India have lost their last four international games on their tour of New Zealand, following up a 3-0 defeat in the ODI series with a 10-wicket loss in the first Test in Wellington, which snapped a seven-match winning streak in the format. Their coach Ravi Shastri, however, isn't perturbed.

"I wouldn't judge ODI and Test cricket [together], they are totally different things," he said on the eve of the second Test in Christchurch. "For us, the least priority is ODI cricket at the moment. Because of the schedule and what's coming up in the next two years (the immediate global events are the ongoing World Test Championship cycle and the T20 World Cup later this year).

"Our focus is Test cricket, number one, and T20 cricket. If you look at that, we have had a great run in the Test arena. We've played eight and won seven. One loss, there is absolutely no need to panic, neither is anyone looking in that direction when you look at this team. They are ready, they would have learnt what to expect. They know what to expect and they are mentally tuned and ready. Now it's the execution part when it comes to tomorrow."

At the time of Shastri's press conference, it wasn't yet known if Ishant Sharma might miss the Test match with a recurrence of the ankle injury he had picked up last month. In any case, whichever fast bowlers India go in with would do well to heed Shastri's words on how to bowl on a green, seaming pitch. He pointed to the approach of Tim Southee and Trent Boult at Wellington as the ideal one for such conditions.

"Like on a paata (flat) wicket, batsmen must think whether to hit or to defend. Similarly here, [the fast bowlers] have to strike the right balance and be patient, which Southee and Boult showed you," Shastri said. "What New Zealand showed in the first game, do exactly that. Be patient, get more balls in the right areas, create the pressure, and then take it from there. It is very easy to get excited and then bowl all over the shop and then be hammered all over the place."

There was a sense that Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami weren't quite at their best in Wellington, but Shastri dismissed those concerns.

"Bumrah is very close to getting a five-for or a six-for, might happen tomorrow," he said. "Then don't come and tell me I told you so. That can happen tomorrow. Similarly with Shami, so nothing to worry about."

After India were bowled out for 165 in Wellington, their bowlers, led by Ishant, struck back to have New Zealand 225 for 7, before the last three wickets swelled the lead to match-winning proportions, adding 123 runs at more than four-and-a-half per over. Leaking runs against the lower order has been an issue for India in the past as well, and Shastri said India would need to find ways to improve on that front.

"That is a good question because it has been a problem for us in the last year or so," he said. "In spite of us doing well, there have been days when we've just cleaned up the tail, on other days where there has been some resistance.

"We have had a chat on that, how to look into bowling at the tail. Either at times, are we being over-aggressive, or at times are we being too defensive. We have had a chat on that and we will look to address it in a different manner. You will see it."

ALSO READ: Mohammed Shami needs a defensive trick up his sleeve

R Ashwin was India's spinner in Wellington, and though he bowled well and picked up three wickets, he failed to get into double figures in both innings to continue a worrying run of lean form with the bat.

"He is a world-class bowler, there is absolutely no doubt about it," Shastri said. "But we have to make sure that we pick the right sides for the right conditions and see what a player can bring to the table. He has bowled well over the years and, if anything, he will be disappointed with the way he has batted. He would want to improve on his batting in time to come."

Ravindra Jadeja, with his ability to bowl tight overs in most conditions and exploit wear and tear if there's any in the second innings, would be a more defensive bowling option than Ashwin, if India were to pick him as their spinner, but his outstanding batting form - he averages nearly 50 in Tests since the start of 2017 - would make him a tempting option.

"You will see how much of a role a spinner has, first of all," Shastri said, when asked about what factors India would consider when it came to picking their spinner. "How many overs you think he is going to bowl in the game. Is there going to be something for him on day four/five. Will the second innings be that important. Do you need him more in the first innings of a game. Is his batting going to count. Is his fielding going to count. Is his overall fitness going to count.

"Those are areas you look into, not just for spinners. When you have four fast bowlers, you have to pick three and leave one out, same thing happens."

