The UK voluntary living wage, promoted by the Living Wage Foundation campaign group, is to rise by 20p an hour.

The new rate is rising to £8.45 per hour, from its current £8.25. For those living in London, the rate will rise by 35p to £9.75 an hour, the city's Mayor, Sadiq Khan, announced.
Nearly 3,000 businesses are signed up to the scheme, including Ikea and EDF.
The scheme is separate from the government's National Living Wage, introduced in April this year.
The government's figure is set at £7.20 an hour for workers aged 25 and above.
"Today's new living wage rates bring a welcome pay rise to thousands of workers across the UK," said Katherine Chapman, director of the Living Wage Foundation.
"One in five people earn less than the wage they need to get by. That's why it's more important than ever for leading employers to join the growing movement of businesses and organisations that are going further than the government minimum and making sure their employees earn enough to cover the cost of living."
On Monday, a number of new companies announced their commitment to pay the living wage, including RSA Insurance, the British Library, Curzon Cinemas and Everton football club.
The level of the voluntary living wage is calculated annually by the Resolution Foundation, a not-for-profit research and policy organisation.
It is overseen by the Living Wage Commission, which is appointed by the Living Wage Foundation and includes representation from employers, trade unions, civil society and independent experts.


Fishing boat owners banned from entering part of the North Sea by a wind farm operator do not expect to be able to return for three years.

Crab and lobster catchers in north Norfolk have agreed a compensation deal with Dong Energy, which is planning to build 91 turbines off the coast.
Boats have been excluded from the Race Bank site since February.
Dong said boats may be allowed in for two months in January and full-time when construction is finished in 2018.
Fishing boats were involved in a dispute with the Danish energy company over proposals to pay Â£220-a-day per boat for loss of income.
An agreement was reached over payments although neither side would reveal the size of the new offer.
Nicky King, chairman of Wells and District Inshore Fishermen's Association, said: "However, it doesn't look like we'll be able to go back there for another three years and, although there's the possibility of being allowed back for a couple of months next year, we're not hopeful because we were told that could happen this year and it hasn't.
"Personally I feel the compensation won't quite make up for the loss of income, but it's impossible to quantify precisely because catches are unpredictable and weather-dependent."
The energy firm said construction would mean the 75 sq km (29 sq miles) exclusion zone had to remain in place.
A Dong Energy spokesman said: "Where and when it is safe to do so in relation to the ongoing preparatory and construction works, some areas could be reopened for certain types of fishing activities.
"The zone may be reopened to fishing for a period of around two months starting in January.
"Although all future closure/reopening dates will remain subject to short-term alteration, Dong Energy will keep affected fishermen up-to-date via the regular issue of Notices to Fishermen."


Marks and Spencer chief executive Marc Bolland is to step down in April, the company said as it announced its Christmas results.

Mr Bolland will be succeeded by Steve Rowe, executive director of general merchandise.
Third-quarter sales of general merchandise were down by 5.8% for the 13 weeks to 26 December.
But M&S said it had an "excellent quarter" for food, with record sales in the Christmas week.
Investors reacted positively, with Marks and Spencer shares rising more than 1% in morning trading.
There was no pressure on Mr Bolland to leave from shareholders or the board, Marks and Spencer chairman Robert Swannell said on a conference call with reporters. Mr Bolland is retiring after six years in the role.
"There has been absolutely no pressure at all on Marc [to leave]," Mr Swannell said, adding that succession planning had been "rigorous".
Planning Mr Bolland's succession had not been done "quickly on the back of an envelope", but instead had been a process that had gone on "for years", Mr Swannell added.
He declined to discuss whether Marks and Spencer had considered external candidates, but said the firm had used "external benchmarking" during a "thorough, rigorous process" to select candidates.
Mr Bolland had informed the board in the summer of 2015 of his intention to leave in mid-2016, he said.
Mr Rowe will receive a salary of £810,000 from 2 April 2016 as part of his chief executive remuneration package, the firm said.
He has been employed by the firm for more than 25 years, and has had roles including director of retail and e-commerce and positions in general merchandise.
Analysis:
Simon Jack, BBC business correspondent
Marc Bolland's departure comes as Marks and Spencer reported dire Christmas trading figures. Sales of general merchandise, which includes clothes, were 5.8% lower than last year - a result the company blamed on unseasonably warm weather and poor stock availability.
Marc Bolland has been at the company since 2010, after four years at grocer Morrisons, and while the food business has thrived, he has struggled to revive the clothing business despite investing hundreds of millions of pounds on revamps.
In October last year, Mr Bolland told investors the turnaround plan was working and he gave no impression then of leaving before the job was done. Today's figures illustrate that it's not.
The company insisted the decision to step down was Marc Bolland's own and that he informed the board at the end of last year that he wanted to retire in April. He will be succeeded by Steve Rowe, currently executive director of general merchandise, having previously been in charge of  the retailer's food business for almost three years. He has been with the company 25 years, and a board member since 2012, so will know first hand what a difficult job he is taking on.
Marks and Spencer's third quarter general merchandise sales, which include clothing, were "disappointing", the firm said.
The 5.8% drop in sales was put down to "unseasonal conditions and availability". Retailers such as Next also blamed unseasonably warm weather in December for disappointing sales.
However, food sales for Marks and Spencer were up 0.4% in the third quarter, and the retailer said it had record sales in the Christmas week, up 17%.
Online sales rose more than 20% in the quarter, it added.
Marks and Spencer has had recurrent problems in general merchandise for a number of years. For example, in the six months to 26 September 2015, sales fell 1.2%.
Richard Hunter, head of equities at Hargreaves Lansdown stockbrokers, said that the change at the top could lead to some uncertainty.
"There will be some inevitable uncertainty after any change at the helm, although the new chief executive - although an M&S lifer - has been in charge of general merchandise (GM) for only a relatively short period," Mr Hunter said.
"The wider issue could be that despite attempts to revitalise GM for some considerable time, little of note has materialised, and it could well be that Marc Bolland has decided that a fresh pair of eyes are required."


The orbiting Gaia telescope will lose some performance because stray light is getting inside the observatory, the European Space Agency (Esa) says.

But the impacts are likely to be very small, scientists believe, and the expectation is that all the mission's chief objectives will still be met.
Most of the unwanted light appears to be creeping around the giant shield Gaia uses to shade itself from the Sun.
The "pollution" makes it harder for the observatory to see the faintest stars.
"I must say this is not a major problem," said Esa's Gaia project manager, Giuseppe Sarri.
"The point is the spacecraft is doing very well in terms of everything is working, and now we're focussing on the things we want to improve.
"We were expecting to get some stray light but the fact is, it is larger than we predicted," he told BBC News.
Gaia was sent into orbit in December to do astrometry on a billion stars - to map their precise positions, distances and motions.
This huge sample should provide the first true picture of our Milky Way Galaxy's structure.
As is normal after launch, the observatory was immediately put through a period of complex systems check-out and instrument calibration.
Engineers noticed early on that unexpected light was getting inside the big tent covering the satellite's dual telescope mechanism.
Modelling indicates most of it is sunlight being diffracted around the observatory's 10.5m-wide sunshield.
But further analysis suggests there is likely also some additional component - probably the general diffuse light on the sky itself.
Gaia - The discovery machine
The effect is certainly a nuisance because it makes it more difficult for Gaia to discern the least bright objects.
It was the mission's aim to measure the positions of all stars down to magnitude 20 (about 400,000 times fainter than can be seen with the naked eye).
The stray light means about 40% of the accuracy of those measurements at this lowest magnitude will be lost.
On the upside, it should be possible to get some of the performance back if Esa agrees to extend the mission and additional data can be taken.
And it is true to say that most of Gaia's science will be done at magnitude 15 (4,000 times fainter than the naked eye limit) and brighter, which is unaffected.
Where the pollution issue may be felt more keenly is in determining the motions of stars towards or away (radial velocity) from the satellite.
This information will have a number of applications but will be used to help make a 3D movie of the galaxy - to run forwards to see what happens millions of years into the future, and backwards to reveal how the galaxy was assembled in the deep past.
Gaia was hoping to get radial velocity data for about 150 million of the brightest stars.
It involves taking the light from a star and spreading it out into its component colours for analysis. For the faintest objects in the targeted sub-set of stars, this process again becomes much harder with stray light.
The Gaia team thinks with some smart techniques it can recover some of the performance loss, but as it stands the mission may get radial velocity measurements now on only about 100 million stars.
"We say only about 100 million stars - that's still pretty spectacular," said Prof Gerry Gilmore, a Gaia scientist from the Institute of Astronomy at Cambridge University, UK.
"We don't actually know how many stars there are in the sky at the magnitudes needed to do the radial velocity measurements," he added.
"We had a guess that it was 150 million but that could be wrong by a factor of two; so it's quite possible there are a lot more stars out there [we can still measure].
"Gaia is the first ever high spatial resolution survey and so until Gaia has scanned the sky we won't know what's on the sky."
Engineers are also tracking an issue with what they call the "basic angle".
Part of Gaia's measurement strategy requires it to look at two parts of the sky at the same time to lock a frame of reference.
This is why it carries two telescopes held rigidly at an offset angle of 106.5 degrees. Great effort was put into making sure this basic angle was absolutely stable, with many components being constructed out of stiff silicon carbide as a consequence.
How do telescopes let us see so far into space?
But a vanishingly small flexure is being detected - fractionally beyond what had been anticipated.
The team believes, though, it can nullify any impacts if the behaviour can be properly characterised.
"It's all nuisance stuff. Depending how you count it, there are about 500 critical components on Gaia and they're all working fine," said Prof Gilmore.
"Yes, it's complicated; yes, there are things we don't fully understand yet; but there's no reason to believe Gaia won't be a triumph."
Mr Sarri added that after the long commissioning process, the telescope was now ready to gather data continuously.
"In the last week, we had an informal handover and it's been working already in science mode on occasions. But now we will move into a period of 28 days of uninterrupted operation," he told BBC News.
Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos


Test captain Virat Kohli has paid an emotional tribute to Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who has stepped down as India's limited-overs skipper.

