Rafael Nadal returns to Grand Slam tennis and aims to move level with Roger Federer's tally of 20 major titles when an unfamiliar-looking French Open starts in Paris on Sunday.

Federer is out with a knee injury but top seed Novak Djokovic and wildcard Andy Murray are in the men's draw.

In the women's singles, Serena Williams goes again for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title.

British number one Johanna Konta leads the nation's hopes of its first singles champion at Roland Garros since Sue Barker in 1976.

Last year, Konta reached the semi-finals on the clay courts in the French capital.

The fortnight-long tournament is usually held at the end of May and the start of June but was postponed to this new date - a fortnight after the US Open culminated on the hard courts in New York - because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Up to 5,000 fans are set to be allowed on Court Philippe Chatrier - the main show-court at Roland Garros - although no spectators will be allowed on any of the other courts.

That is despite the French government announcing new restrictions on Wednesday which banned gatherings of more than 1,000 people because of rising coronavirus cases in France.

Players must stay in designated hotels and are only allowed to compete when they have returned a negative test for coronavirus.

Six unnamed players were withdrawn from men's and women's qualifying after two players and a coach tested positive.

A familiar sight in unfamiliar times - Nadal returns to Roland Garros

The return of Nadal to a tournament where he is the most successful player of all time adds an extra sprinkling of star quality.

The 19-time Grand Slam champion did not play the US Open in New York because of health and travel concerns.

The world number two returned to competitive action at last week's Italian Open for his first tournament since winning the Acapulco title in February, but was knocked out by Argentine Diego Schwartzman in the quarter-finals.

It is only the second time since bursting on the scene in 2005 that he has arrived at Roland Garros without having won a title on the European clay in the preceding weeks.

"It's a completely special year and unpredictable year. I did a couple of things well and other things bad," Nadal said following his Rome defeat.

"At least I played three matches. I'm going to keep working and keep practising with the right attitude and try to give myself a chance to be ready."

Who else is playing and who is not there?

Without Federer, it is an opportunity for Nadal and Djokovic to close in on the Swiss great in their race to finish with the most Grand Slam men's singles titles.

Serbia's Djokovic, 33, was the hot favourite to earn his 18th major at the US Open but made a shock and undignified exit in the last 16 after being defaulted for hitting a ball at a line judge.

That meant a new Grand Slam champion would be crowned and Austria's Dominic Thiem was the man who took advantage.

With 27-year-old Thiem having lost to Nadal in both of the past two finals at Roland Garros, few would pick a winner outside those two and Djokovic.

Djokovic, who won his only Roland Garros title in 2016, bounced back from his US Open exit by winning the Italian Open this week - meaning that infamous disqualification is his only loss in 32 matches during 2020.

As ever, the women's singles is much harder to predict. After six of the top 10 did not play in New York some of the bigger names have returned, but not all.

World number one Ashleigh Barty won her maiden Grand Slam in Paris last year but, after missing the US Open, has again opted to stay at home in Australia because of the pandemic.

Japan's world number three Naomi Osaka, who triumphed at Flushing Meadows, is another absentee because of a hamstring injury.

American great Serena Williams will be there as she tries to match Australian Margaret Court's all-time record of Grand Slam singles titles.

Williams, who turns 39 on Saturday, has lost her past four major finals - at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2018 and 2019 - as she appeared burdened by the weight of history.

Can Konta replicate her run?

British number one Konta, 29, surprised many people with her run to the Roland Garros semi-finals last year, having never previously never won a match in the main draw.

Ultimately it ended in a 7-5 7-6 (7-2) defeat by Czech teenager Marketa Vondrousova, with Konta leading 5-3 in both sets and missing opportunities to close each one out.

That run to the last four came on the back of a successful lead-up on the clay, although this year's preparations have been wildly different for Konta.

The mini clay-court season means she has only played in the Italian Open where an almost flawless opening win over Romania's Irina-Camelia Begu was followed by a straight-sets defeat by Spain's former French Open champion Garbine Muguruza.

Konta, seeded ninth, has also arrived in Paris without a full-time coach after a trial run with Swede Thomas Hogstedt - who helped Maria Sharapova win the French Open - came to an end.

What about the other Brits?

Andy Murray will return to competitive action on a clay court for the first time since a five-set defeat by Stan Wawrinka in the 2017 French Open semi-finals.

The 33-year-old Scot has been given a wildcard as he continues his comeback from a career-threatening hip injury.

