‘Sack’ Snicko: England and Australia frustrated by DRS drama again in third Ashes Test
England’s batting coach, Marcus Trescothick, described the use of the decision review system in the third Ashes Test as “not ideal”, at the end of another day of questionable spikes, dubious frame-alignment and a dismissal of Jamie Smith that echoed the confusion of the opening day.The DRS technology in use in Australia was widely criticised on day one after Alex Carey had been wrongly reprieved by the third umpire after feathering a catch to Jamie Smith on 72.The culprit in that case appears to have been operator error involving a mismatch of sound-wave and picture frame selection.On Thursday Smith himself was also given not out in mid-afternoon despite Australia being convinced he had gloved a bouncer from Pat Cummins.Mitchell Starc could be heard through the stump mic calling for Snicko to be “sacked”, while Marnus Labuschagne scoffed at the idea Smith needed a concussion check, doubting he had been struck on the helmet at all.
Shortly afterwards Smith was given out on review after toe-ending another Cummins short ball, despite another audio spike that may or may not have matched up with the pictures.“It’s not an ideal scenario,” Trescothick said at close of play.“Of course, we’ve been on the back end of some poor ones yesterday, and a few ones that you sort of question over the course of today.So it’s up for the powers that be behind the scenes to try and work that out, but as players, we’ve just got to trust in the process of what the ICC [International Cricket Council], the match referees, the umpires and everybody officiating on this game.”Trescothick was equally nonplussed over Smith’s dismissal, maintaining that he hadn’t asked England’s wicketkeeper if he had actually nicked the ball.
“There was some debate about the timing of Snicko, but I think there was enough chat out on the field [about that],”Either side it was a day of toil for England’s batters as they moved to 213 for eight in pursuit of Australia’s 371, with the prospect of a series-saving victory increasingly distant,“I think we’re still fighting, we’re still scrapping away in terms of what we’re trying to do,Australia bowled well, and didn’t make it easy for us,and credit to them for that, but you’ve just got to keep digging in.
”Trescothick revealed Stokes had been suffering from cramp throughout the afternoon as he batted out the day in 37C heat.“He found it hard getting the volume of sort of carbohydrate drink into him, I think more than anything else because he was sweating so quickly.He couldn’t drink as much as he wanted so he’s feeling a bit ill.He was cramping for probably most of that last session.But it’s kind of what he does, and it almost sort of focuses him at his best.
”England’s batting coach denied the top order had let their captain down by failing to replicate his doggedness at the crease,“I think everybody’s trying 100% and working as hard as they can do and doing everything you need to be working,Success comes and goes,It’s not a given that you’re going to succeed in every series,It’s just maybe we haven’t had the success that they wanted to have at this stage.
“Everybody has the opportunity when they go out there to read the situation and judge what they’re going to try and do,Ben has chosen to play in that fashion today and he’s gone about it in a way that he thought was right,I thought Australia made it tricky for the guys to get in and dominate or control the situation just when we were trying to get going,”
Amazon in talks to invest $10bn in developer of ChatGPT
Amazon is in talks to invest more than $10bn (£7.5bn) in OpenAI, in the latest funding deal being struck by the startup behind ChatGPT.If it goes ahead, the market valuation of OpenAI could rise above $500bn, according to The Information, a tech news site that revealed the negotiations.Amazon, which is best known as an online retailer, is also the world’s largest datacentre provider and its investment would help OpenAI pay for its commitments to rent capacity from cloud computing companies – including Amazon.OpenAI said last month it would spend $38bn on capacity from Amazon Web Services – the company’s datacentre arm – over seven years
UK insists US tech deal not dead as Trump threatens penalties against European firms
Downing Street insists the $40bn Tech Prosperity Deal between the US and UK that is on hold is not permanently stalled. The BBC reported on Tuesday evening that the prime minister’s office claimed that the UK remains in “active conversations with US counterparts at all levels of government” about the wide-ranging deal for the technology industries in both countries to cooperate.The agreement, previously billed as historic, was paused after the US accused the UK of failing to lower trade barriers, including a digital services tax on US tech companies and food safety rules that limit the export of some agricultural products. The New York Times first reported British confirmation that negotiations had stalled.“We look forward to resuming work on this partnership as quickly as possible,” a Downing Street spokesperson said in a statement
US date rape survivors file lawsuit accusing Hinge and Tinder of ‘accommodating rapists’
The Dating Apps Reporting Project produced this story in partnership with the Pulitzer Center’s AI Accountability Network and The Markup, now a part of CalMatters, and copublished with The Guardian and The 19th.Six women who were drugged and raped or sexually assaulted by the same Denver cardiologist filed a lawsuit against Match Group on Tuesday, accusing the world’s largest dating app company of “accommodating rapists across its products” through “negligence” and a “defective” product.The women, backed by four law firms, said that by allowing known abusers like Stephen Matthews to remain on its apps, Tinder and Hinge, even after they are reported for rape, the company fostered a breeding ground for “sexual predators”.“Even when Match Group receives reports about rapists, they continue to welcome them, fail to warn users about the general and specific risks, and affirmatively recommend known predators to members,” the complaint said. “Rapists know each Match Group platform offers a catalog of available victims
Water levels across the Great Lakes are falling – just as US data centers move in
The sign outside Tom Hermes’s farmyard in Perkins Township in Ohio, a short drive south of the shores of Lake Erie, proudly claims that his family have farmed the land here since 1900. Today, he raises 130 head of cattle and grows corn, wheat, grass and soybeans on 1,200 acres of land.For his family, his animals and wider business, water is life.So when, in May 2024, the Texas-based Aligned Data Centers broke ground on its NEO-01, four-building, 200,000 sq ft data center on a brownfield site that abuts farmland that Hermes rents, he was concerned.“We have city water here
Boost for artists in AI copyright battle as only 3% back UK active opt-out plan
A campaign fronted by popstars including Elton John and Dua Lipa to protect artists’ works from being mined to train AI models without consent has received a boost after almost every respondent to a government consultation backed their case.Ninety-five per cent of the more than 10,000 people who had their say over how music, novels, films and other works should be protected from copyright infringements by tech companies called for copyright to be strengthened and a requirement for licensing in all cases or no change to copyright law.By contrast, only 3% of people backed the government’s initial preferred tech company-friendly option, which was to require artists and copyright holders to actively opt out of having their material fed into data-hungry AI systems.Ministers subsequently dropped that preference in the face of a backlash. Artists who have opposed any dilution of their copyright include Sam Fender, Kate Bush and the Pet Shop Boys
Google AI summaries are ruining the livelihoods of recipe writers: ‘It’s an extinction event’
This past March, when Google began rolling out its AI Mode search capability, it began offering AI-generated recipes. The recipes were not all that intelligent. The AI had taken elements of similar recipes from multiple creators and Frankensteined them into something barely recognizable. In one memorable case, the Google AI failed to distinguish comments on a Reddit thread from legitimate recipe sites and advised users to cook with non-toxic glue.Over the past few years, bloggers who have not secured their sites behind a paywall have seen their carefully developed and tested recipes show up, often without attribution and in a bastardized form, in ChatGPT replies
Leeds £2.5bn tram scheme delayed to late 2030s after government review
US prices continued to rise despite Trump claims they are ‘rapidly’ falling
US activist investor urges Whitbread review after budget tax changes
Bank of England cuts interest rates to 3.75% in pre-Christmas boost for struggling economy
Waterstones and Barnes & Noble owner looks to list booksellers on stock market
BP names Meg O’Neill as new CEO after incumbent ousted