If something can be taken from a match where the scoreline meant little but which resulted in a possible spanner in the works for the World Cup favourites, England's Jonny Bairstow did a good job of finding it.

Speaking after a 12-run defeat at the hands of Australia in Saturday's warm-up match at Southampton - in which Mark Wood, Jofra Archer and Liam Dawson all suffered injury scares - Bairstow could see the value in his side having to perform no matter what is thrown at them, given that the World Cup is just days away and anything could happen during the tournament.

Asked if the result meant anything, Bairstow said: "I don't think so. We had people missing, they had people missing so you try and get out of it what you can. As a result you can't look at it as a defeat with 12 playing and 11 batting. You take it for what it is. It felt like a friendly. The intensity was still there but naturally there was a slight drop.

"I think we got enough out of it. A lot of different things happened. In many ways, it was very good because it at least gave us clarity of what we can do when things don't go according to plan. That is the way we have to look at it because we could have things go wrong in a World Cup game ... we just hopefully get through these without anymore injuries."

England went into the match having already suffered a setback, with captain Eoin Morgan out nursing a minor finger fracture. And Joe Root came in as a late substitute at the Ageas Bowl amid England's injury woes after expecting to have the day off as he mourned the death last week of one of his grandparents.

Wood is the most serious injury concern as he awaits the results of scans on his left foot. Dawson's cut finger is not expected to cause him major problems, while Archer returned to bat briefly in England's innings on Saturday before being run out for 1.

Potential costs aside, there are, of course, other benefits to playing warm-up matches, like building the buzz around the World Cup and giving fans who were unable to buy tickets to the main event a chance to see their teams in action. Meanwhile, England's final warm-up at The Oval on Monday will showcase Afghanistan - a team with a smaller cricketing profile and which plays fewer fixtures - on a big stage for their players and supporters alike.

But it is easy to see how a team like England, which already has a packed schedule year-round, might just want the real deal to start, now. It was a senitment expressed by more than one of Morgan's counterparts at the pre-tournament captain's call last week.

"We want the World Cup to start as soon as possible, the guys are ready," Bairstow said. "You have to get what you can out of them [warm-up matches]. It is a good chance to face the opposition with most of our guys having not faced Afghanistan before. That is something we can get out of the next game."

Bairstow "will pass on some personal knowledge" of Rashid Khan, with whom he is more familiar than many of his countrymen as a team-mate of the Afghanistan legspinner at Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL.

"We have not spoken about it yet but for me he is a very dangerous bowler," Bairstow said. "His wrist comes over that quickly, there is a reason why he is the No. 1 T20 bowler in the world. We need to negate that because he will be a big threat. He bowls quick, tries to hit the stumps. Try to play him as straight as possible will be key."

West Indies women 139 for 4 (Taylor 75, Raack 1-16) beat Ireland women 75 (Garth 46, Fletcher 4-14) by 64 runs

Captain Stafanie Taylor's half-century and legspinner Afy Fletcher's four-wicket haul helped West Indies women cruise to a 64-run victory over Ireland in the first game of the three-match T20I series in Dublin.

Batting first, Taylor led from the front with 75 off 53 balls, laced with 11 fours and a six. Britney Cooper (17) and Shemaine Campbelle (20) gave Taylor the required support. West Indies didn't have a great start as Hayley Matthews was run out for 3 in the fourth over of the match. But Taylor and Cooper took the side past 50 in the tenth over. Sophie MacMohan broke the stand in the next over by dismissing Cooper with her medium pace.

Taylor then joined hands with Campbelle and the two added 75 in just 47 balls for the third wicket to give impetus to the innings as West Indies finished with 139 for 4.

In response, Ireland were bundled out for 75 in 18.4 overs as Fletcher and medium pacer Chinelle Henry shared six wickets. Kim Garth was the only one to reach double figures, scoring 46 off 55 balls, and when she fell as the ninth wicket, Ireland's innings came to an end as their captain Laura Delany wasn't available to bat after being hit on the right ankle by a Campbelle shot during the first innings.

Just like the visitors, Ireland lost their first wicket cheaply with Gaby Lewis walking back in the first over the chase. Mary Waldron and Garth took the side to 32 before Waldron was run out. In the next over, Henry dismissed Shauna Kavanagh and Una Raymond-Hoey to reduce Ireland to 34 for 4.

Garth held one end together but the wickets kept tumbling at the other. Fletcher cleaned up the middle and the lower-middle order, taking four of the next five wickets to fall, including that of Garth, as Ireland failed to last the full 20 overs.

Thanks to the finger injury that kept him out of Bangladesh's tour of New Zealand, the recently concluded tri-series in Ireland was Shakib Al Hasan's first taste of ODI cricket in nearly five months. He recovered from that injury in time for the IPL, but only got to play three matches for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the tournament.

In Ireland, Shakib played an important role in Bangladesh winning their first ever non-bilateral ODI tournament, scoring two unbeaten fifties and bowling economically. Though he missed the final with a side strain, the performance was enough to move him back up to the top of the ICC rankings for ODI allrounders, 20 points clear of Afghanistan's Rashid Khan.