Shastri also revealed the thought process behind Rishabh Pant taking back the wicketkeeping gloves from Wriddhiman Saha in this Test series.

"Again, conditions. We went for Saha in India because there would be a lot of spin, and on turning tracks where bounce could be uneven, you need an experienced keeper and Saha is, to be honest, one of the best around," he said. "But when you come here, there is not much of spin bowling. Emphasis is on fast bowling, and then the batting becomes a key factor. Plus the fact that he (Pant) is a left-hander, an aggressive batsman lower down the order, that tilts the scales in his favour here."

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Los Angeles Lakers hardly ever practice, and shootarounds are even rarer for the veteran squad. So getting Markieff Morris, who signed with the team this week after receiving a buyout from the Detroit Pistons, up to speed takes some creativity.

"We've kind of beefed up our film sessions," Lakers coach Frank Vogel said before playing the Golden State Warriors on Thursday. "They're part directed to tightening the screws for us and part directed towards Kieff in terms of, 'This is what we call this, this is what we call that. This is what level we want you up on pick-and-rolls, and here's the switching lines.'"

Morris, who played 15 minutes in his Lakers debut on Tuesday, got to extend his run to 19 minutes in the Lakers' 116-86 win against the Warriors, with the extra burn on the board because LeBron James was sitting out with a sore groin.

As much as the Golden State game was an opportunity for Morris, James' absence also provided a chance for the team to practice playing without him.

Sure, common sense suggests that Los Angeles' title hopes are directly tied to how well James can turn it on in the playoffs. That doesn't mean the Lakers can't aspire to improve upon the precipitous drop-off that happens when James sits -- even if it's just for rest, instead of an entire game like on Thursday.

Coming into the Warriors game, the Lakers' net efficiency with James on the court was plus 10.7 points per 100 possessions, which would rank second in the league, according to data compiled by ESPN Stats & Information. With James off the court, that production plummets to a net efficiency of minus 2.6 points, which would rank 22nd.

"I don't really pay attention to those kind of stats. I think when everybody's best player leaves the floor, they might go down a little bit," Lakers backup guard Quinn Cook said when presented with the numbers illustrating James' impact.

Cook cited ancillary reasons why the Lakers struggle without James -- "We get everybody's best shot ... You're going to get crowds that want to see us lose ... We have a big target on our back" -- before spelling out just what James brings to the table that they have to replicate.

"His presence. His IQ. Everything," Cook said. "His scoring. He's the best distributor in the league. So, we get easier shots when he's out there. And just his defensive communication; he's quarterbacking everything, letting everybody where he needs to go. He can guard 1 through 5. And with the ball, he's just the best. There's a reason why he's the best."

And there's a reason that, even with Thursday's triumph, James' teams are just 15-42 in games he has missed since he left the Miami Heat in 2014.

Even if this year's Lakers are 2-1 without him after the Golden State victory, it's important to remember the Warriors came into the game on a seven-game losing streak and are owners of the worst record in the league at 12-47.

Still, it was an impressive showing. Thursday marked the 101st time James has missed a game in his career and the first time his team won by 30 or more points without him. The Lakers scored 35 points off drives, tied for their most in a game this season, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

After leading by only two at halftime, the Lakers blew the game open, outscoring the Warriors 40-17 in the third quarter to render the final period irrelevant.

Six players scored in double digits, led by Davis' 23 points, and the Lakers' bench totaled 57 points.

"Everyone played great," Davis said. "Came in and tried to fill the shoes of a guy who comes in and does it all. Bron, when he's out, he's taking away a lot of things that we do. So it's on all of us to make sure we try to fill those voids, and I think we did that tonight."

Morris didn't eclipse the 10-point plateau, but he was close -- finishing with eight points on 3-for-5 shooting, four rebounds and an assist.

"I think defensively he's getting more comfortable with our coverages, and you saw him knock down two 3s, got him a couple of post touches, another way we can use him," Vogel said. "I think every minute he's out there with these guys gets him more comfortable."

