New mum Sciver-Brunt was set to miss Windies series
Theo was with Sciver-Brunt during the T20 series which concluded on Monday and the first one-day international on Friday in Derby, where Katherine was working as a commentator for the BBC.The matches were England's first under the all-rounder and new coach Charlotte Edwards, who were appointed after Heather Knight and Jon Lewis were sacked amid the fallout from last winter's Ashes defeat. Katherine travelled alongside England while pregnant throughout the winter but remained at home during the Women's Premier League in February and March.Had she gone into labour while Nat was at the tournament in India, her wife would not have made it home in time for the birth.Nat is the first mum to play for England since Arran Brindle, who played her last international in 2014."There were talks of a stand-in captain coming in for this series and that was a hard question for England," Katherine Sciver-Brunt said."But ultimately Lottie [Edwards] wanted Nat and I couldn't deny her that opportunity towards the back end of her career. "If I was unhappy or wasn't sure, Nat would not have done it. She is selfless in that way and that is why she makes such a good captain."Sciver-Brunt's comments come after the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced an update to its maternity policy on Friday.Previously England players were guaranteed their full salary for the first 13 weeks post-childbirth and a percentage thereafter but they will now receive 12 months fully paid leave, plus an automatic contract extension and support with childcare and breastfeeding facilities.County players will get six months paid maternity leave plus the contract extension.Nat had egg freezing treatment last summer and said she would like to carry a baby after her cricket career."When you talk about giving birth, it takes more than a year to get your body back into fitness and revert back to what you were," Katherine said."You have worked so hard as a female to get to that point in your career and then you have to question stepping back and having to juggle starting a family. "Even deciding to extract and freeze your eggs, there is time that has to be taken out for that."If you are an exceptional athlete you often have a long career ahead of you, but not if you want to start a family. "Normalising this conversation and to inspiring people that it can be done, there needs to be more of that and I think it will happen."
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Times
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- Times
Times letters: PM's backing for a third runway at Heathrow
Write to letters@ Sir, Your leading article ('Cleared for Takeoff', Aug 1) and the cogently argued business commentary by Alistair Osborne ('Heathrow runway is an expensive folly', Aug 1) both admit that Heathrow should not be there in the first place. Indeed, and if one is in a hole any sensible reaction would be to stop digging. We all know that the costs of £21 billion for the runway and £12 billion on top of that for another terminal will end up hugely inflated, and that the upgrades necessary for transportation to and from Heathrow will incur further enormous expenditure. Sooner or later there will be a catastrophe when an aircraft crashes on London, made all the more likely when power failures and control systems can cause such mayhem. Ministers' lip service to environmental considerations is further exposed as James Stevens CurlHolywood, Co Down Sir, You report that 'work is under way within the government to curb the ability of environmental groups and other campaigners to bring legal challenges against national infrastructure projects' ('M25 could be relocated 'overnight' to build a third Heathrow runway', Aug 1). One can only wonder what Labour would have said had the Conservatives tried to bring in such HartRickmansworth, Herts Sir, Old campaigners against a third runway at Heathrow will now have to dust off their posters and letters of protest: clearly we are all going to have to go through the old arguments again. Nothing appears to have happened to change the Department for Transport's own study. This suggested that if more airport capacity were really needed then on both economic and environmental grounds it should be at McLuskeyAshford, Middx Sir, Proposals for a third runway at Heathrow and another at Gatwick are misguided. The skies over southeast England are already overcrowded and new runways will simply increase the problem. The answer is to build a five-runway, state-of-the-art airport in the Thames Estuary, with fast rail links. This would serve our needs for the next century. Heathrow and Gatwick could then be closed down, freeing up land for much-needed PrattStorrington, W Sussex Sir, It astounds me that whenever the disruption and cost of expanding Heathrow is discussed there is never any mention of Birmingham airport. It is located in a relatively unpopulated area with a mainline rail station and good public access: it is next to motorway links and is about an hour from the capital by car or train. But of course, it's not London — silly JohnsonWolverhampton Sir, I wonder if my children will have retired by the time the third runway at Heathrow is operational? In China, or indeed France, the planning and construction would be rapidly accomplished. No one would expect that in the ValePewsey, Wilts Sir, Having seen the PM's plans for a third runway at Heathrow, perhaps Sir Humphrey should whisper in his ear: 'Remember HS2.'Martin WrightChinnor, Oxon Sir, Italians will be aware that most of the projects Edward Lucas praises in his article were actually initiated before 2022, the year Giorgia Meloni became prime minister ('Confident Italy shows us how to bounce back', comment, Jul 31). She inherited a €198 billion loan from the EU, which I suspect Rachel Reeves would welcome and do good things with. If Lucas were to come further south