennessee since the 2015-16 season and led the Vols to the Sweet 16 this season and a share of the SEC championship a year ago. Barnes signed a contract extension in September at Tennessee running through the 2023-24 season that paid him $3.25 million this season and was scheduled to increase by $100,000 each year of the deal until reaching $3.75 million in 2023-24. His current buyout at Tennessee is $5 million.

Time for our eighth annual Luke Walton All-Stars -- an ode to bit players who bounce around the fringes of the NBA before landing in new roles where things click. (Read about the origins of the column here.)

Joakim Noah, Memphis Grizzlies (captain)

Noah finished fourth in MVP voting in 2014. The next four years brought injuries, the death of a beloved Bulls team, infighting in New York, and a 20-game suspension for violating the league's drug policy. The Knicks waived him in July. For two months, Noah was unemployed.

"Memphis was the only team that showed me any consideration," Noah tells ESPN.com. The Grizzlies promised a small role. That was fine with Noah. He needed to build his confidence back almost from scratch.

He injected energy right away. At his first practice, Noah dunked on rookie Jaren Jackson Jr. and screamed in celebration, "Don't do it to him like that, Sticks!" he and his coaches recall. (Noah's high school nicknamed him "Stickman" because he was so gangly.)

Everyone rose to match Noah's intensity, says Grizzlies coach J.B. Bickerstaff. "He's like that all the time," Bickerstaff says. "He keeps us all on our toes."

It isn't just rabid, chaotic noise, though it is that, too. Noah asks detailed questions in film sessions -- including at halftime -- about schemes, adjustments, and player tendencies. "A lot of guys ask BS questions," Bickerstaff says. "His are real."

Noah knows he will never be a star again. "Physically, I'm just not the same," he says. But he can still push the ball in transition, man the elbows, and pick out cutters:

He posted an assist rate in Memphis almost on par with his prime seasons.

On defense, he gets to spots early, barks orders, and fights hard. "His productivity has been a pleasant surprise," Bickerstaff says.

Noah takes nothing for granted. "I'm more proud of this year than I was when I was an All-Star," he says. "I lost my confidence on the court in a real public way. You don't know if you are going to get that back. Just to have that feeling back -- to be able to be myself, and express myself on the court -- it feels great."

Noah played well enough to earn a roster spot somewhere next year. Does he expect that?

"F--- yeah," he says.

Khem Birch, Orlando Magic

After an early-season practice, Steve Clifford pulled Birch aside, the Magic coach says. Birch was good enough to play in the NBA, Clifford told him, but it would be hard to find minutes with Nikola Vucevic and Mo Bamba ahead of him.

"Whatever you need me to do," Birch responded, "I'll do. I'll be ready."

A few weeks later, Birch called his agent, and said it was time for an uncomfortable conversation. "I talked about going overseas again," says Birch, who previously played in Greece and Turkey. "I never doubted myself. I just didn't think I was going to get an opportunity."

Birch really did not want to go abroad again. He still hasn't received all his guaranteed salary from those years, he says. He remembers one road game in Turkey when referees stopped play because fans pelted Birch's bench with bottles and coins.

Only days after that call to his agent, Orlando announced Bamba would be out indefinitely with a leg injury. Birch felt badly for the rookie. But he knew: He had a chance.

He has made the most of it. Birch knows his role on offense: set hard picks, dive like hell to the rim. Only six rotation big men roll to the basket more often per 100 possessions, per Second Spectrum.

You might go 10 rim-runs without touching the ball. The attention you draw unlocks open looks for others, but who notices? Where does it show up in traditional box score stats that still play a disproportionate role in getting paid? Birch bought in anyway.

"I'm not here to score points or be the hero," Birch says. "I'm just trying to help my team win."

(Birch is easy to miss in other ways. Everyone with the Magic calls him one of the quietest people on the team. One official even asked Birch -- who grew up in Montreal -- whether he kept to himself because he was more comfortable speaking French, Birch says. He does not speak French.)

