Two Sri Lankan cricketers, Dasun Shanaka and Hasitha Boyagoda, were among the many who narrowly survived the serial blasts that rocked the island on Easter Sunday morning, leaving almost 300 dead and more than 500 injured.

It might have unravelled very differently for Shanaka, the 27-year-old international allrounder, had he attended Sunday morning mass at St Sebastian's Church in Negombo, his hometown, that day with his mother and grandmother. He chose not to, being tired after a 170-kilometre trip home from Anuradhapura the previous evening.

"Normally I would have gone to church but the day before I had gone to Anuradhapura, so I was tired," Shanaka recounted to ESPNcricinfo, his voice cracking. "That morning, when I was at my house, I heard a sound, and then people were saying a bomb had gone off at the church. I rushed there, and I'll never forget the scene.

"The entire church was destroyed, absolutely shattered, and people were dragging lifeless bodies outside."

"If you saw the scene, you would know there was no way anyone inside could have survived, because simply the debris from the blast had injured everyone even in the vicinity" DASUN SHANAKA

He first looked for, and found, his mother, and took her to hospital, while his friends stayed behind to help others.

"My first instinct was to look for my mother. Once I spotted her, I took her away from the area. Then I began looking for my grandmother, but when I heard that she had been sitting inside, my heart sank," he recalled. "If you saw the scene, you would know there was no way anyone inside could have survived, because simply the debris from the blast had injured everyone even in the vicinity.

"She (his mother) was near the window, but had been protected from the brunt of the blast by a nearby partition, and she suffered only minor injuries. Many of those around her had died."

When he returned a short while later, he found his grandmother inside the church and, almost miraculously, alive.

"When I went looking for my grandmother, I wasn't expecting to find her alive. But, as it turned out, the blast had hit and killed those around her, but she had been protected from severe damage by the bodies of the others," Shanaka said. "In the end, she was hurt badly having been hit in the head with shrapnel, but we were able to take her to hospital for surgery."

If that was Shanaka's experience in Negombo, over in the capital city of Colombo, Hasitha Boyagoda, Sri Lanka's Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year last year, and three members of his family were equally fortunate to survive.

He was having Easter Sunday breakfast at Shangri-La Hotel when the explosion took place there. It was a wonder that they came out of it with only minor injuries, the blast having taken place in such close proximity to them.

Charith Senananayake, the team manager of the Galle provincial team Boyagoda was recently a part of, confirmed that the young player was fine but "completely shaken".

The 19-year-old Boyagoda has been earmarked as a star for the future, having hit an Under-19 ODI record 191 against Kenya in January 2018. He is also a straight A student, something that is the more impressive considering his quality as a cricketer.

How his experience on Sunday morning might affect Boyagoda is anyone's guess. As for Shanaka, he's obviously distressed by the experience and his confidence has been dented: "I'm scared to go on to the streets, or to go to the hospital."

But his faith in the strength of the Sri Lankan people is not shaken.

"There has never been a problem in Negombo in terms of inter-racial relations," he said. "It's always been a safe haven of sorts. There's never been a problem with any community. The people here are very good and kind-hearted, and they don't gossip or look into other people matters. I have no words to express how innocent and peaceful the people here are."

With Pakistan about to leave for England - well before any other World Cup side - coach Mickey Arthur believes his side can go all the way in the tournament.

Addressing the media for the final time before their departure, Arthur and captain Sarfaraz Ahmed expressed complete satisfaction in the squad selected to mount a World Cup challenge, with Sarfaraz declaring "all fifteen players" as trump cards.

"We leave very, very well prepared," Arthur said. "We leave with a team that has both the talent and attitude to be successful. Our preparation over here has been outstanding, and our preparation leading into the World Cup is brilliant with a series against the world No. 1 side in their own conditions.

"That will give us an opportunity to test ourselves and to test our combination, and to head to the World Cup with a lot of confidence. We know if we play to our potential, we have the ability to go all the way."