on holiday he would find unemployment in the eight provinces of southern Italy 10 per cent higher than the richer north that he visited. A total of 18.9 per cent of Italians live in poverty, and the figure is increasing. GDP per capita has not increased since Meloni became PM and government debt as a share of GDP has increased under her Gozi MEPFormer Italian secretary of state for European Affairs Sir, Edward Lucas's overenthusiastic assessment of Italy's thriving and booming economy overlooks the simple and very sad fact that Italy still offers very few opportunities for young people, even those with university degrees. They find it easier to find a job in a café in London than in Milan or Rome. It's still pretty impossible to get a position at an Italian university if one lacks a powerful backer. Bright scientists and academics instead flock to the US or the UK. Nasa, for example, has many Italians working there as do many Ivy League universities, as well as Oxford and Salvatore Santagati (PhD, LSE)London W1 Sir, Sydney Sweeney and Jacob Rees-Mogg may have better luck than my wife (TMS, Jul 31). A couple of years ago my wife was dropping off a bag for her brother at the Cavalry and Guards Club. The doorman took one look at the jeans she was wearing and before she could say a word politely pointed out that the RAF Club was next door.J Martin ScottShaftesbury, Dorset Sir, The fall in numbers of students studying modern languages is indeed dire (news, Jul 31; letter, Aug 1). I agree with Nick Hillman of the Higher Education Policy Institute that the withdrawal of the compulsory study of languages was 'probably the worst educational policy of this century'. A wider grasp of the heritage of Europe (and at degree level, training in cogently assembling a wide range of facts) is useful in many professions. Megan Bowler is right that a 'linguistic mindset fosters vital skills'. Indeed, many of my students leave university for successful careers in journalism and the law and are destined for the higher echelons of management and government. We will not re-establish meaningful relationships with our neighbours with the 'island mentality' that, at present, inhibits those in secondary education from an understanding of the cultural infrastructure and substratum of Bourne-TaylorAssociate professor of French, and fellow, Brasenose College, Oxford Sir, I have no doubt that AI has a part to play in making prisons safer ('AI predicts risk from violent inmates before jail attacks happen', Jul 31) but removing drugs from jails by using drug wands, sniffer boxes and DroneGuard, while disabling mobile phones and reducing overcrowding, will have a greater effect. Tasers will have an impact during riots and concerted acts of indiscipline but not on immediate acts of violence as they won't be to hand. The most effective way to reduce the risk of violence is by staff developing good relationships with prisoners. Inexperienced staff in overcrowded prisons are merely BerryRet'd prison governor, Countesthorpe, Leics Sir, Martin Samuel is right ('Rushing this Test series off stage has robbed it of the players we pay to see', Aug 1). Test matches — the pinnacle of the sport — are being wrecked by the thoughtless compression of scheduling and now we will have no cricket for a month, all to make room for a spectacle said to be crowd-pleasing and money-making, although it is curious that no other cricketing nation has shown the remotest interest in the Hundred. The ECB has done a fine job of destroying our national DykeLondon N21 Sir, I agree with David A De Saxe (letter, Aug 1) that modern bats improve batting. But surely the main reason batting has improved is the use of helmets, which enable batsmen to face fast bowling without risk of serious EvansTunbridge Wells, Kent Sir, Contrary to Raymond Gubbay's suggestion ('Albert Hall seats', letter, Jul 31), the National Lottery were on the ball. Like all seat holders, while I did gain from the lottery funding improvements I was obliged to pay a proportionate share of the GilbertMarlow, Bucks Sir, Aside from pay erosion, the incentives for resident doctors to change tack career-wise are well described (letters, Jul 28–31), but there is a new one. Why wouldn't a recently qualified doctor with a huge student debt and possibly a young family consider switching to one of the new physician assistant roles? The pay is considerably better, the post comes with job security and comprehensive senior medical supervision, and there is no need for regular exams or to move around the country every couple of years while working nights and weekends as a matter of routine. That is regardless of the intense work pressure endured by these young resident doctors daily, hundreds of whom are now finding that there are no NHS jobs for them anyway after their first two years of hospital practice (news, Jul 30). The only downside is that the NHS would soon run out of GPs and hospital RP ColeNHS consultant surgeon, Salisbury Sir, Katie Glass raises hopes for many in making a few quid from renting her home ('I'm sleeping in a caravan so I can put my cottage on Airbnb', Times2, Jul 28). Potential followers of her advice would be well advised to check with local planning requirements and their home insurance policy before proceeding. Such moves may be below the radar but not above the planning HoweRhossili, Gower Peninsula Sir, Every good wish to the new Archbishop of Wales ('Church elects gay, female archbishop', Jul 31). As well as being informed of her employment history and views on sexuality, I'm sure some of us would be glad to know whether she speaks CorkettBangor, Gwynedd Sir, My Uncle Charlie worked on the Cowes chain ferry in the 1950s and had an index and middle finger missing (letter, Aug 1). As he explained: 'I was trying to pick a stray fag packet out of the chains while we were crossing the river. I just thought I could do it, quick like.' I relayed this story to the newly promoted chain ferry master when I met him in the 1980s. 'Oh yes?', he said, holding up his three- digit right hand. 'You mean like this?'Suzie MarwoodLondon SW6 Sir, I can definitely support the theory of ditching a flashy car for a small hatchback to woo women (news, Jul 31). I owned an MG Midget in the 1960s and had no luck in attracting the right sort of woman, but on the day I swapped it for a Hillman Imp I met the woman who is now my wife. We are still happily married RussellHarpenden, Herts Write to letters@