Shakib is fit again in the lead-up to the World Cup, and, according to Bangladesh coach Steve Rhodes, is looking to prove a point.

"Shakib is fine," Rhodes told the ICC in Cardiff, after Sunday's warm-up match against Pakistan was washed out. "He's in a great position physically. He had a little problem in Ireland but he's got over that and is raring to go.

"He's looking forward to a wonderful tournament. I think he's got a bit of a point to prove and he probably thinks that as well. He seems to have been a little bit forgotten but now he's back as the world's No.1 allrounder in ODI cricket - and that's where we think he belongs.

"But he's got a point to prove to make sure everybody else believes that."

Another Bangladesh player who hasn't been at full fitness of late is Mahmudullah, who has been playing as a specialist batsman in recent matches thanks to a shoulder issue that is keeping him from bowling his offspin. While admitting that the injury was affecting the balance of the side, Rhodes was confident Mahmudullah would be back to bowling in matches at some point during the World Cup.

"Mahmudullah's shoulder is coming along a little slowly," Rhodes said. "I don't think it would have been possible for him to bowl against Pakistan. We're very optimistic that we can get him up and running for the early stages of the World Cup.

"It may affect our balance slightly, but the good thing about Mahmudullah is that he doesn't need a lot of practice to be good at bowling."

Bangladesh's squad is among the most experienced at the World Cup, featuring five players with 175 or more ODIs under their belt.

"People keep telling me that to win a world tournament you need experience," Rhodes said. "I'm glad because we've got a wealth of experience there. I listen to them a lot because why wouldn't you with that vast experience?

"It will be a good thing when it gets a little tight towards the end of the group. There are 10 teams in this World Cup, but when I looked at the odds, we were ninth favourites and Afghanistan were tenth favourites - but on our day we both could beat the favourites.

"There's going to be a lot of winning and losing by all teams."

The Pittsburgh Pirates placed catcher Francisco Cervelli on the seven-day concussion list Sunday in a series of moves.

Cervelli left Saturday night's game against the Dodgers in the fourth inning after he was hit in the helmet by Cody Bellinger's bat following a swing by the outfielder.

Catcher Jacob Stallings, who was on the Pirates' Opening Day roster, was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis. He was with Pittsburgh in the majors until he hit the injured list with a strained neck on April 21 and then outrighted to the minors after completing a rehab assignment. He hit .275 with two homers and seven RBIs with Indianapolis.

The Pirates also recalled utilityman Jose Osuna from Triple-A. He hit .268 with two home runs and 13 RBIs for Indianapolis.

Cervelli, 33, is hitting just .193 with a homer and five RBIs this season.

New York Mets outfielder Michael Conforto has been activated from the 7-day concussion injured list and is in the starting lineup for Sunday's game against the Detroit Tigers.

To make room for Conforto on the roster, the Mets designated outfielder Rajai Davis for assignment. Davis had a memorable debut for the Mets on Wednesday, arriving in the third inning after being called up from Triple-A and hitting a three-run home run in his first at-bat.

Conforto had been participating in baseball activities over the past two days and cleared MLB's concussion protocol. He had been sidelined since suffering a concussion on May 16 against the Nationals.

Mets manager Mickey Callaway said Conforto is "full go" with no limitations.

Conforto, 26, is batting .271 with nine home runs and 21 RBIs this season. He will start in right field and bat third in the lineup Sunday against Tigers right-hander Spencer Turnbull.

Davis, 38, had two hits in seven at-bats in four games since he was called up.

Callaway said the Mets hope that no other team claims Davis and that he remains in the organization. He said it was a tough decision to cut Davis, but the Mets wanted to take a longer look at newly acquired outfielder Aaron Altherr.

"I signed here to play here," Davis said as he packed his bag inside the clubhouse.

"I'm playing," he said. "Nothing wrong with me."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

San Diego Padres rookie ace Chris Paddack was scratched from his start Sunday against the Toronto Blue Jays because of a stiff neck.

The Padres announced that left-hander Robbie Erlin replaced Paddack as their starter.

"It's nothing serious in our minds whatsoever," manager Andy Green told reporters regarding Paddack's neck, according to MLB.com. "He woke up today and felt like he could pitch. We know, through the course of 162, he's not pitching every five days, so we chose to push him back for three days."

Paddack, 23, is 4-2 with a 1.93 ERA and a 0.76 WHIP in nine starts this season. He will start Wednesday's game against the New York Yankees.

The Padres also optioned rookie right-hander Cal Quantrill to Triple-A El Paso on Sunday after he recorded his first major league win on Saturday. Quantrill pitched six innings, striking out nine and allowing two runs in the Padres' 19-4 rout of the Blue Jays.

Reliever Luis Perdomo was recalled from El Paso in a corresponding move.

Green said he expects Quantrill, who is 1-2 with a 5.14 ERA in four starts, will be back with the Padres soon.