He tweeted that Dhoni would "always be his captain" and he was "the leader a youngster wants to have around him".
Kohli - ranked second in the world's ODI batting rankings - is most likely to replace Dhoni.
Dhoni, 35, has led the Indian team to the 2007 World Twenty20, 2011 World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy titles.
Why MS Dhoni's place in cricket history is assured
Reliving Dhoni's 'unorthodox' decisions as captain
He has led India's limited-overs side since September 2007, and is widely acknowledged as being India's most successful captain.
Kohli on Friday thanked Dhoni for his services to Indian cricket in an emotional tweet.
Kohli made his debut in all formats of the game under Dhoni, and flourished as a prolific batsman. He has always given credit to Dhoni for his transformation from a domestic cricketer to a world-class batsman.
Dhoni led his country in 199 ODIs and 72 Twenty20 internationals, also taking charge of 60 Tests between 2008 and 2014, to hold the overall record for the most international matches as captain with 331.


Southport have signed York City defender Jack Higgins on a season-long loan deal after Lincoln City recalled Callum Howe from his loan spell.

Higgins, 25, has made 15 appearances in the National League for the Minstermen this season after joining from Stalybridge Celtic in the summer.
Howe, 22, scored once in his 17 outings with the Sandgrounders.
Former Liverpool and Blackburn trainee goalkeeper Ryan Crumb, 21, has also been released by Southport.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.


Scottish Muslim organisations are to join together in Glasgow to condemn last Friday's attacks in Tunisia, Kuwait and France.

The event's organisers said they are willing to "do whatever is necessary" to stamp out extremism in the community if it arises.
They said they felt it was their duty to make clear they "abhor all forms of extremism wherever it is found".
Their aim is to ensure the attacks don't damage community relations.
The event will take place at the Glasgow-based Ahl-ul-Bait Association, which along with the organisation Minhaj-ul-Qur'an International, will lead the event.
Prior to the event, the organisers said that attacks such as the ones last Friday were "crimes by individuals and groups armed with prejudice, hate and intolerance, claiming to be followers of Islam".
"These individuals and groups are a threat to our fundamental human right to live in peace. The number of people being brutally killed is truly tragic. It is designed to breed fear and disorder," they said.
"Many of us who are leaders in the Muslim community plan to redouble our efforts to work alongside the entire community to do whatever is necessary to route out hatred and intolerance as it arises.
"Instead of sowing discord, their evil will invigorate us all to come together as one and reject their doctrine of hatred. We support any efforts to defeat ISIS and other similar groups," they added.


Defender Ellie Wilson has extended her stay at Bristol City by signing a new contract with the WSL club.

The 20-year-old joined the Vixens in 2016 from Reading women.
"I'm delighted to have re-signed with the Vixens as we embark on our journey back into WSL 1.  I am looking forward to testing myself against the best this season." Wilson told the club website.
Bristol City finished in eighth place in the Women's Super League Spring Series this year, winning one match.


People deaf from birth may be able to reassign the area of their brain used for hearing to boost their sight, suggests a study.

Improved peripheral vision, often reported by deaf people, could be generated by the brain area which would normally deal with peripheral hearing.
The Canadian research, published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, tested the theory using congenitally deaf cats.
The researcher involved said the brain did not let unused space "go to waste".
Both deaf and blind people frequently say their other senses are sharper by way of compensation.
However, it has not been obvious how the brain might achieve this.
The researchers from the University of Western Ontario used their cat studies to test which parts of the brain were responsible.
Their cats were given tests in which lights flashed at the very periphery of their normal vision.
When only the auditory cortex - the part of the brain which normally processes sound information - was deactivated temporarily, their enhanced peripheral vision appeared to be switched off as well.
Narrowing the search, the team found that the part of the auditory cortex responsible was the part which would ordinarily detect peripheral sounds.
Dr Stephen Lomber, who led the research, said: "The brain is very efficient, and doesn't let unused space go to waste.
"The brain wants to compensate for the lost sense with enhancements that are beneficial.
"For example, if you're deaf, you would benefit by seeing a car coming far off in your peripheral vision, because you can't hear that car approaching from the side - the same with being to more accurately detect how fast something is moving."
He said that understanding what happens within the auditory cortex in the absence of sound information coming in could help doctors work out what is happening when someone with hearing loss is given a cochlear implant.
"If the brain has rewired itself to compensate for the loss of hearing, what happens when hearing is restored?"
Dr Joanna Robinson, a researcher at the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID), welcomed the findings.
She said: "This research supports previous findings that people who are deaf from birth have a larger visual field than hearing people.
"Research funded by ourselves recently showed that deaf adults can also react to objects in their peripheral vision more quickly than hearing adults, while deaf children react more slowly than their hearing counterparts.
"This indicates that it may take some time for the auditory part of the brain to make the switch to processing visual information."


Everton's improved performances can convince striker Romelu Lukaku to stay at the club, says boss Ronald Koeman.

The Belgium international's agent has said a new deal at Goodison is close to being agreed.
"If players see a future in the club and the team is improving and getting stronger every day that is always a plus for them to stay," Koeman said.
"That is what we need to show him so he is convinced the short future is at Everton."
The Toffees were ninth following defeat by local rivals Liverpool on 19 December but have since gone seven league games unbeaten and sit seventh.
Earlier this season Koeman said Lukaku would need to leave Goodison Park to fulfil his potential but in December the player's agent, Mino Raiola, said a contract extension was 99% done.
The 23-year-old is the Premier League's top scorer with 16 goals this season and scored four against Bournemouth on Saturday.
"I didn't speak to the board about Romelu. If his agent mentioned he likes to stay and he will sign a new deal that is perfect for Everton," Koeman said.
"We know everyone has their own ambition - that's only human - but we want to keep the good players and he is one of those.
"He is top scorer in the league at the moment and is playing at a high level and is so clinical it would be difficult to find a replacement for him, and for that I hope he will stay."


Two police officers shot dead in Greater Manchester are among those who have been remembered at a memorial service for officers killed on duty.

Special dedications for PCs Nicola Hughes and Fiona Bone were read at the York Minster service.
The two officers died in a grenade and gun attack while responding to a call-out in Mottram earlier this month.
The annual National Police Memorial Day service pays tribute to officers killed on duty throughout the UK.
More than 2,000 people attended Sunday's service, including 40 chief constables, other serving officers and the relatives of those who have died.
The names of all the officers who had died this year were read out at the service.
Petals were dropped from above inside the cathedral and the hymn Abide With Me and The Last Post were played.
The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, who gave the address, described those officers who had given their lives as "the bravest of the brave".
Home Secretary Theresa May read a prayer during the service as did Emma Barker, the young daughter of PC Bill Barker who died when a bridge was washed away during floods in Workington, Cumbria, in 2009.
Greater Manchester Chief Constable Sir Peter Fahy said, as he arrived at the service: "It does give it a special poignancy because it's close after the deaths of Fiona and Nicola, but the important thing today really is remembering all the officers who have given their lives during the year.
"I cannot tell you how much we have been uplifted by the public response, it has been quite extraordinary. It really does show the level of support for ordinary officers going about their day-to-day business."
Police Federation chairman Paul McKeever said: "It's a chance for us to get together as a police family and bond and say we remember those who are no longer with us. That's very important to us."
Earlier, delegates at the Labour Party Conference in Manchester held a minute's silence in honour of the two officers.
Mottram's MP Jonathan Reynolds, speaking about the deaths of the two police officers, told the conference: "It serves as an all-too-dreadful reminder of the danger that our policemen and women face in every force, on every day, every time they get called out."
During the modern policing era, which stretches back over 180 years, more than 4,000 officers have been killed in the line of duty.
A total of seven have died this year - among them PC Ian Dibell, from Essex Police, who was shot dead in July while intervening in a dispute in Clacton. He was off-duty at the time.
Also remembered was PC David Rathband, who died in February. He was left blind after being shot in the face by fugitive Raoul Moat while sitting in his patrol car on the outskirts of Newcastle upon Tyne, in July 2010.
Det Con Andrew Stokes, of Greater Manchester Police, died of a heart attack while on duty in January, at the age of 46.
Det Con Karen Paterson, who was 43, was killed in a road accident as she travelled to work at Thorpe Wood police station in Peterborough in January.
And in April, Insp Preston Gurr, of the Metropolitan Police, was killed while on his way home from a shift on his motorcycle. He was 53 and had two children.
The first National Police Memorial Day service took place at St Paul's Cathedral in 2004 and it has since been held in Cardiff, Belfast, Liverpool and Glasgow.
The event was founded by Sgt Joe Holness, of Kent Police, in response to the killing in 2000 of PC Jon Odell who was fatally wounded when a car hit him as he carried out traffic checks.
Sgt Holness said: "This annual memorial was long overdue when we set it up. Since 1792 officers have been giving their lives in order to protect the community, and we felt that it was time to pay tribute to them in the same way members of the armed forces honour their fallen colleagues.
"It is only right and proper that when someone gives their life in this way, we recognise them."
The funeral of PC Nicola Hughes is due to be held on Wednesday, while that of PC Fiona Bone takes place on Thursday.
Dale Cregan, 29, has been charged with their murder, and the murders of two men. The case at Manchester Crown Court has been adjourned until November.


A deal has been signed to turn by-products from a Scottish distillery into fuel for cars.