The warm-up against England next month, followed by the World Cup, comes against the backdrop of an alarming fall in Pakistan's ODI form since the start of 2018. In that period, Pakistan have managed just four wins in 22 matches against teams they will face at the World Cup, a run that included whitewashes by New Zealand and Australia, with a torrid Asia Cup and a 3-2 away loss in South Africa sandwiched in between.

Sarfaraz, however, believed it was time to look ahead rather than reflect on that run.

"We should leave what happened in past in the past," he said. "Seven or eight of our players were rested for the Australia series. Yes, we did make some mistakes in the past, but we won't repeat them. I can assure you that we have prepared hard and we will stretch ourselves to the limit to ensure things go our way at the World Cup."

Arthur sounded the alarm over Pakistan's fitness standards when he became coach in 2016 and set a non-negotiable benchmark that has arguably become the defining feature of his time at the helm. Now, with three years of hard work finally being put to the test at a World Cup, he said he was delighted with the attitude of the players towards fitness, saying that every player was making impressive progress.

"We've got the base in terms of our fitness," Arthur said. "All our players are at a level they need to be. For us now, the focus shifts onto skills and execution because we've done the hard work. Fitness doesn't guarantee you success, but it guarantees you a better chance of recovery. We've got 20 games in the UK. We need to recover quickly and it gives you a better chance of runs and wickets, and we're very happy that we're well prepared in that department."

For all the positive talk, the excitement has been dampened significantly by the news of Shadab Khan's unavailability for the series against England. A virus is set to keep him out of action for at least four weeks, with ESPNcricinfo understanding he is a major doubt for the World Cup. The 20-year old is arguably the one player Pakistan don't have a suitable replacement for, what with him being a world-class leg-spinner in addition to the ever-improving strides he is making as a batsman.

Yasir Shah replaces him for the ODIs against England, but a paucity of leg-spin options means he is also a front-runner to take Shadab's spot at the World Cup, should it come to that. In the recently concluded series against Australia, Yasir took four wickets at just under 71 with an economy rate of 5.66, but Arthur said he saw signs of improvement as the series went on.

"We wanted a wrist spinner [for the England series]," Arthur said. "Wrist spinners are in vogue in cricket at the moment, all teams have good wrist spinners.

"The key for Yasir is to challenge both edges. If Yasir's challenging both inside and outside edges of the bat, he becomes a different beast. If he only challenges the outside edge, players can line him up and hit him one side of the ground. That means he has to bowl his googly more often. In the UAE, the wickets were especially flat and didn't turn. If we get on a wicket that just grips a little bit, Yasir is a bowler we still feel can be a weapon for us. But time will tell on whether we decide to pick him for the final World Cup squad."

Sarfraz was candid on Pakistan's plans for the batting order in England, saying he would bat in the top five, while calling Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik the "backbone of this team", and revealing they would play together. That was a point of discussion among fans in Pakistan following the release of the World Cup squad, with concerns that a middle order comprising Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Sarfraz, Hafeez and Malik would lack the necessary power hitting.

Asked whether he viewed his side as underdogs or favourites for the World Cup, Sarfaraz decided humour would be safer than hubris. "When we go as favourites, we stray into trouble," he smiled. "We have a good team, but going with the underdog tag seems better."

Pakistan open their tour of England with a match against Kent at Beckenham on Saturday.

With just a day to go before the Tuesday deadline set by the ICC, West Indies remain the only team yet to announce their squad for the upcoming World Cup.

ESPNcricinfo understand Cricket West Indies (CWI) will submit the 15-man squad to the ICC on Tuesday, but will announce the squad only on Wednesday afternoon in Barbados (1.30 pm local time).

The squad will be picked by the freshly appointed interim selection panel chaired by Robert Haynes, along with Jimmy Adams (director of cricket) and West Indies' newly appointed coach Floyd Reifer.

Although Jason Holder will continue to be the captain and Chris Gayle will almost certainly play his fifth World Cup, questions remain over the participation of the country's other superstars, who have been successful in the last five years in domestic T20 leagues around the world.