After returning to Chatrier for a practice session this week, he said it was the "brutal" match against Wawrinka that "turned out to be the end" of his hip.

Since then, Murray has had two hip surgeries and expected the second in January 2019 - a resurfacing operation where the femur head was capped with metal and put into an artificial socket - to end his career.

Remarkably, he has been pitted against 35-year-old Wawrinka on his Roland Garros comeback.

Murray is joined in the men's singles by British number one Dan Evans, Cameron Norrie and Liam Broady. Kyle Edmund has withdrawn because of a knee injury.

Broady, 26, came through qualifying to reach the main draw for the first time.

Heather Watson, ranked 56th, is the only other Briton joining Konta in the women's singles after Harriet Dart lost in her second qualifying match.

In the doubles, Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski will play at Roland Garros together for the first time, while Joe Salisbury and his American partner Rajeev Ram aim to better last year's exit in the quarter-finals.

Last year's men's singles runner-up Gordon Reid returns in the wheelchair events, along with Jordanne Whiley, Andy Lapthorne and Alfie Hewett.

Former Australia coach Michael Cheika will work with Argentina for the rest of 2020, pitting him against the Wallabies in the Rugby Championship.

He has been hired as an "external advisor" to the Pumas.

Head coach Mario Ledesma said Cheika would bring "a lot of experience" to his set-up.

Ledesma has previously worked under Cheika as part of the Australia coaching staff that reached the 2015 Rugby World Cup final and at French side Stade Francais.

"We have already had several discussions with him and all the staff about the game, defence, attack, types of exercises, individual techniques," said Ledesma.

"The exchange has been spectacular."

He added that Cheika's local knowledge was also useful for an edition of the Rugby Championship that will take place entirely in Australia.

"We were able to talk and listen to his recommendations about places to train, schedules and even issues related to the weather," Ledesma added.

Cheika, whose previous union roles include a five-year stint at Leinster, had recently been working as a skills coach at rugby league side Sydney Roosters.

Argentina, who have finished bottom of the Championship for the past four years, begin this year's tournament with a match against South Africa in Brisbane on 7 November.

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has hinted that Eric Bailly will be given the opportunity to prove he can be Harry Maguire's long-term partner at centre-back.

Bailly and Maguire were paired together for the 3-0 Carabao Cup win over Luton in midweek after usual first-choice Victor Lindelof put in a disastrous performance during the defeat to Crystal Palace in United's opening Premier League game of the season.

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Bailly is fit again after being restricted to just 11 appearances in all competitions last season and ahead of the trip to Brighton on Saturday, Solskjaer was keen to talk him up.

"Last week wasn't fantastic [against Crystal Palace], we conceded sloppy goals," Solskjaer told a news conference on Friday.

"Eric is fit again -- a big, big plus -- and we're looking forward to seeing him develop and play more games. We've been waiting for him to be fit and play more regularly."

Solskjaer also has Chris Smalling available in defence but hinted the 30-year-old won't be considered for selection while talks about a return to Roma are ongoing.

"Different things need to happen [for Smalling to play]," Solskjaer said.

"So let's wait and see if there's that change. Let's see what happens when the transfer window closes and what happens to Chris."

With just over a week to go before the transfer window closes, United are still in the hunt for new players while a number of the bloated first-team squad could be allowed to leave.

Sources have told ESPN that United are still hopeful a deal for Jadon Sancho could be reached with Borussia Dortmund before the deadline on Oct. 5 while there remains interest in Porto left-back Alex Telles.

"As I've said so many times, I'm very confident in my players and if and when something happens with ins and outs we'll update you," Solskjaer said.

"In football you can't predict too much but for me we're just working on getting better, my focus is solely on the game. We can't be thinking any other way."

New Zealand captain Sophie Devine believes there is no better time to try and topple the powerful Australians, with both teams resuming the game from a standing start following six months without cricket.

New Zealand will begin by facing a home side without allrounder Ellyse Perry who is not yet available following the hamstring injury which curtailed her T20 World Cup campaign earlier this year and required surgery. Australia captain Meg Lanning remained hopeful Perry will play a part during the series of three T20Is and three ODIs but she won't be rushed back.

"She's still working through her return-to-play plan; when she ticks off all those markers she'll be available," Lanning said. "We won't see her tomorrow but she's doing everything she can to get up and play."

