shock to the system first thing a shock to the system first thing tomorrow. hopefully it will be accompanied by some sunshine. we will still continue to see some showers, a blustery friday, showers most frequent to the west but some of us will dodge them and stay dry. a fresher, cooler field of us will dodge them and stay dry. a fresher, coolerfield but, if we lose that relentless rain, we will be happy with that. a further risk of some showers in the south and then, the second half of the weekend, this error of low pressure moves in for the position of that could be a bit further north so, in southern england, you might need to keep watching the forecast for sunday. on the whole, the best sunshine will be further north, more rain in the south—west, and a cooler, fresher feel continues. thanks, louise. and that's the bbc news at six. now, it's time to join our colleagues for

hello and welcome to sportsday this thursday night. i'm chetan pathak. coming up on the programme: ollie robinson returns in ranchi, as england look to keep their series against india alive. a historic moment for sport — the london marathon becomes the first in the world to offer equal prize money for its wheelchair and able—bodied races. i think other sports and other organisations will maybe wake up and see we are truly great athletes and we deserve what's coming for us. and furbank in at full back, as england make five changes for the calcutta cup. we'll have team news ahead of all saturday's games. also coming up on sportsday:

we speak to the women sailing around the notorious horn off the southern tip of south america. welcome along. thank you forjoining us on the eve of england's make—or—break test match in india. win and they'll be level 2—2, but lose and it's all over. after that bruising defeat in the third test in rajkot — england's largest in terms of runs for 90 years — they've made some changes for the fourth test in ranchi. ollie robinson returns for the first time since the third ashes test at headingley, when he struggled with a back injury. he replaces mark wood. and england have once again picked two seamers, with shoaib bashir re—called for leg—spinner rehan ahmed. a lot�*s being said about the pitch in ranchi being difficult to bat on, but ben stokes — after his initial concerns — says england are ready

for the challenge. we do like to look at the pitch two days out and one day out because that is how we like to pick our 11. you want to give yourself some idea about what 11 is going to give you the best chance. and looking at that, i think there is going to be assistance to the spin. we get asked a lot about the pitch and we give our opinion. but that doesn't mean that we are going in with too many preconceived ideas. pitch could be flat as a pancake. if if it is, we will adapt. if it does do more, then we will adapt to that as well. for more on this, i've been speaking to our chief cricket writer stefan shemilt, who's in ranchi ahead of tomorrow's opening day. england look at the pitch again today committee decided that actually the way to go was to keep a balanced attack, with two seam boulders and two spinners, stick with the amount of batting that they had, so incomes ollie robinson for mark wood, bashir replaces rehan on

it, and what stands out is the height of the bowling attack. it is like the land of the giants with ollie robinson coming up to place first test since the ashes, bashir joins tom hartley, two and currently all spinners. joins tom hartley, two and currently allspinners. it joins tom hartley, two and currently all spinners. it does have the big river —— the potential for some spin. not bouncing the way you would expect the bowlers like robinson, bashir and hartley, with a high release point, they might be the bowlers to extract that uneven balance of the surface.- bowlers to extract that uneven balance of the surface. what of ben stokes? it is _ balance of the surface. what of ben stokes? it is over— balance of the surface. what of ben stokes? it is over half— balance of the surface. what of ben stokes? it is over half a _ balance of the surface. what of ben stokes? it is over half a year- stokes? it is over half a year now since he has pulled in test match, that surgery on his left knee in november, any indication from him whether he will on this one? fine whether he will on this one? one thin i whether he will on this one? one thing i have _ whether he will on this one? one thing i have taken _ whether he will on this one? one: thing i have taken from whether he will on this one? iez thing i have taken from this if you definitely would not want to play poker against ben stokes. i don't know if you can remember, back at

the end of the summer, he told us with a very straight face that he was not going to play in the 50 over world cup and it turned out that he did. he has been telling us all the way through the store he would not pull because of that surgery, that he had on his left knee in november, and now he might. —— he would not pull. wednesday, he had his first full in the nets against bater since november, he came back to us and said he feels ok, that left knee that has trouble and for so long, it was pain free in a bowling spell for the first time that he can remember. stokes said it was years as he felt like that. he was noncommittal on whether he would bowl, he said maybe i welcome a baby i won't, but he said to us he has stood out to be careful as he manage that return to bowling from the knee surgery. we saw the best and worst of bazball in that third test match. does this feel like a reckoning for bazball or