He moves his feet on defense, and is a surprisingly explosive leaper. Opponents are shooting only 50.9 percent at the rim with Birch nearby, the third-stingiest mark among all 172 rotation players who challenge at least 2.4 such shots per game. He's also among the per-minute leaders in drawing charges.

"Everyone loves playing with him," Vucevic says.

Since Bamba's injury, the Magic have outscored opponents by five points per 100 possessions with Birch on the floor, per NBA.com. Birch helped stabilize a bench that had been bleeding points. Bamba's injury was a blessing in disguise for Orlando's playoff hopes. That's not an indictment of Bamba; he's 20.

Birch is headed to free agency this summer. "Hopefully I stay in Orlando," he says. "But it's good to know people are noticing me a little."

Richaun Holmes, Phoenix Suns

Ah, the fourth center in The Process. Holmes showed promise as a hoppy dive-and-dunk finisher, but the Sixers had no room for him; they dealt him to Phoenix for cash.

Holmes found himself behind a decorated veteran, Tyson Chandler, and the No. 1 pick in the draft, Deandre Ayton. "It wasn't a fair fight," says Igor Kokoskov, the Suns head coach. But Holmes brought a jolt of energy every time he stepped on the floor. The Suns bizarrely waived Chandler in November -- you're welcome, Bron! -- opening a full-time role for Holmes.

Holmes is shooting 61 percent, mostly on dunks and layups. Like Birch, he has embraced the drudgery of endless zero-to-60 rim runs that yield little in the way of touches or numbers. Only three rotation bigs roll to the rim after setting picks more often, per possession, than Holmes, according to Second Spectrum. Phoenix has been much better with Holmes on the floor.

He has taken zero 3s after launching 77 two seasons ago as the Sixers tried to turn him into a stretch-center and find minutes for him at power forward. He hasn't given up that dream.

"I'll get back to shooting 3s," Holmes says. "But it was important for us as a young team to have defined rolls. Mine was to roll to the rim."

Kokoskov says one of his assistants recently approached him with a message from Holmes: He wants to shoot 3s. "If we're up 40, I'll draw up a play for him to shoot a 3," Kokoskov says with a chuckle. "Right now, I want him to dunk everything. And dunk it hard."

Holmes has flashed some ball skills -- including play-action keepers:

For now, Holmes is thrilled to have a regular role. He remembers his first G-League assignment with the Sixers' team in Delaware. He didn't bring gear -- headband, shooting sleeves, game-ready basketball shoes. He assumed it would be at his locker. Nope. Just a jersey and shorts. Luckily, Holmes says, he was wearing a pair of Nike LeBrons that were good enough for one game. He also hadn't brought any food, expecting an NBA-style pregame spread. He ran to Subway to scarf down something before tip-off, he says.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Holmes says of his path. "Being undervalued and overlooked -- it puts a chip on your shoulder that keeps you working."

Holmes will be a free agent after this season. He has earned a look, even if he hasn't quite answered questions about his rebounding and defense.

Derrick Jones Jr., Miami Heat

Jones started the first three games of the season before injuries knocked him out of Miami's rotation. Then came Dec. 8 in Los Angeles against the Clippers, when Miami had only nine healthy players and junked up the game with a zone defense.

Jones, a 6-foot-7 leaper extraordinaire with a 7-foot wingspan, was the breakout star of that zone. He was everywhere. The zone became a staple, often with Jones and Josh Richardson at the top, arms spread, cluttering every passing lane.

"That day," Jones says, "gave me confidence that I was here to stay."

In Phoenix, his first stop after going undrafted in 2016, Jones occasionally showed up late to practices and meetings. His agent, Aaron Turner, liked the idea of Jones' second chance coming in Miami; he knew the Heat would not tolerate tardiness. "I had to get that straightened out," Jones says. "Had to be on my best behavior. There are no slip-ups here."

