Briton Jamie Murray's rekindled doubles partnership with Bruno Soares continued in convincing fashion as they reached the last 16 at the Australian Open.

There was more British success in the women's doubles event with Heather Watson and Leylah Fernandez triumphing in their second-round match.

In the mixed doubles Joe Salisbury won with American Desirae Krawczyk.

Salisbury, who is defending his men's doubles title with Rajeev Ram, and Krawczyk came through 6-4 3-6 10-7 against fourth seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal of Colombia and Taiwanese Chan Hao-ching.

Watson put Wednesday's singles defeat by Anett Kontaveit behind her to make the last 16 in the doubles alongside promising Canadian teenager Fernandez with a 7-5 6-2 win over Australians Olivia Gadecki and Belinda Woolcock.

They will play the Mexican-Canadian partnership of Giuliana Olmos and Sharon Fichman for a place in the quarter-finals.

Sixth seeds Murray and Soares, who won two Grand Slam titles together before splitting up in 2019, will take on Italy's Simone Bolelli and Argentine Maximo Gonzalez next.

Serena Williams overcame a sluggish start to beat Anastasia Potapova and reach the Australian Open fourth round.

However, the American had trailed 5-3 in an error-strewn first set, and she had to save two set points before dialling back in to win.

Naomi Osaka also advanced after a cagey match against Ons Jabeur of Tunisia.

Third seed Osaka and her opponent struggled for rhythm but it was the Japanese who prevailed 6-3 6-2.

Osaka will face two-time Grand Slam champion Garbine Muguruza next, while Williams plays seventh seed Aryna Sabalenka for a place in the quarter-finals.

She will face a tough test against big-hitting Belarusian Sabalenka, who beat American Ann Li 6-3 6-1.

"I came out of the blocks not like I have been before," said the 39-year-old, who had dropped only five games in her previous two matches.

"But it's all about surviving and playing better every round."

This is the last day that crowds will be in attendance at Melbourne Park before the state of Victoria enters a five-day lockdown on Saturday.

Up to 30,000 fans had been allowed in each day but the tournament will continue behind closed doors after an outbreak of coronavirus in a hotel.

Last year's finalist Muguruza needed just 58 minutes to beat Kazakhstan's Zarina Diyas 6-1 6-1.

Spaniard Muguruza has lost just 10 games in her opening three matches.

Taiwanese Hsieh Su-wei reached the fourth round for the third time in her career with a 6-4 2-6 7-5 victory over Sara Errani of Italy.

Hseih, who beat eighth seed Bianca Andreescu in the second round, trailed 5-3 in the decider before winning four successive games to advance.

She will play Czech Marketa Vondrousova next, after the 19th seed beat Sorana Cirstea of Romania 6-2 6-4.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Aric Almirola dominated the first Bluegreen Vacations Duel Thursday night at Daytona Int’l Speedway for his maiden victory in a Daytona 500 qualifying race.

Almirola led four times for 52 of the 60 laps around the 2.5-mile superspeedway, taking full command after a cycle of green-flag pit stops just past halfway and never giving up control of the race again.

The Tampa, Fla., native held off final-lap surges by both Joey Logano and Christopher Bell, ultimately nipping Bell at the finish line by .041 seconds for the win.

It marked Stewart-Haas Racing’s third career Duel victory as a team and Almirola’s first win of any kind in a NASCAR Cup Series car since Oct. 14, 2018 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.

“Mike Bugarewicz and all these guys on this team built me an incredible Ford Mustang. What a way to kick off our 10th season together with Smithfield,” said Almirola, who will start third in Sunday’s Daytona 500. “They’ve been an incredible partner of mine. This is just a great way to start Speedweeks; this thing is really fast and I can’t wait until Sunday.

“It’s been a long time since I got to sit here and do an interview on the start-finish line.”

Almirola also couldn’t resist taking a jab at new NASCAR on FOX broadcaster Clint Bowyer during his victory lane interview.

“Things are going right for Tampa Bay, huh Clint Bowyer!” Almirola said with a grin, referencing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ recent Super Bowl win over Bowyer’s home team, the Kansas City Chiefs.

Thursday’s first Duel race set the odd-numbered starting positions for The Great American Race.

The final lap featured some chaos, with three-time Daytona 500 champion Denny Hamlin dropping off the pace in turn two with an apparent fuel issue and Cole Custer crashing in turn four as well.

At the front of the field, Logano ducked to the bottom in turn three with an assist from Bell, but stalled out when Almirola side-drafted Logano exiting turn four coming to the checkered flag.

Bell then went back to the top and pushed Almirola clear of Logano before moving to Almirola’s outside in a last-ditch attempt to win the race in his own right.

That move didn’t pay off, but it did give Bell a runner-up result that lines the newly-minted Joe Gibbs Racing driver and Norman, Okla., native up fifth on the grid for the 63rd Daytona 500.

Ryan Newman crossed the line third, followed by Logano, who faded back to fourth at the finish.

Ryan Preece edged out Ty Dillon by .038 seconds for fifth place, effectively knocking Dillon out of the Daytona 500 as a result.

Dillon had to finish as the highest non-chartered driver in the first Duel in order to make the show, while Preece was already locked into the Daytona 500 by virtue of his qualifying speed from Wednesday night.

