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Times
a day ago
- Sport
- Times
Shubman Gill: England's time-wasting was not in spirit of the game
Shubman Gill has accused England of not playing within the spirit of cricket after employing what the India captain believes were deliberate time-wasting tactics on the third evening of the Lord's Test match. India were bowled out for 387 late on day three of the third Test, leaving England with eight minutes to bat that evening, which should have been enough time for India to bowl two overs at Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett. However only one over was possible because of delays, which included Crawley twice pulling out of his stance while Jasprit Bumrah was at the top of his mark and then calling for treatment from the England physiotherapist after being hit on his hand. Gill also accused England of being late to come out to the middle. The combination of delays resulted in Gill telling Crawley to 'grow some f***ing balls' in an incident that sparked several other heated moments throughout the rest of the match, which England won by 22 runs to take a 2-1 lead in the series.
France 24
a day ago
- Sport
- France 24
Stokes ready to push through pain barrier against India
All-rounder Stokes took five wickets, scored 77 runs and ran out Rishabh Pant across two innings of relentless effort during a 22-run win over India in the third Test at Lord's. Victory gave England a 2-1 lead in a five-match series, with fast-medium paceman Stokes bowling 44 overs in total, including gruelling spells on the decisive final day. "I'm not going to lie, I cannot wait to just lie on my bed for four days," said Stokes after the match. The 34-year-old has suffered two severe hamstring injuries in the past 12 months but the skipper, speaking to reporters on the eve of the fourth Test at Old Trafford, said he was well-rested. "I felt like I was in a long-distance relationship with my family because I hardly saw them (despite) being at home. If the situation requires it again then I'll do what I need to do." The quality of cricket on show from both England and India has drawn comparison with England's celebrated 2005 Ashes triumph. "So far, the series has been great to play in and I presume it's been pretty good to watch," said Stokes. "The 2005 Ashes series was great to watch and I think we've gone all five days in all three Tests so far so it just proves that the quality of cricket has been outstanding. © 2025 AFP
Edinburgh Reporter
2 days ago
- Health
- Edinburgh Reporter
Edinburgh South West MP's bill progresses
A bill to highlight the need for research into cancers which are designated 'rare', and which was introduced by Dr Scott Arthur, MP for Edinburgh South West, has now progressed to the House of Lords. A first reading of the Rare Cancers Bill has already been heard in the Lords, it is expected to returns there in the autumn for its second reading. The purpose of the new law is to 'make provision to incentivise, research and investment into the treatment of rare types of cancer'. These are the group of cancers in respect of which little progress has been made in researching treatment or a cure. The Rare Cancers Bill is what is known as a ballot bill – a type of Private Members' Bill used in the House of Commons. Around ten months ago Dr Arthur was chosen to pick a numbered ping pong ball out of a goldfish bowl at the start of the parliamentary term to give him the chance of proposing a Ballot Bill. He was then able to choose his own subject matter. Dr Arthur said: 'It feels like things are lining up. The vast bulk of these bills do fail, so it's tremendous to get this far. And let's hope it doesn't fail, but what it's done so far is it's really got people talking about rare cancers, and it's really put some of the charities which support this sector in the spotlight, and it's been a chance for them to connect with people as well.' He continued: 'What got me started on this was that my father-in-law died of a type of brain tumour called glioblastoma, which is a rare cancer type. It wasn't until I drew the ballot and people started to contact me about what I could focus my bill on that I found that the type of brain tumour he died from – there's been no real progress in terms of treatment for decades. 'And what happened to him, he died around six months after a diagnosis. That is not unusual. I think on average, glioblastoma, nine months. Some people do live significantly longer than that, particularly if they manage to get surgery. But nine months is the average life expectancy after diagnosis. And it's the same for a lot of cancers in this field where there's just not been the progress. 'I spoke to the father of a preschool child, she had neuroblastoma, which is a type of cancer which attaches itself to your internal organs, and she died. And again, same story, he found out there's just so little money going into researching that cancer type and just not enough progress. And people in Edinburgh will remember Kira the Machine, the teenager, she had the same type of cancer and she's been able to access trials and cutting edge treatments, but still 10 years on, she still has the cancer and it's still a big part of her life.' 'The bill has the backing of around 40 charities which was useful as the bill came to the House of Commons for its Third Reading to be met with many amendments from fellow MP Sir Christopher Chope. The charities sent 120,000 emails to their supporters and some contacted their own MPs which meant the bill had a lot of support to get through the Commons. 