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Stephan Shemilt
Melbourne Cricket Ground’s Chief Cricket Reporter
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On Saturday, England’s pace bowler Gus Atkinson will go under the knife to assess the extent of a hamstring injury sustained in Australia’s shocking defeat in the fourth Ashes Test.
On what turned out to be England’s second and final morning of four wickets, pace bowler Atkinson added to their injury woes when he left the field.
The 27-year-old injured his left hamstring after the final ball of his fourth over bowled at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Saturday.
England claimed Atkinson felt a “soreness,” and he had no intention of playing again as the visitors came to an end to an 18-game winless run in this nation.
Following England’s victory in just two days, captain Ben Stokes expressed disappointment at seeing him leave the field.
I’ll leave that up to the medical team because I’m not a member of their team. We’ll have to wait and see, as always when a player leaves the field.
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.
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.
Sudan’s brutal civil war, according to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, has slammed for an immediate ceasefire.
The UN Security Council on Monday received a peace initiative from Sudan’s Prime Minister Kamil Idris, which demanded that the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) be disarmed.
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The RSF deemed the idea “wishful thinking” and rejected the plan.
The Sudanese army and the RSF paramilitary group engaged in a power struggle in April 2023, which sparked a conflict. According to UN figures, 30.4% of Sudanese people now require humanitarian assistance, while 9.6 million internally displaced and 4.3 million forced to flee to neighboring countries.
Fears of intensifying fighting during the dry season have been confirmed, according to UN Assistant Secretary-General Mohamed Khaled Khiari, who addressed the UNSC this week.
He claimed that “each day brings shocking levels of violence and destruction.” “Civilians are enduring enormous, unimaginable suffering without a cure in sight.”
Sudan’s central Kordofan region, where the RSF seized the key Heglig oilfield on December 8, has recently seen a shift in the conflict. South Sudanese forces entered Sudan to defend the infrastructure, which Khiari argued reflects “the conflict’s growing regional dimensions and its increasingly complex nature.”
In addition to attacking towns in the Dar Zaghawa region close to the Chad border since December 24, the RSF has launched a final push to regain full control of North Darfur state. The last escape route for civilians fleeing the country to Chad is being threatened by the offensive.
Two Chadian soldiers were killed in a drone attack at a military camp in Tine, which spread across Sudan’s borders on Friday.
Sudanese drone was reported to have come from Sudan, but it’s not clear whether it was launched by the army or the RSF, according to a Chadian military intelligence officer. If the strike is determined to be deliberate, the Chad air force is on high alert and will “exercise our right to retaliation.”
The UN made a remarkable breakthrough by conducting its first assessment mission to El-Fasher since the city fell to the RSF, which came on Friday in a rare development.
According to UN Humanitarian Coordinator Denise Brown, “months of intense fighting, siege, and widespread violations against civilians and humanitarian workers” followed, and “hundreds of thousands of civilians have been forced to flee El-Fasher and surrounding areas.”
A report from Yale University earlier this month revealed systematic mass killings by the RSF in El-Fasher, with satellite imagery demonstrating widespread human remains burning and burial.
Last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated at a press conference that “everyone involved is going to look bad and the story of what actually happened is going to be known.”
There is no compelling evidence that any significant progress has been made, despite Rubio’s claim that he desired the end of the conflict before the new year.
In accordance with Prime Minister Idris’ peace plan, a full withdrawal of the RSF from Sudan, which it controls, is required immediately. However, Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo’s advisor, Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti,” called the idea “closer to fantasy than politics.”
We’ve found hydrating under eye patches that “de-puff amazingly” and immediately work because your under eyes are the first area to dry up when you’re tired.
We may link to affiliate links in this article, but we will make money off of any purchases we make. more information
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Under eye patches are your party season skincare saviour(Image: Getty Images)
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READ MORE: Purchase last-minute beauty products from Laura Mercier and Charlotte Tilbury for £115.
READ MORE: My skin received so many compliments as a result of Charlotte Tilbury’s foundation’s surviving party season.
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Continue reading the article.
While another claimed that they were “refreshing and hydrating.” I haven’t used them for a while, but I haven’t noticed a change.
There are plenty of exciting players entering less-heralded leagues, but impressing in one of Europe’s biggest leagues is a strong way to establish yourself as a promising youngster.
The CIES Football Observatory, a research institute, has compiled a list of the highest-ranked players who were born in 2006 or later and who played in other than the established top five leagues (Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, Ligue 1, League A, and Serie A).
For aerial play, recovery, distribution, and take on, which involves dribbling the ball at least eight meters toward the opponent’s goal, creating chances, and finishing, it was used as part of its methodology.
Luke Littler, the reigning world champion, revealed that he underwent eye surgery when he was younger.
Although surgery is not always necessary, the Englishman, now 18 years old, received treatment at Warrington Hospital to treat strabismus, an eye condition where the eyes do not align.