Jones believes he can win Defensive Player of the Year one day, he says. The Heat have started him at both forward positions, and often have him guard the best opposing wing. He slides his feet with an unusual blend of speed and balance.

The questions come on the other end. He has shot only 29 percent from deep for his career; defenses ignore him to clog the lane. Jones has responded with smart cuts; turn your head, and he's gone:

Jones has used the same predatory instincts to become perhaps Miami's best offensive rebounder outside of Hassan Whiteside -- a rare thing on a team that has historically punted the offensive glass to get back on defense.

It happened organically, Jones says. He and Bam Adebayo engaged in a secret Summer League competition to see who could gather the most rebounds. When the real season started, Jones kept on crashing. No one told him to stop.

Even if he doesn't have inside position, Jones leaps into the stratosphere, unfurls one of his preposterous arms, and plucks the ball before anyone else can reach it.

The Heat also mitigate Jones' so-so shooting by using him as the screener in pick-and-rolls -- where defenses have to stick close to him.

Jones does not view his jumper as a permanent weakness. "I believe I can be a knockdown shooter," he says. That seems far-fetched, but if he can pull it off, Jones will access new methods of leveraging his athleticism:

Luol Deng, Minnesota Timberwolves

Deng has appeared in only 22 games, surely the lowest ever in the eight-year history of this column. But that is enough for a decorated two-time All-Star -- one of the NBA's ultimate tough guys -- who since that fateful summer of 2016 has been known more as a contract than a basketball player.

Ryan Saunders was so new as Minnesota's head coach, having replaced Tom Thibodeau days earlier, that he was still working out of his old assistant coach's office in early January when he got up to go home around 8:30 p.m. That office faced the court. He looked up and saw Deng working out with a friend. Deng had barely played all season.

"The normal thing for a player to do -- especially one who has had success and made money like Luol -- would be to remove himself from the team," Saunders says. "He did the opposite. He almost became more invested." Deng has been a valuable mentor to both Karl-Anthony Towns and Keita Bates-Diop, Saunders says.

Saunders had long admired Deng. As an assistant with the Wizards under his late father, Saunders crafted what he called "the Luol Deng drill." Prime Deng was a master at catching passes on the move, so he was already at full speed upon his first dribble. After one hard bounce, he pulled up for easy jumpers. Saunders taught that to Washington's young wings.

"I told him, 'I tried to teach your move, and no one could do it!'" Saunders chuckles.

After spying Deng's late-night workout, the coach hatched plans to play him. Saunders threw Deng in on Jan. 12 against New Orleans, and he stayed in the rotation until suffering an Achilles injury six weeks later.

(The irony of Deng entering the rotation only after the Timber-Bulls fired Thibodeau is sort of incredible.)

He was astonishingly good considering he hadn't played for most of two years, and that the Wolves used him mostly as a wing. Deng hit 61 percent of his 2-point shots, plowing through smaller guys in transition and in the post -- where he finishes with a silky jump hook:

Minnesota scored 1.44 points per possession any time Deng shot out of the post, or dished to a teammate who let fly -- the second-fattest figure among 159 guys who recorded at least 25 post-ups, per Second Spectrum. He still runs hard into the catch:

His long arms and nimble feet still serve him well on defense; the Wolves even had him guard some opposing superstars, including James Harden.

It is one of the glorious, random stats of the season: The Wolves -- the 36-44, drama-ridden Wolves -- outscored opponents by 10 points per 100 possessions during Deng's 392 minutes.

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little surprised at how well he played," Saunders says.

Jared Dudley, Brooklyn Nets

Dudley is now a three-time Walton -- the most appearances by any player, and a testament to how often he has toggled from rotation guy to benchwarmer (and back).