Will Andre Russell, Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine, and even Dwayne Bravo, who opted to retire from international cricket last year, find a spot? Will Marlon Samuels, who has recovered from his knee injury, get the opportunity to play his fourth World Cup?

The hope comes from a new administration taking charge at CWI. Ricky Skerritt, the newly elected president of CWI, who was also once the manager of the West Indies team at the turn of the millennium, had said that the selectors will be looking at all available options.

The key questions for the selectors concern the two allrounders that would feature in addition to Holder. Will it be Russell and Carols Brathwaite? Who will be Gayle's opening partner, Evin Lewis or John Campbell? Who among Devendra Bishoo, Ashley Nurse and Fabian Allen will be part of the spinners' group? Who among Keemo Paul, Sheldon Cottrell and Shannon Gabriel will accompany Kemar Roach in the fast bowling group? Will Nicholas Pooran make it as the back-up wicketkeeper?

With about 24 hours left for squad to be finalised, ESPNcricinfo has listed the key names Haynes' selection panel will deliberate on.

Jaipur will host four women's T20 exhibition matches on the sidelines of the IPL playoffs. The round-robin matches will be played on May 6, 8 and 9 before the final on May 11.

Unlike last year when two teams, Supernovas and Trailblazers, had contested a one-off exhibition match, this season a third team, Velocity, will take part. Senior India players Mithali Raj, Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana will captain the three teams.

This is the second year in a row that the BCCI has decided to conduct women's matches during the IPL playoffs, and this season the format will be a single round-robin rounded off with a final.

As reported earlier, overseas players from half-a-dozen countries will be part of the exhibition matches, which are an attempt by the BCCI to test the strength and popularity of women's T20 in India where the IPL has taken deep roots since its inception in 2008.

ESPNcricinfo understands all four games are likely to be telecast live, with the BCCI set to finalise the timings in consultation with the host broadcasters. Last year, the Supernovas and Trailblazers contested a one-off match that ended up as a last-ball thriller. The match was played before Qualifier 1 of the men's IPL at the Wankhede Stadium. The match was broadcast live, but was played in the middle of the afternoon with a 2 pm start time that did not enthuse too many fans to turn up, leaving the stands mostly empty.

Cassius Stanley, a top-30 prospect, committed to Duke on Monday afternoon, likely securing the No. 1 recruiting class in the country for the Blue Devils.

Stanley chose Duke from a final list that also included UCLA, Oregon and Kansas. The Blue Devils emerged late in the process after Stanley didn't make a decision during the fall's early signing period. UCLA's coaching change impacted the Bruins' pursuit of Stanley, while he remained unconvinced by the Jayhawks or Ducks.

Duke began communicating with Stanley in February, and brought him on campus for an official visit earlier this month. The Blue Devils are losing their top three scorers from this past season's team, with freshmen Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett and Cam Reddish all departing for the NBA, and Mike Krzyzewski needed replacements on the perimeter.

Stanley's commitment likely cements Duke atop the recruiting-class rankings for 2019. This would mark the third year in a row Duke has landed the No. 1 class, and the fifth time in six years.

The 6-foot-5 guard joins a group that already included five-stars Vernon Carey Jr. (No. 5 in the ESPN 100), Matthew Hurt (No. 10), Wendell Moore (No. 21) and Rejean "Boogie" Ellis (No. 36).

Stanley has been a highly touted prospect all through his high school career, with his dunks and highlights regularly going viral. He's ranked No. 29 in the ESPN 100 for the 2019 class, slotting in as the No. 6 shooting guard. Playing for Team Why Not on the Nike EYBL circuit last spring and summer, Stanley averaged 15.8 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.

Donovan McNabb on Monday clarified his recent comments on Carson Wentz, the day after Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle Lane Johnson criticized the former Eagles quarterback for questioning the long-term future in Philadelphia for the current signal-caller.