In what is claimed to be a world first, the Tullibardine distillery in Perthshire has linked up with a spin-out company from Napier University in Edinburgh.
They plan to use bacteria to feed on the "leftovers" from the whisky making process.
This will produce butanol which can be used to fuel vehicles.
More than 90% of the stuff that comes out of a whisky distillery is not whisky. It is leftovers like draff and pot ales - both produced in the early stages of the process.
They are high in sugar and are currently used for things like fertiliser and cattle feed.
Napier University's Biofuel Research Centre (BfRC) has already shown that the right bacteria can feed on those by-products to produce butanol - a direct replacement for vehicle fuel.
Now the spin-out company, Celtic Renewables, and independent malt whisky producer Tullibardine have signed a memorandum of understanding.
Together they will apply the process to thousands of tonnes of the distillery's leftovers.
Professor Martin Tangney, founder of Celtic Renewables, said: "Our partnership with Tullibardine is an important step in the development of a business which combines two iconic Scottish industries - whisky and renewables.
"This project demonstrates that innovative use of existing technologies can utilise resources on our doorstep to benefit both the environment and the economy."
Douglas Ross, managing director of Tullibardine, which spends Â£250,000 disposing of its by-products every year, said: "We are delighted to be partnering Celtic Renewables in this innovative venture, the obvious benefits of which are environmental.
"It takes a cost to us and turns it into something that has social as well as commercial value."
The project is being supported by a grant from the Scottish government's Zero Waste Scotland initiative.
Celtic Renewables said it eventually aimed to build a processing plant in Scotland, with the hope of building an industry that could be worth Â£60m a year.


A 15-year-old who fell into a Pembrokeshire quarry has been taken to hospital after being rescued by the emergency services.

Fire crews were called to reports of a boy falling down a cliff at a quarry in Tiers Cross, near Haverfordwest, at about 21:00 BST on Sunday.
Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service used a ladder to rescue the boy and he was then taken to Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen to recover.
The extent of his injuries are unknown.


Booker Prize-winning author Julian Barnes has criticised the decision to open up the award to US writers.

The literary prize started accepting novels by US authors in 2014, having previously been restricted to the UK, the Commonwealth, Ireland and Zimbabwe.
Barnes won in 2011 with The Sense of an Ending. "I don't agree with opening up the Booker for the Americans," he said.
"I think that's straightforwardly daft. The Americans have got enough prizes of their own."
Last month, Paul Beatty became the first American author to win the Booker, triumphing with his racial satire The Sellout.
But Barnes told the Radio Times: "The idea of [the Booker] being Britain, Ireland, the old Commonwealth countries and new voices in English from around the world gave it a particular character and meant it could bring on writers.
"If you also include Americans - and get a couple of heavy hitters - then the unknown Canadian novelist hasn't got a chance.
"Which American prizes are open to Brits? In theory I think only the National Book Award is. I don't think any Brit has won a major American award for years."
The Â£50,000 Booker Prize is now open to writers of any nationality writing in English and published in the UK.
Every shortlist for the past three years has included two US authors.
Fellow Australian Peter Carey, who has won the Booker twice, has previously criticised the decision to open up the award.
"I find it unimaginable that the Pulitzer or the National Book award people in the United States would ever open their prizes to Brits and Australians," he has said. "They wouldn't.
"There was, and there is, a real Commonwealth culture. It's different. America doesn't really feel to be a part of that... I suppose I'm not generally in love with the notion of global marketing."
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Motorists with diesel vehicles are being 'taken for a ride' by retailers who are charging too much, the RAC has said.

The motorists' organisation said that even though the wholesale price of diesel has gone down over the last month, the price at the pump has risen.
The RAC is now calling for a price cut on diesel of 4 pence a litre.
However, petrol retailers said the RAC was wrong - and that profit margins on diesel sales were mostly tiny.
Over the last month, the gap between wholesale petrol and diesel prices - in other words what the retailers pay - has narrowed to 0.97p.
Yet motorists are still paying 6p a litre more for diesel than they are for petrol, according to the RAC.
The RAC said that companies - which tend to rely more on diesel vehicles - were being charged too much.
"It's hard not to think that business is being taken for a ride by the fuel retailers," said Simon Williams, the RAC's fuel spokesman.
"Retailers have maintained a higher margin on diesel, perhaps to subsidise petrol sales," he said.
But the industry said that the RAC had misunderstood how profits are made.
"We are extremely disappointed that the RAC made a number of assumptions that are palpably erroneous," said Brian Madderson, chairman of the Petrol Retailers Association, which represents independent forecourts.
He said that most business users who buy diesel use discount cards.
That results in profit margins for retailers of between just 0.8p and 1.3p a litre, less than they need to stay in business.
"We have to bear in mind that 900 independent sites closed between 2009 and 2013," he told the BBC.
He said that margins on petrol sales had also collapsed "by 50%" in the last two months.


Tino Best says he could not turn down the chance to follow West Indies greats Malcolm Marshall and Gordon Greenidge in playing for Hampshire.

Best, 34, signed a short-term deal with the county on Monday as injury cover for fellow countryman Fidel Edwards.
"I'm like a kid in a candy store," he told BBC Radio Solent. "I'm really blessed to have this opportunity and I'm ready to bowl as hard as I can."
Barbados-born fast bowler Best has joined Hampshire as a Kolpak signing.
His last international appearance came in January 2014 and the move to Hampshire will be his second spell in county cricket, having played for Yorkshire in 2010.
"I'm just relishing the opportunity to play for the same county as West Indies greats like Marshall and Greenidge," Best said.
"I've always been a student of the game. Cricket's my first love and it's what pays the bills."
Best played in the Masters Champions League in the UAE during the winter and is confident he can bowl at the same pace which first saw him burst onto the international stage in 2003.
"The key with fast bowling is it's all about fitness," he said. "Ottis Gibson (England bowling coach and former West Indies head coach) says it's all about desire.
"It's all about working hard and that desire will never leave me."


Manchester United missed out on a place in the Junior Section semi-finals at Super Cup NI but there was delight for local teams Club NI and County Antrim.

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United's surprise 2-0 defeat by Southampton saw them consigned to Thursday's Globe semi-finals.
However, Club NI won their third successive group game to reach the last four as they beat Middlesbrough 2-1.
They will face Co Antrim in the semis after two Christopher McKee goals helped see off Strikers 2-0.
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Rangers will face American side Global Premier Soccer Bayern in the other last-four tie.
The Glasgow club booked their semi-finals berth by defeating First Choice Soccer 2-0 while GPS progressed after a 1-0 win over Dublin club Cherry Orchard at Castlerock.
United went behind against Southampton after a Ben Pleavin own goal and Frank Lovett's superb solo goal sealed the Saints' victory.
County Armagh will be United's opposition in the Globe semi-finals at the Coleraine Showgrounds (15:30 BST) in a game which will be shown live on the BBC Sport website.
Meanwhile, the semi-finals line-up in the Premier Section will see Ghanaian club Right To Dream facing Newcastle United and O'Higgins of Chile up against Mexican side Club America.
Newcastle held their nerve to progress to the last four as they defeated Japanese side Komazawa 2-0 with Oisin McEntee's first-half headed goal followed by a second-half Matthew Longstaff penalty.
Thursday's Premier semi-final between Right to Dream and Newcastle will also be streamed live on the BBC Sport website.
THURSDAY'S SUPER CUP SEMI-FINALS
PREMIER SEMI-FINALS
Right To Dream v Newcastle Utd, Coleraine Showgrounds, 19:00 BST - live on BBC Sport website
O'Higgins v Club America, Scroggy Road, Limavady, 19:00
PREMIER GLOBE SEMI-FINALS
Strikers v Osasco, Broughshane, 17:00
Co Antrim v First Choice Soccer, Riada Stadium, Ballymoney, 17:00
PREMIER VASE SEMI-FINALS
Vendee v Co Fermanagh, Parker Ave, Portrush, 17:00
GPS Bayern v Otago, Castlerock, 17:00
PREMIER BOWL
Co Tyrone v Co Armagh, Clough, Ballymena, 15:30
Co Down v Komazawa Uni FC, Riada 2, Ballymoney, 15:30
Co Londonderry v Beijing Morning Star Utd, The Warren, Portstewart, 15:30
JUNIOR SEMI-FINALS
Club NI v Co Antrim, Riada Stadium, Ballymoney, 19:00
Rangers v GPS Bayern, Seahaven, Portstewart, 19:00
JUNIOR GLOBE
Co Armagh v Man Utd, Coleraine Showgrounds, 15:30 - live on BBC Sport website
Co Tyrone v Chivas Guadalajara, Anderson Park, Coleraine, 15:30
JUNIOR VASE
Cherry Orchard v North Dublin SL, Anderson Park, Noon
NC Elite v Sheffield Utd, Broughshane, Noon
JUNIOR BOWL
Swindon Town v Co Down, Clough, Noon
Middlesbrough v Southampton, Parker Ave, Portrush, Noon
JUNIOR SALVER
Plymouth Argyle v Co Londonderry, The Warren, Portstewart, Noon
Co Fermanagh v Strikers, Castlerock, Noon
JUNIOR SHIELD
First Choice Soccer v M Sports NZ, Riada 2, Ballymoney, Noon
Dundalk SL v Colina, Scroggy Road, Limavady, Noon


Spain's troubled Bankia - formed of the merger of seven floundering savings banks - has reported a record loss.

The bank, which received aid of 18bn euros, made a loss of 19.2bn euros (Â£17bn, $25.2bn) for 2012 and put aside provisions of 26.8bn euros.
Last year, Bankia and its parent firm, BFA, asked for EU funds to help rebuild its capital.
Spain's bank rescue fund said Bankia itself had a negative value, although its parent had some worth.
Bankia was born out of the merger of seven savings banks that were highly exposed to Spain's property sector, which crashed five years ago.
The Bankia-BFA group as a whole made losses after tax of 21.2bn euros in 2012.
Bankia's seven component banks were severely damaged by their loans to property developers and home buyers during the country's property bubble that ended in the late 2000s.
The bank's shares were suspended at the start of the year.


