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Big Picture

If disappointment and frustration could be ring-fenced into a cricket ground, the best way to do it would be airdropping Pakistan and South Africa's 2019 World Cup in Lord's Cricket ground tomorrow. Two sides that were widely considered genuine semi-final contenders, they have seen their hopes dashed game after game, and will face off tomorrow, Even 'must-win' sounds a bit off at this stage.

For South Africa, the downturn began during the IPL, when Dale Steyn was ruled out of after playing just two games, that too after a long tryst with injuries. He was then ruled out of the World Cup without being able to take the field, despite South Africa attempting to reassure the world, and themselves perhaps, that Steyn would only miss the first few games.

ALSO READ: Samiuddin - Pakistan's think tanks to blame for the Shoaib Malik problem

Anrich Nortje was ruled out of the tournament in May, and following a breakthrough summer, Duanne Olivier opted to take up a Kolpak deal. That meant despite Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi's presence, the team's core strength, fast bowling, had to be propped up by allrounders Chris Morris and Andile Phehlukwayo, who do not possess the menace of the men who aren't here.

As a consequence, the World Cup has seen a side not quite sure of the best combination in terms of the number of batsmen and bowlers, or what to do with second spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, should the pitch deem his inclusion propitious. In fact, South Africa aren't even sure of their opening combination, with Hashim Amla's poor form seeing Aiden Markram promoted, and it's a sign of the scrambled thinking that they left out David Miller in the opening game, for reasons that have never quite matched common cricketing sense.

ALSO READ: Fernando - The haunted history of South Africa's World Cups

The best thing for South Africa at this stage is that Pakistan aren't in the finish-teams-off kind of mood. Relying on a miracle has evoked tedious, specious comparisons to the 1992 World Cup, and much of the optimism from the win over England has fizzled out following an error-strewn performance against Australia and a demoralising defeat to India. Pakistan, too, are unsure about their best XI, or the combination that best suits their strengths. Persisting with Shoaib Malik, never at his most comfortable in England over the course of a long career, has seen the crucial No. 6 spot go to a man bereft of confidence. At the same time, Pakistan haven't been quite sure how to get the fifth set of ten overs in, tying themselves in such intricate knots they even left out Shadab Khan for the game against Australia, Pakistan's equivalent of the Miller omission.

Pakistan now need to win all four remaining games to stand a realistic chance of reaching the semi-finals. How realistic is that, really? They have won just four of their last 24 ODIs, after all. In South Africa, must contend with Rabada and Ngidi leading an attack against a batting line-up that, top three aside, doesn't nearly convince. Apart from Mohammad Amir, the bowlers aren't quite hitting their lengths either, and even he hasn't been able to get Pakistan an early breakthrough in the two previous games, where the opening batsmen ran up partnerships of 146 and 136. But South Africa haven't been much better, and whoever wins on Sunday will be bucking the trend.

Form guide

(Last five completed matches, most recent first)

Pakistan WLLWW

South Africa LWWLW

In the spotlight

Famously billed by AB de Villiers in 2015 as "the player who would play the innings that won us the World Cup final", Quinton de Kock has had a lot to live up to; unfortunately, his World Cup form hasn't matched his usual lofty numbers. In 14 innings across two tournaments, he averages 28 (career average 45.21), with only three fifties and 11 scores under 30. The fluctuating fortunes of Markram and Amla's waning form has meant his contributions are ever more desperately needed, but two half-centuries have been accompanied by a string of low scores this time around. He is perhaps likelier to have a longer ODI career than the rest of the top six, but it is in tournaments like these that his quality must shine through if he is to be spoken of in the same breath as the big boys of the game.

Yes, Mohammad Amir is in excellent form, but the fact that it is an exclamation rather than a casual utterance reveals how expectations have dipped over the past few years. He's one of the leading wicket-takers in the World Cup so far, but he still struggles to provide breakthroughs at the top of the innings. The first game aside, he hasn't struck in the first Powerplay once, but he does have an economy rate of 4.72 for his 13 wickets. That West Indies game, where batsmen played shots without attempting to preserve wickets, was an aberration in a trend that had seen him go wicketless in the first Powerplay in 264 balls bowled since January 2018. For all his other skills, Amir was most valuable to Pakistan because he was lethal with the new ball. That's the Amir Sarfaraz Ahmed needs back, never more than at Lord's tomorrow.

Team news

The performance against New Zealand was much improved, even if it didn't produce the result South Africa so desperately needed. They are likely to stick with the same XI.

