Bayern Munich head coach Hansi Flick has refused to rule out a move for Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland in the future and said "a lot is possible."

Haaland, 20, scored a quickfire double against Bayern on Saturday before the Bundesliga champions turned things around to secure a 4-2 win in the Klassiker.

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Speaking after the match, Flick said that Bayern would be one of the club's interested in signing the striker if he decided to leave Dortmund in the future.

"A lot is possible in life," he said. "I can't rule that out. He has a long-term contract with BVB, but he is a player who is the focus of many top teams.

"If this were to ever materialise, of course it would be another case of a top Dortmund talent leaving to go to Bayern, but it will inevitably be up to Haaland where he goes next."

Dortmund could face a battle to keep Haaland this summer if they fail to secure a Champions League spot next season as they sit four points off the top four after losing to Bayern.

Flick also compared Haaland to Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski, who scored a hat trick against BVB.

The Poland international only needs to score nine more league goals to match Gerd Mueller's record tally of 40 in a single campaign.

"Robert has proven over the years what a world-class player he is," Flick added. "He has proven over the years that he plays at a top level.

"Haaland is a young player who is very hungry for goals. He has tremendous drive, tremendous speed and a strong finish."

Former BCCI president Sharad Pawar has said that Sachin Tendulkar had suggested MS Dhoni's name for India's captaincy in 2007, when the board was running out of options. Pawar, who was the board chief from 2005 to 2008, said that India's then captain Rahul Dravid approached him during the 2007 tour of England saying he "no longer wanted to lead India" and when Pawar asked Tendulkar to take over the reins, he declined as well.

"I remember India had gone to England in 2007," Pawar was quoted as saying by ANI. "At that time, Rahul Dravid was the captain. I was there in England then and Dravid came to meet me. He told me how he no longer wanted to lead India. He told me how the captaincy was affecting his batting. He told me that he should be relieved from the captaincy. I then asked Sachin Tendulkar to lead the side, but he refused the role.

"I told Sachin that if both of you and Dravid do not want to lead the side, how will we go about things? Then Sachin told me that we have one more player in the country who could lead the side and his name is none other than MS Dhoni. After that, we gave the leadership to Dhoni."

India's captaincy had become a big talking point in 2007 after their shock exit from the ODI World Cup in the first round. Ganguly had already stepped down, and Dravid and Tendulkar were 34, which meant India would anyway need a younger player to lead the side in the long run.

The selectors first picked Dhoni as captain for the T20I series in South Africa - while Dravid was still leading in ODIs - in August that year before naming him captain for the inaugural T20 World Cup that India went on to win. ODI captaincy also followed naturally, and so did the leadership in Tests a year later after Anil Kumble stepped down.

With his inimitable captaincy style, Dhoni went on to achieve unprecedented success in all three formats: the T20 World Cup title aside, he sealed the 2011 ODI World Cup victory in the final with a six, lifted the Champions Trophy in 2013 in England, and led the team to the top of the ICC Test rankings for 18 months starting December 2009.

Harmanpreet Kaur, the India ODI vice-captain, has admitted that the lack of any opportunities to "spend some time in the field" as "a unit" since the T20 World Cup in March last year, especially in the lead-up to the South Africa series, contributed to the eight-wicket hiding they got from the opposition in the series opener in Lucknow on Sunday. Captain Mithali Raj, who on match eve had said the Indian squad hadn't been feeling "rusty" going into their first assignment in a year, too, stressed on the dearth of "game time" as a cause of their defeat.

"We didn't get any international cricket for a year and during that time we played only three IPL (Women's T20 Challenge) games [in November]. Apart from that we didn't get much time where we can work as a unit," Kaur, who became the first India Women's batter to appear in 100 ODIs and as many T20Is, said at a press conference after the match. "When you play any format, as a team you need to spend some time in the field and get ready for a series. But we are one of the sides who like to learn from their mistakes and I hope we learn from our mistakes and try to improve ourselves in the next game.