And Morris' presence combined with James' absence meant a bevy of touches for Kyle Kuzma at the wing. Kuzma responded with 18 points on 8-for-17 shooting and three assists.

"Obviously, LeBron not playing allows me to have the ball, pick-and-roll, but there's certain times when LeBron's not playing where I'm able to do that, when he's not on the court," Kuzma said. "But when he's on the court, you kind of just fall in line and let that kind of dictate."

L.A. still showed some of the same symptoms that have plagued it when James rests during a game, of course; the Lakers on Thursday shot just 8-for-24 from 3 without James creating those easy looks that Cook was talking about. They average only 9.1 made 3s per 48 minutes when Davis is on the court without James, connecting at a 33.7% clip, figures that would rank around the very bottom of the league for NBA teams this season.

And the Lakers turned it over 17 times against the Warriors without the ball running through one of the greatest playmakers in league history, though that paled in comparison to the 27 turnovers they forced against Golden State's hapless offense.

Overall, Thursday night's visit to The Bay was a step forward -- and a testament that competing without James on the court is an area the Lakers can and should improve in.

"We got to get better at that," Davis said. "Usually when [James is] playing and he comes off the floor, we kind of take a dip in all aspects of the game. Just the way, the same way we played tonight without him, we got to play like that when he's playing but when he's not on the floor.

"It's good for guys to kind of get those reps. And I think when he comes back that we got to make sure we keep the same pace, same intensity, when he's not on the floor."

Big picture

In Wellington, India came face to face with how subtle New Zealand's home advantage is. Theirs is not the kind of dominance that comes from knowing no other place can produce two spinners of the quality you have. Or batsmen who demoralise opponents before their big untiring fast bowlers bash out every assistance from their pitches.

New Zealand do things differently. They take down attacks that look better than theirs on paper. Trent Boult, Tim Southee and Neil Wagner might be a somewhat incomplete trio in other conditions, but in New Zealand, they kill you with a thousand paper cuts. Their knowledge of conditions - when it will swing and how to swing it, when to attack and when to bowl dry - and exploitation of winds and angles is second to none. Teams such as India do themselves no favour by playing just two Tests in New Zealand in five years, giving themselves no shot at familiarity.

After the near three-day defeat in Wellington, India go to Christchurch looking for two quick fixes: how to swing the ball for longer periods, like New Zealand did, and how to bat with more freedom against New Zealand. The first one is slightly tricky because of the nature of the bowlers involved in the contest. Southee and Boult are out-and-out swing bowlers, and thus have the ideal wrist positions and seam at the point of release for swing on most occasions. Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah are more seam bowlers; Shami in particular bowls with a beautiful upright seam.

Twenty-seven overs, 40 runs, one wicket. That is Colin de Grandhomme's returns from Wellington. That is what Virat Kohli doesn't want a repeat of. Good as New Zealand's bowlers are, they aren't always threatening the wickets like, say, R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja do at home. Or that's what the thinking within the India camp is. How much of a risk it is to try to be more proactive, and what the rewards might be, will be seen in Christchurch.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)

New Zealand WLLLD

India LWWWW

In the spotlight

The coin toss. Just consider how much the chances of a side losing the match reduce the moment it wins the toss. The last time New Zealand lost a home Test despite winning the toss was way back in 2009. The last time Kohli lost a match after winning the toss was… never. The credit belongs to both the sides for playing excellent cricket after winning the toss, but the one losing the toss will be fighting massive odds.

Neil Wagner is now a dad, and is back to test batsmen with his own grammar of Test-match bowling. There were times when New Zealand missed him in Wellington, in the second innings especially, but will Wagner feel the pressure of having to bowl the kind of ball Kyle Jamieson did to Cheteshwar Pujara to take his maiden Test wicket? Not if both of them are playing.

Virat Kohli has gone 20 international innings without a century. While it is never smart to pool together formats when judging how a player has been doing, a small worry for India will be that he felt the need to play too many shots at the start of both his innings. This is not how he batted in Australia, which was when he seemed at most peace with his game and his captaincy.

