Northern Warriors produced a sensational seven-wicket victory over Team Abu Dhabi to book their place in the final of this year's Abu Dhabi T10, a game in which Lendl Simmons was the eventual hero to set up a showdown with Dwayne Bravo's Delhi Bulls.

Simmons had been given an almighty send-off by the captain as Bravo's outfit became the first team to seal their spot in the final and he made sure the two would meet again in Saturday's showpiece at Zayed Cricket Stadium. He made an unbeaten 27-ball 46.

In reply to Team Abu Dhabi's 114 for 1, during which Fabian Allen took 4-13, Simmons had 25 from 20 balls by the eight over, with Warriors needing 34 from their 12 remaining deliveries. He and Rovman Powell (49) took Obed McCoy's ninth over for 18 before Simmons launched Tom Helm for two sixes in the final over to seal a thrilling win. It was heartbreak for Team Abu Dhabi, but sparked joyous scenes on the Warriors bench, who now have Bravo and co. in their sights.

"Mr. Champion! Have some respect!" were the words ringing in Simmons' ear after good friend Bravo accounted for his wicket in the opening game. His dramatic match-winning performance - after being restored to opening the batting - that closed out the day relieved Warriors captain Nicholas Pooran of a great deal of frustration as his team stared down the barrel of exit.

"Simmo had a tough tournament to be honest, batting lower down in the innings and today going back at the top of the order, he's proven to everyone how good of a player he is," said Pooran. " He's a big match player and tonight he proved that again for us.

"I felt like Delhi Bulls and Northern Warriors, we both played fantastic throughout the tournament. I think these are the two best teams in the tournament and we deserve to play the finals. The series is 1-1 right now, so tomorrow is a final and we want to get a win but at the same time we have to do the right things because they are playing well."

The finalists' meeting in the day's opening game, found Bravo - who won the last edition with Maratha Arabians and made the switch to the Bulls alongside coach Andy Flower, who's also a reigning champion - in inspired form.

It was Bravo who took 2-14 to reduce the Warriors to 97 for 7 from their 10 overs, a total Bravo's team chased down with eight balls to spare. Bravo's celebration of Simmons' wicket was an animated example of one of T20 cricket's most decorated players once again turning up and turning it on when it mattered most.

"[I had] no nerves," said Bravo. "I look forward to it because it's a contest. For me, I challenge myself against these kind of moments and in big games you want big players to turn up. It was my night tonight and tomorrow can be a different story but I always look forward to the contest and competing against the best in the world.

"Lendl Simmons is a personal friend of mine, we've been playing cricket [together] since we were 15-years-old so it's always good to get him out. But in a big game like this, to get two key wickets, I'm very happy."

Bravo added that he "made a pledge" to the Delhi Bulls' ownership that he would lead them to the final and he has emphatically backed that up. He has also donned his self-coined 'Mr. Champion' moniker on the back of his shirt this season and the man with 15 T20 winners' medals on his mantlepiece believes he's living up to the name once more, concluding: "I guess Mr. Champion is working because I'm in another final!"

Team Abu Dhabi had beaten Qalandars to reach the final eliminator of the night courtesy of stunning bowling performances from Naveen-ul-Haq (2-6), McCoy (2-11) and Helm (2-22). Having won each of their first five games, it was a disappointing end to the tournament for Qalandars, who also ran the risk of fielding a visibly injured Shahid Afridi solely as a batsman.

Afridi did top score with 24 but his side's effort of 83-7 was some way short of putting the game beyond Team Abu Dhabi. Following their exit, Qalandars' Australian wicket-keeper batsman Ben Dunk said any risk playing Afridi was worth it.

"It was a must-win game and we needed our best players on the park and he's one of our best players," Dunk said. "I think he's in unbelievable shape for someone that's played the amount of cricket he has and I'm hoping that the injury isn't too severe so we see him again in the PSL. To share a dressing room with a living legend of the game is pretty special."

