Australia are likely to be dethroned from the top of Test crickets world rankings in the first series since they rose to No. 1, after crushing defeats in their first two Tests in Sri Lanka. Moreover, with Indias imminent 13-Test home season, it may be some time before Steven Smiths men can reach the summit again.It was only two weeks ago that Smith was handed the Test Championship mace by ICC chief executive David Richardson - in a ceremony that was kept private at Sri Lanka Crickets request. But Australias pair of defeats to Sri Lanka, in which they were exposed as having little to no idea of how to bat in Asian conditions, has left the door open for England or India to ascend to No. 1, perhaps leaving Smiths team as low as third.Australias chances of remaining at No. 1 now depend on favours by Pakistan and West Indies, who are currently trailing in their respective Test series against England and India. England would go to the top by winning the final Test against Pakistan, while wins in the final two Tests over West Indies would take India there. In the medium term, Indias long upcoming home season, which includes Test series against England and Australia, gives them a good chance of building a lead at the top of the table.It would be very disappointing if we lost that - we havent had it for that long, we were really hoping to try and stretch the gap, allrounder Mitchell Marsh said. Weve got the opportunity to win this next Test match and thats all we can do. It means a hell of a lot. Its what we strive for. In the Test arena you dont play for a premiership, you play to be number one in the world and thats what we strive for every day. Any team that gets knocked off the perch as the No. 1 Test team in the world, it would certainly hurt everyone.The hurt would extend beyond pride to pockets, as Australias players are awarded handsome bonuses for time spent at the top of the rankings. These performance weightings were added to the MOU between the players and Cricket Australia in 2012, meaning that over the period of the agreement the players share of total cricket revenue can vary from 24.5% to 27% depending on team performances. In 2014, the Australian Ashes-winning team went on to defeat South Africa on the road to briefly claim top spot, with all players collecting a more-than-handy extra payday as a result.James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, offered a typically conservative viewpoint on the results in Sri Lanka, arguing that the time for a proper reflection on the result would be after the end of the third Test. Its probably a bit early to say - give everyone a little bit of scope to have proper reflections after the series, he said in Melbourne. The first two Tests have been pretty disappointing and no doubt everyone over there is feeling it. But I wouldnt want to rush to any conclusions.We would on the surface - and I think everyone has said this - appear to have had a pretty good preparation. Obviously not good enough in terms of getting the result that we wanted. Lets reflect on that after the series and see what weve got to learn out of this. Obviously a very disappointing result so far.Sutherland also explained the decision to lock in the contract of the coach Darren Lehmann until 2019. Clearly weve got a young and developing team thats done well in recent times, found itself to be No. 1 in Test cricket and one-day cricket, won a World Cup, he said. I think its an endorsement of the work hes doing and the confidence that we have in him and the staff around him to keep progressing and keep improving. Thats what were all about - sustained performance and improving. This is a major blip on the progression to what we would have hoped, but its also a good wake-up call for us to have a really good hard look again at the way we play over there.The introspection appeared already to have begun in the second innings of the Galle Test. When faced with a near impossible fourth-innings chase Australias batsmen tried numerous more aggressive approaches based on observation of Sri Lankas batsmen. We decided that we wanted to be a bit more positive and show a lot more intent, certainly early on in our innings to try and hit the spinners off their lengths, Marsh said, and try and get the field out so theres a few more gaps to get off strike.That was the plan, I thought we did it reasonably well, it was just the fact that we didnt do it for long enough. Probably the one thing Ive noticed [about Sri Lankas batsmen] is that theyre extremely positive from ball one. Thats helped get our spinners off their length and being able to rotate the strike. That was something we tried to do in the second innings of this last Test match and Im sure its something well try to do in the next Test.Ive felt really comfortable when Ive gone out into the middle. For me its just about doing it for longer periods of time, a lot longer periods of time. Our batting group has managed to get starts, which is something we pride ourselves on is when we get to 20 or 30 we go on with it. If we had one or two blokes do that then the last few Test matches would have been different games. Thats been the disappointing thing as a batting unit. Joe Mauer Jersey . Cote was eligible to become a free agent Feb. 15. Cote helped running back Jon Cornish run for a league-high 1,813 rushing yards en route to being named the leagues most outstanding player. Byron Buxton Jersey . -- Charline Labonte couldnt have asked for a better homecoming. http://www.baseballtwinsprostore.com/twins-paul-molitor-jersey/ . 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LOS ANGELES -- Russian center Timofey Mozgov has agreed to a four-year, $64 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.The person spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday night because the deal cant be signed until July 7.The Lakers moved swiftly in the opening minutes of the NBAs free agent signing period to use a big portion of their roughly $55 million in cap room on the 7-foot-1 Mozgov, a six-year NBA veteran.He won a ring with the Cleveland Cavaliers last month despite barely playing in the postseason, averaging 5.8 minutes in 13 appearances. He started 48 games for the Cavs during the regular season after returning from offseason knee surgery, averaging 6.3 points and 4.4 rebounds while making 56.5 percent of his shots.The Lakers paid an eye-popping price for a soon-to-be 30-year-old center who made $4.95 million last year and has never averaged 11 points or eight rebounds per game in an NBA season.Yet the deal represents both the inflated realities of the NBAs increased salary cap and the necessity of overpayment by Los Angeles.The Lakers arent the most attractive free-agent destination in the wake of the worst season in franchise history and Kobe Bryants retirement. After going 17-65 last season, they realize theyre unlikely to land Kevin Durant or other top players eager to win championships now.Instead, theyre hoping to add veteran leaders and role players around their intriguing young core, which includes DAngelo Russell, Julius Randle, restricted free agent Jordan Clarkson and No. 2 pick Brandon Ingram.Mozgov began his NBA career with New York in 2010, but was traded to Denver at midseason. He spent the next four years with the Nuuggets, playing under Lakers lead assistant coach Brian Shaw, before a trade to Cleveland in January 2015.ddddddddddddMozgov averaged a career-best 10.6 points in that abbreviated season with the Cavaliers. He became the first Russian to play in the NBA Finals that summer, giving impressive performances as the Cavs starting center.But he struggled to recapture that excellent form after offseason surgery to remove a cyst from his knee. Heading into his free-agent contract season, Mozgov perhaps pushed too aggressively to return from injury, and Tristan Thompson became the Cavs starting center in the postseason.Mozgov is moving to the town where his last name became an unfortunate verb in November 2010 when the Clippers Blake Griffin threw down an astonishing rebound dunk on Mozgovs head at Staples Center. Ever since, a player who gets dunked on in such an outrageous fashion has been Mozgoved.Mozgovs arrival with the Lakers certainly means the departure of Roy Hibbert, who averaged a career-low 5.9 points in his only season with the Lakers. Los Angeles had only six players under contract heading into the weekend, although Ingram will sign along with the likely return of three restricted free agents: Clarkson, Tarik Black and Marcelo Huertas.Mozgov also could be a mentor to Ivica Zubac, the 7-foot Croatian teenager drafted by the Lakers with the 32nd overall pick last week. 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