It's jarring when Dudley shoots. He has to be wide open. He is allergic to the rim. He has finished only 10.4 percent of Brooklyn possessions with a shot, drawn foul, or turnover -- the fourth-lowest usage rate among all rotation players. (The lowest belongs to PJ Tucker, who has graduated from Walton status in his second season as Houston's heavy-minutes stopper.)

But there is a method to Dudley's seeming passivity. He's a good enough long-range shooter that defenders rush out to him. He's a smart passer amid that scramble. He sees how he might create something for a teammate before he even gets the ball, which is why he gets rid of it so fast. You get frustrated when Dudley demurs on an open triple, but two passes later, you understand: Someone else gets a better look.

He thinks one step ahead on defense, too. He's slow and ground-bound, but he's somehow in the right place exactly when he needs to be. His brain makes his body fast. He might not stop you, but he's going to make you do some extra work.

Everyone loves an unselfish teammate. Dudley has leveraged that adoration into a role as veteran soothsayer. He watches film with Caris LeVert, and points out passes LeVert missed, the two say.

After a heartbreaking crunch-time loss to the Thunder in December -- Brooklyn's eighth straight -- dropped the Nets to 8-18, players sniped at each other, Joe Harris told me in March. Dudley led a players-only film session the next day, freezing the tape when he saw a chance to hold someone accountable.

The soothsayer role is tricky. Teammates can tire of the same voice. They grow wary of soothsayers playing up their importance in the media. Dudley has struck the right balance on a young team that needs veteran leadership.

Honorable mention Walton status to fellow Net Ed Davis, a rebounding machine and beloved teammate wherever he goes.

Bruno Caboclo, Memphis Grizzlies

It's still unclear whether Caboclo could play for a good NBA team, but he doesn't look out of place in an NBA game. That is a milestone.

Caboclo is shooting 36 percent from deep in Memphis on decent volume, and he's not afraid to launch semi-contested bombs. He runs the floor, lopes in for offensive boards, and has all the tools to be a plus defender across every position.

He is even dribbling with new decisiveness when defenders run him off the arc:

There is still so far to go. Caboclo hurries his 3-pointer if he senses a whiff of pressure, hurling high-arching prayers in the general direction of the backboard. He is somehow both wild and tentative at the same time off the dribble. You can see him learning the boundaries of his physical possibilities. He seems startled on some drives that he is already at the rim, and surprised on others that he has not gotten as close to it as he thought.

But this all counts as progress. The Raptors invested enormous resources -- time, people, money -- just guiding Caboclo through day-to-day adulthood. It is starting to pay off in Memphis.

Shaquille Harrison, Chicago Bulls

Harrison was still on a 10-day contract last season in Phoenix when he lined up to defend Dennis Schroder, then with the Hawks. Harrison picked Schroder up full-court. And then he did it again. After several possessions, Schroder, joking but probably a little exasperated, whispered to Harrison, "Yo, you don't have to do this," Harrison recalls.

"No, I do," Harrison responded. "Trust me."

Harrison knows he has to defend like all hell to stay in the league. He's just 29-of-111 from deep over two seasons, and he barely even looks to shoot from midrange.

He prefers to burrow in for floaters, which he can loft with either hand. But Harrison is not an explosive vertical athlete; about 10 percent of his attempts have been blocked:

Defenders duck way under screens, making it hard for Harrison to puncture the defense, draw help, and unlock profitable passes. His assist rate dropped this season, and Chicago mostly played him alongside other point guards who ran the offense.

But that chest-to-chest defense remains. It has been there since kindergarten, when Harrison discovered the easiest way to score was to steal the ball and coast in for layups. Coaches finally asked Harrison to defend with his hands behind his back, because the unfiltered Harrison experience was unfair to the other children, he says.

Perhaps it won't surprise you, then, that Harrison doesn't mind the hard-charging style of Jim Boylen, the Bulls' new head coach -- including the hours-long practices that nearly fomented rebellion in Boylen's first week in the top job. "It wasn't new to me," Harrison says. "I've had coaches who had practices like that. A lot of guys were hurting, but it was another day in the office for me. I think I'm kind of a Jim prototype."

