Australia's coach Justin Langer believes the absence of Usman Khawaja was critical to the team's failure to put up a defendable total in their World Cup semi-final hiding by England, pinpointing his return to fitness as vital to the Test team's Ashes chances next month.

A hamstring strain in the final qualifying match against South Africa pushed Khawaja out of the line-up at Edgbaston, forcing a batting shuffle that saw Steven Smith at No. 3, Peter Handscomb in from outside the squad at No. 4, and Alex Carey bumped up to five. That rejigged order was soon 14 for 3, a hole from which escape was always going to be difficult.

While Smith and Carey did their bit in a restorative century stand to briefly give Australia a foothold, further wickets were to underline the value Khawaja's top order runs have provided on friendly days for bowling. Langer said Khawaja had been chosen with those very scenarios in mind.

"He was a big loss," Langer said. "We picked him believe it or not specifically for days like today when it was hard, you lose an early wicket, you want that No. 3, your Test No. 3, to score hundreds.

"We didn't have him but that's all part and parcel. We got beaten by a much better team. A few people were laughing about it but I've said from day one England are favourites to win the tournament, they should be. They're a great cricket team and they were better than us today. We were disappointing but they were better than us. And that's okay, you want to be winning all the time but we got beaten by a better team.

"I think you took Jason Roy out of England's side and it made a big impact. You take your best players out of any team, whether it's cricket or AFL or rugby, it's always hard when you lose your best players. There's plenty of talent in Australian cricket, no doubt about that. We're seeing that in the Australia A stuff at the moment, we're going to play 24 guys in two Australian teams leading up to the Ashes, there's plenty of talent there, we just didn't play as well as we should have."

"I've had my heart set on July 14 for probably 12 months so we got to July 11, we fell a few days short. So it's disappointing, we'd have liked to be there in three days' time, I'd rather be in England's dressing room now." Justin Langer

Khawaja's value as a top-order player in challenging conditions was aptly demonstrated in Langer's very first Test as coach, a last day fight to grind out a draw with Pakistan in Dubai last year, and he can be expected to be a similar bulwark on Ashes days where the Dukes ball seams and swings. Reflecting on Australia's semi-final defeat, Langer tried to balance his obvious pain with re-focussing quickly on the Ashes.

"It was just a really, really disappointing day for us but it's been a really good campaign," he said. "Don't underestimate the injury to Usman Khawaja and Shaun Marsh in that first 10 overs against South Africa - we fell 10 runs short of South Africa without one of our premier batsmen, who's been a really important part of the last six months and this World Cup. And Shaun, he broke his arm two days before so that put a bit of a dampener on our campaign. But overall it's been really good hasn't it. We were on top until the last game, fell 10 runs short and then had a really poor game today. So very disappointing.

"I've had my heart set on July 14 for probably 12 months so we got to July 11, we fell a few days short. So it's disappointing, we'd have liked to be there in three days' time, I'd rather be in England's dressing room now, it's always more fun winning than losing, but we have to turn to it now.

"We've known this was going to be an unprecedented time in Australian cricket, a World Cup and then Ashes, so we'll dust ourselves off, recharge our batteries, probably six or seven guys who'll be in the Ashes as well need to recharge and then start a whole new campaign. We'll take some lessons out of this, so it's another big campaign. The Ashes is huge for Australian cricket and English cricket so we'll dust ourselves off and be ready."

In naming the efforts of Mitchell Starc, Alex Carey, the captaincy of Aaron Finch and the contributions of a reintegrated Smith and David Warner among the high points of Australia's Cup, Langer agreed that Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis had cause to analyse underwhelming tournaments. However, he defended Handscomb after a brief and unsuccessful innings in Birmingham.

"They'll both be really disappointed with the whole World Cup won't they," Langer said of Maxwell and Stoinis. "They were working really hard, giving it their best shot, but sometimes when your confidence is down a bit and its not something you can just flick a switch and you're back and firing.

"They still contributed - I think they were three and four in the fielding rankings, they've had little moments where they've had an impact. They'll be disappointed, there's a few guys who'll be a bit disappointed but there's been a lot more positives than negatives I think.