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New Zealand have lost their last five T20Is against Australia although the most recent was a closely fought four-run defeat in what was a knockout match at the group stage of the T20 World Cup. Before that they had secured three T20I series in a row, albeit dating back to 2013 when only a handful of the current players were involved, but the one-day record has been very one-sided with Australia holding the Rose Bowl trophy for 20 years.

"The great thing about it is we are almost level pegging: no side has played cricket for close to six months, so it will be the side that adapts quickest and can get back into the flow of playing," Devine said. "Think we are in a great position; the build-up we've had - if there's any time to knock them over it's now.

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"There's been so many games against Australia where it has come down the last over, the last wicket, a handful of runs. It shows that we are close. For us it's about having the confidence and belief that we can win these games.

"We know how strong the Australians are and the success they've had and we almost need to get into that mentality that we can win from any position. We know we are close to this Australian side."

The unusual situation created by the pandemic meant that the same two teams played each other yesterday in a warm-up match which Australia won by 11 runs after a late New Zealand collapse. Both captains suggested they did not show their full hand to the opposition although Devine admitted there isn't much the teams don't know about each other.

"We probably did hold back a little bit, you don't want to show all our cards too soon, but the thing with the women's game over the last couple of years is that there's no hiding, all our games are on TV now, so you are doing well to hide all your secrets from opposition players," Devine said.

Lanning acknowledged that New Zealand had matchwinners in their team, not least captain Devine who clubbed 89 off 73 balls on Thursday, but was confident about her squad which includes some fresh and recalled faces among the expanded size of 18 players, with Belinda Vakarewa's performance on Thursday where she took 2 for 31 earning praise.

"Yesterday was a practice game; tomorrow is the real stuff and it will be a tight contest," she said. "The proof will be in the pudding over the next 10 days. They all did a good job [in the warm-up]. Sophie Devine was coming pretty hard, so it was a great to experience that.

"Belinda Vakarewa was really impressive, especially with the new ball, Suzie Bates came out pretty hard, too, and she was able to get her wicket in the end. To have new players come into the squad who haven't been involved in a while, to be able to play so well is really encouraging."

Spin is likely to play a key role in both series. Australia claimed eight wickets with it in the warm-up, including five to Sophie Molineux. "Our spinners have done a good job over a long period of time. [It] Will be tough to get that final XI picked," Lanning said.

New Zealand will be without two key spinners. Leigh Kasperek, who had to remain in Scotland due to travel restrictions, and Anna Peterson (personal reasons), are not available for the tour, but Devine took the positive form the situation.

"This series has given a chance for more players to step up," she said. "We need to expose more players to the international level. It presents a unique opportunity for players."

She was also hopeful of a little inside knowledge on the local conditions at Allan Border Field, which will stage all six matches, from the Brisbane Heat WBBL duo of Maddy Green and Amelia Kerr.

"Them being based here has certainly given them some good intel around how it can play," Devine said. "They were fantastic last year with the Heat. That's the great thing about the WBBL: the players learn so much about opposition and, as I said, there's no hiding."

There will be a minute's silence before play in memory of the late Dean Jones, and the Australian team will wear black armbands.

Australia squad Meg Lanning (capt), Rachael Haynes, Maitlan Brown, Erin Burns, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Molly Strano, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham, Belinda Vakarewa

New Zealand squad Sophie Devine (capt), Suzie Bates, Natalie Dodd, Deanna Doughty, Lauren Down, Maddy Green, Holly Huddleston, Hayley Jenson, Amelia Kerr, Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Katey Martin, Hannah Rowe, Amy Satterthwaite, Lea Tahuhu, Jess Watkin

Anushka Sharma, India captain Virat Kohli's wife, has accused former India captain Sunil Gavaskar of "distasteful" commentary by "accusing a wife for her husband's game". In an Instagram story posted the day after Kohli's team, Royal Challengers Bangalore, lost an IPL match comprehensively, Sharma took objection to a bit of commentary where Gavaskar was discussing Kohli's lack of practice with co-commentator Aakash Chopra.

In a 34-second clip doing the rounds on social media, Gavaskar is heard saying on air, in Hindi: "He [Kohli] wants to… he knows the more he practises the better he will become. Now there was a lockdown [in India because of the Covid-19 pandemic], and he has practised only against Anushka's bowling. That is not going to help him a lot." The comments were made while Kohli was batting.

Gavaskar was probably referring to a clip gone viral on social media during the lockdown where a neighbour had shot Kohli facing throwdowns from Sharma on the terrace of their house. Chopra then goes on to rue the lack of privacy for the couple.

