Stokes' 83 and record stand with Archer revives England's Ashes hopes
Adelaide (AP): Ben Stokes inspired a revival in England's Ashes campaign on Friday in a record 106-run ninth-wicket stand with Jofra Archer that cut Australia's first-innings lead to 85 in the third cricket test.
Stokes walked off the field yelling at himself and shaking his head after being bowled for 83 by Mitchell Starc late on the third morning, bringing an end to a defiant, 198-ball innings that dragged his team back ino the contest.
But he was instrumental in helping England reach 286 in its first innings.
Australia lost the wicket of Jake Weatherald, adjudged lbw to Brydon Carse in a decision he should have reviewed, to reach lunch on Day 3 at 17-1 in its second innings — an overall lead of 102.
England's comebackAfter losing the first two tests in Perth and Brisbane by eight wickets and allowing Australia to post 371 in the first innings here, England's chances of keeping the series alive seemed remote when Stokes went to the crease on Day 2 with the total at 71-4.
But he batted for almost two full sessions in the heat and was 45 not out from 151 deliveries by stumps, sharing a pivotal stand with No. 10 Archer after England was on the verge of collapsing at 168-8.
He resumed Friday with England at 213 for eight, still 158 behind with two wickets in hand but in conditions significantly cooler than the 40 Celsius (104 F) temperatures of Day 2.
Australia wanted to clean up the last two wickets quickly and start the second innings but Stokes and Archer, who took a five-wicket haul when England was bowling, dug in.
Stokes stepped down the wicket to Scott Boland for a driven boundary to bring up the 50 partnership off 89 balls, then raised his half-century with a single off 159 deliveries. It was his slowest 50 in test cricket — his 37th — but vital for his team.
Then the England pair started counterpunching against the old ball, with Archer lofting veteran spinner Nathan Lyon's half-volley for six over long-on.
Stokes hits a perfect cover drive to the boundary off Boland in the 73rd over, trying to accumulate as many runs as possible before the new ball arrived.
When it did, Archer was lucky to survive on 48 when a delivery from Mitchell Starc beat him and somehow missed the stumps.
Stokes, who was hit on the helmet and the thigh on Day 2, was knocked off his feet by a ball that jagged back from Pat Cummins and beat him and the wicketkeeper to race down to the boundary. It took the England partnership to triple figures.
Archer took a single off Cummins to reach his first test half-century off 97 balls, bringing England's deficit under 100.
But the innings ended relatively quickly after veteran left-armer Starc bowled Stokes with a delivery from over the wicket that angled back. The Stokes-Archer partnership was the highest ever for the ninth wicket for England at Adelaide.
Archer was out for 51, caught at slip, leaving Australia with a tricky period to navigate before the lunch interval.
England is capable of chasing a big target in the fourth innings, chasing 370-plus against India twice in the last three years, so Bazball won't be completely dispensed with despite Stokes' stoic first innings.
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Canada, US to launch formal talks to review their free trade agreement in mid-January
Toronto (AP): Canada and the US will launch formal discussions to the review their free trade agreement in mid-January, the office of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said.
The prime minister confirmed to provincial leaders that Dominic LeBlanc, the country's point person for US-Canada trade relations, “will meet with US counterparts in mid-January to launch formal discussions," Carney's office said in a statement late Thursday.
The United States-Mexico-Canada trade pact, or USMCA, is up for review in 2026. US President Donald Trump negotiated the deal in his first term and included a clause to possibly renegotiate the deal in 2026.
Carney met with the leaders of Canada's provinces on Thursday to give them an update on trade talks with the US.
Canada is one of the most trade-dependent countries in the world, and more than 75 per cent of Canada's exports go to the country's southern neighbour. But most exports to the US are currently exempted by USMCA.
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Trump cut off trade talks to reduce tariffs on certain sectors with Carney in October after the Ontario provincial government ran an anti-tariff advertisement in the US. That followed a spring of acrimony, since abated, over Trump's insistence that Canada should become the 51st US state.
Carney said earlier Thursday that Canada and the US were close to an agreement at the time on sectoral tariff relief in multiple areas, including steel and aluminum. Tariffs are taking a toll on certain sectors of Canada's economy, particularly aluminum, steel, auto and lumber.
Carney also said trade irritants flagged this week by US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are elements of a “much bigger discussion” about continental trade. Greer said a coming review of the Canada-US-Mexico trade deal will hinge on resolving US concerns about Canadian policies on dairy products, alcohol and digital services.
Carney and the provincial premiers agreed to meet in person in Ottawa early in the new year.
Canada is the top export destination for 36 US states. Nearly USD 3.6 billion Canadian (USD 2.7 billion) worth of goods and services cross the border each day.
About 60 per cent of US crude oil imports are from Canada, as are 85 per cent of US electricity imports.
Canada is also the largest foreign supplier of steel, aluminum and uranium to the US and has 34 critical minerals and metals that the Pentagon is eager for and investing in for national security.
Carney said US access to Canada's critical ministers is not a certainty.
“It's a potential opportunity for the United States, but it's not an assured opportunity for the United States. It's part of a bigger discussion in terms of our trading relationship, because we have other partners around the world, in Europe for example, who are very interested in participating,” Carney said earlier Thursday.