As for Team Abu Dhabi, having come so close and then missed out on a first final on home soil was a bitter end to an otherwise excellent tournament. Luke Wright, Team Abu Dhabi captain, said: "We came so close tonight, it's hugely disappointing but I'm proud of the lads."

Welcome to our live report of the second day of the first India-England Test from Chennai. Join us for updates, analysis and colour. You can find our traditional ball-by-ball commentary here

*Most recent entry will appear at the top, please refresh your page for the latest updates. All times are local.

11.30: Lunch - England 355 for 3 (Root 156*, Stokes 63*)

92 runs without loss in the session for England. It wasn't all easy going, though, with several half-chances for India and some sudden signs of life in this pitch. Several balls bounced alarmingly out of the rough or skidding on through, while Stokes' attacking innings has not been without risk, by any means.

Root only added 28 runs to his overnight score this morning, though that was enough to make him the seventh player to make 150+ scores in three consecutive Tests and to ensure his average will be above 50 after this innings even if he is dismissed.

11.20am: Out of control

Nadeem and Sundar have really struggled to exert control throughout this innings for India. It's a tricky position for Kohli, because he will be acutely aware of the fact that Bumrah, Ishant and Ashwin are all coming back after injuries, and as such, he doesn't want to over-use them, but his hand has been forced by England's aggression against the change bowlers.

Their combined figures - 39-3-156-0 - are a reflection of the fact that they have leaked far too many boundaries (22 fours and a six between them). As Kevin Pietersen noted yesterday, Kohli would dearly love to have Jadeja in, whose economy rate in home Tests across his career is just 2.24 runs an over. That sort of parsimony would have been incredibly valuable.

Previous

Lunch Bangladesh 149 for 4 (Haque 83*, Das 38*, Cornwall 3-61) and 430 lead West Indies 259 (Brathwaite 76, Blackwood 68, Miraz 4-58) by 320 runs

Mominul Haque was eyeing his seventh century at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium as an unbroken 76-run stand between him and Liton Das put Bangladesh in a commanding position at lunch on day four of the first Test. Resuming on 47 for 3, the home side lost just one wicket in the session and went into the break on 149 for 4, their lead now a daunting 320.

After coming in at 1 for 2 and being peppered by the short stuff from Shannon Gabriel on the third evening, Haque looked much more comfortable on Saturday. That, in part, also had to do with the pitch slowing down further and offering very little for fast bowlers.

Gabriel, too, realised that. While 86% of his deliveries were short last evening, he tried to mix it up today. In the first over of the day, after pushing Haque on the back foot, he bowled one full. The batsman, though, was up to it and found the boundary with a perfect on-drive. Later, when Kemar Roach tried a short ball, Haque ramped him over the vacant slip area for another four.

In general, though, both Haque and Mushfiqur Rahim preferred playing percentage cricket, dealing mostly in ones and two. Given the time left in the match, there was no need to take undue risks but one reason behind that could be Shakib Al Hasan might not be available to bat,, having hurt his left thigh during West Indies' first innings.

Rahkeem Cornwall eventually broke the 40-run stand when he trapped Rahim lbw for 18. The batsman tried to cut a ball that was too full and too close to the stumps and got rapped on the pad. The umpires allowed the review even though it seemed the batsman was too late to opt for it. A potential controversy, however, was avoided when replays found Rahim out.

One baffling thing on the part of West Indies was their reluctance to turn to Jomel Warrican, especially when he was their go-to and most successful bowler in the first innings. When he was finally brought on, just before the drinks break, he immediately found turn from the surface. His fifth ball of the day pitched outside Liton Das' leg stump and spun past to beat the outside edge and brush the back thigh on its way to Cornwall at first slip. Soon after he drew an outside edge of Das' bat but this time the ball fell short of Cornwall.

Seeing Warrican getting help, Kraigg Brathwaite deployed legspinner Nkrumah Bonner from the other end but he lacked control and Haque took him for two fours in his first over. He then collected another four off Warrican to take the lead past 300.

