The Sox stormed out to a 3-0 lead: one run in the second two in the third, all manufactured. Then Brayan Bello's wildness caught up with him, and he exited with a bases-loaded situation and the Sox up 3-1.
The announcement that the world snooker championships would remain at Sheffield's Crucible theatre until 2045 was not just a surprise... it was a major relief for a neglected northern giant.
Mohamed Meite scored his first Pro League goal to put Al-Taawoun ahead late in the first half, wriggling away from Mohammed Mahzari and firing home at the near post.
Coburn's acrobatic close-range attempt crossed the line in the 58th minute, leveling the score after Middlesbrough had taken the lead with a header from Dael Fry.
Late on Friday morning, after the entire playing surface had spent most of the preceding few days shrouded in plastic sheeting, the sun broke out. The covers were peeled back and the ground staff a huge team of about 70 people, those covers don't move themselves set about trundling their roller slowly across a fresh pitch at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium. The bad weather had lifted and, finally, work could begin.
We have been performing well over the last 12 months, since Harry's become captain, and we're very happy with that. What we did in the last few weeks in Sri Lanka is another stepping stone to that. We come here full of confidence and belief, which is obviously very important. But that doesn't guarantee us anything. We know that there's amazing teams in this World Cup. Knock-out cricket, if we get there, is tricky.