Single malt whisky distilling is a step closer to returning to Edinburgh after a 90 year absence after plans were approved to develop the Engine Shed.

An application for a distillery and visitor centre at the site in St Leonard's Lane has been accepted.
The Holyrood Park Distillery will be Edinburgh's first single malt whisky distillery since Glen Sciennes closed in the 1920s.
It is scheduled to open its doors to the public in 2018.
It will initially produce 53,000 litres of alcohol per year, for about 140,000 bottles of mature single malt in eight to 12 years time.
City of Edinburgh Council has approved the proposal.
It is a joint development by David Robertson, former Master Distiller for The Macallan, and Rob and Kelly Carpenter, founders of the Canadian branch of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society.
It will employ 25 staff.
Mr Robertson, said: "After years of hard work, our team's dream of bringing single malt whisky distilling back to Edinburgh is set to become a reality.
"We worked closely with local residents and businesses to build a proposal that will benefit the local community as well as Edinburgh as a whole.
"Work will start later this year and throughout 2017 and by 2018 we hope to be producing beautiful, hand-crafted spirits at our world-class distillery and visitor experience in the heart of Edinburgh."


Marks and Spencer's recent revival has suffered a setback after it reported a fall in non-food sales.

Like-for-like sales of general merchandising - which is largely clothing - fell 0.4% in the 13 weeks to 27 June, a period that M&S described as "challenging".
That compares with growth of 0.7% in the previous quarter, which had been M&S's best performance for nearly four years.
Like-for-like sales of food rose 0.3%.
Chief executive Marc Bolland said: "We continue to make progress against our key priorities. Our food business did very well in a difficult market."
Sales through M&S's website grew 38.7% from a year earlier, after a sharp slump in online sales at the beginning of last year immediately after the site was re-launched.
The drop in general merchandise sales was better than the 1% slide forecast by analysts, but has dashed hopes that last quarter's growth - which marked the division's first expansion after 14 consecutive quarters of decline - would continue.
Since Mr Bolland took over the helm in 2010, he has invested millions in trying to turn around its clothing division, hiring well known models such as Rosie Huntington Whiteley and David Gandy.
And last year, it took on Hong Kong-based brothers Neal and Mark Lindsey - who helped rival Next improve the way it buys clothing - to help improve its supply chain.
Analysts said the latest figures were disappointing and put pressure on Mr Bolland to speed up the division's transformation.
"Pressure is mounting for Bolland to come good on his promises and focus more on increasing margins through supply-chain savings and shift away from heavy discounting," said Julie Palmer, partner at Begbies Traynor.
Richard Hunter, head of equities at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers, said general merchandise was "the elephant in the changing room".
"Whether M&S can ever return to former glories by enticing clothes shoppers back to its stores is arguably its largest challenge, even though the more recent experience implies at least a stabilisation of previously dropping numbers," he added.
M&S shares, which have risen 25% over the past year, rose 0.6% to 550p after the trading update.


Festive food sales helped to drive a better performance from Scotland's struggling grocery sector last month.

However, total retail sales were slightly down in December, compared with the same month in 2014.
The drop of 0.2% was still the best performance for almost two years.
Like-for-like sales, which strip out factors such as new store openings, decreased by 0.4%, according to the Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC)-KPMG retail sales monitor.
Total Scottish sales increased by 1.8% when adjusted for deflation.
SRC director David Lonsdale attributed the upturn to an increase in total food sales, which were up 1.1% on the previous December.
He said: "This positive set of results for December provided a final flourish to what was otherwise a tepid 2015 as a whole for retail sales in Scotland.
"This was largely driven by purchases of festive food and drink in the run-up to Christmas, although non-food categories continued to gather momentum, most notably online."
Adjusted for the effect of online shopping, total non-food sales in Scotland increased by 1.8%, the second best performance of 2015.
Clothing and footwear sales was the worst-performing category in December, reporting the weakest performance in four months.
David McCorquodale, head of retail at KPMG, said: "Heavy rain and flooding meant shoppers took to the keyboard rather than the high street and unseasonably warm weather led to the fashion sector suffering a bit of a wash-out, ending the year on a wave of discounts and online returns.
"Spending on home and electricals benefited with the overhang from Black Friday and a welcome post-Christmas boost.
"However, the surprise winner in Scotland for the festive season was the beleaguered grocery market, which delivered both product and price to provide some encouragement for the year ahead."


Major work to repair the Yanley viaduct near Bristol has begun with long delays expected until the new year.

The 12-span viaduct, which carries the A370 at Long Ashton, is in need of "essential maintenance" to the joints and bearings which have become worn.
Traffic flow on the bypass is being restricted for 23 weeks with two of the three lanes remaining closed.
North Somerset Council has encouraged motorists to avoid using the bypass and driving through Long Ashton village.
Traffic will be able to travel in one direction only along the bypass which is used by more than 19,000 vehicles each day.


Major delays on a gas field project to the west of Shetland are costing the contractor more than half its original value.

Petrofac had already said it would take losses of £130m this year on the Laggan-Tormore offshore field, that was initially worth a total £500m.
The oilfield services firm announced on Tuesday it expected to register a further £30m in pre-tax costs.
That cuts the company's expected profit for 2015 by nearly half.
Laggan-Tormore is a large gas field, owned by French energy giant Total, in deep water to the west of Shetland.
The project has required installations on the sea-bed, a new pipeline to Shetland, and a new processing plant where it reaches land at the Sullom Voe terminal.
Petrofac took on the work in 2011, but admitted that it failed to plan for the complexity.
It has meant hundreds of workers continuing to work in Shetland a year longer than planned, which has been a boost to the local economy.
Ayman Asfari, group chief executive of Petrofac, explained in the 2014 annual report: "On the Laggan-Tormore project, we failed to stress-test adequately our assessment of the risks of operating in a wholly new geography for the onshore engineering and construction business.
"Our ability to deliver on schedule was further impacted directly by challenging weather conditions affecting the Shetland islands.
"Furthermore our construction contractors failed to deliver their agreed scope, and, though we had a lack of experience in managing direct construction, we had little choice but to take on more direct construction activity on a day rate basis."
Mr Asfari added: "Putting the challenges we have faced on Laggan-Tormore to one side, the rest of our portfolio continues to perform well."
Investors had priced in the cost of delays in Petrofac's UK offshore projects, and the share price rose 7%.


When proposing new laws, ministers can fill the statute books from the relative safety of their positions in government.

But for the average backbench MP, the chance to make laws can seem a distant possibility.
Their best chance comes around once a year, in the form of a random ballot.
The prize? A chance for MPs to promote their pet project in the House of Commons by introducing it as a Private Members' Bill.
Private Members' Bills can be introduced in three different ways. The first are "Ten Minute Rule" bills, where MPs make a speech of no more than 10 minutes to outline their position. Second are presentations to the Commons, where an MP might formally introduce the title of their bill.
The third and most likely to make it onto the statute book are the "Ballot Bills", so-called because MPs take part in a random draw to decide who gets to propose a bill in the Commons.
The system has its critics, among them the SNP MP who sponsored the "Turing Bill" to pardon gay men for obsolete sexual offences.
"It is absurd for legislation to be decided by the deputy speaker pulling balls out of a jar. It seems altogether too random," John Nicolson says.
If this sounds confusing, it's probably because it is.
In a report on Private Members' Bills, the Commons' Procedure Committee called the process "impenetrable" and "enormously damaging to the reputation of the House and to the legislative process".
Chairman of the committee, Broxbourne MP Charles Walker, says: "One thing you have to do in this house is accept failure, but you need to have a fair crack at failure, and I don't think most backbenchers now have a fair crack at failure."
Even if an MP is lucky enough to propose their Private Members' Bill to the Commons, it is far from guaranteed that it will become law.
Opposing MPs can stop these sorts of bills progressing by "filibustering" or "talking them out" during debates held on 13 Fridays throughout the year - a process the Procedure Committee report describes as "speaking at inordinate length on the bill to ensure that the debate cannot conclude" before the set time limit.
Mr Nicolson's Private Members' Bill, the Sexual Offences (Pardons) Bill, fell after a government minister used up the time allotted for debating it by speaking for 25 minutes.
There were cries of "shame" and "shameful" from some MPs as Justice Minister Sam Gyimah's speech brought the debate to a close.
Speaking to the BBC Mr Nicolson said: "I think voters consider filibustering to be wrong. And I agree with them.
"Filibustering is archaic, and often used to frustrate the Private Members' Bill process. If a minister doesn't talk out a bill, a hard core of obstructionist MPs often do it, talking nonsensically for lengthy periods until the time allocated for the bill is over."
Mr Gyimah defended his opposition to Mr Nicolson's bill, saying "I understand and support the intentions behind Mr Nicolson's bill, however I worry that he has not fully thought through the consequences."
Conservative MP Philip Davies, a regular attendee of Friday debates on Private Members' Bills, mounted a passionate defence of talking out.
Speaking to a Procedure Committee evidence session Mr Davies said: "I support a bill by not speaking at all, and stop a bad bill from going forward by running out of time.
"If the purpose of me contributing to the debate is to try to stop bills that I think are bad, this is the mechanism that I have to use, under the rules," he continued.
"If there was another mechanism of blocking them that didn't involve me speaking in the debate, the chances are that I would use that mechanism and therefore nobody would hear another point of view. You would only hear one side."
Mr Davies concluded: "When we have a debate, whether people like the outcome or not, at least people get to hear that there is a different opinion on a particular bill."
Green Party co-leader Caroline Lucas had a similar experience of a bill being talked out in 2015.
Her "NHS Reinstatement" bill ran out of time after MPs spent four-and-a-half hours debating the two-clause Foreign National Offenders (Exclusion from the UK) bill.
Ms Lucas told the Procedure Committee the bill was one that "certain MPs have 'on the shelf' for the purpose of clogging up Private Members' Bill time on Fridays".
The Brighton Pavilion MP told the BBC: "What really turns the public off politics is witnessing the childish way some MPs speak for a huge amount of time in order to 'talk out' bills and prevent them from being concluded and voted on."
While talking out has many opponents, there are ways of clamping down on the practice that already exist.
In its recommendations for changes to the Private Members' Bill process, the Procedure Committee suggested that the Speaker and his deputies overseeing debates on them should make greater use of their existing ability to impose time limits on speeches.
Equally, an MP sponsoring a Private Members' Bill can attempt to close a debate before it runs out of time. The problem is that to do so 100 MPs have to be present in the chamber - a requirement the committee's report called a "a formidable hurdle" to overcome on Fridays, when many MPs have already returned to their constituencies.
In the end, opponents of talking out may be disappointed, because the Procedure Committee stopped short of calling for a ban.
Warning against applying more rules to Commons debates, the committee instead suggested limiting opportunities to indulge in the practice.
"The more rules there are, the greater the opportunities to game them," it said.