Post lunch, West Indies may just focus on restricting the runs in order to delay the declaration as much as possible.

METAIRIE, La. -- In the latest signal that Drew Brees is preparing to retire after 20 seasons, the New Orleans Saints quarterback has agreed to reduce his 2021 salary from $25 million to the veterans minimum of $1.075 million, a source confirmed to ESPN on Friday.

The move will free up nearly $24 million in salary-cap space for a Saints team that was projected to begin the offseason close to $100 million over the cap.

The agreement was first reported by Over The Cap.

Brees, 42, has not yet announced whether he officially plans to retire. But the move has been widely expected for months. Saints coach Sean Payton said Wednesday that he expects an announcement on Brees' future plans within a week or two.

Brees and the Saints would then wait until after June 1 to officially file his retirement paperwork so they could spread his remaining salary-cap costs over the next two years. Brees was scheduled to count $36.15 million against the cap this season, with another "dead money" hit of $11.5 million scheduled to count against the 2022 salary cap from previous signing bonuses.

Now he will count just $12.225 million against the cap until June 1 -- which would be reduced to $11.15 million after he officially retires. He would still count another $11.5 million against next year's cap under that scenario for a total of $22.65 million in dead money.

If Brees retires, he will go out as the NFL's all-time leader in career passing yards (80,358) and ranked second all-time in touchdown passes (571) and completion percentage (67.7%).

Houston Rockets star center Christian Wood has a right ankle sprain, an MRI on Friday showed, and he will be reevaluated on a weekly basis, general manager Rafael Stone said.

Wood rolled the ankle during the third quarter of Thursday's 115-103 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Rockets had expressed worry about the injury after the game, with coach Stephen Silas saying: "It didn't look great. It was unfortunate."

Wood, who has emerged as an All-Star candidate by averaging 22.0 points and 10.2 rebounds per game in his first season with the Rockets, missed three games after spraining his right ankle on Jan. 20.

Wood reinjured the ankle while driving down the lane in transition against the Grizzlies. He landed awkwardly as he split Memphis defenders Dillon Brooks and Ja Morant, immediately going down in obvious pain.

After getting back to his feet, Wood slowly limped off the floor during the ensuing timeout. He returned to the court to attempt the free throws from a foul called on Morant, but John Wall and other teammates talked Wood into leaving the game. He limped off the floor with the assistance of teammates and was taken to the locker room in a wheelchair.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Charlotte Hornets rookie LaMelo Ball scored a career-high 34 points to go along with eight assists in a 138-121 loss to the Utah Jazz on Friday night.

Ball shot 14-of-27 from the field with four 3-pointers, one block and zero turnovers. His 34 points are the most by a Hornets rookie since Alonzo Mourning in 1993.

Ball remained a starter in Friday's game despite the return of Terry Rozier, whom the 19-year-old had replaced in the starting lineup the past two games. Ball began the season off the bench but has now started in Charlotte's past three games.

Jazz star Donovan Mitchell called Ball "the real deal" after the game.

"I'm not going to lie, I'm very impressed," said Mitchell, who helped lead the Jazz to their 14th victory in 15 games. "Not just his playmaking ability and his competitiveness, but his joy. I don't think I have ever not seen him smile throughout the game."

Hornets coach James Borrego was most pleased that Ball didn't have any turnovers.

"That's big for us -- we need that," Borrego said. "When I see that ratio, good things are going to happen for us most times than not, no matter if the shots go in or not."

Hornets guard Devonte' Graham left the game in the second quarter with a strained groin and did not return, while Utah's Mike Conley developed tightness in his hamstring and played only 22 minutes. Neither coach gave an update on the status of their players after the game.

Ball, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, is averaging 13.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 6 assists in 26.5 minutes per game this season.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo might be competitors in rival conferences, but they share the same sentiments regarding the league's plans to hold an All-Star Game in March in Atlanta.