He's right. "He's my kind of guy," Boylen says. "I have never seen anyone embrace constructive criticism like Shaq. I've coached him hard, and he's taken it in the chest."

Harrison improved his finishing around the rim late in the season. He's smart about faking toward picks, coaxing the defense that way, and darting the other direction -- an antidote to the "go under everything" gambit.

He plans to spend the summer working on his jump shot. Harrison's brother, Monte, is a prospect with the Miami Marlins, and Harrison has talked about the two being the next pair of NBA-Major League Baseball brothers, Boylen says. Honing at least a usable midrange jumper would transform Harrison from a fringe backup on bad teams into a solid backup on good ones.

"That can take me from five years in the league, to 10," Harrison says.

Kenneth Faried, Houston Rockets

On Jan. 16 in Houston, another game in which Faried would play zero seconds for Brooklyn, he noticed the injury-plagued Rockets starting Tucker at center and saw his future. "'They are not even playing a big!'" Faried remembers thinking. "'I could come here and play right away.' It sucked [Clint] Capela was hurt, but it opened a door for me."

That brain wave accelerated buyout talks with the Nets, sources say; Faried debuted for the Rockets five days later.

If you wanted to pick one player to define the league's evolution over the last three-plus years, you could do worse than Faried. (Greg Monroe would like a moment, too.) He became a starter in Denver as a rookie, and averaged double figures in scoring for five straight seasons. But the tectonic plates of the game were already shifting beneath his feet. He couldn't shoot 3s, protect the rim, or switch on defense.

Few players have fallen further, faster. Faried must be shocked on one level, but he says something that happened during his first year in Denver taught him NBA stardom is fragile.

"I saw Denver sign Nene for all that money and trade him that same year," Faried says. "After that, I said, 'OK, this league is cutthroat.' No one really cares about you. They treat [Nene] like that?"

Faried never lost faith. "In my mind, I'm a starter," Faried says. "I always felt I had a place in this league. I never let anyone tell me I didn't belong."

He was a perfect stand-in for Capela, and now fittingly for Nene when Nene contracts a case of Nene-itis. He knows the role: screen for James Harden, roll hard, dunk lobs. He runs the floor, tries on defense, and has even hit 7-of-19 on 3-pointers. (Seriously: Mike D'Antoni lets everyone shoot 3s. He let Michael Carter-Williams fire at will. It's kind of surprising that Capela has taken only two in his career.)

"Everybody is shocked I'm knocking it down," he says. "But soon they're going to be running at me, and then it's pump fake, and next thing you know, I'm at the rim." That is a fitting coda to the Faried saga: use 3s to get more of the roaring 2s that made him famous.

Also receiving votes: Thomas Bryant, Alex Len, Dewayne Dedmon, Danuel House, Noah Vonleh, Luke Kornet, Gary Clark, Maxi Kleber, David Nwaba, Rodney McGruder, Alfonzo McKinnie (no Warriors!), Boban Marjanovic (too famous!), and recent Waltons Gerald Green, Seth Curry, JaVale McGee, Royce O'Neale, and Mike Scott.

WATERBURY, Vt. – The American-Canadian Tour its point-counting season at Maine’s Oxford Plains Speedway this Sunday with the Oxford 150.

Just like in 2017 and 2018, many eyes will be on Vermont’s Scott Payea when the field takes the green.

Payea enters the year looking to join a select group in ACT annals. The veteran has won the last two ACT championships with some of the most impressive numbers in ACT history. He has won seven races in that time, including a record-tying four straight in 2017. Payea also has a streak of 26 straight top-10 finishes dating back to the 2016 campaign.