Denmark's new centre-right government has announced plans to reduce social benefits for asylum-seekers.

Single asylum-seekers without children will get an integration benefit of 5,945 kroner (Â£564) a month before tax, instead of the current 10,849.
Married couples with children will be able to get 16,638 kroner monthly, instead of the current 28,832.
Immigrants who pass a Danish language test will be entitled to a 1,500 kroner monthly bonus.
On Friday the proposal is expected to be passed by parliament, where the Venstre-led (Liberal) government is supported by the anti-immigration Danish People's Party (DPP).
The new integration benefit - replacing unemployment benefit for migrants - would then become law in September. EU migrant workers will not be affected by it.
Denmark has adopted some of the toughest immigration policies in the EU in recent years, as the DPP's political influence has grown.
First- and second-generation immigrants form 12% of Denmark's 5.6 million population.
"We must tighten up so we can get to grips with the asylum stream to Denmark," said Immigration Minister Inger Stoejberg, quoted by the Copenhagen Post.
In the run-up to last month's election, Venstre leader Lars Lokke Rasmussen - now prime minister - said action was needed "so that the influx of asylum-seekers and people coming here through family reunification is brought under control".
Separately, the government says more police and monitoring equipment will be installed at the border with Germany to stop smugglers and irregular migrants entering Denmark.
However, the measures would not violate the EU's Schengen rules on unrestricted travel, Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen said.


Plans to transform Dorset's Tolpuddle Martyrs trial court building into a tourist attraction have been approved.

Dorchester's Grade-I listed Shire Hall was the scene of the significant moment in the history of the trade union movement in the 1800s.
Planning permission for the old courts and cells to be transformed into a £2.9m visitor centre has now been granted by the district council.
A bid for £1.1m of Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) cash is being put together.
If the Shire Hall Trust is successful in its bid this summer, West Dorset District Council will match the funding.
The project was initially awarded £69,000 by the HLF and £100,000 from the authority.
The six Tolpuddle Martyrs were agricultural labourers who formed a "friendly society" - a forerunner to a trade union - and swore an illegal oath to protect their falling wages in 1834.
They were sentenced to seven years' transportation to an Australian penal colony.
However, outrage about their punishment caused protests across England and after four years they were pardoned and returned home.
Novelist and poet Thomas Hardy was also magistrate at the court for 15 years.
As well as further funding the proposals for the building, on High West Street, also need the agreement of the secretary of state.


Wigan Athletic winger Danny O'Brien has rejoined National League side Chester on loan until the end of the campaign.

The 20-year-old scored once in nine appearances on loan with the Blues during the second half of last season, his only goal coming on his debut in a 3-0 victory over Altrincham.
"We are delighted that Danny wanted to return to Chester," manager Jon McCarthy told the club website.
"He will increase competition within the squad."


Beavers living on the River Otter in Devon could be allowed to remain in the wild if free of disease.

The government had intended to capture six beavers, test for disease and re-home them in captivity.
It is unclear where the beavers came from, but campaigners say they should be allowed to stay.
The government has now indicated that the beavers could be tested near the river and released if disease-free.
In October, environmental charity Friends of the Earth, launched a legal challenge over the government's claim that the beavers were non-native, could be diseased, and should be removed.
It is believed the group, including three juveniles born this year, are the only wild beavers in England.
A spokeswoman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said: "Our priority has been to ensure humane treatment for the beavers while safeguarding human health, so we'll be testing the beavers close to the River Otter which will be better for their welfare than moving them elsewhere.
"We have a licence to capture the beavers, which we need to do to test them humanely for the disease EM (Echinococcus multilocularis) which has the potential to be very harmful to human health should it become established in the UK."
She said that the government agency Natural England was "expected to make a decision soon" on an application by Devon Wildlife Trust for the beavers to be released if clear of the disease.
FoE campaigner Alasdair Cameron said: "These are positive steps in the right direction, but until this issue is resolved, we will continue to make the case for these beavers to remain free."
A wild population of more than 150 animals has established itself on the River Tay in Perthshire, in the east of Scotland, while a smaller official trial reintroduction project has been taking place in west Scotland over the past few years.


A pilot scheme offering free breakfasts to primary school children in Blackpool has improved their health and punctuality, say researchers.

All 12,000 pupils are offered milk, fruit juice, cereal and toast in a bid to benefit their performance in school.
Blackpool Council will decide on 17 June whether to extend its Â£1.3m scheme, which began in January, until the end of March 2014.
Northumbria University researchers have examined the scheme's benefits.
Dr Margaret Anne Defreyter, director of healthy living at Northumbria University, said: "Blackpool's free school breakfast scheme is one of the largest schemes operating within the UK.
SOURCE: University of Northumbria
Teachers say school meals leave pupils hungry
"The overall findings of the evaluation of the Blackpool scheme are very positive and based on these findings I strongly recommend that the scheme continues."
Simon Blackburn, the Labour leader of Blackpool Council, said: "It was clear from that first day that the scheme would be a success. Across Blackpool children were coming to school hungry and struggling to concentrate.
"I am proud of the bold decision we made to trial this scheme, a move that no other council has made, and I've even prouder today to see the results of the research."
Neil Hodgkins, head teacher of Devonshire Primary School, said: "Children who had previously had nothing, or very little, to eat first thing are now enjoying a nutritious start to the day and presenting themselves as being livelier, more alert and ready to perform better in class.
"Although it is still early days to be quantifying this in terms of academic results or attainment value, we are seeing other benefits such as improved punctuality and attendance."
The researchers from Northumbria University have recommended that the council should continue to evaluate the "long term educational attainment and short term cognitive performance" of pupils.


Plymouth Albion boss Graham Dawe is considering moves to sign some of Cornwall's county side.

Dawe needs to revamp the squad after Albion were  and is also coach of the Duchy's team.
"That could be a strong possibility," he told BBC South West.
"The way they've showed up in the County Championship means they've certainly got the enthusiasm for rugby, and that's what we want at Plymouth."
Most of the players in Cornwall's team are drawn from the county's National Two South clubs Redruth and Launceston.
But Dawe warned that making the step up to the third tier of English rugby would not be easy for the Cornish players:
"National League One's a brutal league because you have to go so far north for some of the games and there's a lot of good teams that are settled with settled players, settled game plans and settled coaches.
"It'll be a good challenge, but we've somehow got to put a team together to meet those challenges, and if it's a Cornwall player or 15 Cornwall players that'd be great," he said.


Plans for a controversial waste processing and energy generation facility in Carmarthenshire have been unanimously rejected by councillors.

Clean Power Properties hoped to build a plant in Cwmgwili for a pyrolysis unit which uses heat treatment of organic waste to generate gas and electricity.
The company said it would reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.
More than 330 letters of objection were sent to the council, with about 500 people signing a petition against it.
A protest was also held before the planning meeting to discuss the plant, which would have been the first of its kind in Wales.
Llanelli MP Nia Griffith, who joined the protest, previously said residents "don't really want to be the guinea pigs here."
The planning meeting heard Clean Power Properties had submitted applications for 12 sites across the UK, but none had yet been built.
Councillors raised concerns during the meeting about potentially harmful emissions and the possibility that waste and rubbish from all parts of Wales and England could eventually be processed at the site.
Council leader Emlyn Dole said it was the "last thing" Carmarthenshire needed while trying to build a tourism industry.
Clean Power Properties has been asked to comment on the decision.
It previously said the plant would have generated up to 18 megawatts of electricity, which is enough to power more than 20,000 homes.


Edinburgh have signed Hawick's Scotland Under-20s wing Darcy Graham on a two-year professional deal.

The 19-year-old, a member of the Scottish Rugby Academy who can also play full-back, has started the U20s' recent matches with Ireland and France.
Graham, the nephew of ex-Scotland lock Scott MacLeod, came to prominence with a sensational score against Australia in last year's World U20 Championship.
He will join Edinburgh for the start of next season.
"Darcy is one of the most exciting prospects in Scottish rugby," said Edinburgh's acting head coach, Duncan Hodge, who will remain backs coach when Richard Cockerill takes over this summer.
"He's an extremely talented rugby player and a natural athlete. With the commitment and competitive drive he possesses, we're sure he'll thrive in a fully-professional environment."
Graham said: "I'm fully aware the professional environment will be a big step up but I'm excited to get involved and challenge myself to keep learning from the coaches and players around me."


The oldest known samples of pottery have been unearthed in southern China.