With Preece stealing the race-in spot, Team Penske’s Austin Cindric was able to fall back on his qualifying time to advance into the Great American Race.

Cindric finished 16th, one lap down, after a mid-race speeding penalty took him out of contention.

To view full race results from the first Bluegreen Vacation Duel, advance to the next page.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Teamwork between unlikely friends on the final lap of the first Bluegreen Vacations Duel at Daytona ultimately gave Austin Cindric a place in the Daytona 500 field.

In the process, it led to heartbreak for Ty Dillon and the No. 96 Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota team.

Cindric, who lost a lap during the second half of the 150-mile Duel qualifying race due to a pit road speeding penalty, found Ryan Preece in the draft as the field took the white flag Thursday night.

He placed the nose of his Team Penske-prepared Ford Mustang against the bumper of Preece’s JTG Daugherty Racing-wrenched Chevrolet and the duo charged forward with a full head of steam.

Rounding the final corner coming to the finish line, Preece’s momentum on the outside lane was enough to get side-by-side with Dillon for fifth place. Then, when Daniel Suarez bailed out from behind Dillon, the die was cast.

Preece surged ahead at the flagstand, nipping Dillon for the position by .038 seconds.

Even though he had already locked in on speed Wednesday during qualifying, Preece was officially credited as racing his way into the Daytona 500 by the event rulebook, locking Dillon out of the field.

Dillon’s heartbreak was Cindric’s joy, as Preece’s effort allowed Cindric to fall back on his qualifying time as the next eligible car on speed, putting the defending NASCAR Xfinity Series champion in the field for his first start in The Great American Race.

It was a radical swing of emotions for the 22-year-old, who thought his mistake earlier in the race might have left him on the outside looking in during his Speedweeks debut at the Cup level.

“(Up until the last lap), I’d never felt so small in my life,” said Cindric. “I felt like I did all the hard things right, all the things I didn’t know how to do … but it was a little thing that got me. I just launched a little too early leaving pit road. From there, I tried to merge into the pack knowing the 37 (Preece) was my best chance of getting in. My only other chance to get in was the 36 being highest in the second Duel.

“Once I got lined up behind the 37, whether he knew it or not I was going to push him as hard as I could, and I locked on (to him) down the back straightaway,” Cindric added. “Got him to the line (ahead) by a couple hundredths. Some days it’s just your day, I guess.”

Cindric tipped that while he didn’t believe Preece knew how the advancement rules worked late in the race, he certainly did and executed his plan to perfection.

“If I’d had a radio to him, I would have told him I would buy him modified tires, dinner, whatever he needed,” joked Cindric. “But I don’t think he really knew the scenario. Even when I talked to him on pit road after the Duel, I don’t think he understood what the scenario was there. I guess because of that, you can assure everyone there was no bias, but I was definitely trying to get linked up (with him).

“On the final lap, I knew that I was behind him and had a chance to shove him. No matter what was happening in the lanes in front of me … I was pushing,” Cindric continued. “I never lifted. That was what my job was. It obviously worked out for the best.”

Asked if he felt he had gotten a gift with his berth in the Daytona 500 field, Cindric gave an affirmative.

“In some ways I feel lucky. The scenario in which it had to play out was very specific,” Cindric explained. “The 37 got trapped on the top. When the 96 (Dillon) went down to the middle lane in three and four, I shoved for all I could. Obviously Ty drove a really great race. I think he outdrove what he was driving, put himself in a great position. It’s unfortunate, because he’s definitely a veteran of the series.

“I think he deserves to be in the race, but like I said, some days it’s your day and some days it isn’t.”

For the second year in a row in the Bluegreen Vacations Duels, it wasn’t Gaunt Brothers Racing’s day, with the No. 96 Toyota Camry team failing to qualify for The Great American Race once again.

Last year, it was Daniel Suarez who was crashed out while trying to race his way into the show.

This time, Dillon did all he could, and came up excruciatingly short by a handful of inches.

“It hurts, that’s for sure,” said Dillon, whose sixth-place Duel finish was the highest ever for a driver who failed to make the Daytona 500 field. “It’s been just unique this off-season for me, with the ups and downs that I’ve been through. It’s a blessing to get to drive a race car in NASCAR, first of all, and to get so close to being in the Daytona 500 again.

“It’s tough. I have to thank Johnny Morris and Marty Gaunt, as well as everyone from Toyota. This is the opportunity of a lifetime to continue to drive race cars,” Dillon added. “I believe in myself that I can get it done in these races, and to finish sixth and not get any reward for it is hard. I’ll get the great reward of spending time with my kids on Sunday and we’ll probably watch the race, but it definitely hurts.”

As for Cindric, he’ll turn his focus toward two things: his day job in the Xfinity Series on Saturday, and then Sunday’s 63rd running of the Daytona 500.

“I got a race on Saturday. To be honest, I haven’t watched a single lap of Daytona 500 footage yet. That prep starts now,” Cindric told SPEED SPORT. “I’ve got a couple days to do that and get myself ready.

“Right now, my priority now shifts to Saturday and trying to start off the season right there.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. – Three drivers who entered Thursday’s action during the 55th World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing at New Smyrna Speedway as division point leaders all made trips to victory lane.