In her post, Sharma says: "That, Mr Gavaskar, your message is distasteful is a fact but I would love for you to explain why you thought of making such a sweeping statement on a wife accusing her for her husband's game? I'm sure over the years you have respected the private life of every cricketer while commentating on the game. Don't you think you should have equal amount of respect for me and us?

"I'm sure you can have many other words and sentences in your mind to use to comment on my husband's performance from last night or are your words only relevant if you use my name in the process?

"It's 2020 and things still don't change for me. When will I stop getting dragged into cricket and stop being used to pass sweeping statements.

"Respected Mr Gavaskar, you are a legend whose name stands tall in this gentleman's game. Just wanted to tell you what I felt when I heard you say this."

On the night, Kohli dropped two catches of opposition captain KL Rahul, who went on to take the game away from Royal Challengers, and then scored one off five balls in a tall chase.

It is also worth mentioning here that when Gavaskar's comments first went viral on social media, he was misquoted. The initial quote that went around accused Gavaskar of saying, in Hindi, that during lockdown Kohli had practised only with Anushka's "balls", and not "bowling" as Gavaskar had originally said.

ESPNcricinfo has reached out to Gavaskar's team. A comment is awaited.

"What is it about you and Germany?" This is a question I get rather a lot. As a Scot whose broadcasting travels have taken me around the world since first picking up the microphone professionally in 1986, no country has had a hold on me quite like the land of bratwurst, BMWs, Beckenbauer and of course, Bayern Munich.

The seed was planted in 1974, when West Germany hosted the World Cup in the Cold War days, and the country's division added intrigue and mystery for a then-inquisitive 7-year-old football fanatic. As much as this was an immersion in the greatest sporting tournament on the planet, it spawned an interest in all things German, particularly after the DDR national team from the East defeated their more glamorous Western counterparts in a one-off game.

If you look on a map, you'll see just how close the north coast of Germany is to my home city of Aberdeen; indeed, the North Sea many centuries ago was one of Europe's early highways.

Geographically we were close, yet linguistically far away, or so I thought. When I began learning German at primary school a couple of years later, I realised it came naturally to me. Some of the guttural sounds were not unlike the Doric dialect of my parents and ancestors still spoken in the fishing and farmland communities of North East Scotland. As a radio enthusiast, I discovered that due to our coastal location, we could often pick up a radio signal from Hamburg in the evenings. And so, NDR (North German Broadcasting) came into my life, in many ways changing it for good.

It became a daily ritual. Doing homework with NDR in the background meant a mixture of news, politics, music -- I can tell you a lot about German pop from the 1970s and '80s -- and, when there were matches, football! That meant regular servings of the Bundesliga. Magical German wordsmiths like Jochen Hageleit and Gerd Rubenbauer painted vivid pictures with their words. As my language comprehension skills got better, I was transported to a secret, exciting German world I knew I wanted to be part of.

Travelling abroad was a luxury few families could consider back in the early 1980s, but my parents indulged me in 1982 by taking us on holiday, by car and then ferry, to Hamburg. It's funny the things you remember about your first visit to a new country; my memory is of how wide the streets seemed compared to home, the cycle paths and constant bell ringing from cyclists as we cluelessly invaded their space; the smells of bratwurst and mustard. Plus there was an impromptu visit to the Volksparkstadion, the home of Hamburger SV, who would be crowned European club champions the following year.

It was summer, and alas no games to go to, but my father and I simply walked inside the empty stadium and took in the scene of vastness, the huge sprawling terraces. I imagined the burly Horst Hrubesch diving to head home a trademark cross from Manni Kaltz.

In the '80s, my German teacher at Hazlehead Academy, Bryan Steel, was a huge influence, sensing he had a student in me who cherished the subject matter. Bryan had a fellow teacher friend in the small community of Obersuhl, which straddled the border of West and East Germany. I first went there as part of an organised school trip, but again later in 1985, between school and university, funding my journey by working as a postman in Aberdeen for the first part of the summer. Staying with Bryan's colleague, Erich, and helping out in the local school, taught me about living in a small German town, and given the proximity to the East German border guards, with their watchtowers and binoculars, I still have to this day "die Grenze im Kopf" ("the border in my head").