The US archaeologists involved have determined that fragments from a large bowl found in Xianrendong Cave, Jiangxi Province, are 20,000 years old.
The discovery, published in the journal Science, is the latest in recent years that have pushed back the invention of pottery by 10,000 years.
It is thought that the bowl was a cauldron to cook food, or possibly to brew alcohol.
Until recently, the majority view was that pottery bowls and drink receptacles were invented after the emergence of agriculture, when people began to stay in one place for long periods.
Part of the reasoning was that pottery items are large and breakable, and so not a useful technology for hunter-gatherer societies that moved from place to place in search of food.
But in the past 10 years, researchers have found instances of pottery pre-dating agriculture.
One possible reason for the invention of pottery is that 20,000 years ago the Earth was the coldest it had been for a million years.
According to the lead researcher, Prof Ofer Bar-Yosef of Harvard University, pottery cauldrons would have enabled people to extract more nutrition from their food by cooking it.
"Hunter-gatherers were under pressure to get enough food," he told BBC News.
"If the invention is a good one, it spreads pretty fast. And it seems that in that part of southern China, pottery spread among hunter-gatherers in a large area."
Prof Gideon Shelach of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem speculates that there may also have been a social driver for the invention of pottery.
"People were gathering together in larger groups and you needed social activities to mitigate against increased tensions," he told BBC News.
"Maybe those potteries were used to brew alcohol.
"It used to be thought that the beginning of pottery was associated with agriculture and sedentary lifestyle," he added.
"Yet here we find it 8,000 years or more before this transition. This is a very puzzling situation."
The archaeological team estimates from fragments of the bowl that it was 20cm high and 15-25cm in diameter.
Prof Bar-Yosef is keen to discover what these ancient people were cooking 20,000 years ago. He believes that whatever it was it was either steamed or boiled in the bowl.
"It's probably not the first wok," he said. "Cooking with oil began later.
"We think it was used for cooking with water, so it is more like a caldron".
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The Chinese government has posted on its website the pictures of 21 tourist spots where civil servants have been banned from holding meetings.

The Communist Party issued the warning to officials, as part of a drive to crack down on corruption and officials extravagance.
The Great Wall of China and the beach resort of Sanya are on the list.
Holding occasional meetings at a beautiful locations has traditionally been seen as a perk by civil servants.
The Communist Party's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said bureaucrats would now have to pay for trips themselves and travel in their own time.
It posted pictures of the 21 no-go zones under the headline "don't go to these famous scenic sites for meetings, got it?"


Director Peter Farley has admitted to Newsbeat that his team did discuss making the Dumb and Dumber To with two female lead characters.

The movie, is the sequel to Dumb and Dumber, which was made 20 years earlier.
But Peter added they couldn't do it without the original stars, Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels.
Peter didn't disclose names of any female comedic stars they were thinking about using.
"The comedy climate right now for women has never been better. I mean, they're the biggest stars right now. Comedic stars actually are the women.
"Bridesmaids, that kind of thing, sure. I think at one point we actually thought about it for a moment, but then we really realised that we can't do it without Jim and Jeff."
Peter is also behind the much-loved There's Something About Mary movie.
He also confirmed that there had been talks to do a sequel to that.
"The studio had asked us to do There's Something Else About Mary. Our feeling was that was a money grab, it didn't feel like a natural sequel.
"But they wanted to do it and we actually said at some point, well if the something else about Mary, turns out that she has testicles, then we're in.  And they said no, we don't want to do that, so we forgot it."
Dumb and Dumber To hits cinemas 19 December.
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube


Great Britain will be represented in synchronised swimming at the Rio Olympics, it has been confirmed.

Media playback is not supported on this device
Katie Clark and Olivia Federici won the "duet free" second round at the Olympic qualification tournament in Brazil.
It earned them a quota place, which has now been confirmed by the international federation Fina.
Clark and Federici will be in the mix for the two team places alongside Genevieve Randall and Jodie Cowie.
Clark, 21 and Federici, 26, retired after the 2013 World Championships, only to return to the sport last year.
Their retirement - along with five other Olympians in late 2013 - led to UK Sport ending funding support for the British set-up.
Synchronised swimming lead Karen Thorpe, said: "Achieving the Olympic quota place is a real testament to the hard work that has been done not only by Katie and Olivia but also Genevieve and Jodie.
"Our national coach Katie Chapman has worked tirelessly to make sure the athletes were in the best position to secure that vital quota place for the Games.
"We have had some ups and downs since London 2012 but this has to be a highlight for the sport. Over the last two years the synchro community has really united to help progress the sport, and in many ways it is stronger than ever. We now have four months that will be spent working hard to ensure we are at our best in Rio.
"I'm proud of the progress that Katie and Olivia have made since returning last year and I know that alongside Genevieve and Jodie we will be able to select a strong duet for Rio."


A man has been charged with murder after a grandfather was stabbed in Manchester on his 63rd birthday.

Ujjal Singh died from a knife wound to the neck after he was found in Lidiard Street, Crumpsall, on Monday.
Naunihal Singh, 53, of no fixed address, has been charged with murder and will appear before magistrates later.
A 37-year-old man, also held on suspicion of murder, has been bailed until February.
Mr Singh's family paid tribute to him, praising "his ability to interact with his elders, his peers and also the younger generation".
He leaves behind his wife, four children, nine grandchildren and a great-grandson.


Leicester striker Jamie Vardy has accepted a Football Association charge of improper conduct.

The 29-year-old confronted referee Jon Moss after being sent off in Sunday's 2-2 draw with West Ham.
By admitting the charge, Vardy, who has requested a personal hearing, could be given an additional suspension to his current one-match ban.
Premier League leaders Leicester have also accepted a charge of failing to control their players.
Vardy will miss their game against Swansea on Sunday but could also sit out the trip to Manchester United on 1 May.
The Premier League's second top-scorer - with 22 goals this season - was shown a second yellow card early in the second half after going to ground in the West Ham penalty area.
He confronted Moss, who was criticised for his performance by Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer, before leaving the field.
Leicester, who are five points clear of Tottenham, need eight points from their final four matches to guarantee the title.
Their final four matches are against Swansea (home), Manchester United (away), Everton (home) and Chelsea (away).


Carl Froch has vacated his IBF super-middleweight belt as he recovers from an elbow injury.

Fellow Briton James DeGale, 29, who was the mandatory challenger, will now fight for the vacant title.
Froch, 37, wants to defend his WBA super-middleweight title this summer.
Talks have taken place over a potential bout against Mexico's Julio Cesar Chavez Junior in Las Vegas, or two-weight world champion Bernard Hopkins, 50, in Froch's home city of Nottingham.
Froch told BBC Radio 5 live a fight in Vegas or at Nottingham Forest's City Ground would be motivation to continue his career, although he has not ruled out retirement.
"Something needs to happen soon because if it doesn't, I will be retiring," added the boxer, who has won 33 of his 35 fights.
The four-time world champion said he felt frustrated at having to pull out of a fight with Chavez which was originally scheduled for March.
"I know what it's like to wait for a shot and I didn't want to hold James up in fighting for a world title," he said.
"James is a great fighter and I hope he can go out and win that title. Who knows... we may even meet later in the year."
DeGale earned the right to face Froch after beating Brandon Gonzalez on the undercard of Froch's Wembley fight against George Groves in May 2014.
Promoter Eddie Hearn is in negotiations for Degale to fight American Andre Dirrell for the IBF title and hopes the clash can take place on 25 April at London's O2 Arena.
"I'm making history," said DeGale. "I'm going to be the first British Olympic gold medallist to win a world title."


Weird and wonderful scarecrows have gone on display at an annual festival in Lancashire.

28 April 2016 Last updated at 14:32 BST
This year's Wray Scarecrow Festival, which has been running since 1993, features an "explorers" theme.
Straw-stuffed spacemen, space dogs and a scarecrow version of Star Wars character Chewbacca were among the attractions.
Another scarecrow paid tribute to the late pop star David Bowie.
BBC North West Tonight finds out more.


A 23-year-old man has died following a road crash in North Ayrshire.

The man was travelling south on the A737, at Beith, when his Aprilia bike collided with a northbound Mercedes sprinter van and a BMW 3 series.
The accident happened near the B777 Gateside Road junction at about 18:35 on Wednesday.
Emergency services attended but the man died at the scene. The 47-year-old male van driver, and the 46 year-old male BMW driver were not injured.
Sgt Iain Pittams, from the Divisional Road Policing Unit at Irvine Police Office, said: "Inquiries are continuing into the circumstances surrounding the crash and I would ask any witnesses, or anyone with information that may assist our investigation to contact our office."


Australia's Aaron Baddeley holed a 336-yard tee shot but only signed for an extraordinary birdie at the Texas Open.

Baddeley, 34, hit his first tee shot on the par-four 17th into woodland and after declaring his ball unplayable went back to the tee to play again.
After holing what was his third shot, he said: "I hit it, started walking and then heard the crowd going nuts."
Baddeley is on four under, a shot behind leader Charley Hoffman after the American hit a five-under 67.
Hoffman, who avoided the windy conditions by playing in the afternoon, had birdies on the second, third, ninth, 11th and 17th in a bogey-free first round.
But the shot of the day was undoubtedly Baddeley's and he followed it with a chip-in birdie on the 18th to cap a sensational end to an otherwise average round.
Three-times Masters winner Phil Mickelson is two under in the penultimate event before the first major of the season starts at Augusta on 9 April.
But he was hampered when his club head came off after hitting an approach from the bunker on the 12th.
Meanwhile, Northern Ireland's 2010 US Open champion Graeme McDowell pulled out of the Texas Open with a leg injury.


Leicester Tigers will look to reach their first European Cup final since 2009 when they meet French side Racing 92 at Welford Road on Sunday.