South Africa (possible): 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Faf du Plessis (capt), 4 Rassie van der Dussen, 5 Aiden Markram, 6 David Miller, 7 Chris Morris, 8 Andile Phehlukwayo, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Imran Tahir, 11 Lungi Ngidi

After scores of 8, 0 and 0, Malik might have played his last game in a Pakistan shirt. Haris Sohail should take his place. Hasan Ali's lacklustre performances might push him to the bench, with Mohammad Hasnain poised to slot in.

Pakistan (possible): 1 Imam-ul-Haq, 2 Fakhar Zaman, 3 Babar Azam, 4 Mohammad Hafeez, 5 Sarfaraz Ahmed (capt & wk), 6 Haris Sohail, 7 Shadab Khan, 8 Imad Wasim, 9 Mohammad Amir, 10 Mohammad Hasnain, 11 Shaheen Afridi

Pitch conditions

The pitch the game will be played on has lost much of its green in the past 24 hours, and is likely to shed more by match time on Sunday. It's expected to be a flat wicket, good for batting. These days, that would mean bowl first, but given Pakistan's misadventure with the toss against India last Sunday, this may just be a better toss to lose for them.

Strategic punts

• Pakistan will have a better chance of turning South Africa over if they can nab de Kock early, and the best way to do that could be to attack him with left-arm pace. Since the 2017 Champions Trophy, de Kock has averaged almost half (35.4) against left-arm pace as he has against right-arm pace (62.1), being dismissed five times in 13 innings by left-arm quicks. Pakistan could consider giving Wahab Riaz the new ball. Or they could let Shaheen Shah Afridi take the new ball alongside Mohammad Amir. Afridi is also the only member of the current attack to have dismissed de Kock in this format - during Pakistan's tour of South Africa earlier this year - so he could be a good option first up for Pakistan.

• South Africa should open the bowling with Imran Tahir. Fakhar Zaman enjoys pace on the ball, and his discomfort against high-quality spin was evident in the middle overs against India. Ditto for Babar Azam, who has timed the ball beautifully in the early stages of his innings, and this is where Tahir's variations of pace could fiddle with his technique and control.

Stats and trivia

• History favours South Africa, who have won three of four World Cup encounters with Pakistan. Pakistan did, however, win the most recent one, in Auckland in 2015.

• This will be the first time Pakistan and South Africa play each other at Lord's. Of their three previous encounters in England, South Africa have won two, while Pakistan triumphed most recently at the Champions Trophy in 2017.

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Who says India-Pakistan doesn't matter anymore? Judging by the reactions of some Pakistani fans to their team's defeat to India last Sunday, it matters to them, and perhaps a bit too much.

The last week has been a cruel one for Pakistan's players. Becoming the subject of countless memes is now par for the course, but the kind of real-life abuse their players have received has been harrowing.

The captain Sarfaraz Ahmed - with his child - was abused to his face by a fan who, having videoed it on his phone, later issued an "apology" in which it sounded as if the fan had been unintentionally caught on camera. Two other players were abused while out shopping. Families have been dragged into it. They've been pilloried for daring to be out and about, as if to have dinner itself is a crime. Ex-players have joined this deafening cacophony.

"Teams have lost before but now on social media it is unstoppable. Whoever thinks [anything, they just] write it on social media. That hurts, too much" Sarfaraz Ahmed

The PCB has taken note. "We have advised players to be aware of the situation and be cautious," a spokesperson said. "It is not correct that we have barred them from going out as is projected in some parts of the media."

Sarfaraz, captured yawning during the game against India, has borne the brunt of it. And ahead of a series of do-or-die games starting with South Africa at Lord's on Sunday, he looked like a man on whom this last week has weighed heavily.

It has been, Sarfaraz admitted wearily, a tough week. They took two days off immediately after the India game and since practice has resumed, Mohammad Hafeez and then Wahab Riaz have also asked for a certain degree of calm and respect from fans.

"Don't criticize in a way that breaks us more" - Mohammad Hafeez's message to the Pakistan public. #CWC19 pic.twitter.com/WhHAr5JRQ1

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) June 22, 2019

"Social media and media are not in our control," he said at Lord's. "They are so big that you cannot stop them. Teams have lost before but now on social media it is unstoppable. Whoever thinks [anything, they just] write it on social media. That hurts, too much. Players are affected psychologically.

"Criticise us on our game, that's not an issue, but don't abuse us. Their families get affected. If someone is hitting, then pushing anyone that's not good. Our fans are emotional and these same people lift us when we win. But if they feel sad on a defeat we also feel the same way.

"We feel it much more because we are playing for Pakistan."