For those of you who misread, didn't understand, were confused or just didn't like my comments let me clarify it for you. Let me start by saying there's no beef,riff or ill-will toward @cj_wentz or the @Eagles . My comments were strictly based off of experience and understanding

— Donovan McNabb (@donovanjmcnabb) April 22, 2019

Of how The Business of football works. You are consistently evaluated everyday, every game and if you are reliable and or healthy enough to play. I know at times as players and fans it can be confusing to move on from a beloved player but due to the business of health

— Donovan McNabb (@donovanjmcnabb) April 22, 2019

And trust tough decisions are usually made. Maybe people just didn't like it because it's coming from me or I answered a question from one of the talents on the radio the way you didn't agree with. If that's how you feel I'm sorry you feel that way. It's
the nature of the game.

— Donovan McNabb (@donovanjmcnabb) April 22, 2019

On Saturday, in an appearance with CBS Sports Radio, McNabb said the Eagles should consider drafting another quarterback if Wentz can't lead the Eagles past the second round of the playoffs in the next two seasons.

"I think in the next two, three years -- two years or so -- he has to find a way to get out of the second round of the playoffs," McNabb said. "What Nick Foles was able to do, take them to a Super Bowl and then possibly take them back to the NFC Championship Game, proves that, hey, some people can get into that offense and be very successful. [Wentz] hasn't been healthy. He hasn't really proven to me, besides the year before he got hurt [when] he was, really, an MVP candidate. He needs to get back to that moment."

That drew a response Sunday from Johnson on Twitter.

@donovanjmcnabb ? ? ? ? ? ?...and you wonder why nobody respects you when you come back!!!!

— Lane Johnson (@LaneJohnson65) April 22, 2019

The Eagles right tackle then followed up his social media post by expanding on his thoughts on 94WIP radio Sunday night, calling out McNabb and other former Eagles players for criticizing current players on the team.

"This is what I meant -- every training camp we have all of these ex-players come and shake our hands, wish us good luck. Then they just go out and just talk hate," Johnson said. "I feel there is a lot of envy, jealousy, and I see a lot of fakery. It isn't just me -- a lot of other teammates see it too. You would think the best quarterback in franchise history would try to build up a young man that looks up to him instead of always criticizing him, critiquing him and wishing he would fail so he could be the missing link and feel better himself."

The retired McNabb is the Eagles' career passing leader with 32,873 yards and also leads the franchise with 216 touchdown passes. He led the Eagles to seven playoff appearances and a trip to Super Bowl XXXIX after the 2004 season but was traded by Philadelphia to the Washington Redskins in 2010.

Alabama Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban underwent hip replacement surgery on Monday and will be back to work soon, the school announced in a news release.

Dr. Lyle Cain, an orthopedic consultant with the athletic department, said the robotic-assisted procedure was successful on the 67-year-old coach.

"Coach is resting comfortably, and we anticipate a full recovery," Cain said in the release. "He should be able to return to work in the very near future, and we'll have him back out on the golf course, with hopefully a few more yards off the tee, as soon as possible."

Alabama doesn't typically begin fall practice until early August, so Saban will have more than three months to recover.

The Crimson Tide, who have won five championships in Saban's 12 seasons leading the program, open the season against Duke on Aug. 31.

Saban said he was bothered by his hip throughout the spring and wanted to get it fixed now, rather than let the problem become worse.

"I want to get it fixed because I don't want to coach for one more year -- I want to coach for a lot of more years," he told reporters following the spring game two weeks ago. "So whenever things like this come up, I want to be aggressive and proactive to try and get it taken care of. We'll certainly do that, and we've got really good people to do it."

Virginia guard Kyle Guy announced Monday he plans to keep his name in the NBA draft and will not return to the Cavaliers for his senior season.

Saying goodbye twice is not easy.. Charlottesville I just want to say thank you so much. I'll never forget this. One day I will have the words. I am officially keeping my name in the draft. I know it's the right step after much prayer and thought with my family ?? #NoParachute pic.twitter.com/GMej9BrxBu

— Kyle J Guy (@kylejguy5) April 22, 2019

"Kyle had a remarkable three-year career at the University of Virginia," coach Tony Bennett said in a statement. "He has been a model teammate and student-athlete, and we obviously respect his decision to remain in the draft. I loved coaching him, watching him develop and turn into a terrific young man. We're excited for Kyle and his family, and wish him nothing but the best at the next level."