Fresh off a 33-point, 12-rebound performance in Milwaukee's 123-105 win at Cleveland on Friday night, Antetokounmpo backed James' position on the game happening in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I think every player was looking forward to those five days, seven days, whatever the days are. We've got to all follow the big dog," Antetokounmpo said, referring to James. "The big dog says he has zero excitement and zero energy for the All-Star Game, and I'm the same way. I really right now don't care about the All-Star Game. We cannot see our families."

"Like, I can't worry about the All-Star Game. I want to see my family. I want to go see my little brother in Spain, I want my brother to come see me," he added. "So, I'm the same way. I've got zero energy, zero excitement. At the end of the day, if they tell us we're gonna show up, we've got to do our job. I'm always gonna do my job, I'm always showing up, showing the right example. But at the end of the day inside, deep down, I don't want to do it. I want to get some break."

Antetokounmpo was second behind Brooklyn's Kevin Durant in the Eastern Conference's frontcourt in the first fan returns of NBA All-Star voting.

The reigning back-to-back MVP and Defensive Player of the Year has played in the past four All-Star Games, citing his 2020 experience in Chicago as being "very fun for the fans."

"At the end of the day, if we have the All-Star Game, I hope fans can be there and we can give back to them," Antetokounmpo said. "At the end of the day, if we have the All-Star Game just to have the All-Star Game and have no fans, I don't see the point of having the All-Star Game."

Ahead of the Bucks-Cavaliers tipoff, Milwaukee arrived in Cleveland on the day of the game due to mechanical issues with the team plane Thursday night. The Bucks landed in Cleveland on Friday morning.

Players have learned to adapt to these types of situations while playing through the pandemic and in mostly empty arenas.

Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer let out a sigh before voicing his opinion of the All-Star Game, saying, "I completely understand there's a lot of concerns, and I share them."

Antetokounmpo, like James, said he was under the impression that the league wouldn't hold the yearly showcase until reports indicating otherwise began to surface. He said he would much rather use the time to decompress from basketball rather than competing on that night.

"I thought about it obviously coming into the season, where all we knew it was not going to be an All-Star Game, it was going to be a time to spend time with our family," Antetokounmpo said. "Obviously, when the protocol changes it's kind of hard because on the road, your family cannot come on the road. Back home you cannot leave the house, you only can go to the practice facility or to the arena and you don't have time to take your family to a nice dinner or your family coming on the road or like just escaping the game."

With most of the world still living under strict coronavirus restrictions, there is some light relief for tennis fans in the form of a very different Australian Open.

Serbia's world number one Novak Djokovic and Spain's Rafael Nadal - who is aiming to win a 21st major title and move clear of Roger Federer - lead the men's field.

Another all-time great, Serena Williams, headlines the women's tournament. The American launches another attempt to land that elusive, record-equalling 24th Grand Slam singles title.

From a British perspective, there is no Andy Murray, with Johanna Konta and Dan Evans leading the nation's hopes.

But it is a tournament that has been mired in controversy.

Held in a country imposing some of the toughest coronavirus restrictions in the world, many Australians argued it should not be played at all.

Months of strict border controls have helped Australia limit Covid-19 cases to fewer than 29,000 and deaths to fewer than 1,000.

Australian player Nick Kyrgios said he could understand any sense of uneasiness over 1,200 players and support staff flying in from overseas.

"Whether or not it's the right time, that's not for me to say because we are going ahead with it," the world number 47 said.

"But I think sport is essential for us. Especially with tennis having such a rich culture in Australia, I think we almost need it in a sense.

"I think as long as everyone follows the protocols then it's OK. We all need to stay the course with everything to make sure it doesn't take off again, because the reality is it's killing people and it's not a game."

Is it a fair competition?

In order for the tournament to take place, Australian Open bosses had to agree an unbending policy with the Victorian state government over the arrival of the players.

That meant those travelling had to test negative before taking a charter flight to Australia in mid-January, then undertake a 14-day quarantine period where they could only leave their room for five hours each day.

