Ashes injury scare for England with Mark Wood in hospital for scan on hamstring
England endured the most chilling of starts to their Ashes warm-up with a potential injury to Mark Wood meaning the key fast bowler will start the second day of their solitary pre-series fixture in hospital rather than on the pitch.Wood reported “stiffness in his hamstring” at the end of his second four-over spell against the Lions at Lilac Hill and will have a precautionary scan on Friday morning to assess the extent of any damage.England’s plan had been for Wood to bowl eight overs across the opening day against the Lions, a number he reached in the hour after lunch.The 35-year-old immediately left the field and, though sources in the England camp initially put this down to thirst, when he failed to return after tea a more sobering update emerged.This is Wood’s first game of any kind since England’s Champions Trophy match against Afghanistan in Lahore in February.
He underwent surgery for medial ligament damage on his left knee – the same leg that is troubling him now – the following month.Though he hoped to return in time to play at least the final Test against India in July – and he recently said that he “could have played at the back end of the season” – England decided to err on the side of caution so as not to jeopardise his participation in the Ashes.The question now is whether, even if the scan finds no significant injury, they should again take the cautious approach and leave him out of the opening Test, given that it starts in Perth next Friday.Wood has been increasing his loads in training since the summer, having travelled to New Zealand nearly a month ago to start ramping up his Ashes preparations, and he has reported no problems in that time.England’s hopes now are that his scan is clear and that he is able to bowl again on Saturday, in line with their pre-match planning.
They may be encouraged by Australia’s Josh Hazlew ood, who underwent a scan on his hamstring on Wednesday after reporting tightness while playing for New South Wales against Victoria in the Sheffield Shield, but after being given a clean bill of health will report for international duty as planned.If there is any doubt over Wood’s fitness it would seem prudent to rest him until the second Test in Brisbane, which starts on 4 December, and there is no suggestion at present that a series-ending diagnosis is expected.Nevertheless, any confirmed injury would be a cruel blow not just for a player who has had to cope with so many during his career, but for an England regime that has put years of planning into nursing him to this point in full fitness.England long ago identified high-pace bowling as their best route to success in this series, and with that in mind Wood was given a three-year deal when the ECB introduced long-term central contracts in 2023.They made it clear to him that the offer was made with the specific intention of managing his workloads ahead of the upcoming tilt at the Ashes.
“The ECB had mentioned that, if I could keep up my standards and my pace, the Ashes away was the tour that they wanted me to get to,” Wood said at the time.Brydon Carse was ruled out of the start of the Lions game through illness, having reported stomach problems on the morning of the game.He was replaced in the England XI by Josh Tongue but named in the Lions’ 13-man team and could still bowl on days two and three.
Ineos to cut hundreds of jobs as carmaker struggles with debts
The carmaker owned by the billionaire industrialist Jim Ratcliffe will make hundreds of job cuts across the company’s global workforce as his heavily indebted empire comes under increasing pressure.Ineos Automotive did not specify an exact number of losses from its 1,700-strong workforce, saying only that it would shed “several hundred” head office staff across multiple locations, including the UK and parts of Europe.The company owned by Ratcliffe, who also co-owns Manchester United, said the “strategic measures to structure its business” would help to simplify its head office and improve efficiency.The Guardian understands that the cuts are unlikely to affect the company’s automotive plant in Hambach, France, which is building the Ineos Grenadier, an off-road vehicle that pays homage to the discontinued Land Rover Defender.Ratcliffe has struggled to turn his vision into a profitable business after a string of problems at the French factory, which led the company to recall more than 7,000 of its Grenadier vehicles in the US over faulty doors
‘Whatever it takes’: Starbucks workers launch US strike and call for boycott
More than a thousand Starbucks workers have commenced a strike in more than 40 cities across the US on Thursday amid stagnant negotiations with the world’s largest coffee chain over a first union contract.On the company’s annual “red cup day”, hailing the start of the lucrative holiday season, Starbucks Workers United is launching an unfair labor practice (ULP) strike, with rallies planned in locations including New York City; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Chicago, Illinois; Columbus, Ohio; and Anaheim, California.About 65 stores are initially affected. Organizers plan to expand the strike to more locations should executives hold firm – and want customers to steer clear of the chain as part of a campaign dubbed “no contract, no coffee”.Starbucks said it was “disappointed” that Workers United had voted to strike, rather than continue bargaining, but insisted the “vast majority” of stores would be unaffected by the action
EU investigates Google over ‘demotion’ of commercial content from news media
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Anthropic announces $50bn plan for datacenter construction in US
Artificial intelligence company Anthropic announced a $50bn investment in computing infrastructure on Wednesday that will include new datacenters in Texas and New York.“We’re getting closer to AI that can accelerate scientific discovery and help solve complex problems in ways that weren’t possible before,” Anthropic’s CEO, Dario Amodei, said in a press release.Building the massive information warehouses takes an average of two years in the US and requires copious amounts of energy to fuel the facilities. The company, maker of the AI chatbot Claude, popular with businesses adopting AI, said in a statement that the “scale of this investment is necessary to meet the growing demand for Claude from hundreds of thousands of businesses while keeping our research at the frontier”. Anthropic said its projects will create about 800 permanent jobs and 2,400 construction jobs
Carlos Alcaraz beats Lorenzo Musetti to put Alex de Minaur in last four: ATP Finals tennis – as it happened
Carlos Alcaraz was much too good for an exhausted Lorenzo Musetti, beating him 6-4 6-1 to guarantee he ends the year as world no 1, avoids Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals of this competition, and confirms the unlikely last-four presence of Alex de Minaur.Like many involving Alcaraz, the first set was tight until it wasn’t, Musetti serving well until, down 4-5, he lost an 11-minute game and with it the set.It was one-way traffic thereafter, an exhausted Musetti, who played through the Asian swing and lost a marathon final in Athens to Novak Djokovic, just last Sunday, unable to cope as Alcaraz upped his level. And though he needed three match points to finish off, the outcome was never in doubt. Next for him: Felix Auger-Aliassime or Alexander Zverev
‘We’re ready for the All Blacks’: Maro Itoje builds belief in improved England
England have endured plenty of agonising near misses against New Zealand in recent years but there is no shortage of belief this time around.The home captain, Maro Itoje, says he believes his side are “ready” to secure a first victory over the All Blacks since 2019 and suggests they now have the rising confidence and mental clarity to extend their winning run to 10 games.Itoje knows from personal experience what it takes to beat New Zealand, having tasted success for the British & Irish Lions in 2017 and again for England in the 2019 Rugby World Cup semi-final in Yokohama. On three occasions last year he was part of teams narrowly edged out in the final stages by the All Blacks in Dunedin, Auckland and London but says England are now significantly better placed to seal the deal on Saturday.“I think we’re ready,” said Itoje as England put the finishing touches to their big game preparations at their hotel base in Bagshot
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