Guy announced last week he was declaring for the draft, but left the door open to a possible return. He is one of four Virginia players to enter their names into the NBA draft, along with Ty Jerome, De'Andre Hunter and Mamadi Diakite.

The 6-foot-2 Guy earned NCAA tournament Most Outstanding Player honors after leading Virginia to a national championship. After a slow start to the tournament, Guy scored 25 points in the regional final against Purdue, hit three free throws to beat Auburn, then scored 24 points in the title game win over Texas Tech.

Guy averaged 15.4 points and 4.5 rebounds this past season, shooting 42.6 percent from 3-point range.

Atlanta Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce has been added as an assistant coach for USA Basketball this summer, when the Americans will compete in the FIBA World Cup in China and try to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Pierce is replacing Indiana Pacers coach Nate McMillan, who withdrew because of scheduling conflicts. Pierce, the Golden State Warriors' Steve Kerr and Villanova's Jay Wright will be the assistants under head coach Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs. The World Cup stretches through Sept. 15. The demands of the schedule and the travel would have likely been too daunting for McMillan -- whose Pacers are scheduled to open training camp not long after the World Cup gold-medal game, and will then travel to India for a pair of preseason games on Oct. 4-5. "It's an honor to receive this opportunity to represent our country and to work with such great coaches and staff,'' Pierce said. "My family and I are excited about and committed to enjoying this journey.''

Pierce has history with U.S. men's national team managing director Jerry Colangelo. When Colangelo was working for Philadelphia, Pierce was an assistant coach there.

"He has demonstrated the ability in particular to be an outstanding defensive coach,'' Colangelo said. "Also, it was evident during our time together in Philadelphia that he was a strong leader, players respected him a great deal. I think we're fortunate to have someone of his abilities. I think he's really a good addition.''

The U.S. is ranked No. 1 in the world and will face the Czech Republic, Japan and Turkey during Group E games in Shanghai. The Americans will hold training camps in Las Vegas and Los Angeles in August, then have exhibition games in California and Australia before arriving in China.

The U.S. is seeking its third consecutive World Cup gold medal.

Atlanta Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce has been added as an assistant coach for USA Basketball this summer, when the Americans will compete in the FIBA World Cup in China and try to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Pierce is replacing Indiana Pacers coach Nate McMillan, who withdrew because of scheduling conflicts. Pierce, the Golden State Warriors' Steve Kerr and Villanova Wildcats 's Jay Wright will be the assistants under head coach Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs. The World Cup stretches through Sept. 15. The demands of the schedule and the travel would have likely been too daunting for McMillan -- whose Pacers are scheduled to open training camp not long after the World Cup gold-medal game, and will then travel to India for a pair of preseason games on Oct. 4-5. "It's an honor to receive this opportunity to represent our country and to work with such great coaches and staff,'' Pierce said. "My family and I are excited about and committed to enjoying this journey.''

Pierce has history with U.S. men's national team managing director Jerry Colangelo. When Colangelo was working for Philadelphia, Pierce was an assistant coach there.

"He has demonstrated the ability in particular to be an outstanding defensive coach,'' Colangelo said. "Also, it was evident during our time together in Philadelphia that he was a strong leader, players respected him a great deal. I think we're fortunate to have someone of his abilities. I think he's really a good addition.''

The U.S. is ranked No. 1 in the world and will face the Czech Republic, Japan and Turkey during Group E games in Shanghai. The Americans will hold training camps in Las Vegas and Los Angeles in August, then have exhibition games in California and Australia before arriving in China.

The U.S. is seeking its third consecutive World Cup gold medal.

CAMDEN, N.J. -- Philadelphia 76ers coach Brett Brown warned his team heading into Tuesday's potential closeout game against Brooklyn to not let the Nets' physicality derail their goal of getting out of the first round.

