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There was a time in the middle of the previous decade when Australian pitches offered next to no encouragement for bowlers.

On England’s Ashes tour of 2017-18, the fourth Test in Melbourne yielded more than 1,000 runs for only 24 wickets. The Melbourne Cricket Ground was given a warning by the International Cricket Council for what the governing body deemed a ‘poor’ surface.

Since England last visited Australia in 2021-22, pitches have given much more to the bowlers.

For the past four years, pitches in this country have been rated as faster, bouncier and more inconsistent than anywhere else in the world. Pace, bounce and inconsistency is the perfect recipe for tough batting.

At this point, it is worth stating there is a subjectivity to what constitutes a ‘good’ pitch.

Quite often, a pitch can be described as ‘good’ when it is friendly for batting, yet that does not always produce the most thrilling spectacle.

Perhaps it is better to describe a ‘good’ pitch as one that produces an even contest between bat and ball.

Pitches also change over the course of a Test, offering different challenges to batters and bowlers as a match progresses.

Take the first Ashes Test as an example. In the first three innings, the highest total was 172 and batting looked devilishly difficult.

In the final innings, Australia’s run chase, Travis Head made a target of 205 look minuscule. The run chase could have been much more difficult on the fifth day of a Test, when a pitch would be at its oldest and most worn.

Because of the rapid nature of the first Test, Head was batting on the second evening, when the pitch may have been at its best for run-scoring.

“The pitch was brilliant,” said former Australia opener Simon Katich on BBC Radio 5 Live.

“For Australia to chase 200 for the loss of two wickets summed it up. In Australia if you can wear the new ball down you will score quickly from 40 to 50 overs. England weren’t able to do that and paid the price.”

During a distinguished playing career, former Ireland, Munster and British and Irish Lions scrum-half Conor Murray played alongside some legendary figures in the world of rugby union.

In a special edition of the BBC’s Ireland Rugby Social podcast, Murray selects the best XV from all the players he lined up with during 15 years participating in the sport at the highest level.

The 36-year-old racked up 125 caps for Ireland, made 207 appearances for Munster and played eight Tests for the Lions across three tours in 2013, 2017 and 2021.

In his own position of scrum-half, Murray selected former Wales number nine Mike Phillips, one of three Welsh players in his XV.

Murray says he learned much from watching Phillips, “taking in as much information as he could” as part of the Lions squad in 2013.

A couple of Englishmen are also included in the selection, with the remainder of the team made up of his former Ireland team-mates.

Murray explains on the podcast that he believes Sam Warburton is worthy of his place in the side at open-side flanker because of both his performances and his leadership abilities.

Warburton led the Lions to a series victory over Australia in 2013 and a drawn series with New Zealand four years later.

The Welsh forward had natural leaders like Brian O’Driscoll and Paul O’Connell in the Lions ranks when he took up the reins for the 2013 tour at just 24 years old.

“To be honest, I’d say it was hard for him [to win everyone over at first],” said Murray.

“You had Paulie [O’Connell] and Drico [O’Driscoll] and players who had been on Lions tours before and people naturally looked up to them. They didn’t have to earn people’s respect.

“They looked up to Sam too but he was a new young captain, young to be captain of a British and Irish Lions team.”

WASHINGTON — A federal court has blocked Texas from moving forward with a new congressional map hastily drawn in recent months to net Republicans up to five additional seats in the U.S. House of Representatives in next year’s midterm elections.

The ruling on Tuesday is a major political blow to the Trump administration, which set off a redistricting arms race throughout the country earlier this year by encouraging Texas lawmakers to redraw its congressional district boundaries mid-decade — an extraordinary move bucking traditional practice.

The three-judge federal court panel in El Paso said in a 2-1 decision that “substantial evidence shows that Texas racially gerrymandered the 2025 Map,” ordering the state to revert to the maps it had drawn in 2021.

Texas’ Republican governor, Greg Abbott, who at Trump’s behest directed GOP state lawmakers to proceed with the plan, vowed on Tuesday that the state would appeal the ruling all the way to the Supreme Court.

Californians responded to Texas’ attempted move by voting on Nov. 4 to approve a new, temporary congressional map for the state, giving Democrats the opportunity to pick up five new seats.

Initially, the proposal pushed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, known as Prop. 50, had trigger language that would have conditioned new California maps going into effect based on whether Texas approved its new congressional districts.