However, stricter restrictions were imposed on 72 players - including British number two Heather Watson - after positive Covid-19 cases were found on three of the charter flights bound for the tournament.

Those players were confined to their rooms for 14 days, unable to go out to practise like their rivals and left having to think of novel ways to keep sharp indoors.

In order to warm up the players for the Grand Slam, six tournaments have taken place simultaneously at Melbourne Park this week - including a specifically arranged event solely for those WTA players in the hard quarantine.

There was further disruption this week when 160 players were told to isolate, pending a negative coronavirus test, after a security guard at the hotel where they were quarantined tested positive.

"Everyone is really playing it by ear. Nobody really knows who is in form and who is not," added Kyrgios, who competed for the first time in almost a year in one of the warm-up events.

There was further discontent among some players about the star names - including Nadal, Djokovic, Williams and US Open champion Naomi Osaka - spending their quarantine period in Adelaide instead of Melbourne.

While they too were only allowed out of their rooms for five hours as per the quarantine rules, there was bristling at a perceived preferential treatment and accusations they had an unfair advantage.

French doubles player Edouard Roger-Vasselin said there was a feeling those players had "more time to prepare and more time to practise."

"Over 14 days that could be a big difference between these players and the rest of the group," he added.

Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley said the top players were sent to Adelaide to ensure organisers did not exceed the limit set by the authorities for people quarantining in Melbourne.

Can the returning Barty finally end Australia's wait?

Home hopes of a first Australian Open champion since 1978 are pinned on Ashleigh Barty.

The 24-year-old Queenslander is still ranked as the world's leading player, despite not having competed for 11 months before this week's Yarra Valley Classic.

Three wins in the tune-up event set up a semi-final against Serena Williams, with Barty progressing to Saturday's final when the American great withdrew because of a shoulder injury.

"The rust is always there for, I think, everyone the first few matches of the season. But without a doubt, I felt better and better each match," said 2019 French Open champion Barty.

As ever, the spotlight will also fall on Williams, who is seeded 10th. Without a major since the 2017 Australian Open title, the 39-year-old is aiming again to match Australian Margaret Court's all-time leading tally of singles victories.

Another American, Sofia Kenin, is expected to provide a strong defence of the first Grand Slam title she won in Melbourne last year, while Polish 19-year-old Iga Swiatek goes in as the newest major champion after beating Kenin in the French Open final in October.

While there is little form guide, 2019 champion Naomi Osaka has looked sharp this week and picked up where she left off last year when she won the US Open.

A string of injury problems have stalled the progress of Canada's Bianca Andreescu since her victory at the 2019 US Open, with the 20-year-old hoping to put them behind her when she plays for the first time in 15 months.

British number one Konta, a Melbourne semi-finalist in 2017, will be seeded 13th.

Will Nadal win his 21st major? And can Djokovic be stopped at his second 'home'?

Serbia's defending champion Djokovic headlines the men's singles at an event where beating him has proven extremely difficult in recent years.

The 33-year-old's triumph last year was a record-extending eighth title at Melbourne Park, where he has won his past 14 matches and lost just four times in the past 10 years.

Consequently, he is the favourite to win a 18th Grand Slam tournament at a place he says "feels like home".

"Each year that I come back to the court, it feels even better. The more you win obviously on the court, the more confident you feel coming back to it," said the world number one.

Also expected to challenge is Nadal, although he has been nursing a back injury this week.

The Spanish second seed is aiming to move clear of great rival Roger Federer - who is absent through injury - in terms of most men's majors after claiming a record-equalling 20th title at the French Open in October.

Austrian third seed Dominic Thiem, who lost to Djokovic in last year's final, is another contender. The burden of a first Grand Slam title is now behind the 27-year-old after winning the US Open in September.

Russia's Daniil Medvedev is likely to threaten too, while Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas and Germany's Alexander Zverev are attempting to better their runs to the semi-finals in recent years.