"Pete came in for one game, he came in for a World Cup semi-final. He helped us win an unbelievable series in India, he helped us win five-nil [against Pakistan in UAE], and then was really, really unlucky. Then to have to come into a World Cup having not played any of the games its a really tough ask on him and it would've been for any of our players."

As for England's highly orchestrated four-year drive to the final, in marked contrast to Australia's more chaotic path, Langer echoed Finch in saying that the work of Trevor Bayliss, Eoin Morgan and company would be closely assessed for any valuable lessons. After all, the cup will no longer be Australia's to hold.

"It's a good question. The big turnabout in our fortunes over the last six months was we got really clear with what our plan was, the way we're going to play into this World Cup," Langer said. "I mentioned in the press conference the other day that David Willey told me, they almost set four years ago, this is the squad we're going to stick with, they obviously made a few little changes along the way, but you build up for that.

"We've got lots of other really good competitions and goals to achieve with white ball cricket, T20 cricket there's a World Cup coming up, and obviously Test cricket. We're coming from a certain level and we're making some improvements but we've still got plenty of improvements to make."

USA head coach Pubudu Dassanayake has abruptly resigned after just under three years in the role following a breakdown in his relationship with the USA Cricket board.

Kiran More, the former India wicketkeeper, was brought on as director of cricket in June, alongside former West Indies batsman Kieran Powell as high performance manager, to oversee the operation. They will be assisted in the interim by Pravin Amre, the former India Under-19 coach, former India spinner and recent Bangladesh spin coach Sunil Joshi, the Mumbai Indians fielding coach James Pamment and David Saker, the former Australia assistant coach.

Dassanayake had taken USA from World Cricket League Division Four in November 2016 to ODI status in April after USA secured a top-four finish at WCL Division Two in Namibia. However, ESPNcricinfo sources said that Dassanayake's relationship with the board became increasingly strained over the last year, in spite of USA's on-field success, due to his increasing influence over national team selection matters. The relationship continued to go south after the recent licensing agreement was signed between Willow TV and Times of India Group to form American Cricket Enterprises (ACE).

At a USA national team camp held in Los Angeles in June, More and 29-year-old Powell - who earlier this week was dropped from Cricket West Indies central contracts list for 2019-20 - were introduced and the pair of hires are being backed by ACE with board members split on Dassanayake's role. Dassanayake was understood to have been informed by More at the camp that all selection decisions going forward would have to go through More whereas previously Dassanayake had a heavy say in selection matters along with USA Cricket selection chairman Ricardo Powell.

A USA T20 World Cup qualifying squad was supposed to be announced shortly after the selection camp ended in June, but the announcement has been delayed by disagreements over selection between More and Dassanayake, according to sources. Dassanayake flew to England with USA Cricket administrator Wade Edwards to sit with ICC COO Iain Higgins this week in an attempt to mediate the selection issues. Higgins is due to be announced as USA Cricket chief executive at the conclusion of the World Cup.

But the issues could not be smoothed over. Dassanayake's contract, which had originally been due to end in March 2019, was extended through December 2019 to cover USA's tour of Namibia in April - where he helped lead them to ODI status - as well as keep him in charge through the T20 World Cup Qualifier in the UAE this October. However, once the ACE licensing deal was announced in May, he was not expected to be offered an extension beyond the end of 2019 even though he had just led USA to ODI status. His support within the board had waned in the last year while ACE management had expressed a desire to hire their own leadership to guide the national team.

More is now expected to have a major influence in USA national team affairs going forward. According to sources, meetings had already begun last week to find a replacement for Dassanayake in anticipation of his resignation with Joshi a prime candidate for the full-time role.

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. -- Don't hold your breath waiting for an 18-game NFL regular season unless the players' association has a major change of heart.

NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith spoke with ESPN on Friday at a union-led gathering of former players to discuss a variety of topics, including negotiations on the collective bargaining agreement, the power of players using their voices and making their own economic decisions, and of course, the topic that won't go away -- an 18-game season.

Smith confirmed that the NFL raised the idea of such a schedule in early labor negotiations, as the Wall Street Journal first reported Thursday, with indications that it isn't something he sees happening.