The Sun
an hour ago
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Jeremy Clarkson reveals ‘steep learning curve' after ‘enormous' disruption caused by TB outbreak at Diddly Squat
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So all the barns we needed to store the grain in, we now have to convert into a cow hospital. "We've got another calf with pneumonia, so that needs to be housed. "And we can't buy or sell a cow now because the farm officially, you know, has TB.' But in some good news for fans, he said the farm shop would remain open and unaffected. Clarkson said reports that his farm was shut were 'ridiculous'. 'We're trying to carry on with the harvest and everything, but TB focuses the mind,' he said. It comes after the Sun columnist revealed in another blow that his puppy died hours after he was handed the heartbreaking news about his farm. The devastated farmer told how his puppy had died through the night. He is also trying to care for a "very sickly calf". The Top Gear icon revealed he is not enjoying his new profession this week. And on Sunday, Jeremy revealed his red Labrador Arya had given birth to 11 puppies. He and his wife Lisa Hogan acted as midwives for the adorable pups while the Lionesses roared to victory in the Euros final. Meanwhile, on the latest series of his Amazon Prime show, Jeremy revealed how endless rain had sparked chaos on the farm last year. The Diddly Squat Farm Shop's Instagram page wrote: "It's going to be a rough year. All that seed sowed, drowned with the constant rain." What is bovine TB? Bovine Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease of cattle and badgers. It is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis) which can also infect and cause disease in many other mammals including humans, deer, goats, pigs, cats, dogs and badgers. In cattle, it is mainly a respiratory disease. What are the symptoms? It is hard to spot bovine TB as the signs are similar to other diseases and normally only develop in the advanced stages. It is normally picked up in cattle testing before clinical signs develop or during inspections of slaughtered cattle. Animals can get thinner, have a light fever that keeps coming back, appear weak and have a reduced appetite. Some will also have swollen lymph nodes, in the neck and a moist cough which is worse in the morning and during cold weather or exercise. The government states it may cause chronic mastitis, an infection of the udder. How is transferred between animals? Evidence of bovine TB is most commonly found in the lymph glands of throat and lungs of affected animals. They spread the disease mainly through coughing and sneezing. Bacteria are released into the air and inhaled by other animals in close contact. The disease can pass from badgers to cattle via close contact - and vice versa. Contaminated equipment, animal waste, feed and pasture can also transfer the infection. Can humans catch it from cattle? Humans can catch bovine TB through: unpasteurised milk or dairy products from an infected cow, buffalo, goat or sheep inhaling bacteria breathed out by infected animals inhaling bacteria released from the carcasses of infected animals or from their excretions (such as faeces) Infection is more likely if an unprotected wound is exposed to bacteria from an infected animal. But the government insists the risk of infection is very low for the vast majority of the population. Symptoms are similar to human TB, including weight loss, fever, night sweats and a persistent cough. Anyone who develops these symptoms should consult a doctor. The disease can be treated by a complex combination of drugs over a long period. And Clarkson's right-hand man Kaleb Cooper was the victim of soaring tool theft after robbers nicked a £7,000 farm tool this week. The farmer turned TV hero, 27, told fans his pricey post knocker, used for hammering in fences, had been stolen on Tuesday. Another firm's £70k John Deere tractor was also taken, with a burnt-out SUV car found down the road. Meanwhile, earlier this month Jeremy slammed the "fun police" after his big-budget beer advert was banned from TV and radio. Keen to spread the word about Diddly Squat Farm's Hawkstone lager, The Sun columnist hired a 34-strong choir of real British farmers to sing their own version of a classic opera tune. Hilariously, the farmers switched up the words to sing: "F*** me it's good".
Times
an hour ago
- Times
The Rev Canon Donald Gray obituary: campaigner for liturgical reform
The solemnity of the Speaker's procession, heralding another day of business in the House of Commons, was perennially interrupted by a squeak. Mice had long been a problem in the Palace of Westminster, but the furry critters had not decided to join the forthcoming debates. In fact the noise was emanating from the shoes of the Rev Canon Donald Gray, the chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons and otherwise known by MPs as 'Squeaky'. Resplendent in black silk cassock with white gloves, and in keeping with a tradition that dated back to the Restoration in 1660, Gray would lead prayers for five minutes before the rough and tumble began in earnest. A genial man with an earthy Lancastrian wit, he took in good part his nickname; squeaking aside, he went about his pastoral business quietly having been appointed by the Speaker Bernard Weatherill in 1987 and serving under Betty Boothroyd until 1998.