Sarfaraz himself has tried to retain whatever semblance of balance he can through all this, insisting that he is like he was before, that cricket brings ups and downs like this. But the pressures are telling.

So many have been spared over the years and over the many World Cups that it is reasonable to assume no more thoughts are left to be spared for South Africa. Still, from politeness, the request must be made: spare a thought for South Africa one more time.

Because this World Cup, this World Cup, has been a different kind of cruel. They were in a happy enough place to begin with, under the radar enough to not invoke the choking talk, but with a reasonable enough side, with enough bowling weapons especially, to think realistically about progressing beyond the group stages.

Since then nothing has gone right. Losing Dale Steyn for the entire tournament, then Lungi Ngidi for a few games, not only having their batting found out - which most people knew about - but more significantly having the whole AB de Villiers thing found out.

ALSO READ: 'We left everything out there, that's all I can ask' - du Plessis

The bald facts are that they have lost four of their six games and stand on the brink of elimination. They cannot really afford to lose on Sunday, even if Sri Lanka's surprise win over England has had everyone scrambling for their calculators.

"Look, I don't - we definitely never feel done and out," Aiden Markram said a day before the game against Pakistan. "We've sort of tried to put a lot of focus back completely on to us going forward. It's obviously really important that we win the remaining three of our games, and if there's outside chance of qualifying, that would be incredible.

"But the only way we're going to do that is by winning the next three games. A lot of focus is on us at the moment, us as a squad and trying to win the next three games and from there we'll take it as it comes."

"For us as a batting unit, we are pretty much doing the hard work up front. We are getting in and we are not kicking on. It does definitely set you back"

Even in the baldness of those facts, though, some get lost amid the others. It's not as if South Africa have been outplayed in all four defeats. A 104-run defeat to England doesn't look competitive and ultimately it wasn't, but until the moment Jofra Archer pinged Hashim Amla flush on his head, they were in the game.

They were never entirely in but never entirely out of the failed chase against Bangladesh. The West Indies washout looked ropey but ended so early it's impossible to know what would have happened. And then, most recently, against New Zealand, the margin of defeat was not just a Kane Williamson masterclass (and some Colin de Grandhomme heroics) but also a review never taken.

It's not right to say they have been unfortunate, but they have been on the wrong end of one or two of the kind of moments that end up becoming critical. One after the other, heap upon heap - it's not easy getting out of this.

"Naturally after the game, it was - it was quite a tough one to swallow because obviously it was quite an important game for us leading to it and it was really close," Markram said. "It obviously went down to the wire and Kane Williamson played incredible to get his team going, something we can learn from.

"Look, the mood, naturally it was a bit down, but I think we've done a bit of our sulking and moping around. The energy in the changing room since we've been here is really good, and I also think it helps the families arrived yesterday. So the guys are feeling slightly more refreshed and up for the next three games."

It hasn't been their only issue, but - as with their opponents on Sunday - their top order getting starts but not much more has hurt them. Quinton de Kock has two 68s and a 23; Amla's form hasn't been great but a 55 against New Zealand should have been more; Faf du Plessis has 63, 38 and a 23; Markram himself a 45 and 38.

Some dismissals have been to good bowling, some to ordinary batting when the thinking has been right, but the execution wanting. "I think it's sort of the modern game," Markram said. "It's really important to get yourself in, because we've seen the knocks and the magnitude of knocks that some of the top players in the world are doing at the World Cup. They are really scoring big hundreds.

"For us as a batting unit, we are pretty much doing the hard work up front. We are getting in and we are not kicking on. It does definitely set you back. Every time you lose the wicket, naturally the rate will drop and the new batter needs to get himself in and it takes a bit of time.

"We pride ourselves on getting big hundreds as individuals because that sets up the team and puts the team in a big position. The positive is that we have been getting in, so we are doing the tough part fairly well up front, and now it's about converting it into really big scores."

Baseballs are flying out of ballparks across the major leagues this season.

The one Nomar Mazara hit Friday night was the farthest yet.

The Texas Rangers outfielder clubbed a 505-foot bomb off Chicago White Sox right-hander Reynaldo Lopez, a two-run shot in the first inning that sailed high into the upper right-field deck at Globe Life Park in Arlington.

"I've hit some balls really hard. That one for some reason felt different,'' Mazara said.

"Where it ended up, that was pretty amazing,'' manager Chris Woodward said after the Rangers' 5-4 loss. "I'm glad I got to see it in person. It sounded all of 505 feet. It was pretty loud.''