"I don't see an 18-game schedule -- under any circumstance -- being in the best interest of our players," Smith said. "If somebody wants to make an 18-game proposal, we'll look at it. I haven't seen anything that makes me think that it would be good for the players."

Significant questions remain about the 18/16 proposal -- which would put 18 games on teams' schedules but limit individual players to playing in a maximum of 16 of them -- including how the plan would affect wages, hours, working conditions, health and safety, quality of play and players' pensions.

Currently, players must play at least three seasons to be eligible for a pension. The union estimates the average NFL career lasts 3.4 years, but an 18-game season would drop that to 2.8 years, or just below the league requirement to be eligible for a pension.

"Fans and media discuss what would happen to ratings and revenue or whether [18 games] is a good idea or bad idea. For us, it comes down to who players are as men and is it good for us," Smith told ESPN. "If a coal miner is willing to spend more time in the hole, does it likely result in more money? Yeah. Is that a good thing for him as a person? Probably not. That's the question nobody confronts. It's easy to say it's more money. But is it good for us? The answer is no."

Also at the surface are questions like how teams would deal with how to competitively manage players on a 16-game limit over 18 games, plus how roster sizes would be affected.

"Why is it our job to figure out how to make 18 games work as players? You tell someone you're going to work longer and you figure out how to make it work? That doesn't work," Smith said. "It's not our job to put that square peg in the round hole."

Talks between the NFL and NFLPA, aimed at reaching a new CBA, are set to intensify in July to try to reach an agreement before the start of the 2019 regular season. A source tells ESPN's Josina Anderson those talks will begin Friday and go through July 19.

The current CBA expires in 2021.

There is no timeline for a new CBA getting done, Smith said, though he characterized negotiations with the NFL as "positive." Among his goals are making continued improvements in former players' benefits and engaging young fans in the game the way the NBA has with its base because of annual league-altering free-agency periods.

One of the topics that will likely be on the table in the coming week is making changes in the CBA that benefit core NFL players, the large group between the league's highest-paid players and rookies. Several potential routes exist here, such as adjusting the salary-cap minimums each team is forced to spend in hopes of getting more guaranteed money in contracts or shortening lengths/making restrictions on rookie contracts.

Both sides hope a new agreement can be reached rather than resorting to an NFL lockout like the one before the 2011 season, or a player strike like the ones that occurred in the 1970s and 1980s.

Smith is in Miami Beach for the weekend as part of the NFLPA's former player summer getaway, a link-up with retired players geared toward post-career professional development opportunities. But next week, it's back to negotiations with NFL owners to work out what he hopes is a "fair and balanced" new CBA in terms of economics and work rules.

One element that Smith was proud to see since the most recent CBA is players embracing opportunities to discuss social justice issues, whether it be Colin Kaepernick, Eric Reid, Kenny Stills, Malcolm Jenkins, Ben Watson or Chris Long. But in terms of the CBA, Smith also remarked how players have increasingly used their power in the economic sphere as well.

"Le'Veon [Bell] is a perfect example. He used his power to dictate his own destiny. It's an opinion whether you agree with him, it's a fact that he chose to make a decision as a grown man," Smith said of Bell, who missed a season instead of signing a franchise tag with Pittsburgh, and now has a long-term contract with the New York Jets. "I found it disappointing that people viewed it [in] a negative way because he made the decision on the back of his work."

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Los Angeles Angels infielder Zack Cozart will undergo another procedure on his injured left shoulder, this one an arthroscopic debridement that will essentially clean damaged tissue in hopes of getting him on track toward a full recovery.

Cozart will not return this season -- a reality the Angels had long accepted -- but is hopeful of swinging the bat again in six weeks and riding that into a normal, healthy offseason.

Cozart, 33 and in the middle of a three-year, $38 million contract, re-tore the labrum that was surgically repaired on the final day of June in 2018. He felt a sharp pain after a swing in a game against the Minnesota Twins around the middle of May and said he played through pain for a couple of weeks before landing on the injured list. Doctors believe that swing was the genesis of Cozart's re-injury.

Cozart spent his first seven seasons with the Cincinnati Reds and made the All-Star team in 2017, but has been unable to match that success with the Angels. In 96 games through his first two seasons, Cozart has batted only .190/.261/.296.