British number one Evans, seeded 30th, warmed up by reaching the semi-finals of the Murray River Open at Melbourne Park.

Six-time champion Federer, 39, misses the tournament for the first time in his career as he continues his recovery from knee surgery.

Meanwhile, Andy Murray saw his plans disrupted after more rotten luck in what has been a testing few years for the British former world number one.

Murray, a five-time runner-up, was unable to fly out to Melbourne as planned after testing positive for coronavirus.

After seeing his career derailed by a serious hip injury, the three-time Grand Slam champion has now missed nine of the past 13 major tournaments going back to Wimbledon in 2017.

Two men, two matches, two moments.

Scotland are about to take on Russia in a pool game they know they will win. Finn Russell picks up three balls, one in his left hand, a second in his right, another jammed between.

He drops the third ball onto his left instep, flicks it up, and strides onto the pitch, juggling the balls between his hands like a circus performer.

The second comes in Yokohama.

TJ Perenara utters the opening words of the haka. His All Blacks stamp and slap. And on the stadium big screen, on televisions around the globe, Owen Farrell's face appears.

The England captain's eyes are locked on the opposition. And, while New Zealand issue their challenge, Farrell stares back with a lop-sided smirk.

The oldest rivalry in Test rugby always needs new contrasts. A fresh way to spin the yarn.

On Saturday, much will centre on Russell and Farrell.

The entertainer against the terminator. The mischief-maker against the commander-in-chief. The game-breaker against the results-grinder.

But both men, and their differences, are more complex than that.

Scotland and Glasgow's Ryan Wilson remembers when a 21-year-old Russell first turned up at Warriors.

"He was very thin," he tells BBC Sport. "He still is, although I think he might have put some more gut on with the baguettes in Paris."

What was apparent to Wilson then, has become obvious to all since he left Glasgow for Racing 92 two and half seasons ago.

"He has always been able to do special things on a rugby pitch," said Wilson.

"The way he brings people into the game and finds space is special."

Farrell has seen Russell's sleight-of-hand magic up close.

In Scotland's 2018 Calcutta Cup win, Russell set up a try with an audacious looping pass more precisely plotted than most space missions.

In 2019's pulsating draw at Twickenham, Russell revived a flat-lining Scotland, nabbing an audacious interception off Farrell for a 50m score en route.

In Racing's colours, his deft chip broke Saracens' Champions Cup dreams in September. He pulled the strings to perfection in the Barbarians win over England in 2018.

Even those down the pecking order are fans.

"He's a step ahead," said Duncan Weir, who has found Russell in his way at both Glasgow and Scotland at different points of his career, on BBC Scotland's Rugby podcast.

"He sees the space so early and can also execute skill under so much pressure.

"I can leave my ego at the door and say he's definitely the right man to drive the team to victories."

Russell's bucking a trend. Test rugby is all percentages and position at the moment.

Victories tend to be ground out through collective attrition rather individual inspiration.

But, with a forward pack unlikely to win an arm-wrestle, giving Russell free licence is the most pragmatic option for Scotland.

The likeliest route to a first Twickenham win in 38 years is along the high wire.

Off the pitch Russell's playful streak marks him out amid the modern game's po-faced professionalism.

As a teenager, he played with his hair dyed in a leopard print. His pre-Test meal was a club sandwich and can of Irn-Bru. On the touchlines, he has busted out dance moves. Post-match, he certainly has.

"The two places he's most at home are on the rugby pitch and the dance floor," added Wilson.

"He isn't at the front of a queue for a night out, but enjoys himself when he gets out there.

"You have got to have that balance where you turn off from rugby. That's what Finn gets right.

"He tries to pretend that he doesn't care sometimes, puts a show on for the boys, but he cares. He really cares. If you go to his room, he is always there doing his analysis, studying the opposition on the laptop."

Farrell has never given the impression he doesn't care. Rugby, league and union, has long been the family business. Owen made his Saracens debut at 17, replacing his father Andy, a code-crossing legend.

