England dealt fresh Ashes blow with Mark Wood ruled out for rest of series
The blows just keep coming for England in Australia.On Tuesday came confirmation that Mark Wood will miss the remainder of the Ashes tour because of a knee problem that resurfaced after the first Test defeat in Perth.It represents a heartbreaking setback for Wood following a lengthy battle to be fit for a series that England now find themselves trailing 2-0.The 35-year-old underwent surgery on his left knee in March, sent down 11 overs in the series opener, only to then miss the eight-wicket loss in Brisbane.“Gutted to be out of the remainder of the Ashes,” said Wood, sharing the news on social media.
“After extensive surgery and 7 long hard months of work and rehab to get back into the test arena, my knee just hasn’t held up.“None of us expected this.I came here with high expectations about making a big impact.I’m desperately disappointed that despite yet more injections and intensive medical treatment it has become clear that the flare up in my knee is worse than feared.”The sight of Wood wearing a knee brace over the past fortnight pointed to the problem being serious and, given his injury record, the news is not entirely unexpected.
England’s attempts to get the fastest bowler in the world ready for this tour were understandable, even if it was always a risk.Into the main squad comes Surrey’s Matthew Fisher, 28, who has been part of the shadow Lions tour and won his solitary Test cap in Barbados in 2022.Whether Fisher features in the series remains to be seen, with Josh Tongue and Matthew Potts the unused seamers ahead of him.Though still under contract with England until September next year, Wood’s 10-year international career may sadly be approaching the end.If so then he would sign off as an Ashes winner in 2015, as well as with winners’ medals from the 50-over World Cup in 2019 and the T20 World Cup in 2022.
Having helped England battle back from 2-0 down to draw the home Ashes in 2023 – his breathtaking speeds at Headingley changed the entire mood of the series – the hope was of a repeat in Australia,Typical of the man, he felt moved to apologise for the injury and vowed to attempt another comeback,Wood continued: “I’m really sorry that has left me unable to perform as expected but it is not for want of trying,I want to thank everyone at home and away in Australia,The barmy army have been class as always and I really appreciate it.
Sign up to The SpinSubscribe to our cricket newsletter for our writers' thoughts on the biggest stories and a review of the week’s actionafter newsletter promotion“Whatever happens I will continue to push the limits to get back again.It has been a tough road these past few months but I remain determined to give it another proper go.I still believe we can turn things around.Never give in.Come on England.
”Australia have similarly suffered a setback with the news that an achilles injury has ruled out Josh Hazlewood from featuring at all,In his absence, and with Pat Cummins having also missed the first two Tests while completing rehab on a back problem, Mitchell Starc has stepped up with 18 wickets,Cummins, the captain, is expected to return for the third Test in Adelaide that gets under way on 17 December, likewise the spinner Nathan Lyon after missing the day-nighter at the Gabba for tactical reasons,For England, licking their wounds while on a short break in Noosa, north of Brisbane, the challenge will only increase,
EU investigating Google’s use of online content for AI purposes; problems with Microsoft’s Copilot – business live
Newsflash: The European Commission has opened an antitrust probe into whether Google is breaching EU competition rules by using online content from web publishers and its YouTube service for artificial intelligence purposes.The EC says:The investigation will notably examine whether Google is distorting competition by imposing unfair terms and conditions on publishers and content creators, or by granting itself privileged access to such content, thereby placing developers of rival AI models at a disadvantage.The Commission is concerned that Google has used web publishers’ content without permission or compensation, both to create AI-powered services and to train its AI models.It explains:The content of web publishers to provide generative AI-powered services (‘AI Overviews’ and ‘AI Mode’) on its search results pages without appropriate compensation to publishers and without offering them the possibility to refuse such use of their content. AI Overviews shows AI-generated summaries responsive to a user’s search query above organic results, while AI Mode is a search tab similar to a chatbot answering users’ queries in a conversational style
Britons face higher chocolate prices but average cost of Christmas dinner falls
The festive season may be less merry for those with a sweet tooth this year, as the price of chocolate has risen by nearly a fifth, according to research.Chocolate prices in Great Britain rose 18.4% on a year earlier in November, analysts at the market research firm Worldpanel found.However, the study showed the average cost of a Christmas dinner for four people has fallen by a penny to £32.46
EU opens investigation into Google’s use of online content for AI models
The EU has opened an investigation to assess whether Google is breaching European competition rules in its use of online content from publishers and YouTube creators for artificial intelligence.The European Commission said on Tuesday it will examine whether the US tech company, which runs the Gemini AI model and is owned by Alphabet, is putting rival AI owners at a “disadvantage”.“The investigation will notably examine whether Google is distorting competition by imposing unfair terms and conditions on publishers and content creators, or by granting itself privileged access to such content, thereby placing developers of rival AI models at a disadvantage,” the commission said.It said it was concerned that Google may have used content from web publishers to generate AI-powered services on its search results pages without appropriate compensation to publishers and without offering them the possibility to refuse such use of their content.The commission said it was also concerned as to whether Google has used content uploaded to YouTube to train its own generative AI models without offering creators compensation or the possibility to refuse
Trump clears way for Nvidia to sell powerful AI chips to China
Donald Trump has cleared the way for Nvidia to begin selling its powerful AI computer chips to China, marking a win for the chip maker and its CEO, Jensen Huang, who has spent months lobbying the White House to open up sales in the country.Before Monday’s announcement, the US had prohibited sales of Nvidia’s most advanced chips to China over national security concerns.Trump posted to Truth Social on Monday: “I have informed President Xi, of China, that the United States will allow NVIDIA to ship its H200 products to approved customers in China, and other Countries, under conditions that allow for continued strong National Security. President Xi responded positively!”Trump said the Department of Commerce was finalising the details and that he was planning to make the same offer to other chip companies, including Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Intel. Nvidia’s H200 chips are the company’s second most powerful, and far more advanced than the H20, which was originally designed as a lower-powered model for the Chinese market that would not breach restrictions, but which the US banned anyway in April
The Breakdown | Pirates hope lure of Cornish Camelot will tempt franchise bargain hunters
Champ club have a plan to reach the top flight and hope investors will recognise their untapped potentialIt is too early to declare it the feelgood British sports story of the decade. There remains much work to do and a lot more money to raise. But to be in the tented clubhouse at the Mennaye Field in Penzance is to feel a flicker of something genuinely interesting. While the flame may be faint, the dream of a top-level Cornwall-based professional rugby team is still alive.Regular readers may recall embarking down this coastal path before
Sabastian Sawe: the marathon star on a mission to be drug tested as much as possible | Sean Ingle
Last week the world’s best marathon runner, Sabastian Sawe, looked me straight in the eye and told me “doping is a cancer”. Then he insisted he was clean. You hear such oaths and affirmations all the time. But, uniquely, Sawe recently backed up those words by asking the Athletics Integrity Unit to test him as much as possible.You see, Sawe believed he could break the world record in Berlin in September
A better understanding of mental ill health is crucial | Letters
Rock star: Sasha DiGiulian on making history with a ‘crazy, audacious’ climb of El Capitán
People on lowest incomes being denied access to social housing, research finds
Local authorities in England and Wales warn finances at ‘breaking point’
Rules on single-sex spaces pose risk to trans people’s mental health, UK charities say
Spiteful or fair? Reeves’s mansion tax plan proves divisive | Letters