Tour-Type Modified leader Matt Hirschman, Super Late Model leader Derek Griffith and Pro Late Model leader Kody Swanson were all victorious on Thursday as the action ramped up ahead of the final two nights of racing at the half-mile asphalt oval.

After coming close to finding Victory Lane multiple times earlier this week, Matt Hirschman finally sealed the deal on the seventh night of the 55th World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing.

Hirschman, the two-time and defending champion of the World Series in the Tour-Type Modified division, muscled his way past Jon McKennedy on the final lap. Hirschman has won the World Series title in three of the last four years and now heads into Friday’s finale, the Richie Evans Memorial 100, with a fourth title in his sights.

Front row starter Ronnie Williams started the race by taking the lead from polesitter Ron Silk, but Hirschman quickly went from fourth to second. They ran that way until the first caution waved with 11 laps complete.

After another caution for a crash in turn one during the restart, racing resumed and it was McKennedy who took advantage from the outside of the second row. McKennedy was able to get by Hirschman to take second before quickly turning his attention to Williams.

McKennedy dispatched Williams on lap 16, with Hirschman quickly following him around Williams to take second one lap later.

Hirschman would hound McKennedy for the next 18 laps, shadowing him in every turn as he looked for his way past. When the white flag waved Hirschman made his move, giving McKennedy’s rear bumper a shot with the nerf bar on his No. 60 to help McKennedy up the track.

That allowed Hirschman to get to McKennedy’s inside as they came out of turn two and down the backstretch. They stayed that way through turn three until Hirschman pushed McKennedy up the track in turn four, allowing Hirschman to pull ahead and beat McKennedy to the checkered flag.

“At least we got one because one is going to be tough to get this week,” said Hirschman.

After coming up one position short of his third World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing victory of the week on Wednesday, Griffith made sure not to miss out a second time on Thursday.

After coming up one position short of his third victory of the week Wednesday, Griffith made sure not to miss out a second time.

Griffith dominated Thursday’s 35-lap Super Late Model feature, which was marred by a massive crash during an early restart.

The crash came after two single-car incidents slowed the field after one lap had been completed. Contact between Jacob Goede and Jesse Love, who were racing inside the top-five, resulted in a massive pileup in turn one that included 10 cars and completely blocked the track.

Racing resumed after a brief red-flag to clean up the mess in turn one, with Griffith in command ahead of Nasse, who tried multiple times to take the lead but was unable to complete the pass each time.

The last caution of the race would wave after 16 laps when R.J. Braun crashed in turns one and two. Griffith would get away from the field on the restart and he never looked back as he cruised to his third victory of the week heading into Saturday’s Orange Blossom Special 100 that will bring the World Series to a close.

Griffith is committed to compete in the ARCA Menards Series opener on Saturday at Daytona Int’l Speedway, and will need to hurry back to New Smyrna Speedway at the end of that event to compete in the finale that evening.

“I’m just real happy. We’ve had a good car all week and some circumstances haven’t gone our way,” Griffith said. “Man, to get another one here…we’ve struggled down here for so many years. We had a really good year last year. It means the world to come down here and run good.”

Brad May slipped by Nasse during the final restart to finish second, his best finish of the week. Nasse, Sammy Smith and Connor Mosack completed the top-five.

After multiple near misses and three runner-up finishes, Kody Swanson finally earned his first victory in a stock car in the 35-lap Pro Late Model event.

Swanson dominated, but had to survive a restart with six laps left that saw Conner Jones pull ahead of the five-time USAC Silver Crown Series champion.

However, Jones was deemed to have jumped the restart and was ordered to give the lead back to Swanson, who would go on to lead the rest of the race to earn his first Pro Late Model victory and further extend his lead in the division standings ahead of Friday’s 100-lap finale.

“It’s hard to put into words, you know? I’ve had some opportunities to win and be close,” Swanson said as he fought back tears in Victory Lane. “Three second-place finishes, but I don’t want to win if we can’t do it the right way. Thankful for everyone on Team Platinum for all their effort and for hanging with us all week and for all the hard work.”

The finishes:

Tour-Type Modifieds: Matt Hirschman, Jon McKennedy, Ron Silk, Patrick Emerling, Ronnie Williams, Craig Lutz, Eric Goodale, J.R. Bertuccio, Anthony Nocella, Tyler Rypkema, Chuck Hossfeld, Stephen Kopcik, Eddie McCarthy, Jimmy Blewett, Matt Galko, Dave Sapienza, Amy Catalano, Tom Martino Jr., Brian Robie, Danny Knoll Jr., Chris Finocchario, Buddy Charette, Tyler Catalano, Chris Ridsdale, Chris Jensen, Jim Gavek, Marcello Rufrano, Tommy Catalano, Bobby Measmer Jr., Timmy Catalano, Zane Zeiner, Bobby Jones, Jeremy Gerstner, Jonathan Laureigh, Paul Hartwig Jr. 