"Over the past few years we had created a rhythm but [we are playing] after a long time. To create that rhythm again we would definitely need some time and from the next game we'd do what we, as a unit, want to do."

Kaur echoed Raj, who, in her post-match chat with broadcaster Anjum Chopra, acknowledged the importance of game time in developing confidence going into a series. "It seems like the batters were in good form," Raj said. "[A] Few of them got starts but couldn't convert. The bowlers need to be more consistent with lines and lengths, maybe they weren't consistent because they're coming back after a long break. A lot goes into game time. If you play games, it shows in your confidence."

Kaur admitted that after South Africa opted to bowl, India's batters who got starts "threw our wickets away". Smriti Mandhana began with a flurry of fours early into the innings when her opening partner Jemimah Rodrigues struggled for timing and placement. Mandhana's fluent knock, however, didn't last long as she bottom-edged a wide, away-going Ayabonga Khaka delivery to wicketkeeper Trisha Chetty for 14 off 20. Rodrigues followed suit, an athletic diving catch from Lizelle Lee sending her back for an 11-ball 1. First-drop Punam Raut then got out on a 29-ball 10, hurriedly pulling Ismail to Khaka at fine leg.

"We didn't try much in our batting combination because we wanted to go in with the same [opening] combination we fielded one year ago, when we last played ODIs [in November 2019]," Kaur said when asked about the opening pair. "Punam at the time was also batting one-down. But, unfortunately, we didn't get a partnership going [at the top] today."

Raj top-scored for India, keeping the innings from unravelling with a gritty 54th ODI half-century at No. 4, with Kaur joining her when India were 40 for 3 in the 14th over. The pair strung a 62-run stand off 72 balls, but Kaur, who completed 12 years in international cricket on the day, fell for 40 after picking out Ismail at long-off while trying to keep up her brisk hitting.

No. 6 Deepti Sharma too got her eyes in, scoring 27 off 46 balls on what appeared to be a good batting strip, but got out playing a sweep. From 155 for 6 in the 40th over, they could only crawl to 177 for 9 in the face of a disciplined showing from the South African bowling and fielding units.

"Nowadays everybody is looking for good totals," Kaur said about India's scarce scores in the region of 240-250 since 2017. Raj, on match eve, had touch upon that if conditions at the Ekana Stadium were conducive to batting, the hosts would aim for a similar total in the series when batting first.

India completed two landmark series wins on the trot when they won by an innings and 25 runs in the fourth Test against England in Ahmedabad, having come from behind to first beat Australia away and then England at home. The wins, by 2-1 and 3-1 margins respectively, came with India having to battle a slew of injuries and absences of first-choice players - particularly in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia - while also facing a steeper equation to make the World Test Championship final due to the revised rules caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The injuries and the pandemic-enforced larger squads meant several players got opportunities they otherwise might not have, and head coach Ravi Shastri was full of praise for how the younger players - particularly Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar and Axar Patel - had come through. Shastri spoke at length on each one in a media interaction on Sunday, a day after India had won the fourth Test to seal victory against England.

Rishabh Pant
Pant had arrived in Australia with "a lot of baggage" that he had to shed, physically. He was spoken to "in no uncertain terms" about what he needed to do, and Shastri said the wicketkeeper-batsman worked harder than anyone else in the squad, with the results visible.

"At 21, 22, 23, I had similar success. I had hundreds overseas so I can relate to what these guys have done," Shastri said. "When you are young and don't carry baggage, you're not afraid. It's only when the baggage comes, when you become known quantity and the pressures from the outside come in that you have to perform all the time, that's when life starts. As it started with Rishabh Pant on this trip.

"He came with a lot of baggage. It showed in his size. And he had to lose that baggage, which he did. He worked his backside off to lose it. And I tell you, he has trained harder than anyone in the last two months. And the results are not just for him to see, it's for the world to see."