Dr. Neal ElAttrache will perform the next procedure in Los Angeles on Wednesday with the hope it will eliminate the need for another full-scale shoulder surgery.

"It's pretty complicated, actually," Cozart said. "I've learned a lot about my anatomy in the past two months that I didn't really care about until now. Hopefully, this works and just cleans it up; I can get my motion back and get the strength in there again and start swinging."

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Angels catcher Jonathan Lucroy remembers getting leveled by the Astros' Jake Marisnick and nothing else until he was carried onto the golf cart in Houston.

"He knocked me out," Lucroy said Friday, reliving the play that led to a hospital visit for Lucroy and a two-game suspension for Marisnick.

Lucroy was positioned in front of home plate to receive a throw from Angels right fielder Kole Calhoun with the bases loaded and two outs in the eighth inning of a tie game Sunday at Minute Maid Park. Marisnick made a last-second move to his left and collided viciously with Lucroy, seemingly regretting the decision instantly. Lucroy sustained a broken nose and his third diagnosed concussion. Marisnick reached out via text message later that night.

"A situation like that, split-second decisions have to be made," said Lucroy, who will have his nose repaired Monday and doesn't expect to spend much time on the injured list. "I don't think he was trying to hurt anybody. However, I did give him the whole lane, the whole foul territory, to slide. I did tell him that in the text. As a catcher, when the play's at home, I always try to give the runner some place to slide. That's what the new rule says. You're supposed to do that. If you don't, you can get called for interference. We communicated. And it is what it is."

Marisnick, who was also fined, appealed his suspension in part because he wants to elaborate on the matter with officials from Major League Baseball. In his initial statement, Joe Torre, MLB's chief baseball officer, said that though Marisnick might not have intended to injure, the Astros outfielder nonetheless violated rules designed to protect catchers from this.

The Angels have since added some depth behind the plate, activating backup Kevan Smith off the injured list and acquiring veteran Josh Thole -- along with left-handed reliever Adam McCreery -- from the Los Angeles Dodgers for cash considerations on Friday.

Lucroy has made it a point to position himself in front of home plate while awaiting a throw ever since he was called for interference while playing for the Milwaukee Brewers and facing the Angels a few years ago. He hopes baserunners will do their part to abide by the rules in the future.

"I mean, you can look at my face," Lucroy said, pointing to his black eye. "There's a reason why the rule is in place."

MIAMI -- Brodie Van Wagenen expressed confidence in the New York Mets shortly after the former agent was hired for his first general manager job in the offseason.

He urged the rest of the National League East to "come get us," and it has.

"I wasn't shy in the offseason, but they came and got us," Van Wagenen said before New York visited Miami for its first game after the All-Star break. "I think that now we view ourselves as the underdogs."

The Mets began the weekend series against the Marlins with a 40-50 record, good for fourth place in the division, 13½ games behind NL East-leading Atlanta.

"We are incredibly disappointed with both of those results in the standings," Van Wagenen said. "This season has not gone the way we wanted. It certainly hasn't gone the way our players have wanted and most importantly it hasn't gone the way our fans want."

Van Wagenen reportedly threw a chair in frustration during a meeting with the coaching staff before the break.

"I let those emotions get to me," Van Wagenen said. "I am not typically throwing furniture and I'm sure our fans may have thrown a few remote controls at TVs over the course of the season. I think the coaches understood my emotion and we're ready to go forward."

The Mets have a trio of All-Stars in Jacob deGrom, rookie slugger Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil, but the future of their teammates remains unclear with the July 31 trade deadline approaching.

"I think we have to face our reality to some degree of where we are in the standings so we are going to be open-minded," Van Wagenen said. "We are going to be thoughtful and measured in terms of what we do as we approach the deadline all with the eyes of trying to improve this club."

A number of teams have inquired about Mets players, according to Van Wagenen.

"Significant volume, lots of dialogue, and an overwhelming amount of incoming calls," he said. "To the extent of if they are serious, I think that is hard to define, but I think there is real interest in our players and we have to be thoughtful with what we do with that interest."

