As Michael Neser and Mitchell Starc were both dismissed for ducks on day two of the fourth Ashes Test in Melbourne, 121-9, Brodon Carse takes two wickets in three deliveries.
Fourth Ashes Test, day two: FOLLOW LIVE


Published On 27 Dec 2025
According to airline monitoring website FlightAware, thousands of flights have been canceled and delayed in the United States as a result of winter storm Devin, which has affected air travel during the busiest of the holidays.
As of 4 p.m. eastern time (21:00 GMT) on Friday, 1, 581 flights “within, into, or out of the” US were cancelled and 6, 883 were delayed, according to FlightAware, which claims to be the largest flight tracking data provider in the world.
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The US National Weather Service issued the warning about winter storm Devin, which would “hazardous travel conditions” and would result in heavy snowfall in parts of the Midwest and northeast.
On Friday, more than 40 million Americans were subject to weather advisories or winter storm warnings, and another 30 million were Californians who were subject to flood or storm advisories because of a slew of rains from an alleged atmospheric river.
The largest US city, New York City, was expecting 250mm (10 inches) of snow overnight on Friday, which was the most accumulation in four years. An Arctic blast is expected to swoop down from Canada, and temperatures were forecast to drop into the weekend.
Travelers were warned of possible delays or cancellations by New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport, and LaGuardia Airport. These three airports, in the opinion of FlightAware, caused more than half of the flight cancellations and delays.
The most recent US carrier to cancel 225 flights was JetBlue Airways, which was closely followed by Delta Air Lines, which had 212. 147 flights were canceled by Republic Airways, 97 by United Airlines, and 146 by American Airlines.
A JetBlue spokesperson told the Reuters news agency that “Due to winter storm Devin, JetBlue has cancelled approximately 350 flights today and tomorrow, primarily in the Northeast where JetBlue has a significant operation.”
Southern California experienced the wettest Christmas season in 54 years thanks to powerful winter storms that struck the US West Coast.
Despite slackening rain in the area of Los Angeles, there was still a chance of more flash flooding and mudslides on Friday, according to the National Weather Service.

Published On 27 Dec 2025
Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, addressed Vladimir Putin as he greeted the Russian president in his country and said that his country’s ties with Russia had been strengthened by “sharing blood, life, and death in the same trench” during the Ukraine war.
Kim’s message came shortly after President Putin’s own New Year’s greeting on December 18 to the North Korean leader, which praised Pyongyang’s troops’ “heroic” role in the western Kursk region and “clearly demonstrated the invincible friendship” between the two nations, according to state media.
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Kim called the bilateral relations between Moscow and Pyongyang a “precious common asset that can be carried forward forever not only in the present era but also by posterity generation after generation in his message to Putin, which was released by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Saturday.
According to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency, Kim said, “Now no one can break the bonds between the two countries’ peoples and their unity.”
According to South Korean and Western intelligence agencies, North Korea has deployed thousands of troops to help Moscow fight Ukraine.
In April, North Korea officially confirmed that it had troops deployed to support Russia’s military assault on Ukraine and that its soldiers had been killed in battle.
Following a Ukrainian incursion, Kim acknowledged earlier this month that at least nine members of an engineering regiment were killed while North Korean troops were stationed in Russia’s Kursk region to clear landmines in August 2025.
One day after Kim instructed his officials to increase the production of missiles and establish more munitions factories, Kim sent his New Year’s message to Putin.
In order to deter what Kim perceives as threats from the United States and South Korea, North Korea has increased missile testing in recent years. Analysts claim this is done to increase the accuracy of its arsenal of short-, medium-, and long-range rockets. According to the analysts, increased weapons testing may be a result of North Korea’s exports of military equipment to Russia.


Gus Atkinson’s absence from the field for the fourth Ashes Test against Australia added to England’s injury issues.
Atkinson, a pace bowler, injured his left hamstring after the final ball of his four-over bowling match on Saturday at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
England said the 27-year-old was feeling some “soreness” and would take some time off to be evaluated “over the next few hours.”
On Sunday, January 4 (23:30 GMT on January 3), the final test of the series in Sydney will take place.
On this Ashes tour, England have already lost Jofra Archer and Mark Wood to side strains.
Matthew Fisher was assigned Wood’s cover. The two English seamers who haven’t yet appeared in the series are Matthew Potts and Isaac Fisher.
With just three wickets to his name, Atkinson struggled in the tour’s opening two Test matches.
He was recalled for the Boxing Day match in Melbourne as Archer’s replacement after being excluded from Adelaide’s third Test.
Atkinson, one of only three England players to score in double figures, improved at the MCG, taking two wickets in Australia’s opening match and bringing in 28 with the bat.
At the conclusion of Australia’s second innings, he returned on Saturday morning and had nightwatchman Scott Boland caught behind.
He immediately felt for his hamstring after the fifth over of his spell, which was interrupted by a slower ball to Travis Head.


Published On 27 Dec 2025
On Saturday, December 27, 2018, this is how things are going.