Pant has enjoyed a hugely productive Test season, topping India's run charts with 544 runs in seven games while also showing great athleticism with the gloves. More than the runs, it was the game-changing nature of his innings that caught the imagination. He made 97 in Sydney as India held on for a draw, 89* to lead a historic fourth-innings chase in Brisbane and a brilliant counter-attacking 101 in the series-clinching Test in Ahmedabad.

"When you have a naturally brilliant match-winner of his ability playing to potential, there's no greater sight in cricket," Shastri said. "I think in the last two months what he's done to win matches for India, there'll be players who won't do it in a lifetime and would have never done it in a lifetime. At the age of 21 to pull of magic like he has done, after working as hard as he has… to then show in his wicketkeeping. Like yesterday, I think his keeping was outstanding on that wicket.

"When you add the runs, the match-winning efforts, the keeping improving and the hard work he's put in - like I mentioned yesterday, he was told in no uncertain terms that this game demands respect. You've got to respect the game much more than what you do - and which he did. He addressed it. He's reaping the rewards now. Outstanding. Simply outstanding."

Washington Sundar
When asked if Sundar - brought in as a bowler but who showed great batting chops - reminded him of himself, Shastri said the 21-year-old offspinning allrounder was much more talented, and that he should be batting in the top four for Tamil Nadu, his state side. Before his debut in Brisbane, Sundar hadn't played a first-class game for Tamil Nadu for three years.

"Washington Sundar, unbelievable composure and temperament," Shastri said. "I mean, for someone who - yes at Under-19 he was an opening batsman - to see that kind of body language, unfazed by the best bowlers in the world in the toughest situations as in Brisbane, [the first Test against England in] Chennai, here [in Ahmedabad] was unreal.

"I think he has far more natural ability than I had. Definitely, he should be batting in the top four for his state. No question about that. If I have to have a word with any of the Tamil Nadu selectors or the captain, with DK [Dinesh Karthik] or something of that sort - I think he should be batting in the top four. He's good enough. He belongs there. He has the ability and he can get a lot of runs. And at the same time if he can focus on his bowling, India could have a very good No. 6 in the future, even overseas. Someone who can get you a 50, 60, 70 and then can bowl for you about 20 overs and pick up 2-3 wickets. That was my role overseas and I think he can do that role easily, and even better."

Axar Patel
Patel played only three Tests against England, but made an impact in each one, ending up with 27 wickets at a scarcely believable average of 10.59. An allrounder at the domestic level, Patel's runs tally overtook his wickets tally only in the first innings of the fourth Test, when he made 43 in a century partnership with Sundar that put the match beyond England.

Shastri said Patel, 27, wasn't a "youngster" per se, and would have got his opportunities much sooner if it wasn't for injuries. Patel's Test debut came in the series against England, but he has already played 38 ODIs and 3 T20Is, having first represented India in 2014.

"Axar Patel, seasoned campaigner, I wouldn't call him a youngster," Shastri said. "He's been around the Indian team for years, he's been very unlucky with injuries. A lot of other players have got opportunities because of his injuries, including the likes of [Ravindra] Jadeja, including the likes of Krunal Pandya - because he's been injured.

"This is the time when he was injury free, and he made the most of it. But try and think, India playing in India without Jadeja - he's one of the best allrounders in the world, arguably the best allrounder in the world. He didn't play, someone else grabbed an opportunity. Now when he comes in and the three play together, there'll be some fun. In India, especially."

For club executives, the question of whether to manipulate the service time of young players has been like the steroid quandary was for players in the 1990s. Teams have the option of making decisions based entirely in good faith. Some clubs have operated this way. Fernando Tatis Jr. was on the Padres' Opening Day roster in 2019, for example.