The home run is tied for the longest in the Statcast era (the past five years). The Colorado Rockies' Trevor Story hit a 505-footer in September.

Lopez threw a 94.7 mph four-seam fastball to Mazara, whose exit velocity on the home run was 109.7 mph, according to Statcast. It gave the Rangers a 2-0 lead.

Lopez said he made a mistake on the pitch.

"It was supposed to be in, and the pitch was around right in the middle,'' Lopez said through an interpreter. "And it was a very long, long homer.''

Mazara now has 10 home runs on the season, including a 482-footer against the Chicago Cubs on March 28.

Entering Friday, there were three home runs of at least 480 feet in the majors this season. Two additional ones came Friday night -- Mazara's and a 481-foot blast by the New York Yankees' Gary Sanchez against the visiting Houston Astros.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

HALLE, Germany -- Roger Federer will play David Goffin in the final as he bids for a record-extending 10th Halle Open title on Sunday.

Federer defeated the 43rd-ranked Pierre-Hugues Herbert of France 6-3, 6-3 and Goffin brought an end to Matteo Berrettini's eight-match winning streak with a 7-6 (4), 6-3 win in the semifinals on Saturday.

Federer had one of his easier matches on his way to his 13th final in Halle, converting three of eight break opportunities without facing any himself.

Goffin had lost six consecutive tour-level semifinals before he saved all three break points he faced to beat Berrettini -- who won the Stuttgart Open last Sunday -- in 1 hour, 37 minutes. Berrettini had won 83 of his previous 84 service games before their semifinal.

Goffin has won only one of his eight previous meetings with Federer, who lost last year's final at the grass-court tournament to Borna Coric.

Federer already has the best grass-court record in the Open era with 18 titles, and the 37-year-old can set a personal record with his 10th at a single event in Halle.

UConn is expected to leave the American Athletic Conference and return to the Big East for basketball and other sports in 2020, sources told ESPN.

Nothing is official at this point, but an announcement could come as early as next week, sources said. The UConn board of trustees has not yet voted on the move, but approval is expected.

The biggest remaining question surrounds what happens with UConn's football team. The Big East does not have football, and it's unlikely UConn would remain in the American with just football, sources told ESPN. Sources said the football program is expected to play in the American in 2019 but could go independent after that or join another conference.

UConn was an original member of the Big East, beginning in 1979, but went to the American during realignment in 2013. The Big East retained original members Georgetown, Providence, Seton Hall and St. John's, as well as longtime member Villanova. DePaul and Marquette also remained in the Big East, and the league added Butler, Creighton and Xavier.

A possibility for the American in replacing UConn would be to add Army or Air Force as a football-only school, like it currently has with Navy, and then add a successful basketball program.

UConn became one of the best basketball programs in the country during its time in the Big East. The men's program has won four national championships since 1999, the last one coming in 2014 -- in its first season in the American.

UConn's pending move was first reported by the Digital Sports Desk.

TOKYO -- Japanese basketball officials, fans and media hailed the selection of Rui Hachimura in the 2019 NBA draft, saying the move will usher in a new era for the sport in Japan.

Hachimura became the first player from Japan to be chosen in the first round of the NBA draft, taken with the No. 9 overall pick by the rebuilding Washington Wizards on Thursday.

"The Birth of the NBA's Hachimura, a huge step for Japan," read the headline in the Nikkansports newspaper's online edition.

The 6-foot-8, 235-pound forward averaged a team-leading 19.7 points and 6.5 rebounds last season as a junior at Gonzaga, where he was the West Coast Conference player of the year.

The only other Japanese player drafted in NBA history was Yasutaka Okayama, who went 171st overall in 1981. He never appeared in a regular-season game, something just two players from the country have done: Yuta Tabuse for the Phoenix Suns in 2004-05, and Yuta Watanabe for the Memphis Grizzlies in 2018-19.

"The fact that Hachimura, a product of the Japanese basketball system, has been selected in the NBA draft makes us very proud," the Japan Basketball Federation's Yuko Mitsuya said.

While it has grown in popularity with the introduction of a pro league in 2005, basketball still lags far behind baseball and soccer in Japan.

Hachimura's NBA career is sure to help the sport grow in leaps and bounds.

The son of a Japanese mother and father from the Republic of Benin, Hachimura is the latest Japanese pro of mixed race to make a splash in the sporting world, following the likes of Naomi Osaka and Yu Darvish.

"This is a huge step forward for Japan," said Keisuke Tsutsumi, an office worker who follows the NBA. "It will take the sport to a new level here."

Hachimura's junior high school coach, Joji Sakamoto, welcomed the news of his draft selection.