not? ., ., ., , , ., not? not at all, because england will not veer _ not? not at all, because england will not veer away _ not? not at all, because england will not veer away from - not? not at all, because england | will not veer away from the course they have been on for the past two years, and if anyone wants england to play any differently, realistically, they are going to need england to have a different captain in ben stokes and different coach. i actually thought some of the reaction to the defeat in england's third test was slightly disproportionate, when you consider that when stokes and mccollum took over, england had one on the 17 test match is, all the defeat was just the 610 21 cents stokes and mccollum came together. —— sixth in 21 cents. we are looking for is england to majorca to learn from the mistakes, recognise those moments in test match when they should be pressing on the gas and when they should be easing off. fascinating thing for the england team is how they do of all, much or. they admit they have not quite got it right yet, we know

the raw materials are there, we know they're onto something. can they learn from those mistakes, can they become a really great team? that combines entertainment with winning on incredible consistent basis? look forward to that. 4am our time. bumrah being arrested by india. live text coverage from our tms team. the london marathon will become the first in the world to offer equal prize money for its wheelchair and able—bodied races this year. an increase of £43,000 is taking the total wheelchair prize fund tojust under a quarter of a million. all winners in the elite races will receive just over £a0,000. we've been getting the thoughts of david weir — the most decorated athlete in wheelchair racing history — who's due to compete in his 25th consecutive london marathon in april.

it was the first race i saw on tv in the 1980s, it inspired me to get into this fantastic sport. but, you know, at an early age, you knew that it wasn't a level playing field between able—bodied and disabled athletics, and now this is a step forward in the right direction. i'm just so proud that it is london marathon that has taken this step. and it is a great achievement for the guys that run the marathon, all the guys that run the marathon, all the guys that run the marathon, all the guys behind the scenes that have pushed to make this happen. we compete the same day as the elite runners, we do the same distance, we have the same elite field. it is very highly competitive. look at the women's field now in the wheelchair races, the depth, the strength in depth has got bigger and bigger, and is the same in the men's elite field as well, so, yeah, ithink is the same in the men's elite field as well, so, yeah, i think other sports and other organisations will

maybe wake up and see that we are truly great athletes and we deserve what's coming for us. david weir speaking to us earlier. let's turn our attention to football. everton manager sean dyche says the club hope to find out the outcome of their appeal against the ten—point deduction they received last november, for breaching the premier league's financial regulations, around the end of the month. their appeal was heard at the end of january, and although the verdict is expected soon, no exact date has been set for when it will be delivered. it is in the appeals and all that, of course, but it is everyone's interest, i think everyone is wondering. when is going to come to a close? during that period, used look at elite —— you look at the league table... it would be helpful if it is sooner rather than later, but as i said, i don't know how the

legal process and why it takes a long, so we'lljust wait and see. celtic goalkeeperjoe hart says he'll retire at the end of this season. the former england and manchester city keeper, who's 36, says he still feels "physically great" but wants to "smash through the finish line". hart's made 690 club appearances and has also played for shrewsbury, tranmere, blackpool, birmingham, torino, burnley and tottenham. england's lionesses play two friendlies across the next few days as they prepare for the start of their qualifying campaign for euro 2025. they're currently at a warm weather training camp in marbella ahead of facing austria tomorrow night, and then italy on tuesday. manager sarina weigman says the squad's moved on from the disappointment of missing out on olympic qualification and are focused on the defence of their european title. this is the start, with two friendlies, which is really good

for us because we can try out things. we are also very close to the u23s, so we are around, we can see them, we can connect with them, so we get a lot of players that we can see and see where they're at the moment, which is a great start, because in april, the nations league starts, which are the qualifiers for the euros too. the second of three days of pre season formula one testing is complete. it was a little stop—start in bahrain today. the morning run had to be suspended after a drain cover broke, causing some superficial damage to charles leclerc�*s ferrari. the session resumed and the fastest time of the day was clocked by leclerc�*s team—mate carlos sainz. sergio perez was second for red bull with the mercedes of lewis hamilton third, ahead of his last season for the team beforejoining ferrari. the first race takes place in bahrain next weekend. time now for some of the day's other sport stories.

mark allen is through to the championship semifinal after beating gary wilson 6—4. he will face allie carter in the next round. ronnie o'sullivan is an action with mark selby, further qualifier later this evening —— for their qualifier. britain's mark cavendish could only claim 21st place in the sprint finish on stage four of the uae tour. belgium's tim merleer took his second victory of the race. australia's jay vine retained the overall lead. england centre emily scarratt will return from a 13—month injury lay—off for loughborough lightning against bristol bears on friday. the sa—year—old, who has been capped 108 times by the red roses, underwent neck surgery last year. it is 6:42pm.