But teams that take this path also run the risk of sacrificing a competitive advantage that most of their opponents have. Other teams get to maintain control over their best young players for longer, gleaning financial benefit along the way. This is what ex-Mariners CEO Kevin Mather talked about out loud in a way that a lot of his peers never did, before he had to resign. For a lot of teams, service-time manipulation has been standard operating procedure.

If there was a time when even small-market teams might feel like they could bypass those bad-faith decisions, it could be in 2021 -- the last season before the expiration of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Some club officials assume that one way or another, noncompetitive behaviors -- like service-time manipulation or tanking -- might be addressed. There is a lot of sentiment, even on the management side, that this stuff needs to be cleaned up.

Teams could make decisions based on the anticipation that the rules might change in the next CBA, so holding a worthy player in the minors in 2021 might not really pay off for 2022 and beyond. And because of Mather's comments and the players' increasing use of social media to punch back against MLB, there might be even more scrutiny if a top prospect is inexplicably stuck in Triple-A or Double-A.

With all of that in mind, here's how some of the best prospects could be handled:

Andrew Vaughn, Chicago White Sox
The White Sox's masher has only 245 plate appearances in the minors after being picked third overall in the 2019 draft. But the team seems open-minded about the possibility of opening the season with Vaughn in the big leagues, sharing time at first base and designated hitter with Jose Abreu. Vaughn will turn 23 on April 3. Typically, teams fret about young players adjusting to a DH role. But the White Sox love Vaughn's makeup, how unflappable and adaptable he is. The White Sox also know that as Abreu moves through the back half of his career, he probably would benefit from more days at DH. It's possible that like Yordan Alvarez, Vaughn will be perfectly at ease as a DH.

Something else worth watching: The White Sox have been very aggressive in getting their core youngsters under contract -- Tim Anderson, Yoan Moncada, Luis Robert and Eloy Jimenez. Vaughn seems like a natural candidate for a multiyear deal.

J.J. Bleday, Miami Marlins
That Derek Jeter is among what is a diminishing number of former players running baseball ops departments probably works for the Marlins' prospects, because Jeter is on the record about how he doesn't like service-time machinations. Rather, Miami's roster choices are seemingly almost entirely merit-based, so it'll be interesting to see how they handle Bleday. The fourth overall pick in 2019, Bleday played 38 games in High A that season and no games last year. Plus, the Marlins have some depth among outfielders. Bleday's chances for forcing his way into the big league lineup probably could be augmented if MLB and the players' association find a way for implementation of the universal DH in 2021.

Jarred Kelenic, Seattle Mariners
That Kelenic suffered a knee strain last week takes pressure off the Mariners to quickly promote him to the big leagues. After he recovers, Seattle can start him in the minors to continue his development -- he has played just 21 games above Double-A -- and wait for him to force his way to the big leagues.

Wander Franco, Tampa Bay Rays
The superstar prospect is expected to start the year in the minor leagues after losing a year of development in 2020. But he is highly advanced and a great athlete. If he dominates early, it might be possible that he pushes his way to the big leagues during the 2021 season. With Willy Adames established at shortstop for Tampa Bay, Franco might be more likely to break in at another spot, like third base.

Belarusian lands European Indoor high jump gold while Pichardo dominates triple jump

Maksim Nedasekau came out on top in what proved to be a brilliant high jump duel with defending champion Marco Tamberi on the final day of the European Indoor Championships in Poland.

The Italian had looked to be in total control of the competition thanks to first-time clearances of 2.23m, 2.26m and 2.29m but Nedasekau began to ask questions of his opponent when he moved into the lead by going over 2.31m without any trouble.

Tamberi matched him immediately but Nedasekau then upped the stakes when he soared over 2.33m, a height which the Italian was only able to clear at the second attempt. He took two attempts to go over 2.35m as well but looked to have turned the tables when Nedasekau twice failed to clear that height.

That forced the European U23 champion to roll the dice and his decision to go for a single opportunity at a world-leading height of 2.37m paid off handsomely as he cleared the bar.