Team news

Wagner will definitely be back, but whom does he replace? If the pitch calls for a spinner, the sensational debutant from last week, Jamieson, will have to sit out. However, if New Zealand feel there might not be much for a spinner to do, both could play. Only once in five Tests at Hagley Oval have New Zealand gone in without a specialist spinner, losing that Test to Australia. After having missed India's second innings with a shoulder injury, Tom Blundell is fine to open again in Christchurch.

New Zealand 1 Tom Latham, 2 Tom Blundell, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Henry Nicholls, 6 BJ Watling (wk), 7 Colin de Grandhomme, 8 Kyle Jamieson/Ajaz Patel, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Neil Wagner, 11 Trent Boult

Ishant Sharma looks very likely to be out on the sidelines for this one after a recurrence of the ankle injury he had picked up during the Ranji Trophy in January. If he doesn't make it, Umesh Yadav will be the likely replacement.

India are no longer the side that made spot judgments and impatient changes. The only question might be whether India want to strengthen their lower-order batting with Jadeja ahead of Ashwin. India coach Ravi Shastri's assessment of Ashwin might make Jadeja a slight favourite. "He is a world-class bowler," Shastri said of Ashwin. "There is absolutely no doubt about it, but we have to make sure we pick the right side for the right conditions, and see what a player can bring to the table. I think he has bowled well over the years. If anything, he will be disappointed with the way he has batted. He'll want to improve on his batting in time to come."

India 1 Mayank Agarwal, 2 Prithvi Shaw, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Virat Kohli (capt.), 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 Hanuma Vihari, 7 Rishabh Pant (wk), 8 R Ashwin/ Ravindra Jadeja, 9 Ishant Sharma/ Umesh Yadav, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Jasprit Bumrah

Pitch and conditions

The Hagley Oval pitch looks green with approximately 12mm grass, which is less in length than what the Basin in Wellington had. It is expected to be quicker than Wellington, and perhaps flatten out more, maybe after day two. There should not be more than the odd interruption from the weather.

Stats and trivia

• Only Broad-Anderson and Wasim-Waqar are more prolific new-ball combines than Southee-Boult, who have taken 426 wickets at 26.51 in innings that they have shared the new ball. They have left behind Walsh-Ambrose, McGrath-Gillespie and Donald-Pollock.

• Sharma, if he plays, is set to become the slowest man to 300 Test wickets, but since the start of 2018, only Jason Holder (among those who have taken 50 wickets at least over the period) has a better average and strike rate than his 71 wickets at 19.14 and 41.7.

• New Zealand have lost only two home Tests when both Southee and Boult have played, both in 2015-16 to Australia. That is close to the Ashwin-Jadeja domination in India; they have lost just one Test when playing alongside each other, again to Australia.

Quotes

"They are the No. 1 side for a reason, and that is because they can adapt to any conditions. We are definitely expecting them to adapt pretty quickly, and be positive coming into this Test match. Their record speaks for themselves."
Trent Boult expects India to hit back hard

"We are here not to give any excuses, we were outplayed in the first Test, but I always believe that when you are on a run like we were, a shake-up like that is good. Because it opens your mindset. When you haven't tasted defeat, you can have a closed mindset. Here you have seen what has happened, which is good, there is opportunities to learn. You know what strategies New Zealand are going to employ, you know what to expect, and you have your plans how you are going to counter them."
India coach Ravi Shastri believes the Wellington loss was not necessarily a bad thing

Ishant Sharma is unlikely to feature in India's attack for the second Test against New Zealand in Christchurch, starting tomorrow. ESPNcricinfo has learned that the fast bowler has suffered a recurrence of the ankle injury that he picked up on January 20, during a Ranji Trophy match in Delhi, which had threatened to prevent his participation in the Test series altogether.

Umesh Yadav is set to replace Sharma in India's XI.

