England in talks to replace controversial Snicko with new technology for fourth Ashes Test

The England and Wales Cricket Board has held talks with Cricket Australia about the possibility of replacing the decision review system (DRS) technology Snicko with an alternative UltraEdge for the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne after controversy on the opening two days of the Adelaide Test.In bilateral series, DRS technology is the responsibility of the home board, which in practice is passed on to the main domestic broadcast rights holder, in this case Fox Sports. However, the Guardian has learned that Cricket Australia’s free-to-air rights holder, Channel 7, has a DRS contract with Hawk-Eye Innovations, the company behind UltraEdge, so there is an alternative available should the hosts seek to make a change amid unhappiness from players on both sides.Mitchell Starc was overheard on the stump mic calling for Snicko to be “sacked” in the afternoon session on day two at Adelaide, with Australia’s players convinced Jamie Smith had gloved a catch to Usman Khawaja at slip, though replays showed the ball had not carried.The England wicketkeeper was then given out on review for an edge on another Pat Cummins short ball, even though the audio spike shown by Snicko did not match up with the pictures shown to the third umpire

Boxing was the original attention economy – Paul v Joshua is old logic in a louder digital age

An undersized loudmouth disruptor arrives in Miami for a no-hope fight with one of history’s most destructive heavyweights, exploiting every available lever of new media to amplify his delusions of grandeur to mass audiences. There are mounting concerns for his mental and physical wellbeing, with doctors, commentators and former fighters openly questioning his soundness of mind and wondering whether he might end up in hospital – or worse. The oddsmakers have made him an 8-1 longshot, a price that feels almost charitable given the epic scale of the mismatch. The buildup revolves less around the favorite than around the smaller man’s mouth: his noise, his presence, and the creeping suspicion that spectacle may finally have outrun sense.Cassius Clay wound up shocking the world back in 1964 when he made Sonny Liston quit on his stool after six rounds at the Miami Beach Convention Center

Brother of LA Rams star arrested in alleged theft of Lakers player’s BMW

Two men, including the brother of Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua, were arrested over the weekend on suspicion of taking a vehicle belonging to Los Angeles Lakers forward Adou Thiero without consent, according to the Los Angeles county sheriff’s department.Authorities said deputies were able to track the vehicle – a newer-model BMW – to the One Hotel on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood. Investigators determined the suspects had valeted the car and entered the hotel, where they were later identified using security footage and arrested.The men were identified as Samson Nacua, 27, a professional football player who has spent time in the United Football League, and Trey Rose, also 27. Both were arrested Saturday afternoon on suspicion of unlawfully taking a vehicle

Blowers: 300-1 shot becomes joint longest-priced winner in racing history

Blowers, a horse named after the renowned former cricket commentator Henry Blofeld, earned an entry in the racing history books at Exeter on Thursday as he became the longest-priced winner ever on a British track at odds of 300-1.Blowers finished three-quarters of a length in front of the 5-4 favourite, On The Bayou, in the card’s opening race, with James Best, his jockey, as surprised as anyone by the win as he had been drafted in as a late replacement for Ella Herbison, who was caught in traffic and missed her flight from Ireland.Nigel Hawke’s five-year-old had been pulled up at 200-1 on his most recent start at Chepstow, but he enjoyed the testing conditions at the West Country track after significant rain before racing and made all the running on the way to his shock success.The winner replaces Equinoctial, a 250-1 victor at Kelso in 1990, as the longest-priced winner in British racing history, and shares the record for the most unlikely victory in Britain or Ireland with Sawbuck and He Knows No Fear, winners at 300-1 at Punchestown and Leopardstown respectively in 2022 and 2020.The bookmakers Coral reported taking 82 bets on Blowers, with the biggest being £2 each-way, while Paddy Power reported just two ­winning bets, of £15 each-way and £10 each-way

Gerald Donaldson obituary

When Ayrton Senna decided to tell a journalist what he felt while driving a racing car, and what it meant, it was Gerald Donaldson who provided his audience of one. Senna chose wisely. The Canadian writer and broadcaster, who has died aged 87, was a sympathetic listener who could be relied on to ask the sort of questions that encouraged interesting answers.During Donaldson’s career as an observer of Formula One racing, reporting for daily newspapers and national TV and radio stations, Senna had provided him with his outstanding memory. It was that of the 1993 European Grand Prix at Donington Park, Derby, where the Brazilian, on a wet and treacherous track, overtook five rivals on the opening lap to seize a lead he would never relinquish

There are only two things wrong with this England team. They can’t Baz. And they can’t ball | Barney Ronay

Even losing seems to involve doing so without the qualities that were supposed to make England winIt’s a cruel, cruel summer. By the close of play in Adelaide, on the kind of superheated afternoon when just going outside basically involves setting fire to your own hair, it was clear this was the day the music finally died for England’s Ashes tour; even if that music has long since faded, like the tinkle of a haunted pianola in an empty house.The start of day two had presented a familiar challenge. Here was another occasion where it was necessary to bat properly. And yes, it is always this day