Business? For Russell, rugby is pleasure.

At the same time Farrell was playing in Premiership finals, Russell, a year younger, was in a shed near Stirling.

Russell spent three years there, chiselling out windowsills and fire places as a stonemason. He read about the 2011 World Cup in the paper on his lunch break. Four years later he was playing in one.

"He had done a job, he was a bit different to the lads straight out of private school," said Wilson.

"A lot of people imagine him as this big, loud presence, but he is down to earth, doesn't give it the big one about what he can do."

Farrell doesn't make such easy showreel fodder.

There have been sublime moments. Often at crucial times.

A cut-out pass through the eye of a needle for Jonny May's score early in 2019's win over Ireland was one.

A long-range bullet to send Elliot Daly scampering round Alex Cuthbert in the 2017 heist at the Millennium Stadium was another.

But Farrell's influence comes more from a lifetime's dedication rather than split-second genius.

His standards are stratospheric. His commitment total. His tolerance for anything less? Zero.

You see it in snippets.

His team-talks are short sentences, long pauses and bulge-eyed stares.

"Put yourselves in a position today to be brutal," he said before beating Australia in Japan. "Punish them with good decisions," he said before the win over New Zealand.

You hear it in his team-mates' words.

"A competitor," said winger May this week. "He wants to compete every day, he drives standards, he's a leader, that pretty much sums it up."

Most of all, you see it on the field. Farrell's focus over a place-kick, his appetite for contact, the intensity that can slip into reckless physicality.

Brad Barritt knows Farrell well. He joined Saracens a month after Farrell's debut in 2008. The pair won their first England caps together against Scotland in 2012.

"Even as a youngster, Owen had a very wise head on his shoulders," Barritt told BBC Sport.

"There was always an appetite to learn, a drive and determination."

Farrell's shaping of England in his image came from his own bit of opportunism.

"Anyone who plays at 10, needs to put their stamp on the team, to define that position, the quicker the better," Barritt added.

"When we made our debuts the whole squad had under 100 caps, it was quite easy to put your stamp on a team because there wasn't a strong contingent of incumbents."

How easily Farrell and Russell would rub along in the same team is another matter.

This summer, they'll probably have to. Both are almost-certain Lions tourists.

At Twickenham though, only one will be smiling, or smirking, post-match.

MOORESVILLE, N.C. – IndyCar’s search for a third engine manufacturer to join Honda and Chevrolet will have to go in a different direction after Ferrari told Red Bull’s Speed Week that it is not interested in joining the series.

“After our discussions, we came to the conclusion that we will not be entering IndyCar anytime soon,” Scuderia Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto told Red Bull’s Speed Week. “That might be possible in the medium and long term. But today we want to concentrate our investments on Formula One involvement.”

Ferrari had been rumored to be interested in discussing a deal with IndyCar to be part of the NTT IndyCar Series, but Friday’s revelation will put an end to that speculation.

IndyCar will change its engine formula from the current 2.2-liter, twin-turbo V6 architecture to 2.4 liters beginning in 2023. That will include an increase in horsepower from 700 horsepower without push-to-pass, to 800 horsepower with a new, spec, kinetic energy recovery system, capable of adding 80-100hp.

That would bring the total horsepower output to 900hp utilizing the hybrid assist.

Mark Rushbrook, the Global Director of Ford Motorsports, participated in a NASCAR Media Zoom conference on Friday and was asked if his company had any interest in pursuing an IndyCar engine program.

“We love Mr. (Roger) Penske and our relationship with him,” Rushbrook said of the NASCAR team owner who also owns IndyCar, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indianapolis 500. “What we are always looking for in our motorsports cycle plan is where is the best place for us to race, for a lot of different reasons. Some of that is technology and architecture. The future they have in IndyCar with some of the changes they are making are good changes for the sport, but we don’t have anything to announce or talk about at this point.

“There are always discussions on topics like that that go on.”