The flare-up calls to question India's handling of Sharma's injury, a grade-three ligament tear. These usually take at least six weeks to heal, but Sharma was back playing a Test match in just over four weeks. India may not have had any reason to doubt his fitness ahead of the first Test in Wellington, however, since he had cleared a fitness test at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru on February 15, and then bowled for at least an hour and 15 minutes at the nets four days later.

A jetlagged Sharma was India's best bowler in the first Test, picking up a five-for in New Zealand's first innings. He caused problems for New Zealand's batsmen with his bounce and movement while keeping them on a leash with his discipline, even as his pace-bowling colleagues, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami, endured slightly below-par games.

Sharma will be a massive miss for India if he doesn't feature in Christchurch. Since the start of 2018, he has arguably been their best bowler away from home, taking 53 wickets in 13 Tests while returning the best average (20.00) and strike rate (44.8) of all their main bowlers.

Yadav has been a rampant wicket-taking force at home in this period, with 38 wickets in seven Tests at 13.86, but he hasn't tasted anywhere near the same success away from home, where he's generally been India's fourth-choice (or occasionally even fifth-choice) fast bowler. His two away Tests since the start of 2018 came at Edgbaston in August 2018, when Bumrah was out injured, and in Perth in December 2018, when India played four quicks. Those two Tests, both of which India lost, brought Yadav five wickets at 43.00, and an economy rate of 3.52.

Overall, Yadav has a modest record away from home, though he hasn't had much of a chance to rectify it in the last three years or so, when his bowling has stepped up another level. In 17 away Tests, he has 46 wickets at 42.19, as against 30.26 overall, and an economy rate of 4.15.

If Sharma doesn't play in Christchurch, India will miss his control more than any other facet of his bowling. With Bumrah still finding his way back to rhythm after recovering from a stress fracture, and with Shami better suited to an overtly attacking role, Sharma was the one India fast bowler who could have been relied on to perform a holding role.

With a green pitch awaiting India at Hagley Oval, the loss of perhaps their most important fast bowler - if not their most important player away from home - will present them their biggest test as they look to level the series from 1-0 down.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green was ejected from Thursday's game against the Los Angeles Lakers after picking up two technical fouls in the second quarter. Green now has 14 technicals on the season -- two more and he will receive an automatic one-game suspension.

The first technical came after Green was whistled for a foul under the basket with 5 minutes, 56 seconds left in the second quarter. Green exchanged some words with official Tyler Ford and earned the technical. The second technical came a few seconds later after Green felt he was pushed by Lakers center Dwight Howard. Official Marat Kogut whistled Green for trying to trip Howard after Green fell to the ground. Watching Green yell about the call from behind the play, Ford gave Green his second technical and ejected him from the game. Green continued yelling at the officials for a few moments before walking off the floor and directly back to the Warriors' locker room.

Green, who missed the previous two games because of a pelvic contusion, finished with 2 points, 4 assists and 4 fouls in 10 minutes before being ejected.

OTTAWA, Ontario -- Bobby Ryan recorded a hat trick in his first home game in more than three months, leading the Ottawa Senators to a 5-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night.

Ryan, who made his return Tuesday night at Nashville, entered the joint NHL/NHLPA assistance program on Nov. 20 after admitting to having a problem with alcohol. Prior to Tuesday, his last game had been on Nov. 16 in Buffalo, though he had been skating on his own since late December.

Fans were quick to cheer Ryan on Thursday, giving him a standing ovation and chanting his name.

Connor Brown and Rudolfs Balcers also scored as Ottawa snapped a four-game winless streak. Marcus Hogberg made 32 saves.

J.T. Miller and Tyler Toffoli scored for the Canucks. Thatcher Demko stopped 21 shots.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Australia's World Cup campaign remains on a knife-edge but their convincing victory against Bangladesh was forged from their most convincing top-order display since the series against Sri Lanka last year.

The 151-run opening stand between Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney followed two uncertain displays in the matches against India and Sri Lanka, the first of which ended in the defeat and the second which saw Australia rocking on 10 for 3 before Meg Lanning and Rachael Haynes prevented the unthinkable.