the former barcelona and brazil footballer dani alves has been has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison in spain, after being found guilty of raping a woman in a nightclub in barcelona over a year ago. the 40—year—old, who's one of the most decorated footballers in history, had denied sexually assaulting the woman. our correspondent guy hedgecoe has been following the case in madrid. we heard that dani alves has been given this four and a half yearjail sentence for rape, the court found him guilty of having raped the 23—year—old woman who brought this accusation against him in the toilet of the vip section of a barcelona nightclub. he has insisted that it was a consensual encounter. the court found that it was not. he also has to pay 150,000 euros in damages and after his release from prison, he will be under supervision for anotherfive years. he he will be under supervision for another five years. he was already served just over one year of his foray to half year sentence, because he has been in custody since january

2023 when these charges were first brought against him. his lawyer has said he is going to appeal this ruling, but the decision was welcomed representative of the victim, who said that she was happy about this because it confirmed that her version of events was correct. there's also many political response. the deputy prime minister has said this is a victory which she hopes will encourage the end of sexist attitudes in all walks of life. guy hedgecoe there. much more on the dani alves case over on the bbc support bbc sport website. we are going to turn now to the six nations. england have made five changes to the side that beat wales for their calcutta cup clash with scotland in edinburgh on saturday. northampton fullback george furbank has won a surprise recall to the side in place

of freddie steward, who drops out of the matchday squad entirely. ollie lawrence returns from injury in place of fraser dingwall, while there are recalls for danny care, dan cole and ellis genge. blair kinghorn will start at full—back for scotland against england — one of the three changes to gregor townsend's side along with jamie richie and kyle steyn. scotland are aiming for a fourth successive win over their oldest rivals, something they haven't done for almost 130 years. whenever you play an english team, you know you'll be tested in the contact area, and the basis of our victories and the basis of our performances events are the forwards. it's allowed our baxter, to the games as well. the preparation has been really good complaining in london, the first game of the championship a few times, has meant we have had more of a focus on ourselves —— playing in london. even though this is the third game, we still have to look at

how we can improve and what we are going to do and set out rather than worry too much about the opposition. grand slam—chasing ireland take on wales in dublin on saturday, and they've made seven changes to the 15 that started their last match against italy. bundee aki and jamison gibson park return to the backs, but the biggest change is at full back, with ciaran frawley coming in for his first six nations start — a challenge his coach believes he is ready for. we started the campaign with him over there in portugal, training is a 15, so it is very natural for them to fill that position and he deserves a chance in that position. his first six nations start, exciting for him to stop he has always been in and around the squad and pushing, and it's a big week for him, you know? it will be a test of his temperament, but he is playing in a good side. i am sure he will

take his chance. meanwhile, wales have recalled fly half sam costelow in one change to their starting 15. costelow comes in for scarlets team—mate yoan lloyd, who drops to the bench. wales boss warren gatland does not believe his side need any extra motivation after losing their first two games in the competition. there's a lot of stuff being said about us, be underdogs. that's not any motivation for us, the motivation for us is the pressure we are putting ourselves to get better from game one and game two, to put a more complete performance on. just continue to develop and more accurate. i could not have asked more from the players this week in terms of their attitudes in training being fantastic, and, yeah, we're pretty excited. we are going to stay with rugby. smart gumshields — that record the gravitational forces involved in collision sports —

are being used in the men's six nations for the first time. they're designed to make the game safer and world rugby says independent research shows most of the forces experienced in the sport were the same as general exercise. but some scientists have said they're concerned that some of the data around big impacts — the ones that can cause concussions — could be missed. felicity kvesik reports. for some, collisions are part of what make rugby so appealing. for others, the hits have become the dominant part of the sport. faced with growing player welfare concerns, the game's governing body has introduced new smart gumshields. two academic studies, funded by world rugby, found that 86% of forces measured by the gumshields were the same or less than those experienced in running, jumping or skipping. my concern is that we're not seeing the full picture. they should be looking at higher. the concussions, as i said before,

if they're occurring at between 90 and 120 gs and we're now saying that it's a head injury problem and there's lots of concussions and we all see them on tv, then what's going on? the smart gumshields, or instrumented mouth guards, contain a chip that measures the gravitational forces involved in contacts. when a contact occurs, they send a real—time g—force measurement to medical teams and match officials to help decide whether a player needs a concussion test. commentator: iwonder if it's a gum shield. - recently, scotland's george turner became the first player in the men's six nations to be substituted after sensors in his mouth guard detected a large impact. in studies, the gumshields, made by prevent biometrics, measured collisions from five to above 60 g, but academics want more examination of the higher force collisions. in a statement, prevent biometrics told the bbc their gumshield another paper said the preevent gum