Super Late Models: Derek Griffith, Brad May, Stephen Nasse, Sammy Smith, Connor Mosack, Ryan Moore, Dan Fredrickson, Jett Noland, Chris Hacker, Patrick Thomas, Steve Weaver, R.J. Braun, Doug Elliott, Jesse Love, Jacob Goede, Daniel Dye, Michael Hinde, Jake Finch, Jake Garcia, Travis Wilson, Justin Mondeik, Kelly Moore

Pro Late Models: Kody Swanson, Conner Jones, Hunter Wright, Stephen Nasse, Jean-Phillipe Bergeron, Jerick Johnson, Nick Panitzke, Zachary Tinkle, Max Calles-McDonald, Jett Noland, Justin Drawdy, Jerry Artuso, Cody Hall, Hayden Sprague, Colt Hensley, Chad Butz, Kevin Folan, Jade Buford, Chase Williams, David Weaver, Tommy Neal, Paige Rogers, Braison Bennett, Andrew Scheid, Joey Miller, Will Cox. 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – With a winning move reminiscent of the driver who made Richard Childress Racing’s No. 3 Chevrolet famous, Austin Dillon drove to victory in the second Bluegreen Vacations Duel at Daytona Int’l Speedway.

It marked the first Duel win for Richard Childress Racing since the late Dale Earnhardt’s last of 12 Duel triumphs in 1999, as well as the first Duel victory for Dillon in his NASCAR Cup Series career.

The 150-mile qualifying race for the 63rd Daytona 500, which ended early Friday morning after a two-hour rain delay following the first Duel, was action-packed from start to finish.

It featured two multi-car crashes, an overtime restart and a last-lap pass that left the fans who waited out the weather breathless following the checkered flag.

When the green flag waved on the two-lap sprint to the finish, it was a trio of Toyota Camrys – driven by Martin Truex Jr., Bubba Wallace and Kyle Busch – hooked up in the draft in an effort to get away from the pack behind them.

Their plan worked for more than a lap, as Truex led at the white flag while defending the bottom lane.

However, coming down the backstretch, everything fell apart as Truex moved up to avoid the slower car of Derrike Cope, who was limping along on the apron at a very slow pace.

Wallace went underneath Truex, while Dillon surged on the outside with a huge push from the Ford of Kevin Harvick. The pair split Truex’s No. 19 and sent the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion back through the field in an instant with no drafting help in the middle lane.

That left Wallace on the bottom with a gap back to Kyle Busch, while Dillon still had the push from Harvick exiting turn four.

Dillon’s momentum brought him up to Wallace’s bumper as Wallace moved up to block, and then the third-generation driver sliced down to the bottom to beat Wallace back to the finish line.

The margin of victory for Dillon was .057 seconds over Wallace, who crossed the line second.

“I was talking to my spotter before the restart, and I knew we had (Harvick) behind us and he’d been pushing well all night … but Harvick had (Ryan Blaney) behind him and I knew the manufacturer thing would be tough,” Dillon said. “I made a decent block on the backstretch and then (got) a heck of a push (from Harvick) through (turns) three and four.

“I knew Bubba was going to try to block it, but I just whipped the wheel and it worked out well.”

A runner-up finish for Wallace and 23XI Racing, the new Cup Series team co-owned by NBA legend Michael Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin – was a solid result on paper, but Wallace was hard on himself for getting to the lead but failing to reach the checkered flag first.

“(I made) a lot of mistakes. It’s a good debut, but (there’s) nothing to be really happy about for myself,” lamented Wallace. “It’s okay for drivers to be hard on themselves. That’s how we motivate ourselves to go out and do better. Hats off to my guys – the 23XI team – for building me a great DoorDash Toyota Camry. I tried to do all I could to help (Martin) Truex there, get Toyota a win. I appreciate Kyle (Busch) for cutting me a lot of breaks.

“I know I’ve got a lot to learn here, but all in all, it was a good night. I just have some learning to do.”

Harvick ended up third, followed by Busch and defending Cup Series champion Chase Elliott.

Ryan Blaney, journeyman driver Corey LaJoie, David Ragan, Kurt Busch and Chris Buescher filled out the top 10.

Ragan’s eighth-place finish locked him into the Daytona 500 on merit as the highest finishing driver without a NASCAR charter, allowing Kaz Grala to fall back on his qualifying speed to make the 63rd edition of The Great American Race.

Grala saw his hopes nearly dashed during the five-car crash entering turn one that set up the overtime finish, when fellow open driver Garrett Smithley made contact with Brad Keselowski that sent Keselowski’s Ford spinning in the middle of the pack.

The incident swept up Grala and damaged his No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet, leaving Grala with little speed to maintain the draft and forcing him to hope Ragan could help him secure a place in the field.

Ragan did just that, which meant that Smithley and Noah Gragson were the two drivers in the second Duel who failed to qualify for Sunday’s Daytona 500.

Gragson held the transfer spot for much of the second Duel, but his No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet sustained terminal damage in the same crash that Smithley, Keselowski and Grala were involved in.

Also collected in that incident was William Byron, the outside polesitter for the Daytona 500, whose No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was crashed beyond repair after hitting the outside wall in turn one.

Byron confirmed after being released from the infield care center that he’ll go to a backup car for the rest of the weekend, which will force him to drop to the rear of the field on Sunday afternoon.

Of note, the second Duel marked the first ever Daytona 500 qualifying race to stretch over two days, going green shortly after 11 p.m. ET Thursday night and taking nearly a full hour to complete.

To view complete race results, advance to the next page.

The rise and rise of Josh Philippe is set to continue as he prepares to make his T20I debut for Australia against New Zealand in Christchurch.