Despite not being able to travel into the DDR at that time, I spent weekends on trains up and down West Germany. It was late August, early in the football season, and treated myself to as many matches as I could, beginning with the closest second-tier team, Hessen Kassel, and then Frankfurt, with its wonderful wooded walk to the stadium. Borussia Dortmund, Schalke, Bochum and my personal favourite, Cologne, would soon follow. I couldn't get enough of the "Spieltag" ("matchday") routine: travel from the railway station to the bratwurst stand, pick up local newspapers, jump on public transport to the game, interact with fans on the way, stand and marvel at the stadium from outside. It's a routine I've maintained when on duty in Germany, before the pandemic put a stop to it.

Until the last decade or so, my commentary work only rarely involved this football country I love so much, although there were countless trips as a fan. Yes, there were games to cover in Germany in my BBC Scotland years, but they were all from the Scottish clubs' perspective. I was always delighted, of course, when later as main commentator for the Champions League on ESPN, the assignment was to cover any German team. I felt being fluent in the language and with the advent of the internet, starting most of my days watching German news enhanced my expertise. I continued to listen avidly to the Bundesliga and other German content on NDR, WDR and a variety of other stations just as part of waking up daily.

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In 2009, I returned to be one of the commentators on ESPN in the UK. Over the years, I sensed on social media that those who really loved German football seemed to like having a kindred spirit at the microphone. I made a point of not just commentating on player to player, but trying to share the knowledge and passion in me.

Not long after that the DFL, who run the top two divisions in Germany, began to expand on their world feed commentaries. To cut a long story short, I began to work for them when other commitments allowed. It felt like a marriage made in heaven, a true labour of love with a fantastic team of producers and commentators based in my German home away from home, Cologne. In recent years, I've been lucky enough to be on site to commentate on many of the big games for the DFL from Dortmund vs. Bayern, to the Revierderby (Dortmund vs. Schalke), to Union Berlin (that East German connection again) clinching promotion to the Bundesliga for the first time.

Now it all comes full circle with ESPN, the broadcasting home for the bulk of my career. When my colleague Kay Murray ahead of this season's Bayern-Schalke opener introduced me as "the voice of our coverage and the voice of the Bundesliga for so many," it really meant a lot. Thanks, Kay.

I'll be commentating on all the Bundesliga games that air on ESPN linear TV networks in the U.S., popping up to talk about the league on ESPN FC, and writing a weekly column in this space dedicated to German football. Little did the 7-year old boy in Aberdeen know what the 1974 World Cup would lead to.

Pep Guardiola is treading new ground as he leads Manchester City into the 2020-21 campaign. For the first time in his glittering managerial career, the City boss is embarking on a fifth season in charge of a club and within that, he's also having to rebuild and launch a second cycle of success.

Man City chief executive Ferran Soriano said in the past that "three, four years is one cycle" before you need to refresh your team, and that "maybe a manager can do one or two cycles, but people get tired." Four years after arriving at the Etihad following a three-year stint in charge of Bayern Munich -- Guardiola had four seasons in charge of Barcelona prior to that -- Guardiola, 49, has stayed at City longer than any other managerial job in his career.

His contract expires at the end of this season, and the ultimate prize of Champions League glory continues to elude him at City. A new deal will be there for Guardiola if he wants it, but nobody can predict whether he will walk away next summer or commit to an even lengthier stay at the club.

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Tom Young, a performance psychologist working in business and elite sport, recently published a book called "The Making of a Leader" in which he studied the mindset and demands of top coaches in football, rugby, NFL and cricket. Young also worked as a consultant to the Belgium football team ahead of the 2018 World Cup and the victorious European Ryder Cup team in Paris in 2018. And with Guardiola facing the challenge of starting a new cycle, at the same time as attempting to end City's wait for the Champions League, Young assessed how Guardiola will approach the task of delivering on both fronts this season.

"Sporting leaders are [on the job] 24/7, and it can be both lonely and draining," Young told ESPN. "A fifth season is the unknown for Guardiola and he will have asked himself, 'Do I really have the energy for this? Do I want to do this?' because doing it half-heartedly is just not an option for someone like him.

"The competitor inside of him will feel he has unfinished business with this team. Going into this cycle, the first challenge will be his own energy and drive. People might question that, but he's a human being. By his own admission, he's obsessed with winning and you only have to watch him on the touchline or after a game to see the intense, demanding and perfectionist approach he takes.

Another point Young makes is about the players on the pitch, or as he puts it, "the evolving team." With so many of the club's leaders departing in recent seasons -- like imperious Vincent Kompany and David Silva -- and other cornerstone players like Sergio Aguero aging, there's no clear sense yet of who will fill those voids.