"We also expect to see Cal back in short order again, this is just baseball for the Padres in 2019," Green said, according to MLB.com. "We have a lot of starters we're going to use. We're going to give guys extra rest. We're going to do everything we can to make sure these guys are healthy for the long haul."

HOUSTON -- Red Sox manager Alex Cora said David Price, who left Saturday's game after throwing just 15 pitches because of flu-like symptoms, will be moved up in the rotation and could start on Tuesday or Wednesday.

If he is moved up, Price would be facing the Indians at Fenway Park on just two or three days of rest. It would also mean the Boston lefty would not pitch against the Yankees in New York, where he has a 9.79 ERA in six starts since signing with Boston in 2016.

"We'll see how he feels," Cora said on Sunday before Boston's series finale against Houston.

Cora was asked by reporters whether he would have still started Price on Saturday knowing what he knows today.

"Yeah, because you trust the individual and he felt he was going to be able to compete," Cora said. "But I got the feedback from the bullpen and then I saw it and I was like, 'No, we'll go somewhere else and try to get 27 outs somewhere else.'"

While Price was frustrated, Cora preferred to take out his star pitcher instead of risking injury.

"Obviously [he was frustrated] but he understands," Cora said. "It's too important for us. Like I said yesterday, shame on me if I let him pitch like that and something happens and he gets hurt."

With the bullpen short on arms after Price's short outing on Saturday, Boston called up left-handed pitching prospect Darwinzon Hernandez from Double-A Portland. Hernandez was slated to start in Portland on Sunday and will provide depth in the bullpen. To make room on the roster, the Red Sox sent down righty reliever Colten Brewer, who threw 2.1 innings on Saturday.

Toronto Blue Jays rookie second baseman Cavan Biggio recorded his two first major league hits on Sunday, including a home run, with his Hall of Fame father in the stands at Rogers Centre.

Biggio, who is playing in his third major league game on Sunday, had been 0-for-6 with three strikeouts before he singled to right field past San Diego Padres first baseman Wil Myers in the bottom of the second inning.

Then in the the bottom of the fourth inning, he homered 405 feet into the upper deck in right field for his first major league home run.

His father, Hall of Famer Craig Biggio, had 3,060 hits in his career. He started his career 0-for-7 before singling in his fourth career game, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

Cavan Biggio, who turned 24 in April, was hitting .306/.440/.507 with Triple-A Buffalo this season. He was selected in the fifth round of the 2016 draft.

Laura Muir beaten into third as Melissa Courtney wins women’s race on busy day at Vitality-sponsored event in London

Melissa Courtney finished a superb third in the European Indoor Championships 3000m but could be in for even a better summer over 5000m as she surprisingly outkicked Laura Muir in the Vitality Westminster Mile.

Despite a strong wind along Birdcage Walk, Courtney showed her strength by leading after a slow start and then repelling the challenges of Sarah McDonald and European champion Muir along the finishing straight outside Buckingham Palace as the Commonwealth bronze medallist retained her title.

Courtney was given a time of 4:31 which was the same as McDonald with Muir timed at 4:32.

Courtney said: “I’m delighted but a little shocked. I felt strong but the wind was tough and everyone was sitting behind me but I finished well.”

Muir had only arrived back from altitude in Switzerland the day before and endured a lot of travelling but admitted Courtney and McDonald were better on the day.

“I wanted to win but it’s okay at this time of year with a long season,” she said. “I had a break after the indoors and trained very hard at altitude.”

Scotland fared better in the men’s race as Chris O’Hare used his dependable strong finish that has won him European outdoor and European indoor medals in the past.

The clock was clearly showing 3:59 as he crossed the line and it looked as if he achieved the first sub-four-minutes mile in the event but road times are rounded up to the nearest second and it was officially recorded as 4:00.

“I was not too bothered about the time but to win the race but Tom Marshall set a good pace and I knew it would be fast,” said O’Hare (pictured below).

Also matching that time was the race revelation Jonathan Davies. The former European under-23 cross-country champion showed impressive speed in finishing second with Elliott Giles having his best mile race to date to finish a close third in 4:01 after having made much of the earlier pace.

On a day that saw had world record numbers competing over one mile – a total of 9198 finished – Anthony Whiteman came out of retirement to win the Olympians’ race in just over five minutes while Alyson Dixon (pictured below) was first woman with a time around 30 seconds slower than she had run in winning the masters title 10 minutes earlier.

Both W55 Clare Elms (5:10) and W70 Angela Copson (6:30) not only shattered the UK age group records but set world road bests that are significantly faster than the track world records.

Craig Sharp won the men’s masters race in a tight finish, while Mark Symes set a UK M50 record of 4:37 and Nigel Gates a UK M65 record of 5:20.

Steph Twell and husband Joe Morwood set a world record of 4:50 for a couple holding hands in a separate race, while Daniel Sidbury won the wheelchair race.

All the junior races were closely contested and there were under-20 wins for Sabrina Sinha and Will Stockley.

The under-15 races were won by small margins by Lewis Sullivan and Olivia Martin. The under-13 races, which were not GB championships events, saw success for Will Steadman and Isabelle Martin, the sister of Olivia.