Another championship this year would put Payea in elite company. ACT has awarded nearly 60 touring series championships between the ACT Pro Stock Tour, ACT Late Model Tour and Série ACT. Only four drivers have won three straight titles. Robbie Crouch and Junior Hanley both did so on the ACT Pro Stock Tour, while Brian Hoar (twice) and Jean-Paul Cyr have pulled off the feat with the ACT Late Model Tour. Despite the opportunity to make history, Payea is taking the same measured approach to the season as he always does.

“We’re going to approach this season just like we did the last couple years,” he said. “We’ve spent all winter in the shop working hard, and we’re going to take each race one at a time. We’re going to do our homework in the shop each week and hopefully show up with the best car each race.”

Payea is entering his fourth year driving for Rick Paya and RPM Racing. The Payea-Paya combo already has 10 wins with finishes of second, first, and first in points. If teams get stronger by staying together, the duo may be better than ever this season – especially since Payea says they have unprecedented stability from 2018 to 2019.

“I think this is the first year we’ll have the exact same crew members coming back,” Payea remarked. “I think that’s a big positive for us. It’s tough – the competition is tough every year. You have guys that are building on their programs, so we just need to stay on top of our game and really focus on what we do at the race track. We work hard in the shop all week, but at the race track, we still need to be on top of our game, because (the Tour) is so competitive that anybody can compete for the win.”

The team will have some tough challengers in its quest for another title. Jimmy Hebert and Rich Dubeau return after finishing in the top-five in points last year. Three-time champion Wayne Helliwell Jr. is back with ACT after a two-year absence.

Top rookies from 2018 like Dylan Payea and Christopher Pelkey are back with a season of experience. Ryan Kuhn has joined the Tour after winning the 2018 Seekonk Speedway championship while former Série ACT champion Jonathan Bouvrette leads a large Canadian field. Payea knows these drivers and many others won’t give an inch on the track.

“Any given race, it could be any one of them that’s tough,” Payea said. “It’ll be interesting to see who can put the full season together. Jimmy (Hebert) has shown some tremendous speed week after week, so if he can put the full season together and really challenge, he’s one to look out for. And Rich (Dubeau) and his team – you’ve got to love a team like that who just keeps building on their success. They had a great first outing at Richmond. I’m looking for big things from him this year.”

In addition, Payea will tackle a schedule with several changes. The ACT Late Model Tour returns to Star Speedway and Autodrome Chaudiere for the first time since 2013 and 2015, respectively. Second dates have been added at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park and White Mountain Motorsports Park. The latter is a 250-lap, $10,000-to-win showdown that Payea finished third in last year as an open event.

“I like some new challenges,” Payea said. “I’ve never raced at Star before. That’ll be exciting to go experience a new track on the Tour. Another trip to Thompson will be great as well. We’ve had some okay runs there, but we’ll look to build on those.”

The season begins for Payea and the rest of the ACT Tour at the historic Oxford oval. Payea has a win at the track but was involved in spins at both events last year. Despite those incidents, he finished in the top-10 in each event and will look for a better result this time around.

“We’re just looking for a solid start,” Payea concluded. “Hopefully we have a good car and we can run up front and compete for the win. But just having a clean, solid start will kick off the season right.”

The post Payea Ready To Begin Hunt For Another ACT Title appeared first on SPEED SPORT.

Nottinghamshire 408 and 329 for 5 dec (Clarke 97*, Nash 75, Duckett 61, Mullaney 52) lead Yorkshire 291 (Root 73, Patel 3-31) by 446 runs

Joe Root, struck on the helmet, first ball by Stuart Broad. It did not auger well for Yorkshire. It did not feel all that great for Root. But that was the lowest point of the day for England's Test captain as unbeaten hundreds of considerable resolve by Root and Gary Ballance enabled Yorkshire to secure a draw against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge without further alarm.

Nottinghamshire had declared overnight with a lead of 446 and accounted for Yorkshire's opening pair in the space of 11 overs, but light faded from their challenge as the day progressed and a draw was agreed at five past five with Yorkshire 277 for 2.