Try as he might, Tamberi couldn’t match that and was forced to settle for silver this time around. Nedasekau made three unsuccessful attempts at 2.40m but had achieved his main target for the competition.

“I love the arena in Torun, it is amazing. I already set a PB here earlier this year,” said Nedasekau. “I like the game of passing heights, it makes me angry and that makes me jump better.”

There was a commanding win for Pedro Pablo Pichardo in the triple jump as he led from start to finish. The Cuban-born Portuguese two-time world silver medallist was in charge from the moment he leapt out to 17.30m in the opening round, his subsequent efforts of 17.06m, 17.09m and 17.12m underlining his dominance.

The race for silver went right to the final jumps of the competition, however. Alexis Capello had been in second spot for much of the morning thanks to his second-round 16.98m until German Max Hess leapt 17.01m in his final attempt to move above him. However, the Azerbaijan athlete was not to be outdone and answered in fine style with 17.04m for his sixth jump.

Despite taking the gold, however, Pichardo insisted he could have done better.

“My first jump wasn’t great and that’s why I didn’t look too happy about it, despite it being enough to get a win today,” said the man who was fourth in the 2019 World Championships in Doha. “I can jump further, and that’s always my goal – to be the best I can be.

“Of course achieving a good jump here today was one of my main goals but, in the end, the most important is to take the win back home. After losing a medal in Doha, this meant a lot, especially as a way to show some recognition for what Portugal has done for me.

“I have been given a chance to continue doing what I want to do, so I am very grateful for it. Now, it’s time to prepare for the Olympics as well as the Diamond League – I am very pleased the triple jump is back on the main programme.”

Ashton Hewitt says his try celebration against Ospreys was in support of a young fan he met after speaking about Black Lives Matter issues.

He explained the gesture was requested by a schoolboy named Ali.

"I asked what I could do for him and he said a try celebration. I asked what he wanted it to be and he did it and said 'A for Ashton and Ali'," said Hewitt.

Ali was among pupils who wrote to the player and Hewitt then visited them at the request of staff after his media appearances speaking out against racism.

Hewitt made the gesture after his second score at Brewery Field, which made certain of the Dragons' win.

"He was quite emotional in his letter and said that some of his experiences made him scared, so I was keen to go and see him," said Hewitt.

"That letter was probably one of the biggest things that has hit me throughout this journey in terms of racism and equality.

"I was really glad that I did because he is a great kid and I can't wait to see him again."

'It's a huge honour'

The second half of the match saw the Dragons play their best rugby of the season with Hewitt and fellow wing Jonah Holmes touching down twice apiece to upset the form book.

"We just believed in ourselves, kept our confidence and didn't try to play it too safe, we played a bit more expansively," said Newport-born Hewitt.

"It's massive [to reach 100 appearances], only 30-odd others have done it and it's a huge honour and for this to be the game to achieve that milestone made it pretty special."

Director of rugby Dean Ryan paid tribute to the wing, who was named in the Wales summer tour party in 2018 only to be ruled out through injury, and was also in the national squad in late 2019 without being capped.

"A hundred is always fantastic and it's great if it's wrapped up in a nice memory and you've got the ball in your hand under the sticks - he should go into story-writing," said Ryan.

"Ashton's been a tremendous servant to this club and you want them to enjoy those moments."

Dragons moved off the bottom of their Pro14 conference with three home games remaining and could still qualify for the European Champions Cup again, depending on how many teams go through automatically.

Bruised Ospreys

Third-placed Ospreys have away trips to Glasgow and Leinster, with the buffer of a 10-point lead over the Scots, although the Warriors and Dragons have a game in hand.

Wales scrum-half Rhys Webb, who was forced off with a shoulder injury, and fly-half Stephen Myler, who suffered a similar knock in the last minute, could be doubtful for the trip to Scotstoun on Friday, 12 March.