At Manuka Oval on Thursday evening, in front of a healthy crowd of 5,614, everything clicked for Healy and Mooney, albeit against a largely friendly Bangladesh attack and an opposition who had a very poor day in the field.

ALSO READ: Alyssa Healy-Beth Mooney record opening stand hands Australia big win

However, regardless of the strength of the opposition, after two matches where the highest stand among the first three wickets had been 32, the dominant return of Healy and Mooney was timely and had the basis in some honest words shared among the top order.

"As a batting group we spoke about potentially not doing our job as well as we would have liked, so to be able to go out there and put a pretty decent score on the board on a fairly low and tricky wicket in my opinion was pretty great, and hopefully that gives us some confidence moving forward," Healy said.

"I think having those honest conversations aren't easy, but this team really seems to be quite good at it and is able to call stuff out when it's happening. I think to be able to sit down as a batting group and just identify some areas that we weren't doing great and where we could be better I think was great for the group.

"All the pressure is on Australia" - @kmarty01
"Loves a bit of banter, ol' Katey Martin!" - @ahealy77

The mind games have already begun ahead of #AUSvNZ on Monday at the #T20WorldCup! pic.twitter.com/WDrX2yfGl2

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) February 27, 2020

"Sometimes you know they're there, but when you say it out loud and you verbalize it, it sort of reinforces it in your own mind about your plans or what someone else might be doing, as well, to get out of your own head. I thought it was great to be able to come out tonight and sort of respond to that."

On a personal note for Healy it was another sign that she has emerged from the pre-tournament run of low scores which left her with five single-figure returns in a row for the first time in her T20I career. In the opening match against India she struck a rapid half-century, only for her dismissal to herald Australia's collapse, then she received one of the deliveries of the tournament from Sri Lanka's Udeshika Prabodhani which swung back to bowl her for a duck at the WACA.

In Canberra she raced out of the blocks with three boundaries in the opening over and never looked back with a display that put her on track for her second T20I hundred until she perished hunting another boundary. After her 83, she was the leading run-scorer of the tournament ahead of Shafali Verma and Heather Knight.

The theme throughout Healy's lean run was that it was merely a blip and the fortunes would change - both captain Meg Lanning and coach Matthew Mott said she didn't need to alter anything - but however mentally strong a player can be there is no substitute to actually seeing a score in the book.

"I think at some point I did question if I was doing the right thing," Healy said. "But at the same time, I think getting that reassurance from people that I was doing the right thing, and sometimes when you're playing the game of cricket you're not actually out there long enough to lose any form, I still felt like I was hitting the ball really well in the nets and was just sort of finding the fielder or finding some really unlucky ways to get out."

Barring a Bangladesh victory over New Zealand, a spot in the semi-final will come down to the trans-Tasman clash in Melbourne on Monday, after India secured their progression with a win over New Zealand. "We're coming up on Monday against a side that we're really familiar with, so hopefully that suits us even more," Healy said.

Anil Kumble, one of the most prominent and influential voices in world cricket, is "very clear" that a Test match has to be five days long and he does not endorse the proposal to make four-day Test cricket mandatory.

Kumble, who is the chairman of the ICC's Cricket Committee, has also countered the view expressed by many, including the ICC chairman Shashank Manohar, that Test cricket is dying. Test cricket, Kumble said, is very much alive, but he feels the viewing habits of the fans have changed, with many following it through the television and digital mediums.

Although the ICC Board itself is split on the subject, some of the key Full Member boards want the ICC to consider making four-day Test cricket mandatory from the 2023 cycle of the World Test Championships. Trimming that one day, these administrators believe, would free up space in the cricket calendar, which has been stretched to the limits.

The player fraternity, however, is split with most favouring five-day Tests. That includes India captain Virat Kohli, who said he is "not a fan of" four-day Test cricket, and former England captain Andrew Strauss. The latter, who also sits on the ICC Cricket Committee, said it should either be "an easy sell or we shouldn't be doing it."