Most of the attention will rest with Root, who was making one of his rare Championship appearances for Yorkshire and who initially seemed intent on collecting enough injuries to complete a Box Set. An injured finger while fielding on the third evening was followed by a rattled helmet on the fourth morning as he ducked into a bouncer that failed to get up.

That entailed an eight-minute delay while Root awaited a helmet and was checked for concussion. Time also to reflect on the nature of a moribund but slightly uneven pitch and how to adjust his technique to combat it. He joked that he was unhappy that Broad did not follow up with a volley of abuse.

On one of those two-temperature sunny days in early Spring in which youngsters wear t-shirts and those of greater years still don winter coats and sweaters, Root and Ballance then batted out the rest of the day in a manner that justified the optimism of their coach, Andrew Gale, on the previous evening that a draw was well within their grasp.

The closest they came to being split in a stand of 253 in 67 overs was when Ballance misjudged a single into the off side but Jake Ball failed to follow up a good stop by throwing down the stumps. Root also survived a big appeal for 46 for a catch down the leg side as he hooked at Paul Coughlin.

A burst of three successive boundaries then took Root past 50, Nottinghamshire's slips disappeared with an air of resignation, and runs came with growing ease. Nottinghamshire's deep-set fields by the end even hinted that they half imagined Yorkshire might have a tilt at a ten-an-over run chase. Instead, a draw was agreed upon completion of Ballance's hundred.

On such a placid surface, Nottinghamshire resorted to a regular supply of short balls, something that Root felt was a good lesson for county bowlers so often reliant on seaming pitches. "It's nice now to see bowlers exploiting a different plan, and to go short. I'm sure we will see a lot more of that if the surfaces stay the same and it will be great for the development of the next generation, and the players who are just below the current England team.

"You want to set the example and try and use your experience to your advantage, but I think I did ride my luck on occasions. It's always hard to say it's one of your best knocks when you've not won the game. I took a few painkillers just so it didn't distract me from what was important but the head feels fine and the hand feels fine. The only thing that was hurting when Broady hit me was my ego."

Root carries a nation's hopes for the Ashes; Ballance, by contrast, although only 29, has fallen out of favour and appears to have played the last of his 23 Tests - against South Africa on this ground nearly two years ago. Yet in first-class cricket Root and Ballance reach fifty in a higher percentage of innings than any other current English-qualified batsman, better than one in three. And when it comes to the percentage of hundreds, Ballance is unsurpassed.

Steven Mullaney had declared Nottinghamshire's second innings overnight on 329 for 5, leaving Joe Clarke stranded on 97 not out, three runs short of becoming the youngest player to make two hundreds in a match for the county - and on his debut for the county, too. Team needs above all other considerations had been strictly applied and adherence to such a principle should not be lightly dismissed.

"It was my decision," Mullaney said, "but I spoke to Joe and he was the first one to come up to me last night when he wasn't out and he said whatever is best for the team and if you want to declare. That's the sort of bloke he is and the sort of team that we want to build."

Ball took both wickets to fall, having Harry Brook caught at third slip for 2 and Adam Lyth played on for 21. Root has one more Championship match for Yorkshire, at the Ageas Bowl; Ballance is around all season and ultimately it will be his form, as much as anyone's, which will determine Yorkshire's season.

Northamptonshire 445 (Procter 81*, Wakely 76, Rossington 67, Murtagh 6-80) and 10 for 0 drew with Middlesex 271 (Harris 61*, Buck 5-54) and 317 for 4 dec (Malan 160*, Holden 54)

Dawid Malan's first century since May helped Middlesex secure a battling draw at Northants. At the time he came to the crease, Middlesex were 10 for 2 in their second innings, still 164 behind having been required to follow-on. But, under the watchful eye of national selector, Ed Smith, and Lions coach, Andy Flower, Malan resisted for almost six hours in making his highest score since 2015.