"They're tough away games especially in Six Nations windows, but that's part of the journey for these youngsters and the Ospreys," head coach Toby Booth told BBC Sport Wales.

"We're going to try to build a bigger, more resilient, competitive squad but these things take time within the budgetary constraints."

His team at least have a home match in the last 16 of the European Challenge Cup to look forward to, with the draw being made on Tuesday, 9 March.

"We've earned that right, it's a nice change of focus. It's exciting to see who we get and we'll embrace that when we get to it," said Booth of their Easter weekend fixture.

Lionel Messi voted on Sunday as Barcelona members went to the polls to choose a new president, with the forward's future one of the major issues that needs resolving at the club.

Messi, 33, is out of contract in June and, after trying to leave Camp Nou last summer, one of the first tasks facing the incoming president is to convince him to sign a new deal.

Joan Laporta, Victor Font and Toni Freixa are the three candidates running for the presidency. Messi has not publicly supported any of them but Laporta has repeatedly claimed he's the best-placed to keep the six-time World Player of the Year.

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Laporta was previously Barca president between 2003 and 2010, coinciding with Messi's progression into the first team and the six-trophy year under Pep Guardiola in 2009.

Font and Freixa have both expressed their confidence in keeping Messi if they are elected, too.

A successor for Josep Maria Bartomeu, who resigned in October, will be announced officially at 11.30 p.m. CET, with over 100,000 club members eligible to vote. Voting is usually is restricted to Camp Nou but, due to the coronavirus restrictions, six polling stations have been set up across Catalonia and Andorra, with postal voting also included for the first time ever.

In addition to Messi, Sergio Busquets also cast his vote on Sunday, with sources confirming to ESPN that Gerard Pique is among the other first-team players due to take part in the election.

In addition to opening talks with Messi over a new deal, with Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City among the clubs keen to sign him, the new president will also have to deal with the club's financial problems, with gross debt rising to €1.2 billion over the last year.

A decision on the Espai Barca project, which includes the renovation of Camp Nou, also needs to be made, with work frozen on the €825 million project.

On the pitch, an overhaul of an ageing squad started last summer but there are still big decisions to be made as Barca look to bounce back from a first trophy-less season since 2007-08.

Natalie Sciver thoroughly enjoyed a first taste of international captaincy, saying her side made the job easy as she oversaw England's 3-0 sweep of the T20I series against New Zealand.

When Anya Shrubsole was ruled out with a knee injury, Sciver was handed the role of vice-captain for the tour, to glowing approval from regular captain Heather Knight, who said at the time: "There's no doubt Nat is a huge leader in the group for us." When Knight was ruled out of the final fixture because of a hamstring problem, Sciver had to bring her leadership skills to the fore and she relished the opportunity as England sealed a 32-run victory over New Zealand with 12 balls to spare on Sunday.

"Sign me up for some more games," Sciver beamed. "It's been brilliant. With everyone contributing like that, it's an easy game.

"Yesterday, Heather pulled up not so well after the last game, so I found out yesterday [that I would be leading the team today]. I had a maybe a sleepless hour when I was trying to get sleep but as soon as the warm-up was done I was all right."

Having gone 2-0 up in the preceding ODI series, England were disappointed to have dropped the third game, which New Zealand won by seven wickets, and the tourists set their sights on sweeping the T20s.

Tammy Beaumont carried on her excellent form from the ODIs, where she was the leading run-scorer, to be named Player of the Series for the T20s, again topping the run-scoring charts with 102 at an average of 34.00 and strike rate of 100.99. But when she, fellow opener Danni Wyatt and Sciver all fell cheaply on Sunday, two players trying to establish themselves as regulars in the team shone with the bat.

Fran Wilson, playing her first match of the series, top-scored with an unbeaten 31 off 23 and Sophia Dunkley, coming in a No.4 where Knight would normally be, added a valuable 26 off 29 deliveries. Dunkley did not bat in the first match as England won by seven wickets and was not out on nought when they won the second by six wickets.