Kumble is in the same group as Kohli and Strauss when it comes to four-day Tests. "The sense of what I think about it is the players have given that. I mean, they don't want a four-day Test," Kumble said during The Hindu's annual thought conclave, The Huddle, which was held in Bengaluru on February 23.

"Five-day Test is what it is. And a Test it is because it is five days. If it was four days, it wouldn't be a Test. I am very clear on that."

Kumble's views carry significance considering he chairs one of the most important committees in the ICC, one which recommends all things cricket, with the recommendations then ratified by the ICC Board.

Although ESPNcricinfo understands the four-day Test is not likely to feature formally on the agenda for the March round of ICC meetings in Dubai, administrators would be keen to have a discussion at some point going into the annual conference in July, scheduled in Cape Town.

According to Kumble, the ICC Cricket Committee had an initial discussion on four-day Tests two years ago but it had never thought about making it mandatory for all countries. Kumble said he was open to four-day Tests being played in bilateral tournaments against smaller countries like Afghanistan, Ireland and Zimbabwe, but nothing beyond that.

"It was discussed a couple of years ago, but I don't think there's any progress made on taking a decision of a mandatory four-day Test. I don't think it has ever been done. There was an experiment done with South Africa and Zimbabwe, where they played a four-day Test match. England played Ireland. I mean when you play Afghanistan, Ireland, Zimbabwe, maybe the boards have the wherewithal to go ahead and play a four-day Test.

But the [ICC Cricket] Committee and even within the ICC, I don't think there's any, at least in the immediate, thinking of having a four-day Test competition, which is mandatory. I don't think there's anything of that (nature), but I am really glad that the players believe that it is a five-day competition that they want."

Test cricket is "still healthy"

According to Kumble, one challenge for Test cricket was the quality of the contests, which have not always been competitive. Kumble agreed this was something the players needed to ensure to keep the fans' interest alive. "One thing that all of us as fans would want is better competition in a Test match. You want more teams to compete harder against each other. Not just last for five days, but the ability of a spinner coming in…and the match-up between a batsman playing a spinner on a fourth-day pitch, on a fifth-day pitch is something you want to see, the battle between that."

One major reason Kumble remained positive that Test cricket was safe was the balance between bat and ball was nearly equal, unlike in the past where batsmen dominated contests on most occasions. "If you see in the last 18 months or two years, results in Test cricket have been phenomenal. The runs per wicket has come down drastically from what it used to be, which means there is better balance between bat and ball. So in that sense Test cricket is certainly giving you the right feelers, of saying, yes, it is still healthy."

Kumble also disagreed that empty grounds across the world during a Test series, outside of marquee contests like the Ashes, were a clear indicator that the long-format cricket was dead due to lack of interest. Even as Kumble was speaking at the event, Kohli's India were fighting to survive in the first Test against New Zealand in Wellington.

Kumble inquired about the score and got several responses with some of those in the audience checking the scores via digital media. The responses proved his point that the fans were following the game differently, compared to when he was growing up when watching Test cricket at the venue was a habit.

"It is just that you want more people to come and watch Test cricket from the stadium. That isn't happening. But people who're sitting in this room are following what is happening in New Zealand - either through phones or messages coming through notifications. When people talk about Test cricket is dying, I don't think so. I think everybody who is sitting in this room probably [will] know the score.

"So, if we're following Test cricket why are we talking about it dying. Yes, people going to stadiums, spending five days, watching Test cricket - that may have come down. That experience needs to get better."

Kumble said getting fans to the stadium was the big challenge and administrators would have to work hard to market Test cricket. Kumble provided from his stint as president of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), when he and other administrators worked to attract crowds to M Chinnawamy Stadium in Bengaluru during a Test.

"To draw people into the stadium is a challenge. Even when we were (KSCA) administrators, when India played New Zealand in Bangalore, we threw open half the stadium to students. We brought them from their schools, we organised buses, we gave them meals during the entire day and there were 12,000 people watching Test-match cricket. That's really good."