Sakamoto coached Hachimura in his native Toyama Prefecture and said he saw potential in his student from a young age.

"I told him to visualize his dream, and now it will be a reality," the 59-year-old Sakamoto said.

Japan's education minister, Masahiko Shibayama, said Hachimura had given hope to a generation of young players in his home country.

"It's really wonderful," Shibayama said. "By taking a prominent role in a league that is difficult for Japanese players to enter, he will give hope to many Japanese people."

Hachimura's rise couldn't come at a better time, with Tokyo building to host the 2020 Olympics. Japan's national men's team has qualified as host country, and Hachimura could play a leading role at both the Olympics and the World Cup in China later this year.

Wizards interim general manager Tommy Sheppard mentioned the 21-year-old's play for Japan's national team.

"For Japan to qualify for the world championships, he's the focal point. And when the [Tokyo] Olympics come in 2020, he's going to be the focal point of that country on that basketball team," Sheppard said. "To be able to shoulder that load at his age -- the maturity he has -- I think that's going to bode well for him in the NBA."

More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports

The entire New York Yankees infield could start the All-Star Game, and the entire Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros outfields.

The first phase of voting for the All-Star Game is complete, and the finalists were announced Friday night. The second phase of the voting begins Wednesday at noon ET. Voters will choose among the finalists to determine the starters for the game in Cleveland on July 9. Winners will be announced Thursday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.

The Yankees' Luke Voit joins the Twins' C.J. Cron and the Indians' Carlos Santana as American League finalists at first base. The Yankees' DJ LeMahieu is a finalist at second, as well as the Angels' Tommy La Stella and the Astros' Jose Altuve. Gleyber Torres is a finalist at shortstop, as well as the Astros' Carlos Correa and the Twins' Jorge Polanco. At third, it's Gio Urshela, as well as the Astros' Alex Bregman and the Royals' Hunter Dozier.

In the National League, the Cubs' Albert Almora Jr., Jason Heyward and Kyle Schwarber are among nine finalists in the outfield, just as Houston's Michael Brantley, Josh Reddick and George Springer are in the AL.

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Cody Bellinger was the top vote-getter in the major leagues with over 3.69 million, while Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout led the AL with 3.37 million.

Texas' Joey Gallo beat out Minnesota's Max Kepler as the last AL outfield finalist by just 138 votes -- after both received over 900,000 votes.

All of the eligible Atlanta Braves players made the finalists' lists except for Ender Inciarte, who finished 12th in the voting, while second baseman Daniel Descalso was the only Cub omitted after he finished fifth.

The finalists:

CATCHER
AL: Robinson Chirinos (Astros), James McCann (White Sox), Gary Sanchez (Yankees)
NL: Willson Contreras (Cubs), Yasmani Grandal (Brewers), Brian McCann (Braves)

FIRST BASE
AL: C.J. Cron (Twins), Carlos Santana (Indians), Luke Voit (Yankees)
NL: Josh Bell (Pirates), Freddie Freeman (Braves), Anthony Rizzo (Cubs)

SECOND BASE
AL: Tommy La Stella (Angels), Jose Altuve (Astros), DJ LeMahieu (Yankees)
NL: Ozzie Albies (Braves), Mike Moustakas (Brewers), Ketel Marte (Diamondbacks)

SHORTSTOP
AL: Carlos Correa (Astros), Jorge Polanco (Twins), Gleyber Torres (Yankees)
NL: Javier Baez (Cubs), Dansby Swanson (Braves), Trevor Story (Rockies)

THIRD BASE
AL: Alex Bregman (Astros), Hunter Dozier (Royals), Gio Urshela (Yankees)
NL: Nolan Arenado (Rockies), Kris Bryant (Cubs), Josh Donaldson (Braves)

OUTFIELD
AL: Mookie Betts (Red Sox), Michael Brantley (Astros), Joey Gallo (Rangers), Aaron Judge (Yankees), Austin Meadows (Rays), Josh Reddick (Astros), Eddie Rosario (Twins), George Springer (Astros), Mike Trout (Angels)
NL: Ronald Acuna Jr. (Braves), Albert Almora Jr. (Cubs), Cody Bellinger (Dodgers), Charlie Blackmon (Rockies), Jason Heyward (Cubs), Nick Markakis (Braves), Joc Pederson (Dodgers), Kyle Schwarber (Cubs), Christian Yelich (Brewers)

DESIGNATED HITTER
AL: Nelson Cruz (Twins), J.D. Martinez (Red Sox), Hunter Pence (Rangers)