'I think I've said this many times, I've always felt it was better to come away with something rather than nothing. Some of the private members bills, what MPs do, because they know how difficult it can be to succeed. What they do is they aim really high and they create a fantastic campaign because it's about raising awareness and they accept that ultimately there's a good chance it's not going to succeed. But our focus is on succeeding and actually delivering something.' His parliamentary colleague Tracy Gilbert also secured a Ballot Bill – hers was a different topic completely – the Absent Voting (Elections in Scotland and Wales) Bill, and that has also passed to the House of Lords for a Second Reading. Third Reading Dr Arthur said in the House of Commons during the Third Reading that when he was successful in having his bill supported he got 'so many emails, many of which were about glioblastoma. The reality is that someone who was diagnosed that day with glioblastoma would more than likely be dead by now – that is how serious the condition is'. The Edinburgh South West MP has used the parliamentary time to mention several constituents who have or have had a rare cancer. He said: 'I shared the tragic stories of a young constituent called Tilly, who passed away from neuroblastoma, and Kira, who has lived with the same condition for a decade—half of her life. I am proud to wear the Solving Kids' Cancer badge, which Kira's mother Aud gave me when I last met her. 'One lady travelled quite far to meet me at my constituency surgery in July in Tesco in Colinton Mains. Her daughter was diagnosed with a sarcoma. In Tesco, next to the bleeping self-checkout aisles, she told me about the uncertainty she had faced after that diagnosis and how she had found it impossible even to understand which trials were available, let alone access them. I could see that she had felt powerless and had lost hope. The other reason she was in Edinburgh – perhaps the most important reason – was that she was meeting her ex-husband to scatter her daughter's ashes in a local park. What is happening to people who face these conditions is quite incredible, so it is right that we seek to address them.' He explained to the House that there are three recurring themes in all the stories he has heard – the first is frustration, the second is perseverance and the third is that every story concludes with an offer of help from those patients who 'know that their options are limited'. Dr Arthur said: 'For far too long, rare cancer patients have been left behind—as medical science makes significant progress in many other complex fields, we have not seen enough progress in this one—but they feel this piece of legislation could mark a meaningful shift for many and turn out to be life-altering, perhaps even lifesaving, for some. There is one statistic that I often mention: rare cancers are not really rare, as they account for 47% of all cancer diagnoses in the UK each year. That equates to 180,000 people. If you are one of those 47%, two things are true: you are more likely to face outdated treatments and you are more likely to die.' The bill should spark a government review of what are known as 'orphan drugs' – a term which Dr Arthur says he prefers to talk about rare conditions – to explore new ways of getting the drugs companies to try to find innovative treatments for rare cancers. He hopes this will reduce barriers to research and also mean more trials are conducted in the UK, so saving more lives. Dr Scott Arthur MP (Edinburgh South West, Labour) presenting his bill to the Speaker in October 2024. Dr Scott Arthur MP (Edinburgh South West, Labour) PHOTO © House of Commons Like this: Like Related
The Independent
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Independent
How England's sledging practice turned India series on its head
No more Mr Nice Guys. When Brendon McCullum spoke, he had a message with a difference. England may have irritated some of their opponents with their words off the pitch, with the sense they were trying to save Test cricket in a flurry of sixes or wanted to chase 600 for the hell of it, but rarely on the field. Until last week. Victory over India at Lord's came in a game with a difference. One indication that it wasn't Bazball as normal came when England chugged along at three runs an over, Ben Stokes grinding out runs on a slow pitch. It was about battling, not battering bowlers into submission. But another came as they sought to prise out the 10 Indian wickets. England were verbal and vocal, combative and confrontational. There was a shift in strategy. McCullum, who can be a laidback emblem of Kiwi cool, had instigated it. Brook, a carefree antidote to some of the hard-nosed Yorkshiremen of cricketing past and cliche, bought into it. 'Baz said it to us a few days before,' the ODI captain revealed. 'He said sometimes we are a bit too nice.' It was a message Brook underlined on the third evening at Lord's. Shubman Gill had been particularly forthright in his comments to Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett when the openers occupied enough time to ensure a single over was bowled. 'I actually brought it up in the team chat after,' Brook said. 'I think we just felt the opportunity last week was the perfect time to be 11 players against them two like they were the night before. We had a little conversation and everybody saw them get stuck into Creeps and Ducky, and we just thought: 'I am not standing for that'. So we all piled into them.' When there was a role reversal, when India batted, Brook was an audible presence near the bat. 'I suppose I was in the ring for the majority of it, being at slip,' he said. There have been times in recent years when England's aggression has come with the bat, when it has rained boundaries. But if part of the transformation of Indian cricket has been an assertiveness, a refusal to back down, England looked to show their toughness. 