It was a satisfying innings for several reasons. For a start, it saw Malan help his side - this is his second season as captain - recover from an underwhelming opening two or three days of the season while, from a personal perspective, it helped him prove a point in front of Smith.

It was Smith who suggested, at the time of Malan's dropping from the Test team last year, that "his game may be better suited to overseas conditions." So to score runs here, in conditions where the ball seamed throughout the match and against a demanding attack was, as he put it, "extremely pleasing".

"It's nice to do it in front of him," Malan said. "I like proving points. I saw him arrive at lunch and it makes it extremely pleasing to bat like that in front of him. You can do all the talking you want, but it's all about scoring runs, really. There are eight Championship games before the Ashes. If someone can score two, three or even four big hundreds, you never know."

Malan cut a somewhat disconsolate figure last month on England's Caribbean tour. Despite averaging 50.00 with a strike-rate of 150.60 in T20Is, he was consigned to a role as 12th man throughout the series, forfeiting a more lucrative role in the PSL as a consequence. He retains ambitions in all three international formats but will know, aged 31, and with younger men vying for the same positions, time is not really on his side.

"Yes, I want to play for England in all three formats," he said. "I've shown glimpses that I can do it, but last year I looked too far ahead and took my eye off the ball. Right now, I'm just focused on playing well for Middlesex."

Malan impressed with both his elegance and his determination. He scored just 24 in opening session of the day but, as his dominance grew, unveiled some of the flowing drives and pulls for which he is familiar. He remained a bit frustrated with the team's overall performance - "we were nowhere near our best with the ball and there were too many soft dismissals with the bat" - but was encouraged by the fight shown on the final day.

Beautifully though Malan batted, Northants will rue a couple of missed opportunities. He was dropped twice, once in the 50s and once in the 60s, with Jason Holder putting down a tough chance at slip and Rob Keogh another tough one at backward point. Malan might also reflect that, if he is really to push for a spot in England's Test side, he might have to bat in the top three. They're not looking for anyone from No. 4 to No. 8 at present.

Smith and Flower may have been equally interested in the performance of Max Holden. With Malan he added 105 for the fourth-wicket, looking increasingly fluent as he progressed. It took an outrageous moment of fortune to dismiss him: a fierce cut thumped into Rob Newton's knee, taking evasive action at silly point, only to rebound to Adam Rossington behind the stumps.

Northants persisted admirably. But, as the day wore on, their bowlers started to tire; they had spent more than 180 successive overs in the field, after all. They can feel encouraged they enjoyed the best of the first three days of this game, but their coach, David Ripley, admitted the club does not currently have the sort of talent in the system that might one day replicate the deeds of David Willey, Olly Stone or Ben Duckett; all, to a greater or lesser degree, homegrown players.

Equally, uncovering the hidden gems in the club game - the likes of Richard Gleeson and Azharullah - is becoming ever harder. The fact that four of the five mentioned have departed to bigger clubs does not make his task any easier.

"It's a bit frustrating having your players picked off," he said. "Hopefully having a top division of 10 teams will take the pressure off a bit. We're in the bottom three in terms of the wages we pay and we don't have the depth of squad of some of our rivals. But we're a good team and, if we have some luck with injuries, we can push for promotion."

Ripley also confirmed that Cricket West Indies had placed no specific limit on Holder's workload, though there was an understanding that he would not be over bowled.

Middlesex's declaration left Northants facing a hypothetical target of 144 in 21 overs. In truth, Middlesex's aim was simply to repair their slow over rate from the first-innings and, with Northants having agreed not to chase the target, the match ended in somewhat farcical fashion with the likes of Eoin Morgan, Sam Robson and John Simpson (in a cap) having a bowl and Malan keeping wicket without pads. Suffice to say, none of them showed any great untapped ability and the batsmen declined run-scoring opportunities.

So, a slightly unsatisfactory end. But Malan's earlier resistance was real and might well have made an impression on Smith and co.