"Teams need a range of characters, so what, if anything, are they missing?" asks Young. "Others need to step up, and recruitment on both a human and sporting level will be key."

Man City have signed defender Nathan Ake from Bournemouth and winger Ferran Torres from Valencia this summer as the club has attempted to regenerate a squad that has lost Silva to Real Sociedad and Leroy Sane to Bayern Munich. Sources have told ESPN that City were at the front of the queue to sign Lionel Messi in the event of the Barcelona star leaving the Camp Nou in August and Young believes that, while missing out on the Argentine will have been a blow to Guardiola, the manager can still use the disappointment as a source of positive motivation for his players.

"Undoubtedly, Messi would have given everyone an immediate psychological boost," Young said. "He'd have brought 'know-how,' having been there and done it, and having someone like that in the team allows others to play with a sense of belief and freedom.

"It would have been great for the players, but they now have the opportunity to say, "we don't need him, we can do it with the group that we have" -- again, it comes down to that mindset."

Messi may have provided City with the key to unlock the door to Champions League glory. The competition has so far been a puzzle that the club have been unable to solve, despite Guardiola's track record of having won it twice with Barcelona. After City's surprise elimination at the hands of Lyon in last season's quarterfinal, Guardiola said there were "no excuses" for his team, and Young believes that the club are in danger of developing a mental block with the competition.

"There is a sense of growing pressure on the Champions League," Young said. "Driven by his [Guardiola's] own standards and expectation, the most intense pressure comes from within. I think you could see that in his interview after the Lyon game. He will take that on himself and try not to burden the team.

"The danger is that it becomes the elephant in the room, a little bit like the England penalty situation before 2018. Psychological strength can emerge from people trusting each other enough to talk about their own fears or beliefs, something that's not always easy to do in elite sport. If it goes unchallenged or unsaid, groups can end up in a cycle where they start to think 'here we go again' at the same point each season.

"Under pressure and expectation, it can be tempting for a leader to try and do it all themselves. Guardiola is a masterful coach, but it may be that he chooses to delegate more of that to his staff and allows himself to step back, see the bigger picture and focus on the individual needs of his players.

"You can be a master tactician, but relationships and trust are at the core of any team. Remember, this team has already made history with the domestic treble and record points tally [100 in 2017-18]. They've proved they can do it. Now they have an opportunity to do it again on the biggest stage. It is a chance to achieve, rather than a threat of failure. It isn't easy, but language is key, conveying that he trusts the players, and believes they can take the next step.

"Not that they 'should' or 'must', but that they 'can'. As we saw last season against Lyon, sport still comes down to the bounce of a ball, whoever your manager is."

For Young, however, there are no doubts that Guardiola will be able to find the motivation to meet his new challenge head on.

"I love watching Guardiola during games or in his interviews, just to try and see what really makes him tick," Young said. "He's relentless, and his passion for the game is so clear.

"I imagine working with him isn't easy, as standards will be so relentlessly high, but players will want to play for him. And maybe Liverpool's win last year will be just the fire he needs."

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- If Jamal Murray was going to add yet another comeback victory to the Denver Nuggets' dream postseason run, he was going to have to go through LeBron James.

With the Los Angeles Lakers clinging to a four-point lead with just more than five minutes left in the fourth quarter Thursday, James -- whose eldest son, 15-year-old LeBron James Jr., is closer in age to the 23-year-old Murray than he is -- switched onto the Nuggets' supernova.

"LeBron asked for the assignment, and obviously I granted it," head coach Frank Vogel said after the Lakers' 114-108 win drew them to within one victory of the NBA finals.

Murray, who had 28 points on 12-for-17 shooting to that point, had helped carve the Lakers' once 12-point lead down to a two-possession game, eyeing the chance to steal Game 4 of the Western Conference finals and even up the series 2-2.

James had other ideas. He was the only Laker to guard Murray in clutch time -- defined as the last five minutes of a game when the point differential is five or fewer -- and held him to 0-for-2 shooting.

Murray had four points in the final five minutes but those came at the free throw line.

"I knew it was winning time, and Jamal had it going," James said of his decision to guard him.

With 5:21 on the clock, James crowded Murray at the top of the key and the Nuggets' point guard had his entry pass to Nikola Jokic stolen by Markieff Morris.