'That was the perfect opportunity to go out there and give them something back, and not be the nice guys that we have been in the last three or four years, and put them under pressure,' Brook said. 'It might have made a difference to them getting out or we might have just been very skilful and bowled well.' That can be the great unknowable; whether a 22-run victory was chiselled out by excellence or intimidation. Mental disintegration, to borrow Steve Waugh's phrase, can conjure images of snarling Australians, though the scorebook never records who was talked out of their wicket. But perhaps some sledging practice could prove timely, given England's winter trip to Australia. It doesn't necessarily make it the blueprint, or mean they will spend five days at Old Trafford quoting liberally from Merv Hughes at his most insulting. Brook felt England did not cross the line. 'I don't think it's against the spirit of cricket,' he said. 'We weren't being personal, we weren't being nasty, we were just putting them under more pressure. We weren't going out there effing and jeffing at them and being nasty people. We were just going about it in the right manner. It is not that we are going to be a horrible team going forward.' But if the competitive juices were flowing, that enhanced the drama. In any case, Brydon Carse, according to his friend Brook, is invariably heated. 'You want people like that in your team,' Brook said. Then there is Jofra Archer, whose natural demeanour is less intense than Carse's. Yet, Brook noted, 'I think he always bowls a little bit quicker when he is angry. One of the players told him to take his arm sleeve off at some point. The next ball was 94mph. We have probably got a bit of a job this week to try and get him angry at some point, and try and blow them away.' That was said with a smile, but there is a point. England can talk a good game, but genuine speed has an eloquence of its own. 'When you have got two guys who are bowling 90mph, it is a brutal place to be playing,' Brook added. The Stokes-McCullum era has been built on attacking batting and positive rhetoric more than express pace, which they have only had at times, and wars of words. They sought to start off by getting in their own players' heads. Which is an ongoing process, as McCullum has former All Blacks mental-skills coach Gilbert Enoka working with them at Old Trafford. But if the cliche is that nice guys finish last, the newer, harsher England are a victory away from a series win.
Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Joanna Lumley backs assisted dying and reveals exactly when she 'wouldn't mind saying farewell'
The 79-year-old star said she supports the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which was backed by MPs last month and is heading for the Lords this autumn Actress Dame Joanna Lumley has spoken out in favour of assisted dying, saying she would not want to carry on if she couldn't talk or eat or recognise her loved ones. The 79-year-old star said she supports the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which was backed by MPs last month and is heading for the Lords this autumn. The new law would allow terminally ill adults with less than six months to live to apply for an assisted death. Asked about the bill in an interview with Saga Magazine, Dame Joanna, best known for her role as Patsy in the BBC sitcom Absolutely Fabulous, said: 'People are terribly anxious about it and think one may be coerced. But I'm saying this now, when nobody's coercing me – don't let me turn into somebody who doesn't recognise the people I love most, where I'm having a miserable time. When I get to the stage where I can't speak and have to be fed, that won't be me any more – and that's when I wouldn't mind saying farewell." One of the bill's most high-profile supporters has been TV presenter Dame Esther Rantzen, 85, who has terminal cancer and is being backed by her daughter Rebecca Wilcox. Esther recently urged members of the Lords not to block the legislation. Dame Joanna's support has been welcomed by campaigners, including Louise Shackleton. Louise is being probed by police after reporting herself for going with her husband Anthony, 59, to the Dignitas group in Switzerland. Anthony, who had motor neurone disease, had decided to end his life, aided by Dignitas, in December. Louise, 58, from North Yorkshire, told the Mirror how she would be burying his ashes today. She said: 'Monday is my husband's 60th birthday and it's the day we lay him to rest. 'He would have been overwhelmed that such a huge star has spoken out. I would like to thank Joanna on behalf of fellow campaigners for having the courage to speak out and to represent the vast majority of people who are in agreement with what she is saying but haven't got her platform.' Louise said she hoped the bill would make it through the Lords. She said: 'Hopefully, there will be measured, educated and community focused progress to move this forward.' Dignity in Dying CEO Sarah Wootton said: 'Dame Joanna's comments show that just like the overwhelming majority of the public, she supports assisted dying for terminally ill, mentally competent adults, which puts power in the hands of dying people to choose how they die. People want to know that when they are dying, they will have the peace of mind of being able to ask for a safe, peaceful assisted death. 'We urge the Lords to listen to dying people, bereaved families and the public.' But the bill does have its opponents. Gordon Macdonald, CEO of Care Not Killing, said after the last vote: 'This is a deeply flawed and dangerous bill which fails to protect vulnerable and disabled people from coercion.' However Louise responded: 'The bill does not include disabled people, it does not include people with anorexia or the elderly, unless they have a terminal illness with an assessed sound mind and less than six months to live.'