There has been uncertainty circulating around the future of Mets manager Mickey Callaway, who is 117-135 in two seasons with New York heading into the second half.

"I think he has done a difficult job very well," Van Wagenen said. "I think our results in the standings are not what we want them to be. I know he shows up every day with a passion to win and a desire to work to get better and so I'm very satisfied with that."

Two of the Mets' key offseason acquisitions have struggled. Second baseman Robinson Cano hit .240 with four homers and 18 RBIs in his first 65 games with New York, and Edwin Diaz began the weekend with a 1-6 record and 5.50 ERA while converting 19 of 23 save opportunities.

"We acquired the best closer in the American League last year and we acquired a 3-hole hitter that was coming off of years of production," Van Wagenen said. "I think we have to acknowledge those two players have not performed what our expectations were. The onus is on us now to support them to be better and regain their talent. Players are now healthy. Both players have 72 games in front of them to change the narrative on this season."

The shortcomings have led to Van Wagenen accepting blame.

"This team that we built was one that was a unified vision and it hasn't worked so I accept my responsibility in that capacity," Van Wagenen said.

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Angels honored their late teammate, Tyler Skaggs, in the best way possible Friday night. They all wore his No. 45 jersey onto the field, played a video montage on the giant video board, brought his mother out to the pitcher's mound, then put together one of the most impressive and inspired performances of the 2019 season.

Two pitchers, Taylor Cole and Felix Pena, teamed up to no-hit the Seattle Mariners in a 13-0 victory at Angel Stadium in the Angels' first home game since Skaggs died in his hotel room in Texas on July 1. Cole worked two perfect innings to open the game, and Pena dominated through the final seven, allowing just one fifth-inning walk.

They each pitched with the comfort of a massive lead, the product of a seven-run first inning that saw Mike Trout drive in four runs by himself -- two on a home run, then two on a double.

After Seattle's Mallex Smith grounded out to second base to end the contest, the Angels took off their jerseys with Skaggs' name and number on the back and arrayed them on the pitcher's mound.

Skaggs was a local product who was drafted 40th overall out of high school by the Angels in 2009, then found his way back here in 2014 after three years with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Tommy John surgery followed shortly thereafter, and the occasional struggles arose from time to time. But Skaggs was at his best leading up to the time of his death, with a 1.62 ERA over his last three starts. He was emerging as the best pitcher in the Angels' rotation.

"He became the ace of the staff," said Angels broadcaster Mark Gubicza, the former All-Star pitcher who forged a close bond with Skaggs. "He'd really figured out how to pitch."

The Angels cancelled their game on the day of Skaggs' death, then continued on with their final six games of the season's first half, splitting them against the Texas Rangers and the Houston Astros, two teams ahead of them in the division.

When players returned from the All-Star break on Friday, they saw the shrine that was built by fans in front of the main gate of Angel Stadium now filled with caps and candles and hand-written letters. They saw images of Skaggs everywhere, including on the center-field wall.

They saw his locker preserved in its usual spot. They saw his No. 45 painted behind the pitcher's mound. And they found their own No. 45 jersey hanging in their own locker.

"Tonight's about him," Angels infielder Zack Cozart said. "We're going to do what we can to honor him and keep his legacy going."

Trout ultimately reached base five times and drove in six runs. He is batting .407 with seven home runs and 16 RBIs in the seven games he has played since the death of one of his closest friends.

In that time, Angels general manager Billy Eppler has seen Trout emerge as a leader.

"His shoulders are broad because he carries around a lot," Eppler said prior to the game. "This kid -- or this young man -- has just continued to be there for everybody."

Before the game, Debbie Skaggs was noticeably anxious as she boarded the elevator that would take her to the field for the heart-wrenching ceremony to honor her son. She was to deliver the ceremonial first pitch to Andrew Heaney, her son's best friend on the team.

"I hope I make him proud," Debbie, a longtime high school softball coach who in many ways inspired Tyler's love of baseball, said from the suite level of Angel Stadium.

She threw a perfect strike, without hesitation, then took four steps to the edge of the mound, brought her hands together and looked up to the heavens.

Minutes later, she watched as Skaggs' teammates honored him in the best way possible.