Kumble encouraged parents to take their children to the ground, saying it was the best place to watch the sport and for some, could also prove to be the starting point of a dream. "We all got inspired of becoming a cricketer, wanting to pursue this as a career because we went to a stadium, watched Ranji Trophy - Karnataka, Tamil Nadu. It was a packed house at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

"I still remember, I had to push and nudge through where cops were asking us to stop and show our tickets. And I was only eight or ten at that time and then my cousin said 'He's a ten-year old, let him in' and we watched the match between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu at the Chinnaswamy Stadium and the stadium was packed for a Ranji Trophy game. So there is still interest, it is just a matter of harnessing that interest and making [it] accessible to people who want to come in, and that's something we need to look at."

INDIANAPOLIS -- Alabama wide receiver Henry Ruggs III flashed rare speed at the NFL's scouting combine Thursday night, but he didn't quite get the record he had hoped for at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Ruggs, considered one of the fastest players available in this year's draft, said this week he wanted to set the record for the 40-yard dash at the event.

He officially ran 4.27 in his first attempt at the 40, and followed with an unofficial 4.31.

Elite speed to be sure, but not good enough for the crown.

Former Washington wide receiver John Ross, currently with the Cincinnati Bengals, ran a 4.22-second 40-yard dash in 2017, which is considered the record in the combine's electronic timing format that began in 1999. Bo Jackson's hand-timed 4.12 in 1986 has long been considered the best combine 40 time.

Asked Tuesday what his goal was in his on-field workout, Ruggs said: "I'm trying to hit the lowest ever. So 4.22 or lower.''

Ruggs was also asked this week what his fastest 40 time had been in his predraft workouts, but he said he didn't want to know.

"I actually didn't ask for the times,'' Ruggs said. "Whenever I ran them, I ran on feel. So if it felt good, I went back to the coach and asked him, 'Did it look good?'"

Ruggs did not participate in the remainder of Thursday's drills and was seen icing his upper right quadriceps after the 40. He told NFL Network that he expects to be ready for Alabama's pro day on March 24.

Record or not, Ruggs' speed was certainly noticed by the league's talent evaluators. He also posted a 42-inch vertical jump earlier in the evening, making him the only player since 2006 to produce a vertical jump of at least 40 inches and a sub-4.3 40-yard dash, according to research by ESPN's Stats & Information.

ESPN's Mel Kiper has Ruggs going 22nd to the Bills in his latest mock draft, while Todd McShay has him going 21st to the Eagles.

Ruggs finished this past season with 40 receptions for 746 yards and seven touchdowns, playing alongside Crimson Tide teammate Jerry Jeudy, also one of the top-rated wide receivers in this draft. Ruggs averaged 18.7 yards per catch and finished his three seasons at Alabama with a career average of 17.5.

He finished with 24 touchdowns on 98 career receptions -- 24.5% of his catches. Both Ruggs and Jeudy are expected to be first-round picks.

Ruggs measured in at 5-foot-11 and weighed 188 pounds at the combine, and said he believes he could have an impact similar to that of Tyreek Hill with the Chiefs.

"He's not the biggest guy," Ruggs said. "So him being in that offense and making the plays that he's making, doing the things that he does, it gives me more confidence to show that anybody can do anything.''

A deep group of wide receivers showed off its speed as both Texas' Devin Duvernay and Memphis' Antonio Gibson had official clockings of 4.39 seconds.

Notre Dame's Chase Claypool, whom some teams see as a potential tight end because he participated at 6-foot-4½ and 238 pounds, turned heads with a 4.42 showing. It made Claypool the first receiver since Calvin Johnson at the 2007 combine to weigh at least 230 pounds and run a sub-4.45 40.

LSU's Justin Jefferson, who finished this past season with 111 catches for 1,540 yards and 18 touchdowns, also showed better speed than expected with a 4.43. The top two wide receivers on the board, Jeudy and CeeDee Lamb, had official clockings of 4.45 and 4.50, respectively.

Clemson's Tee Higgins, a projected first-rounder, chose to skip Thursday's on-field drills.