The 40-year tradition of the Boxing Day Test being held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground could be about to end as Perth tries to poach the date. A long term agreement between Cricket Australia and the MCG to host the game expired last summer and other states are keen to take the highly anticipated event for their own. Negotiations for a long-term deal to keep the game at the MCG had not progressed, with only an interim arrangement for this year, as reported by The Age. The MCG pitch recently received backlash after it was labelled sub par but the state is determined to keep one of the country's favourite summer sporting events alive. The MCG (pictured) has hosted the Boxing Day Test match since 1980 in an agreement with Cricket Australia The MCG had been hosting the post-Christmas game since 1980, with bumper crowds for the high-profile tests against the likes of England and India. Australia is set to take on New Zealand at the MCG this summer with fears this could be the last … [Read more...] about Goodbye to the Boxing Day MCG test? Melbourne’s long sporting tradition in jeopardy as Perth tries to snatch the coveted cricket date
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‘We love you! Our family is complete’: Candice and David Warner share the first photos of their newborn daughter after the heartbreak of two miscarriages – and reveal her sweet name
Candice and David Warner welcomed their third daughter, Isla Rose, into the world on Sunday Candice and David Warner welcomed their third daughter, Isla Rose, into the world on Sunday. The Australian cricketer and his former iron woman wife opted for a sweet name for their newborn to join older sisters Ivy Mae, two, and four-year-old Indi Rae. 'Welcome to the world our gorgeous Isla Rose Warner,' the doting parents said via Instagram on Monday night (AEST). 'Born June 30th at 10.30pm. Our little family is now complete. Ivy and Indi are so proud of their sister. 'Isla we love you,' Candice wrote. David also shared a post of his wife and three daughters, saying Candice was 'absolutely amazing' during the birth. 'Mum and bubs are both doing very well and her big sisters are over the moon,' he wrote. Ivy and Indi looked every bit the doting big sisters Candice and David described, cuddling up to their mother and new sister and smiling from ear-to-ear in both pictures. … [Read more...] about ‘We love you! Our family is complete’: Candice and David Warner share the first photos of their newborn daughter after the heartbreak of two miscarriages – and reveal her sweet name
‘Frozen’ pensioners need Labour largesse more than Waspi women
When the Empire Windrush docked in Tilbury in 1948, it brought 802 passengers from the Caribbean. Any who returned to Jamaica after a life spent working in England and paying national insurance rightly received a UK state pension, and it went up every year. It still does for the estimated 13,000 British retirees in Jamaica. But if those from the Windrush generation returned to Antigua or St Lucia, they faced a special cruelty: their UK state pension was frozen at the level on the day they left Britain. So if they retired in the mid-1990s and are still alive, they receive a UK state pension of about £58 a week, while those who went to Jamaica pick up £129 a week. The way Britain pays state pensions to those who retire abroad is weirdly capricious. There are 134,000 retirees in the US now entitled to a UK state pension after paying their contributions here, and they enjoy annual increases. But across the border in Canada, there are 135,000 UK state pensioners – and they … [Read more...] about ‘Frozen’ pensioners need Labour largesse more than Waspi women
Frozen pension: the RAF veteran facing a chilling choice in Canada
Joe Lewis faces an agonising decision. The 90-year-old second world war RAF veteran, who moved to Canada when he retired, is being forced to choose between selling his house to make ends meet, or returning to the UK and leaving his seriously ill wife behind. Lewis moved across the Atlantic because his late first wife was Canadian and wanted to spend her retirement near family and friends. The former flight sergeant now receives a UK basic state pension that is frozen at just £48 a week. Yet if Lewis had stayed in the UK or retired to a country such as the US, he would be getting up to £119.30 a week. Instead, he is out of pocket by more than £3,700 a year. Lewis is one of many thousands of older Britons living overseas who are suffering financial hardship as a result of the UK’s “frozen pensions” policy. The way Britain treats its retired pensioners living abroad has risen up the political agenda of late because of the looming Brexit vote. Sir Roger … [Read more...] about Frozen pension: the RAF veteran facing a chilling choice in Canada
Cricket game is suspended due to the MCG’s dangerous pitch being deemed unsafe for players just weeks before the Boxing Day test
A cricket game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground was suspended after several players suffered blows from the ball due to divots in the pitch. The match was cancelled just 45 minutes into the second session of the Sheffield Shield between Victoria and Western Australia on Saturday. Three of the Western Australian batsmen were hit multiple times after the ball ricocheted off from the pitch, casting doubts over whether it'll be safe enough for the highly anticipated Boxing Day test. Shaun Marsh, Cameron Green and Marcus Stoinis were all hit after the ball unexpectedly bounced into them. Marsh and Stoinis were both struck in the helmet but the game was eventually abandoned after Stoinis went down after taking a blow to the ribs. The game was halted several times after each player was hit and they were assessed by medical staff. RELATED ARTICLES Previous 1 Next That's going to be VERY Dusty! Martin finally picks up his... The long tradition of Melbourne's Boxing Day test … [Read more...] about Cricket game is suspended due to the MCG’s dangerous pitch being deemed unsafe for players just weeks before the Boxing Day test