The Sydney Sixers star is hoping to take the invaluable lessons he learned playing alongside AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL into the international arena.

Australia captain Aaron Finch confirmed on Monday that Philippe would make his international debut in game one on February 22 barring any unforeseen injury. Finch also confirmed Philippe would bat somewhere in the top three, along with Finch and Matthew Wade, after a brief conversation with him on the plane.

"It was nice to hear him say those words," Philippe said. "He sort of mentioned it on the plane but then to say it to the media obviously is pretty special as well so I've just got to train well and try not to get injured."

Philippe is in the form of his life having just been named player of the tournament in the recent BBL season where his Sixers claimed a second consecutive title.

But it is the lessons he learned in the IPL from de Villiers and Kohli that he will hope to use in his first foray into international cricket.

"I think it was just being in the same dressing room as some absolute superstars like that was really special," Philippe said. "I sort of leant on AB a lot. He gave me some great advice along the way. It was just really cool to see how they go about their business out in the middle. There was some really challenging situations out there and they keep it so simple. Every time I asked a question or asked what they were thinking it just went back down to stand still, watch the ball, some really simple clear messages. It was pretty cool to know that the best in the business just keep in simple."

While Philippe is inked in to bat in the top three at the start of the five-match series there is a chance he may be utilised in the middle order. Stand-in coach Andrew McDonald revealed that Australia is hoping to use these matches a chance to find some of the missing middle-order pieces for Australia's T20 World Cup tilt when David Warner and Steve Smith are likely to return to the top four.

Philippe has made his name as an opener in the BBL but he began his career batting at No.6 for the Sixers. He had some success averaging 27.40 at an exceptional strike-rate of 152.22 in 10 career innings at that position.

If Australia do experiment with Philippe in the middle order he will again use de Villiers as the blueprint for how to play that role.

"It certainly takes a little bit of a different skill set," Philippe said. "Having the opportunity to open gives you the freedom obviously to bat the full 20 overs. When you go through little periods of a few dot balls or not quite scoring rapidly you can always catch up. One thing I noticed, especially with someone like AB is just his ability to get off strike early. He never blew the game away too early. He was always sort of 10 off 8 or 12 off 10 and he'd set a platform from there and really target the back end. I think for me if that's where my opportunity is I just need to be really busy at the crease. Whoever is at the other end, just sort of pass the strike off to them and really set up to target the last few overs."

The Australian squad exited the strict isolation portion of their 14-day quarantine on Thursday and were able to have a full nets session on Friday but they will train while remaining in quarantine the next week. Philippe plans to use the time to prepare for New Zealand's bowlers who he has never faced before.

"I haven't seen any of the (Super Smash)," Philippe said. "I've seen most of those guys play on TV for New Zealand before. It's super exciting to be in the mix to play against an international line up.

"I'm going to have to start doing my research soon on their bowlers and their variations and work out from there my plan of attack against them."

Lunch West Indies 325 for 6 (Bonner 90, Da Silva 70*, Joseph 34*, Jayed 2-75) vs Bangladesh

A career-best 90 from Nkrumah Bonner preceded a rollicking 59-run partnership between Joshua Da Silva (70*) and Alzarri Joseph (34*) as West Indies extended the advantage of having won the toss in the second Test in Dhaka, by adding 102 to their overnight 223 for 5 by lunch for the loss of just one colleague. That wicket, which denied Bonner his maiden century in successive innings now across his first two Tests, also brought Mehidy Hasan his 99th Test wicket, on the cusp of becoming the fourth Bangladesh cricketer with 100 victims in the format.

If Da Silva was caution personified, Joseph flexed his muscles as a batsman, tonking Mehidy and Taijul Islam for sixes over midwicket, and playing a delightful cover drive off Abu Jayed among his other five boundaries, as Bangladesh seemed short on ideas of how to stem the run flow.

Bonner's wicket came on the back of a third successive sixth-wicket stand in excess of 50 for West Indies in this series, each of which has featured Da Silva. It had briefly ignited Bangladesh hopes of restricting West Indies below 300, but those stood extinguished as Da Silva and Joseph batted without any major discomfort through the rest of the morning. Da Silva was especially assured against the spinners, who have already begun to get a bit more turn on the Mirpur pitch, pulling out the reverse sweep on a few occasions, including one that brought him his second Test half-century.

When play began, Bangladesh were expected to turn the screws on the West Indies lower order on an overcast morning with the kind of discipline and consistency that they had showed in the middle session on Thursday, but Jayed's first over set the tone for a brisk start for the batsmen instead. The first ball to Bonner strayed down his pads, and he was able to drive through midwicket for three. Da Silva was struck on the pads off the fourth ball of the over, but the angle was always taking it down leg. Captain Mominul Haque chose to review after it was given not out, though, and that meant they lost one of their three reviews. Da Silva celebrated his reprieve by thumping a short and wide delivery for four through point.

The first hour produced 51 runs off 14 overs, with seamers and spinners alike straying in line and length. Bonner was the more sedate player at the crease, with a flick off an overpitched delivery from Jayed his only boundary. Da Silva used the crease well to go deep and play the cut and the dab towards square leg to keep the runs coming. Haque had to turn to the offspin duo, and when Nayeem Hasan pitched one short, Bonner swatted a pull straight on to the right shoulder of Najmul Hossain Shanto at forward short-leg, who had to leave the field for treatment.