"There's no secret how this game tomorrow will be played, given the complaints that have surfaced in regards to refereeing and what inevitably will be sort of the reaction to the game," Brown said Monday about Game 5 in the series that Philadelphia leads 3-1. "I want to get ahead of that as the coach. Anticipate different things like that. Share stories with my team so we can just stay very linear, very straight line. Just play through noise, and that's what interests me the most in how to close out a series."

The Sixers' 112-108 win in Game 4 was marred by ejections to Brooklyn's Jared Dudley and Philadelphia's Jimmy Butler when a skirmish broke out after Joel Embiid fouled Nets center Jarrett Allen, bringing the 6-foot-11 big man to the floor.

Then the league, in its Last Two Minute Report released Sunday, determined that Tobias Harris should have been called for a foul on Allen before Allen turned the ball over with the Nets trailing by two in the final seconds. The report also detailed a carry by Spencer Dinwiddie that should have been called.

"I mean, the game's over," Harris said Monday. "And really, who is to say he'd make both free throws anyway? I mean, I understand the league report came out and whatnot, but it is what it is. There was also something on Spencer Dinwiddie and a carry or whatnot. So, it is what it is. The game is finished. We got the win. I ain't going to say I shouldn't have done it or whatever. I was hustling. Clearly, they said it was a foul. So, it is what it is. I don't feel sorry."

The no-call on Harris, coupled with a previous foul by Embiid in Game 2 -- when his elbow to Allen's face was determined to only be a flagrant 1 instead of a flagrant 2 -- prompted Nets general manager Sean Marks to confront the officials after Game 4 by entering the referees' locker room.

Marks was fined $25,000 by the league, suspended for Game 5 and docked a game's pay.

"You see how much he's invested with the team," Dudley said Monday about the GM. "You've got to think about this: Sean was an ex-player too. ... He still has his competitive juices at all times. Just shows you his personality, a fiery guy. A guy who doesn't like to feel like he's disadvantaged. Wants to be on the same playing field. And for the most part, we're trying to set the tone for what he wants."

Embiid wanted his flagrant foul on Allen in Game 4 to be rescinded. Instead, he now is saddled with two flagrant foul points in the playoffs. If that total reaches four, he'll be suspended for a game.

"It's tough," Embiid said. "You just got to play basketball. If it happens, it happens. Like I said, I'm mature. I know what I'm doing. Although the last one, I don't even know if it was even a foul. I feel like I got all ball. So I don't know why it can be a flagrant foul, which doesn't make sense, but I'm just going to play basketball and just be myself."

When asked if he is concerned that players might try to bait him the rest of the postseason to add to his flagrant point total, Embiid said, "I don't care."

Brown has tried to drill to his players, Embiid included, that they still have to finish the job and getting in any sort of extracurriculars beyond executing the game plan will only jeopardize the team.

"It's the discipline that we have to have," Brown said. "I've told this group candidly, I sat on the bench in San Antonio [in 2007] when Robert Horry hip checked [Steve] Nash into the stands and Amare [Stoudemire] and Boris [Diaw] walked onto the court. And we weren't beating them. I think they were winning the NBA championship.

"We remember Draymond [Green] stepping over LeBron [James]. And they're up 3-1 and they lost the series [in 2016]. So it's not holding your breath. There are reminders that I owe my players as the coach to have them be adults, be big boys and navigate through this. It's not our fault at times we're 20 pounds heavier and 3 inches taller [as is the case with Embiid versus Allen]. And so, in the meantime, we just got to be smarter and that's my job."

And it's Embiid's job to play, as JJ Redick calls him the "focal point" and "anchor" for the Sixers' organization. After sitting out Game 3 with left knee soreness, Embiid was dominant in Game 4.

He wouldn't confirm that he will definitely be in the lineup for Game 5.

"Got to keep 'em guessing," Embiid said. "But if I do play, I'm going to be aggressive. We got to close them out tomorrow night. We don't want to go back to Brooklyn, so we got to do whatever that's necessary to close it out tomorrow."

ESPN's Ian Begley contributed to this report.