But that language was stripped out last minute, raising the possibility that Democrats enter the 2026 midterm election with a distinct advantage. The language was removed because Texas had already passed its redistricting plan, making the trigger no longer needed, said Democratic redistricting expert Paul Mitchell, who drew the maps for Prop. 50.

“Our legislature eliminated the trigger because Texas had already triggered it,” Mitchell said Tuesday.

Newsom celebrated the ruling in a statement to The Times, which he also posted on the social media site X.

“Donald Trump and Greg Abbott played with fire, got burned — and democracy won,” Newsom said. “This ruling is a win for Texas, and for every American who fights for free and fair elections.”

Legal scholars had warned that Texas’ bid would invite accusations and legal challenges of racial gerrymandering that California’s maps would not.

The new Texas redistricting plan appears to have been instigated by a letter from Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon, who threatened Texas with legal action over three “coalition districts” that she argued were unconstitutional.

Coalition districts feature multiple minority communities, none of which comprises the majority. The newly configured districts passed by Texas redrew all three, potentially “cracking” racially diverse communities while preserving white-majority districts, legal scholars said.

While the Supreme Court’s rulings on redistricting have been sporadic, the justices have generally ruled that purely political redistricting is legal, but that racial gerrymandering is not — a more difficult line to draw in southern states where racial and political lines overlap.

In 2023, addressing a redistricting fight in Alabama over Black voter representation, the high court ruled in Allen vs. Milligan that discriminating against minority voters in gerrymandering is unconstitutional, ordering the Southern state to create a second minority-majority district.

The Justice Department is also suing California to attempt to block the use of its new maps in next year’s elections.

Times staff writer Melody Gutierrez contributed to this report.

Denver Broncos linebacker and tackling savant Alex Singleton has long set a positive example for young football players in Southern California.

He holds annual free camps and clinics at his alma mater, Thousand Oaks High. He partners with the Special Olympics to raise awareness and support for his sister and others with disabilities. He brought the Thousand Oaks High team coached by his good friend Evan Yabu to SoFi Stadium to watch the Broncos play the Chargers.

And when Yabu became coach at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame High two years ago, he became a familiar face there as well.

But nothing he’s done can rival the message he posted Monday on social media revealing his testicular cancer diagnosis, subsequent surgery and hopeful quick recovery.

“I wrestled with sharing such personal information publicly,” he wrote. “But the fact is, if it helps one person decide to pay closer attention to their body, then it is well worth it.

“Early detection and regular screenings save lives and can save loved ones from a lot of grief.”

Singleton revealed that elevated levels of the hormone Human Chorionic Gonadotropin were discovered from a random NFL drug test. An exam by a urologist confirmed the cancer diagnosis last week. Yet he elected to play Thursday against the Las Vegas Raiders before undergoing surgery to remove the tumor Friday.

He told close friends on a group text that the drug test indicated he either was on steroids or had testicular cancer. He wrote that he doesn’t take steroids, so he planned to play in the game then go straight into surgery.

Singleton, the Broncos’ leading tackler and a team captain, had nine tackles in the Broncos’ 10-7 victory over the Raiders. He addressed teammates Monday.

“This morning, I stood before our team as a lucky man,” he posted on Instagram. “I shared with my teammates and coaches that I underwent successful surgery on Friday for testicular cancer after being diagnosed last week.

“Thankfully, we believe the cancer was caught early with a great prognosis for me and my family. While we are still awaiting some additional test results, I fully expect to return to the field in the coming weeks.”

Singleton, 31, is a tackling machine. He first gained national recognition when he recorded 21 total tackles and two tackles for loss in a win over the Chargers in 2022. His 19 solo tackles were second most in NFL history.

Last season, he suffered a torn ACL in the first quarter of a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but continued to play a remarkable 49 snaps, finishing with 10 tackles.

Singleton, who played at FCS school Montana State, has recorded at least 120 tackles four times and has a team-high 89 tackles in 10 games this season.

“[We’ll] be there for him, continue the fight with him,” Broncos linebacker Justin Strnad told reporters Monday. “I’m just glad everyone is here to support him…. Ultimate competitor, ultimate team player. He’s going to overcome it, and we’re all going to be here for him.”

Singleton’s wife, Sam, gave birth in February to their first child, a daughter named Tallyn Maye. Singleton recognizes that his health comes before football, telling reporters Monday that he will study the pathology report and be tested weekly. He said a CT scan showed that the cancer had not spread, but he is unsure how long he will be sidelined while recovering.