Still trailing by four a few possessions later, the 6-foot-4, 215-pound Murray drove down the middle of the lane with the 6-9, 250-pound James attached to his hip and missed a layup after double-clutching his release to try to evade James' contest with 3:46 to go.

And with 2:56 left, now down only three points, Murray drove on James again and missed, again, as the Lakers' star outstretched both of his arms to swallow up any air space as he closed on Murray from behind.

Even though James -- who finished with 26 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists to Murray's 32 points and 8 dimes -- got the better of Murray, the Denver guard earned his respect.

"The kid is special," James said. "He has an array of shots. Triple threat from the 3, midrange and also in the paint. For me, it's just trusting my defensive keys. Trusting my study of film. Trusting personnel. And living with the results.

"I told my teammates that I had him and everyone else can kind of stay at bay and stay home. I was able to get a couple stops and we were able to rebound the basketball, which is the most important thing."

James, a 17-year veteran, came into the night averaging a career postseason low of 34.4 minutes per game in these playoffs, as Vogel has tried to manage his legs.

On Thursday, James played 38 minutes and said he was plenty prepared for his matchup with Murray down the stretch.

"I don't reserve any energy," James said. "I'm on the floor, I give it all I got. If I need a break, I ask for a break. Coach has done a good job of getting me out throughout the course of the game. I don't look at it as a reserve tank. I've got pretty good energy when I'm on the floor all the time.

"It's winning time and I don't have a chance or time to be feeling tired. I'm tired now. That's when I'm tired, when it's zeros on the clock. That's when I'm tired. I'm not tired during the game."

James defended Murray 11 times in Game 4 after matching up with him only seven times in the half court through the first three games of the series, according to Second Spectrum.

Murray said that James' presence was just another purple-and-gold uniform to him.

"When I see LeBron, I do the same stuff I do when I see [Alex] Caruso, and same stuff when I see [Rajon] Rondo and KCP [Kentavious Caldwell-Pope] and Kawhi [Leonard] and PG (Paul George) and Pat [Beverley] and Royce [O'Neale]," he said, rattling off the defenders he has faced this postseason. "I do the same thing. So I appreciate the respect, but we just got to win the game."

Anthony Davis said that having the win in sight is what motivates James to push himself in situations like the one he found himself in Game 4.

"I think he just loves challenges, honestly, especially late game," Davis said. "Just like I am with guarding the best big, he wants to guard the best perimeter player and take on the challenge. He did it the last series with James Harden. He wants to take on those challenges and make them score over him. He's a great defensive player. We trust him guarding those guys and making them finish over LeBron James. He did a hell of a job on Jamal Murray."

Indeed, James' success on Murray mirrored the defensive production he has shown all postseason. With James as their closest defender these playoffs, Murray, Harden, Russell Westbrook and Damian Lillard have shot 14-for-38 (36.8%) from the field, according to Second Spectrum. And James tightens the screws -- to borrow a favorite Vogel phrase -- even more late, as opposing players have shot 7-for-28 when he contests a shot in the fourth quarter or overtime this postseason (25%), the lowest percentage allowed by any player to defend 25 or more.

"He did a great job down the stretch trying to contain him one-on-one," Vogel said. "Murray had a great night. Nothing was really working in terms of trying to slow him down until LeBron took that assignment. Game ball to him, I guess, for that move."

Cricket Australia has announced the postponement of the inaugural Test against Afghanistan which was scheduled to take place in Perth in November due to the complexities of scheduling amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The confirmation that the Test has not survived the restructuring of the season came a few hours after New Zealand Cricket said they would not be touring for the short limited-overs trip at the end of January.

It leaves the visit of India as the single men's touring team to Australia the coming summer with CA confirming they will play four Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is although the order of the white-ball cricket remains to be confirmed. The Test series is expected to start in Adelaide on December 17.

CA said it will look to reschedule both the Afghanistan Test and the New Zealand visit before the end of the current FTP cycle in 2023. Earlier, the NZC CEO David White said he was hopeful their tour could take place next season.

"Cricket Australia looks forward to working with our good friends at the Afghanistan Cricket Board and New Zealand Cricket to deliver the matches at a time when, hopefully, the restrictions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic have eased," Nick Hockley, the Cricket Australia CEO, said.

"We all worked incredibly hard to make the series happen this summer, but the challenges around international travel and quarantine restrictions ultimately convinced all parties that the series would need to be played at a later date.