"As soon as she heard the news, she was a bit shocked," Sciver said of the moment Dunkley learned she had been promoted up the order from No. 6. "But then I think she managed to get her head around it.

"It does get harder in T20 when you go in at five, six and seven, where you might only have two balls or ten balls or whatever it is. So, yes, it's great for her to get a chance and really show us that she can do it.

"It's so hard to go through a tour when you're not sure if you're going to play and then you don't really get the opportunity to bat in the game... Fran was really key, to be in at the end was was brilliant, so she took on her role really well."

But it was England's bowling contingent who were most impressive in the final match, with six different bowlers among the wickets as New Zealand were bowled out for 96 in 18 overs in reply to England's 128 for 9. Young offspinner Mady Villiers claimed career-best figures of 3 for 10 from two overs, but Katherine Brunt was named Player of the Match after dismissing both openers, Sophie Devine and Hayley Jensen, for ducks in the first over of New Zealand's chase before finishing with figures of 2 for 19 from four overs.

Sophie Ecclestone ended with identical match figures to Brunt, while Freya Davies, Sarah Glenn and Sciver all chimed in with a wicket each.

Sciver said Brunt, her fiancee who returned after missing the second match with a head cold and ended the series with four wickets at an economy rate of 4.17, had been bowling as well as she had done for some time.

"She has been brilliant," Sciver said. "She's been terrorising people in the nets. You don't want to sign up to face her at training sessions, so it's great for her to get some reward out there on the pitch.

"Sometimes she doesn't quite have the luck go with her, or the decisions, so I'm really pleased that she managed to, throughout the tour, pick up wickets where she can and today was really important for us and she did the job."

Villiers had only bowled four overs across the first two matches for one wicket, so Sciver was happy about her return as she continues to forge a three-pronged spin attack with Glenn and Ecclestone.

"It's so good, just to have a legspinner, a left-arm spinner and an offspinner who all have got amazing talent and can come in and do a job for us at any point," Sciver said. "Mady's had to wait her turn a little bit but she did brilliantly today."

In-form distance runner runs 13:05 behind Grant Fisher, while Josh Kerr enjoys big 1500m win in California

There was no sub-13min 5000m for Marc Scott at the Sound Running Invite in California on Saturday night but with 13:05.13 he rose to No.3 on the UK all-time rankings.

Scott was probably still feeling the effects of his recent 27:10 for 10,000m as American Grant Fisher surged away from him with a last lap of 55.3 to win in 13:02.52. But as the Bowerman Track Club man suggested post-race, things are going well when you are disappointed with 13:05.

The Portland-based Yorkshire passed Andy Butchart on the UK all-time lists and sits behind only Dave Moorcroft and British record-holder Mo Farah now.

The elite-only event saw the runners pass 3000m in 7:54. The goal had been to crack the 13-minute barrier but it proved a slight struggle for everyone, although the event still saw great quality with the top four breaking 13:07 as Sean McGorty and Joe Klecker finished a second or so behind Scott.

Scott wasn’t the only Briton in form. Josh Kerr destroyed a strong 1500m field in impressive style with a time of 3:35.78.

Pushing the pace in the final two laps, Kerr powered away from his rivals in the last lap to finish almost three seconds clear of runner-up Amos Bartelsmeyer with Johnny Gregorek third, Nick Willis fourth and Olympic champion Matt Centrowitz eighth.

“I stared at my team-mates butts for a couple of laps and then went through the gears,” said Kerr, who has obviously wintered well with his Brooks Beasts squad. “I was hoping to run a little quicker but it’s good to start my season with a win.”

Emily Sisson took the women’s 5000m in 14:55.82 with Allie Buchalski running a big PB of 14:57.54 behind. Eilish McColgan had been prominent in the early stages but dropped out with a couple of laps to go, later saying her legs simply felt heavy.