The Tigers, two-time winners of the previous incarnation as the Heineken Cup, went out in the group stage of last year's inaugural Champions Cup.
Racing have never before made it to the last four.
The winners will play Saracens in the final in Lyon on 14 May after they beat Wasps in Saturday's other semi-final.
Leicester have named the same side that beat Northampton in the Premiership last weekend for the tie, which will be held at the City Ground, home of Nottingham Forest.
Head coach Aaron Mauger will come up against compatriot and former All Blacks fly-half Dan Carter, who is in his first season with Racing.
"He's probably been the difference for Racing this year, even though you don't want to pin too much on one person," said Mauger.
"The direction that Dan has given the side has been critical. His composure in those tight moments has been the missing ingredient for them."
Mauger, who helped Crusaders to four Super Rugby titles between 2000 and 2007, also said that the Champions Cup has overtaken the southern hemisphere competition as the premier tournament for clubs.
"I think the Champions Cup is getting bigger, a bit more so now as I believe Super Rugby has been diluted by adding extra teams, which is a bit of a concern for them down there," said Mauger.
"It's probably the most prestigious competition."
Leicester Tigers: Mathew Tait (c), Telusa Veainu, Peter Betham, Manu Tuilagi, Vereniki Goneva, Freddie Burns, Ben Youngs; Marcos Ayerza, Harry Thacker, Dan Cole, Dom Barrow, Graham Kitchener, Mike Fitzgerald, Lachlan McCaffrey, Opeti Fonua.
Replacements: Greg Bateman, Logovi'i Mulipola, Fraser Balmain, Ed Slater, Tom Croft, Sam Harrison, Owen Williams, Adam Thompstone.
Racing 92: Brice Dulin, Joe Rokocoko, Johannes Goosen, Alexandre Dumoulin, Juan Imhoff, Dan Carter, Maxime Machenaud (c); Eddy Ben Arous, Virgile Lacombe, Ben Tameifuna, Luke Charteris, Francois van der Merwe, Wenceslas Lauret, Bernard Le Roux, Chris Masoe.
Replacements: Camille Chat, Khatchik Vartanov, Luc Ducalcon, Manuel Carizza, Antonie Claassen, Mike Phillips, Remi Tales, Louis Dupichot.


Intense fighting in Afghanistan's Helmand province is driving thousands of people from their homes.

12 August 2016 Last updated at 14:24 BST
Most flee to the provincial capital Lashkar Gah which has been targeted by Taliban fighters for months.
The Afghan government has flown in special forces, repelling some of the attacks.
But the situation remains precarious in a province where UK forces were in charge of security until 2014.


Pakistan A outclassed a young Glamorgan side as they recorded a 123-run victory in their 50-overs match in Newport.

It was the county's first first-team match in the city for 26 years.
Captain Babar Azam led the tourists' effort as he blasted 119 off 109 balls, while Ruaidhri Smith claimed a hat-trick in the final over of the innings.
Home skipper Will Bragg top-scored with 61 off 67 balls and Andrew Salter hit three sixes in his 51, but Glamorgan were never in the hunt for victory.
Glamorgan's bowlers had contained the tourists for most of their innings, with Owen Morgan taking two for 49 in his 10 overs.
But Pakistan accelerated as Glamorgan's attack flagged in chilly conditions, before the late drama of Smith's hat-trick.
It was the first by a Glamorgan player in limited-overs matches since Alex Wharf against Warwickshire in 2004.
Pakistan A now face England Lions in 50-overs matches at Cheltenham on 19 July and Canterbury on 24 July, as well as two games against Sri Lanka A.
Glamorgan gave official first-team debuts to young batsmen Kiran Carlson and Tom Smith, ex-Gloucestershire wicket-keeper Cameron Herring, and seamer Jack Murphy.


Professional football clubs in all four divisions backed an agreement on participation for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

In what has been described as a Scottish first, some of the country's biggest clubs have signed up to the LGBT Sports Charter.
The charter aims to encourage access to the sport for LGBT people.
Equality Network development manager Scott Cuthbertson said the move would help create a "more inclusive" game.
He said: "We're delighted that these clubs, from across all four SPFL divisions, are today making a commitment to LGBT supporters, officials and the next generation of LGBT players.
"Today's message is loud and clear, everyone is welcome at football and we are working for a more inclusive game.
"We don't yet have any openly LGBT professional players in the men's professional game in Scotland but we know there are plenty of LGBT fans."
'Sport for all'
Rangers striker Kenny Miller said: "Rangers is an inclusive club and strives to promote equality and inclusion and we are delighted to sign up to the Scottish LGBT Sports Charter.
"Everyone should be able to take part, enjoy and succeed in sport whatever their sexual orientation or gender identity and we are proud to support this initiative."
Celtic's Scott Brown added: "This is an issue which needs to be addressed and tackled and therefore we are delighted to sign up to the Charter, and promote the very important message that sport is for all."
The clubs backing the charter are Aberdeen, Celtic, Hearts, Hibs, Partick Thistle, Rangers St Johnstone, Dumbarton, Airdrieonians, Albion Rovers, Forfar Athletic, Elgin City and Peterhead.
Partick Thistle managing director Ian Maxwell said: "Football can be a very powerful tool to help fight all types of discrimination.
"Football is a universal language so no matter what your race, religion, background, gender or sexuality, kicking a ball about or watching your team on a Saturday helps put everyone on a level playing field."


Hooker Ken Owens says the British and Irish Lions can beat New Zealand in the summer if they avoid the pitfalls Wales suffered there in June 2016.

Scarlets captain Owens, 30, will head down under on his first Lions tour.
"That's one thing we learnt from the tour last year was they, in the first two games, created four or five opportunities and took them," he said.
"And from a Welsh point of view we created probably as much if not more than them and didn't take them."
Owens highlighted the Lions' need to be superior to the All Blacks in counter-attack in the three-Test series.
"That's how you beat the All Blacks because they're always confident in their counter-attacking game and their attacking game to score points," said Owens.
"That's one thing they're traditionally very good at and we need to more than match that and take the points when they're available and take our try-scoring opportunities."
Wales lost 3-0 there last summer, including a 46-6 defeat in the final tour Test.
But he will return there believing Warren Gatland's squad is among the strongest in Lions history.
"You look at the quality of player that's in the squad it's unbelievable," said Owens.
"That's one of the best squads assembled for a Lions tour for a long time.
"I think a lot of the players who've missed out as well have been right at the top of their game for club and country and they haven't made the tour.
"That's how tough it's been for the coaches to select the squad and we've got a massive opportunity now to go to New Zealand with confidence."
Owens learned of his selection while with family and friends in Pembrokeshire.
He will be up against Ireland's Rory Best and England's Jamie George for a Test spot.
Before the tour, he and Scarlets are targeting the Pro12 play-offs with their final two regular season games at Connacht, on Saturday 29 April, and against Ospreys a week later in Llanelli.
Owens said: "Finishing in the top four is in our hands now where perhaps it wasn't two or three weeks ago."


Two years ago Gaby Leveridge was working in the French Alps, organising fitness holidays for women.

In the winter, the personal trainer spent her free time snowboarding, while summer sparked the beginning of a love affair with bikes.
The longer days mixed with inspiring scenery, a group of encouraging friends and endless kilometres of quiet roads provided the perfect environment for Leveridge to unearth a previously hidden talent.
Last December, the British based professional cycling team Velosure Starley Primal announced their 2015 roster.
Among the names on the elite women's list was that of Gaby Leveridge.
The 25-year-old from Surrey had been signed up as a specialist climber.
"A lot of people are quite amazed, especially my friends in the UK, because a lot has happened in such a short space of time," she told BBC Sport.
Since 2013, Leveridge has turned cycling from a casual hobby to keep fit for snowboarding, into a serious passion.
She hopes it could eventually lead to a full-time career, but says she found it tough to begin with.
"I used to go out of the front door of the chalet I was working in and pedal as far up the mountain as I could until I was exhausted and then roll back down," she recalled.
Leveridge made swift progress and soon started competing in local races in France and Italy with other female cycling friends, partly for fun, but partly to gain experience of racing.
"A lot of those were mountain road races, so it would be 160km with quite a lot of climbing, usually 3,000-5,000m of vertical ascent, so you are off in the mountains for about five hours racing," she explained.
Spending five hours in the saddle might sound arduous, but it was nothing compared to what Leveridge put herself through in August 2014; the Transcontinental ultra endurance race across Europe.
The aim is simple. Competitors have to cycle from Westminster Bridge in London to Istanbul as quickly as possible.
Leveridge and her boyfriend covered the 3,600km in 12 days.
"You just go, there's no support, you do your own navigation and the clock doesn't stop, so if you need to eat or sleep that slows you down."
Despite sleeping for less than two hours in any 24 hour period and living off biscuits, croissants and high calorie convenience food, Leveridge came second in the women's race, five hours behind the winner.
On completing the endurance event, she got in touch with Velosure Starley Primal, mainly to ask for advice about racing in the UK.
"I sent them my results from the races I had done in France and Italy and spoke to them about the Transcontinental.
"I think because my results from that really stood out, they believed I could transfer those skills and the endurance I had gained, along with the results, to be successful with them in Britain."
Leveridge took the plunge, signed a contract and moved back to the UK.
She is now working part time in sports retail and is following an intense training programme as she prepares for a full season of racing.
The team's first race is the Cheshire Classic in April, which saw podium finishes for GB cyclists Katie Archibald and Laura Trott in 2014.
"I hear it's quite a tough finishing climb, so it will definitely be a good test.
"I really hope to get on the podium in a race this season, that's my biggest goal," she said.
To find out more about how to get into cycling use this handy guide.


Canada has overhauled its child benefits system and significantly increased the amount of money the state will pay out to families.