"CA looks forward to welcoming the Indian men's team for a full schedule of matches this summer in what promises to be an incredible contest across all three formats.

"CA would also like to take this opportunity to thank our wonderful partners for their understanding and support as we have navigated the complexities of hosting international sport during a pandemic to deliver a thrilling summer across men's and women's cricket at international and domestic level."

After watching LeBron James go to the line 14 times and seeing Jamal Murray hit the floor a few times without a whistle late in Game 4, Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone said his team might do what the Los Angeles Lakers did and reach out to the NBA about fouls.

"They went to the foul line 35 times," Malone said after the Lakers took a 3-1 lead over Denver in the Western Conference finals with a 114-108 victory Thursday in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. "I think I'm going to have to go through the proper channels like they did to see if we can figure out how we can get some more free throws."

Malone was referencing what Lakers coach Frank Vogel said on Wednesday when asked about James' 10 total trips to the free throw line in the previous three games of the West finals. Vogel said the Lakers "were dealing with the fouls through the proper channels with the league."

On Thursday, James made 11 of 14 from the line and finished with 26 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists. Lakers forward Anthony Davis made 13 of 14 free throws and scored 34 points. The superstar duo's 24 combined free throws made was more than Denver's 23 overall trips to the line.

Asked if the Lakers' tactic of going to the league about foul calls worked, Malone said he didn't know.

"I just know they went 35 [times] and we went 23," Malone said. "I think late in the game Jamal Murray attacked the basket a few times where it appeared to be contact. We'll watch the film and send our clips in. We'll reach out to the NBA and kind of make our points noted. Whether them going through the proper channels affected tonight or not, I have no idea. The NBA does a great job of listening. You hope that next game maybe some of those fouls are called."

Murray scored 32 points, 10 coming in the fourth quarter. The Nuggets guard also went to the line four times in the final frame but felt he should have had more free throws. He missed on two driving layups in the last 3 minutes, 46 seconds when the Nuggets trailed by four and three points, respectively.

"Respectfully, obviously, they're trying to do their job," Murray said when asked what kind of feedback he got back from the officials. "I mean, I did get fouled on a few. We could see the replay clearly. The same thing when [Utah's] Rudy Gobert fouled me when we lost Game 4 [in the first round]. ... My team shows respect any time you talk to them."

"LeBron is going to go get his," Murray added. "But we just have to look ahead and play through it. ... We're a young team. We're the younger team, youngest team, whatever we are. Look at where we're at. We're going to have to earn their respect if we're going to want to prevail."

After Game 1, in which the Lakers went to the line 24 times in the second quarter during a 126-114 win, Murray said, "They want to talk about every call and have full conversations and try to manipulate what happens" and that the younger Nuggets know the deal.

As in Game 1, Nuggets center Nikola Jokic was in foul trouble, and had five fouls in Game 4. But Malone said fouls were not what decided Thursday's game; it was the Lakers' 25 second-chance points. Center Dwight Howard, who was inserted into the starting lineup, had six offensive rebounds, and guard Rajon Rondo had two. Those were as impactful as anything in the game.

"That was the reason we lost this game," Malone said. "Most disappointing was it happened from the jump ball. I thought Dwight Howard in that first half had a tremendous impact on the game."

"Possessions where we played really good defense," Malone added. "And just didn't finish it, which gave them extra possessions, extra life, extra opportunities. The ability to defend without fouling."

Now the Nuggets find themselves in what was actually their sweet spot in the first and second rounds. They're down 3-1 again, a hole they overcame to beat both the Utah Jazz and LA Clippers.

Malone and the Nuggets will need another monster game from Murray. And they hope the guard will get some favorable calls in Saturday's Game 5 as well.

"I played him I think the last three games, including tonight, 45, 44, 43 [minutes]," Malone said. "I'm running the poor kid into the ground. When I take him out, things seem to go sideways in a hurry. He's gotten the best of everybody. He's had last series [Patrick] Beverley, Kawhi [Leonard], Paul George. He's getting Danny Green, [Kentavious] Caldwell-Pope, Rondo, [Alex] Caruso and now LeBron. That's the ultimate sign of respect.

"Again, I thought late he had a couple really aggressive drives to the basket. I'll have to look at the film. I thought there was contact. Wasn't called. That happens. But I think in those situations, also have to understand he's attracting so much pressure and a crowd, he has to look to make a play for somebody else and get off of it. I know he's able to do that because he's shown that he can."