Perhaps distracted by that incident. Bonner would miss out on a Test century in successive innings, when a tentative poke to a Mehidy delivery, bowled from around the wicket, was smartly picked up by Mohammad Mithun at leg slip.

Da Silva and Joseph, though, would ensure that the early momentum with the West Indies was sustained through till the first break in play.

Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge grew up in Eugene, Ore., and after a stellar four-year career at BYU, made his living over his 14-year NBA career as a tough, hard-nosed guard who could shoot.

Decades later, Ainge fell in love during the draft process with another Oregon kid. And while rookie Payton Pritchard didn't go to Ainge's alma mater, he did have a decorated four-year career at the University of Oregon and possessed an NBA-quality jump shot like Ainge.

That led Ainge to draft Pritchard with the 26th pick in this past November's NBA Draft, a selection that he and the Celtics likely hoped could become a small part of coach Brad Stevens' rotation this season. Instead, Pritchard has become a vital part of Boston's hopes of making another deep playoff run.

Thursday night against the Raptors, Pritchard showed why, scoring 20 points while going 6-for-8 from 3-point range to help the Celtics beat the Toronto Raptors, 120-106, on a night when the team's two stars this season, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, combined to shoot 8-for-27.

"They draw such a crowd, so they're going to have to draw a double-team or something," Pritchard said afterward. "So it's our job to space the floor and find openings for them."

As a four-year college player with a deft shooting touch, Pritchard certainly fit the mold of the type of player capable of making an early impact in the league. Still, it's a high bar for a rookie to walk into a team with championship aspirations, like Boston, and become an essential part of the team's rotation. Fellow rookie Aaron Nesmith, for example -- the 14th pick in this year's draft -- has hardly played at all.

Pritchard, on the other hand, is now clearly the team's sixth man. He's played in every game he's been healthy this season -- and for more than 10 minutes in every game but the one when he suffered an MCL sprain against the Philadelphia 76ers on Jan. 22. Even with those missed games, he's made more 3-pointers than all but Tatum and Brown on the Celtics this season, while his 46.9% clip from behind the arc this season is second only to Memphis' Desmond Bane (48.2%) among rookies taking at least three triples a game, and 10th among all players who have taken that many per game this season.

And while he acknowledged Pritchard isn't expected to make six 3s per game, Stevens said he could tell right away the rookie had a chance to make an impact this season.

"Before training camp started," Stevens said. "[The draftees] came a couple days after the draft, and after some testing were able to do small group work, and you could tell he was pretty advanced."

Part of what has made Pritchard so important is the lack of options around him on Boston's bench. No one questions the Celtics' top-end talent on the perimeter, between Tatum, Brown, Kemba Walker and Marcus Smart (who is currently out with a calf strain).

Behind them, though, the options are limited. Jeff Teague was signed to be the team's primary backup point guard, but after scoring 19 points in the Celtics' opening game of the season, he's shot 30% from the field (including a ghastly 28% on 2-point shots) and was dropped from Stevens' rotation, with Pritchard taking his spot as the first guard off the bench.

While Semi Ojeleye had a career-high 24 points Thursday, including his own 6-for-8 performance from 3-point range, that is far from a common occurrence, as he'd entered Thursday making less than one 3 per game. Boston's other usual rotation players off the bench -- Tristan Thompson, Grant Williams and Robert Williams -- all bring varying skill sets, but none include providing instant offense.

Arguably no one else on the team can come in and provide that instant offense like Pritchard did Thursday -- and has done all season. And while he was an accomplished point guard at Oregon, playing on a Boston team with Walker, Tatum and Brown has allowed Pritchard to slide in perfectly as an off-ball player whose shot opposing defenses have to respect. He gives the Celtics' primary scoring options vital room with which to operate and has being good enough defensively to hold his own.

And, in a game when Tatum and Brown missed 19 shots, that spacing -- and the hot shooting of Pritchard, Ojeyele and Walker -- who went 5-for-8 from 3-point range -- allowed them to rack up 19 assists.

Questions will continue to linger about Boston's depth. While Pritchard has clearly established himself as the team's primary guard off the bench, and Boston's quartet of big men -- Daniel Theis, Thompson and both Williamses -- will all play a role, the team still has no depth behind its trio of wings in Tatum, Brown and Smart.

Between both the $28 million trade exception created by Gordon Hayward's departure this offseason and being one of the few contenders that has control of its first-round picks moving forward, Boston has the ability to add a piece between now and next month's trade deadline. And, with the East looking wide open at the moment, such a move could allow the Celtics a chance to finally break through and return to the NBA Finals after reaching the Eastern Conference Finals in three of the last four seasons.

Pritchard's play, however, has helped ease some of the concerns about scoring coming from outside of Boston's top options. As a result, less than two months into his rookie season, Pritchard has made Ainge look prescient for betting on another four-year college kid from Oregon.

Bramall Lane was surrounded by snow when West Brom arrived for their relegation battle against Sheffield United earlier this month. Two roads into Sheffield were closed because of the wintry conditions, with a third passable only with extreme care. On a night when the Premier League's bottom two teams were battling for survival, the sense of being isolated and cut adrift felt gloomily appropriate.