World No. 1 Littler questioned whether the operation could have altered the way his life might have gone. “Who knows?
When I was four or five, I resolved the issue. I don’t recall it at this time.
Littler won the title at the age of 17 in January, making him the youngest ever world champion.
Fans of motorcycle road racing can look back on the 2025 season, which featured plenty of excitement, thrilling accomplishments, controversy, and disappointments, but the year is already shaping up for what 2026 might bring.
At the North West 200 this year, Michael Dunlop and Davey Todd were the standout performers, each bagging a hat-trick of victories, and Dunlop continued his world-record-breaking run at the Isle of Man TT in June, taking his fifth four-time winner of his career over the Mountain Course to increase his total victories to 33.
Todd added to his growing resume with victories in the Macau Grand Prix, Southern 100 Solo Championship victories, and Superbike TT race victories in the fall of 2017.
Top riders and teams have already made plans for the upcoming campaign, while race organisers have made schedule changes, calendar additions, and racing classes in advance of the competitions of the following year.
NW200 is gearing up for a successful international season.
Pacemaker
The North West 200 traditionally marks the start of the international road racing season’s busiest month, and on-track action will take place between June and May.
The North West will host the second round of six of the new European Series Road Racing Superbike Championship (ESR), which is expected to improve the meeting’s international appeal.
John McGuinness and Dean Harrison of Honda Racing, who are still searching for their first victory after five second-place finishes this year, will fly the flag for the Japanese manufacturer for the third year in a row.
Todd and Peter Hickman have also indicated that their 8TEN Racing team will once again compete for the BMW marquee.
After a nine-year winning drought at the meeting with his famous treble in May, Dunlop is anticipated to win more races.
Although the team and rider match-ups are still a major piece of the puzzle, Glenn Irwin, the record-breaking 11-time Superbike race winner, teased a potential return to the sport in an interview with BBC Sport NI in August.
Irwin, who will compete in British Superbikes on a Ducati for his Nitrous Competitions Racing team in 2026, said he would not consider running a Ducati again.
We had a meeting with Event Director Mervyn Whyte over the summer, and we discussed a lot of issues with the North West, including safety improvements.
You never know if these guys can make the event even safer by removing my excuse for not racing because there was a risk associated with having a family. I couldn’t rule it out for the following year if they could continue to make steps.
December 19
There are numerous TT stories and TT changes taking place.
Pacemaker
Dunlop continues to dominate the Isle of Man TT, winning both the Supersport and Supertwins events this year to extend his winning streak in those disciplines, which was the previous record of eight races in a row.
The Northern Ireland rider is looking forward to the addition of more victories in Superbike races, but there is always rife rumors about what kind of machinery he will choose for the larger capacity classes.
After recovering from serious injuries sustained in a crash during qualifying for this year’s event, much will be focused on whether 14-time champion Hickman can regain the form he has previously displayed.
Harrison will aim to increase his winning streak to five, resembling the form he did in 2025 when he won the Superstock double.
Another contestant will attempt to increase his three victories total, which he has already accumulated over the past two years.
While those four are likely to be around to watch, the entry’s emergence adds depth and quality to the cast, along with returning riders Paul Jordan, Jim Hind, and Josh Brookes, who are all recovering from another injury setback.
The Manx event’s 2026 edition will have more rest days, more emergency time slots, and Superstock and Supersport classes switching places in the standings for the race running order due to changes to the schedule.
Sportbike-specific machines will be able to compete for the first time thanks to a Supertwin class update.
This action is in line with the wider expansion of the sportbike category internationally and the introduction of the World and British Superbike Championships.
Triumph and Suzuki bikes, as well as the Chinese CF Moto 675SR-R, will now be available to Paton, Aprilia, Kawasaki, and Yamaha customers.
Irish racing’s future appears promising.
Pacemaker
The road racing scene in Northern Ireland appears to be back on much stronger ground after a period of uncertainty brought on by insurance problems in 2023.
The Cookstown 100 serves its long-established function as the “traditional curtain-raiser” to racing “between the hedges” in late April, and the Armoy road race continues to prosper in its late July slot in addition to the North West 200.
In 2025, Dunlop made a top-notch appearance just a few weeks after his most recent TT tour de force and claiming a big bike double. Additionally, the Ballymoney rider had won two Cookstown races.
Mike Browne, a rider for the Republic of Ireland, won four times at Armoy.
Following an unsuccessful attempt to resurrect the road race in 2022 when the event had to be postponed due to oil, glass, and nails accumulating on parts of the Clough circuit, the Mid Antrim 150 is now set to be reinsated into the road race running order on July 31 through August 1.
After a four-year absence due primarily to exorbitant insurance costs, there is also the likely possibility of road race competitions taking place in the Republic of Ireland again in 2026.
Following a funding boost from the Northern Ireland Executive, plans were being put in place to restore the renowned Ulster Grand Prix international road race, with 2027 the potential year for that to take shape, which provided more positive news for road race supporters in November.