should work well, below 60 g. but it underestimated linear acceleration at higher velocity impact conditions. in a statement, prevent biometrics told the bbc their gumshield "is the most widely evaluated and independently scrutinised head impact sensor on the planet". they added that it has a "95% to 99% correlation for head impact metrics". as well as funding the studies into the gum shields, some of the co—authors were declared in the study as world rugby employees. should sporting bodies be involved in academic research? i’m should sporting bodies be involved in academic research?— in academic research? i'm quite stunned. this _ in academic research? i'm quite stunned. this has _ in academic research? i'm quite stunned. this has been - in academic research? i'm quite stunned. this has been an - in academic research? i'm quite j stunned. this has been an issue in academic research? i'm quite i stunned. this has been an issue in concussion in sport for the last two decades, so there just is not enough transparency right now. former wales international alix popham was diagnosed with early onset dementia at the age of a0. he's part of a legal case

challenging the game's governing bodies over what they knew about head impacts. there's no point keeping your head in the sand on these issues. rugby is a contact sport but people need to know the true data of what is happening. i still love rugby, i want it to carry on, but these changes need to be made as soon as possible. world rugby told the bbc that the data from the gumshield studies was reported accurately and in full, but there was more research to do. the report authors said... we have our own ethics and standards to uphold... many agree that smart gumshields can support player welfare, but it's the science behind them causing more questions than clarity. felicity kvesic, bbc news.

35 years ago, the first ever all—female crew, skippered by britain's tracy edwards, rounded cape horn in the whitbread round the world race and secured their place in the history books. this week, there's another historic moment being marked, as the first women of colour race around the notorious horn off the southern tip of mainland south america. here's hugh ferris. yes, it is a famous boat that is done mac has on —— that has embarked on a famous race. this is the crucial bit of theirjourney, because of rounding cape horn is something no woman of colour has ever done before, but we can speak to one of those that became the first, alongside the skipper. you are both in uruguay. think forjoining us. come on, then — how was cape horn? as intimating

as it looks from this distance? it is pre—nice, actually. we passed cape horn during the night, but it was an amazing moment, just like, i don't know, the graduation for being in the ocean. it is amazing. find a in the ocean. it is amazing. and a lona wa in the ocean. it is amazing. and a long way not _ in the ocean. it is amazing. and a long way not only _ in the ocean. it is amazing. and a long way not only geographically but also in terms of this whole trip from where you grew up in durban. i understand you are scared of the sea and could not swim? yes! laughter i could not and could not swim? i'esi laughter i could not swim, and could not swim? iesl laughter i could not swim, and and could not swim? iesi laughter i could not swim, and growing up as a kid, you are being told that you must not go near the water, maybe there are monsters and everything, because they knew we cannot swim, so they were trying to protect us. i only learned how to swim in 2019. so, yeah, this is a big change for me, from not knowing how to swim to this stage of sailing around the

world. the crazy ocean. it's hilarious! it world. the crazy ocean. it's hilarious!— world. the crazy ocean. it's hilarious! , ., , ,, hilarious! it is for people like v that the ship — hilarious! it is for people like v that the ship sails. _ hilarious! it is for people like v that the ship sails. yeah, - hilarious! it is for people like v that the ship sails. yeah, and i could not _ that the ship sails. yeah, and i could not be _ that the ship sails. yeah, and i could not be more _ that the ship sails. yeah, and i could not be more proud - that the ship sails. yeah, and i | could not be more proud of the that the ship sails. yeah, and i - could not be more proud of the crew members _ could not be more proud of the crew members on — could not be more proud of the crew members on board and how amazing of role models _ members on board and how amazing of role models they are for women not only of— role models they are for women not only of colour but girls everywhere around _ only of colour but girls everywhere around the — only of colour but girls everywhere around the world. they are seeing our progress. it's certainly an honour— our progress. it's certainly an honour to _ our progress. it's certainly an honour to be their leader. i honour to be their leader. suppose, honour to be their leader. i suppose, we mentioned if he did not swim until she needed to at each embarked on something of a life change voyage, but have you noticed the same changes in the rest of your crew as well?— crew as well? yeah, every single member of _ crew as well? yeah, every single member of crew _ crew as well? yeah, every single member of crew has _ crew as well? yeah, every single member of crew has changed - crew as well? yeah, every single member of crew has changed forj crew as well? yeah, every single - member of crew has changed for the betten _ member of crew has changed for the better. they have definitely all grown, — better. they have definitely all grown, and as a team, we are really bonded _ grown, and as a team, we are really bonded and — grown, and as a team, we are really bonded and really supportive and empowering of each other, and i think_ empowering of each other, and i think it _ empowering of each other, and i think it has — empowering of each other, and i think it has been an amazing journey for witness _ think it has been an amazing journey for witness and be a part of. what would ou for witness and be a part of. what would you say _ for witness and be a part of. what would you say to _ for witness and be a part of. what