Sheffield United would win 2-1 to claim only their third league victory of the season in 22 games, but Chris Wilder's team remained anchored to the foot of the table, one point behind Sam Allardyce's side. Both would lose their next game, against Chelsea and Tottenham, respectively, and they go into this weekend's fixtures -- United travel to West Ham and West Brom host Manchester United -- 12 and 11 points, respectively, from safety.

Both teams have been largely written off and dismissed as no-hopers in the battle to avoid relegation: Sheffield United even recorded the worst start in top-flight history, a mark that dated to the first-ever league season in 1888. But while the Premier League's bottom two are clearly running out of time to escape the drop zone, history shows that all is not lost as several teams before them have somehow found their way out of trouble.

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Search out "Premier League Great Escapes" and you will find barely believable stories of survival by the likes of Oldham Athletic (1992-93), West Brom (2004-05), Leicester City (2014-15) and Sunderland (2015-16). When Oldham survived in 1993, the PL TV deal was worth a collective £304 million over five seasons, so relegation wasn't the financial blow it is today.

In 2020, bottom club Norwich earned £94.5m from the broadcast deal, and they will still bank parachute payments for the next three years -- worth 55%, 45% and 20% of their Premier League earnings -- but the loss of revenue is huge and potentially disastrous. Many clubs, like Oldham, Barnsley, Bradford City, Sheffield Wednesday and Portsmouth, have never regained their Premier League status after relegation.

If Sheffield United survive, it will perhaps be the most remarkable escape act of all. After finishing ninth in the Premier League last season, they opened 2020-21 with just two draws and 15 defeats, finally getting their first league win against Newcastle on Jan. 12. Since then, they have won at Old Trafford and beaten West Brom, fueling belief that they can pull this off.

"It's been a stop-start season for us," manager Wilder said. "From a points total, it's a situation we are really disappointed about, but I have seen over the last two or three weeks a little bit of a change in us. We are getting our identity back a little."

As for West Brom boss Allardyce, this is not his first rodeo. Allardyce has never been relegated from the Premier League, and successfully kept Sunderland, Crystal Palace and Everton in the division in recent years having been hired mid-season to get each club out of trouble. But he may have met his match at The Hawthorns despite the occasional good result -- like away draws at Man City and Liverpool in December, and an away win at Wolves in mid-January.

"If I'm still in the race with three games to go, I'll be absolutely delighted," Allardyce said. "Because believe me, that's how long it'll take us to catch up.

"To get safe at Sunderland, I only lost one of the last 11. At Palace, it was not quite as good as that, but we had some massive wins along the way. We were getting three points where no one expected us to get anything and that made the difference. That's what we have to do now."

Bryan Robson is credited by many as having masterminded the Premier League's greatest "Great Escape." The former Manchester United and England captain arrived at West Brom in November 2004, with the club having won just once in 12 games. On Christmas Day, they were bottom of the table, five points adrift of safety.

No Premier League team had ever avoided relegation having been bottom at Christmas, so West Brom looked to be doomed, but a combination of good fortune with injuries, a trip to Disney World and some final-day help from Al Pacino helped Robson's team survive.

"Until that season, the trend was for the bottom team at Christmas to be relegated, but we broke that," Robson told ESPN. "Lots of factors were behind our survival -- I was able to bring in [striker] Kevin Campbell and [winger] Kieran Richardson in January and they were hugely influential, while we didn't pick up any injuries from February onwards, so it allowed us to work as a group consistently on the training pitch.

"But for me, the turning point was a 1-1 draw at Man City at the end of December. We didn't get a kick that day and should have lost, but Richard Dunne scored an own goal with five minutes to go and it meant we ended a run of five straight defeats. It was a big moment for morale."

It was a February trip to Orlando, however, that Robson credits with forging the bond within the squad that propelled them to safety.

"Team bonding is a big thing for every squad, especially when you're fighting relegation, and I wanted the lads to have a break, get some sun and build their camaraderie," Robson said. "But rather than do the usual thing of taking them to Spain or Portugal, we went to Disney. We trained hard in the morning and then allowed the players to go to the theme parks in the afternoon. They would go on all the roller-coasters and then come back in the evening.

"Over dinner, you could see the spirit building with players laughing about the lads who were screaming on the rides. It was a great trip for us and we came back, won 17 points from our final 12 games and stayed up."

Despite their resurgence, West Brom went into the final day of the season at the bottom of the table, needing all three teams above them to fail to win. Bottom at Christmas and bottom on the final day, their 2-0 win against Portsmouth sealed survival, with a little inspiration from Al Pacino.

"I told my assistant, Nigel Pearson, and fitness coach, Richard Hawkins, to put something together to motivate the players before the game," Robson said. "So they produced a montage of clips of the highlights of the season accompanied by music and the 'Inch by Inch' speech by Al Pacino in 'Any Given Sunday.' They did a brilliant job with it. It was perfect because it focused the minds of the players and motivated them just before they went out and got the win."

Motivational speeches and team-bonding exercises are often used by managers during difficult stages of the season, but former Sheffield United midfielder Jamie Hoyland recalls a stunt by manager Dave "Harry" Bassett, before a ball had been kicked, which was designed to stave off a relegation battle before it even began.

"It was three days before the start of the first Premier League season, in 1992-93, and Harry called all the players down to Bramall Lane with our wives and girlfriends because we were having a Christmas party," Hoyland told ESPN.

"It was August and it was absolutely boiling, but we turned up for a Christmas meal -- turkey, Christmas pudding, alcohol, the lot -- and ended up singing Christmas carols and having food fights. [Bassett] had decided that because we'd started the previous season so badly and struggled until Christmas -- we were second bottom at the start of December -- we should pretend it was Christmas rather than the start of the season.

"It was all a bit crazy, but you can't say it didn't work. We beat Man United on the opening day and finished 14th, so I suppose there was a method in his madness!"

Of course, there is no shortcut to staying up other than winning games. But those involved in successful relegation scraps point to two crucial elements in terms of getting those results: a trusted manager and a unified squad.

When Leicester City avoided relegation in 2015 -- a year before they remarkably won the title -- they collected 22 points from a possible 27 to stay up, having been seven points adrift with nine games to play, and it was down to manager Nigel Pearson having the respect of his players.

"Nigel Pearson had built a very close dressing room," former Leicester defender Danny Simpson said. "What Nigel and his staff had built up behind the scenes played a big part in the club winning the Premier League a year later."

The defining image of Leicester's survival campaign was when Pearson accused a journalist of being "an ostrich with your head in the sand" during a postmatch news conference. But speaking to the Daily Telegraph in 2017, Pearson admitted that it was all about protecting his players from outside criticism.

"I've been in a few tangles in my time, for sure," Pearson said. "A lot of them have been of my own making because of how I feel I need to protect the people I'm working with -- that's the players. I can't do anything about that [the ostrich exchange], so there's no point in me worrying about it. And if that is how people remember me, then I've probably not done very much in the game, have I?"

Andy Ritchie, who helped Oldham win their final three games of the 1992-93 season to avoid the drop, recalls manager Joe Royle shielding his players from relegation pressure to keep the mood light within the squad.

"Joe made sure we kept the same routine, did nothing differently and maintained a sense of normality to keep the pressure off," Ritchie said. "We had a really tight-knit group of players. He told us it was in our own hands and that we could do it and we actually went through it all with very little feeling of being under pressure."

Oldham's escape was astonishing considering their fixtures at the end of that season. In the space of six days, they had to win at title-chasing Aston Villa (Oldham won 1-0 and the result confirmed Sir Alex Ferguson's first league title at Manchester United), at home to Liverpool and then against Southampton at the same time as hoping for a Crystal Palace defeat.

"Staying up was down to the manager and the bond among the [squad]. A year later, we lost two or three players, I was injured for eight months and we were relegated, because the ingredients we had 12 months earlier weren't quite the same."

Hoyland, who spent four seasons in the Premier League with Sheffield United before relegation in 1994, believes that player togetherness as well as accountability are crucial.

"We were a real band of brothers at the time and that spirit kept us in the top division," he said. "Back then, most of the players lived in Sheffield, socialised together and we were accessible to the fans. We would have our lunch at the social club at Bramall Lane and it was open to the public, so the fans would eat with us too. We'd get back from training and they would be there, playing pool and telling us we were 'f------ s---' after a defeat. It doesn't sound the nicest thing in the world, and it wasn't, but that kind of connection helps knit you all together and makes players remember who they are playing for and why it matters."

Despite their perilous positions, Sheffield United and West Brom can still escape relegation. United have 45 possible points to play for, West Brom can still amass another 42. Sheffield United's fate could be decided in their final two games, at Newcastle and at home to Burnley, while West Brom face a crucial three-game run, against Burnley (away), Brighton (home) and Newcastle (home) immediately after their clash against United this Sunday.

Sheffield United are also making a deep run in the FA Cup, reaching the quarterfinals with a 1-0 win over Bristol City on Wednesday, though it may not be a positive. Wigan (2012-13) and Middlesbrough (1996-97) were relegated after reaching the final -- Wigan famously beat Man City in the final that year -- while Oldham were relegated in 1994 after making it to the semis. More games can mean more injuries and tired legs and minds.

Recent wins by Brighton, Newcastle and Burnley -- the three teams closest to the drop zone -- have also made the task much harder for Wilder and Allardyce, but they remain hopeful.

"The run we have had, against the three form teams in the division, Man United, Man City and Chelsea, we have been very competitive in all three games," Wilder said. "It's unforgiving in this division, but we are glad to see the back of the likes of Chelsea and get to grips with our fixture list from here on in.

"There's a feeling that the players can win games in this division, in terms of their attitude towards it. Now we have to concentrate on the next 15 games, and I do believe we can win games from what I've seen over the last three or four weeks. We can get something out of those games that will make it interesting and competitive."

Allardyce has yet to inspire a revival since succeeding Slaven Bilic as West Brom manager in December, guiding his new team to just one win in 10 league games. But all is not lost in the eyes of the 66-year-old. The formula is simple.

"If the players look at the table then they're silly," Allardyce said. "It's 38 points -- that's what we need. You can't keep asking Newcastle or Brighton or Fulham or Burnley to do it for us, you've got to do it yourself. It's that simple. The quickest team to 38 points in the bottom eight will be the quickest team to be saved."

So the road map is clear: win as often as possible and don't look down, because the relegation roller-coaster still has plenty of twists, turns and lurches to come in the weeks ahead.