would you say to a _ for witness and be a part of. i'ivrisgi would you say to a young girl for witness and be a part of. ii"isgi would you say to a young girl from durban, perhaps, seeing this, looking at what you have done and the extraordinary next to it you have gone to be part of this voyage? what would you say to that young girl watching coachella i would say, believe in i would say believe in yourself, challenge yourself, grab every opportunity that comes in your way, because you never know which way you're going to succeed. maybe it is your educational career. yes, you must grab every opportunity that comes your way, because you never know. ., ., ., ., , ., comes your way, because you never know. ., ., ., ., , ., know. congratulations to you both on what ou know. congratulations to you both on what you have _ know. congratulations to you both on what you have achieved _ know. congratulations to you both on what you have achieved so _ know. congratulations to you both on what you have achieved so far, - know. congratulations to you both on what you have achieved so far, and l what you have achieved so far, and good luck for the final leg. it leaves for southampton on the 5th of march. as hughes said, good luck to the team. before we go tonight, a reminder of our top story — england have named ollie robinson and shoaib bashir in their side

for the fourth test against india in ranchi. the tourists have once again picked two seamers, with robinson coming in for mark wood, while off spinner bashir is recalled for leg spinner rehan ahmed. india lead 2—1, meaning england must avoid defeat to keep the series alive. you can follow that all, as i said, on the bbc sport website from 4am. but from the sportsday team, that's all from good night. —— that's all for now. good night. hello there. well, during the day today, we've seen much colder weather move in from the west. we've swapped the mild south—westerly winds that we've seen over recent weeks, really, and swapped them with much colder north—westerly winds. hence the drop in temperatures. it's even been cold enough to see some snow return to the scottish mountains. that's not something we've seen very much of over recent weeks. the drop in temperatures, then, has

been widespread and really sharp. yesterday, you might remember, rhyl was the warmest place in the country at 15 degrees. this afternoon's temperature has been hovering more around 7 celsius, really. the radar picture still picks up a band of rain clearing its way eastwards and we've got plenty of showers working into western areas of the uk, with those north—westerly winds feeding the showers in. so, during this evening and overnight, showers will continue to come and go across western areas. cold enough for some snow up over the scottish mountains — above 400 metres elevation, for the most part. the winds keep the frost at bay for many areas, but where we do see the winds fall that bit lighter, particularly in parts of scotland, well, there will be some areas of frost. aberdeen getting down to —ii. so a cold start to the day on friday, certainly a lot colder a morning that we've been used to for a good while now. plenty of sunshine for eastern scotland, central and eastern england, eastern wales and eastern counties of northern ireland to start the day.

showers get going in the west quickly and the showers become widespread through the course of the day, some of them with a bit of hail and thunder mixed in, and cold enough for some snow up over the scottish mountains — again, mostly above 400 metres elevation. for the weekend, well, there's probably a drier picture overall, fewer showers around. still a risk of some showers, though, probably the greatest risk across southern counties of england. a few morning mist patches, quite a widespread frost, and then through the afternoon, in the sunshine, we're looking at temperatures of around 8 or 9 degrees celsius, which is quite close to average for the time of year. showers return to northern ireland during the second half of the weekend. some of those could be quite heavy. maybe a few showers for northern scotland, but otherwise a lot of dry weather. this low pressure gets quite close to southern—most counties of england, so it could turn wet and windy towards the far south coast. otherwise, plenty of sunshine around and temperatures of around 8 or 9 again. now, beyond that, monday looks like being a dry day. a ridge of high pressure moves in, but then we see rain returning from tuesday.

live from london. this is bbc news. 67 and peace call on the house of commons speaker call on him to quit after the voting chaos over a cease—fire in gaza. irate after the voting chaos over a cease-fire in gaza. we should never let extremists _ cease-fire in gaza. we should never let extremists intimidate _ cease-fire in gaza. we should never let extremists intimidate us - cease-fire in gaza. we should never let extremists intimidate us into - let extremists intimidate us into changing the way parliament works, parliament is an important place for us to have these debates and because some people may want to stifle that with intimidation or aggressive behaviour, we should not bend to that. the mother of russian opposition leader alexei navalny says she's finally seen his body, almost a week after he died in an arctic prison. yesterday in the evening secretly drove _ yesterday in the evening secretly drove me — yesterday in the evening secretly drove me to the morgue and showed me his body _ drove me to the morgue and showed me his body. they have all the legal and medical documents ready