In a new scheme, launched on 20 July, nine out of ten families will see their benefits rise.
The move fulfils a major 2015 election pledge by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
But it also comes at a time of budget deficit and economic stagnation in the country.
Child welfare reform has been a pressing issue in Canada since the 1990s, with as many as 14% of the country's children living in poverty, according to national statistics data.
"The new Canada Child Benefit means more money for healthier groceries, kids' summer programmes, and back-to-school clothes," said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a statement.
But critics have pointed to the cost - approximately CA$22.8 billion (£13.2 billion) from the federal budget at a difficult moment financially.
Huge wildfires in Alberta have hurt oil production and  Canadian exports performed worse than economists expected during the second quarter of this year.
Payments through the scheme are also fixed rate for the next four years, meaning parents will not see their benefits adjusted according to inflation.
Source: UNICEF
But optimists hope the pros will outweigh the cons.
The government estimates working-class families will receive an extra CA$2,400 (£1,386) a year on average through the new system.
Parents with children under the age of six will be eligible to receive CA$6,400 (£3,698) a year, while parents with children between the ages of six and 17 will be eligible for CA$5,400 (£3,120) a year.
The scheme is also more simple than the previous model, which involved Universal Child Benefit and two other benefits installations in tandem. The new scheme involves a single monthly payment and is weighted according to household income.
"We are punching well below our weight on child poverty," said Iglika Ivanova, Senior Economist for the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, an independent think tank.
"I think this is a very positive step. It's incredibly generous. It's even slightly more generous then what many anti-poverty experts have been calling for."
If successful, Ms Ivanova said the new system could cut child poverty by up to 22% within a year, affecting the lives of 230,000 people.
A key test for the reform will be the impact it has on the lives of indigenous Canadians, who suffer greater levels of inequality.
As many as 76% of aboriginal residents in Manitoba and 69% in Saskatchewan live below the poverty line.
The National Post, a conservative Canadian news outlet, has given the new child benefit a lukewarm reception. The biggest change, they argue, will be felt by high-income families.
Those earning more than CA$180,000 (£104,000) a year will see their child benefits phased out entirely under the new initiative.
Economists say the full impact of the reform will not be known for a number of years.
High poverty among native Canadian children
Justin Trudeau: Is the honeymoon over?
Canada welcomes Syrian refugees
Trudeau joins gay pride parade


The parents of a boy who died on a ski trip have said they are "disappointed" they cannot appeal against the ski firm cleared of his manslaughter.

Kieran Brookes, 14, from Devon, died after the straps of his backpack became entangled on a ski lift in Chatel.
The French court  in Chambery said no further action would be taken against SAEM Sports et Tourisme a Chatel.
French prosecutors had appealed on behalf of the family after SAEM was cleared of corporate manslaughter.
More on this and other Devon and Cornwall news
Judges in Chambery ruled there was no criminal wrongdoing by the company and rejected the application to appeal.
Kieran's father, Nick, said: "It's been a very long process and I am confident that they have investigated it and learned from it, but disappointed at the outcome."
Kieran, from Bovey Tracey, was in the French Alps resort of Chatel in 2011 when he was strangled by his clothing.
Richard Cettour, who was supervising the lift at the time, was found guilty of indirect manslaughter and received a six month suspended sentence in 2015.
He had been at the back of the hut cleaning tools at the time.
A civil case against SAEM is expected to take place in the UK at a later date.


Tackling child sexual exploitation will be the focus of a  new specialist team set up by North Wales Police.

The Onyx team will help identify and work with children and young people who are at risk in the force's region.
A key part of the work will be gathering intelligence about where it is happening, identifying victims and those responsible.
Det Sgt Sarah Fellows will lead three officers, working with health, social care and youth justice organisations.
Child sexual exploitation has been recognised as an emerging threat nationally and tackling it is a key aim of North Wales police and crime commissioner Winston Roddick.
Mr Roddick described it as a "heinous crime" and said setting up a specialist team will give the public more confidence to come forward with complaints.


Britain's Chris and Gabby Adcock have created history by becoming the first British players to win a title at the year-end World Superseries finals.

Media playback is not supported on this device
The husband-and-wife pair beat South Korea's third seeds Ko Sung-hyun and Kim Ha-na 21-14 21-17 in the mixed doubles decider in Dubai.
The Britons played some smart rallies to take an early lead in the first game which they never let slip after that.
"This is a very big win for us," said Chris Adcock.
"The Koreans have been superb all year. We really wanted to try and put right what we didn't do against them in the past so to come through with the win is amazing."
The Britons had not beaten their Korean rivals in their three previous meetings but opened up a 12-6 lead in the first game before going six points up again later (18-12) and closing out the opener.
They went 12-8 ahead in the second game before their opponents made it 15-all.
But two winners from Chris gave the Britons the initiative again and they wrapped up victory in 37 minutes for their second Superseries title after success in Hong Kong in 2013.


Richard Keogh says Derby County will "always be in his heart" after being named as captain by boss Gary Rowett.

Keogh, 30, has been skipper of the Championship club since joining in 2012, apart from during Paul Clement's eight months in charge from June 2015.
The Republic of Ireland international, who scored in the abandoned EFL Cup tie at Grimsby on Tuesday, told BBC Radio Derby being reappointed was "amazing".
"Since I came through this door, it's been a great journey," he added.
"This club gave me the platform to captain my country and I will be forever grateful.
"My son was born in Derby as well so I will always have great affection for this club. It will always be in my heart.
"I have loved every second of it. It's six seasons and it has gone in a flash. You can see how much it means to me when I step on to the field. Hopefully we can make some great memories this season."


Stradivarius won the Goodwood Cup as favourite Big Orange missed out on a record third successive victory.

Jockey Andrea Atzeni rode the John Gosden trained three-year-old to victory in the two-mile race, which has been upgraded to Group One status.
Big Orange, ridden by Frankie Dettori, was looking to become the first horse in Goodwood's 205-year history to win the £500,000 race three years in a row.
"Coming in I thought Big Orange was the one to beat," said Atzeni.
It was a third success on Tuesday for the 26-year-old Italian jockey as Stradivarius finished ahead of Big Orange in second and Desert Skyline in third.
"It's a great day," Atzeni, who also rode winners in the Lennox Stakes and the Qatar Vintage Stakes, told ITV.
Trainer Gosden added: "He's not the biggest of horses and it was a bit rough on the first bend. He didn't panic and it opened up for us. He's a lovely little horse."
Double Trigger has come the closest to claiming three Goodwood Cup wins on the bounce, having been successful three times in four years - 1995, 1997 and 1998.
Having already steered Eagle Eye to victory in the Vintage Stakes, Atzeni caused a shock in the Lennox Stakes as 50-1 shot Breton Rock came from last to first to win.
Limato hit the front a furlong out and looked like collecting victory, before fading inside the final 50 yards as David Simcock's seven-year-old swept down the outside.
"I didn't expect this at all. I dropped him out last to pick up the pieces, but he picked them all up," said Atzeni.
"I thought the ground would be too quick for him."
BBC Sport horse racing correspondent Cornelius Lysaght
Under the conditions of the race, Big Orange, three years older than Stradivarius, had to concede the winner nearly a stone; that, plus the fact the going was softer than ideal made all the difference.
Having, like everyone else, heard all the hype and the talk of history-making, members of the Big Orange camp were understandably disappointed, but that soon turned to pride in what was another fine effort.
Stradivarius is now aiming to be his very much in-form trainer John Gosden's fifth win - but first since 2011 - in Doncaster's St Leger in September.


Former Prime Minister Tony Blair has said the Northern Ireland peace process would probably have collapsed without the controversial On the Runs scheme.

He gave evidence to the Westminster committee investigating the scheme on Tuesday afternoon.
Under the On the Runs (OTRs) scheme, letters were sent to more than 200 republican paramilitary suspects.
The scheme, which was set up in 1999, informed them that they were no longer wanted by police.
The OTR scheme came to public attention in 2014 when one of the letters caused the Hyde Park bomb trial to collapse.
The man accused of it, John Downey, walked free.
The Hyde Park attack killed Squadron Quartermaster Corporal Roy Bright, Lieutenant Anthony Daly, Trooper Simon Tipper and Lance Corporal Jeffrey Young on 20 July 1982.
The OTR scheme began while Mr Blair was prime minister.  It was set up following talks with Sinn Féin.
Mr Blair told the committee on Tuesday that the scheme was "not an amnesty" and was "not secret".
He said that during his time as prime minister the government had tried to find a way to deal with the issue "comprehensively" and were "unable to do so".
"At the time we were trying to find a resolution for the On The Runs issue....what happened was that we were never able to find a way through that," he said.
Mr Blair said the On the Runs letters were "absolutely critical to the peace process" and "essential to getting Sinn Féin on board".
He told MPs that "no such letter" should have been issued to John Downey.
Mr Blair also said he took responsibility for not putting in place a structure that would have prevented the error in the John Downey case, but did not apologise for the letters policy.
In response to robust questioning by the North Antrim MP Ian Paisley, Mr Blair countered: "You sit in the decision making chair for a minute," adding that without the On the Run scheme, there "would not have been a peace process".
The MP for East Belfast Naomi Long also questioned Mr Blair and asked him whether an alternative process had been suggested.
She asked Mr Blair whether he had considered that by informing some people they were not wanted, the scheme implicitly informed others that they were wanted, and helped them to evade prosecution.
Mr Blair said telling people they were not liable to prosecution was a perfectly reasonable thing to do.
Mr Blair said on claims that the scheme was secret: "It evolved. It's not that we decided not to tell people, it's just that it wasn't the focus."
Mr Blair said a scheme to deal with OTRs was an "essential component" in keeping republicans in the process and said they would have walked away if such a scheme had not been put in place.
"If we'd simply said we're not going to deal with this issue at all, I personally believe it would have had a very serious impact on the process," he told North Down MP, Lady Sylvia Hermon.
He said he had tried to do his best under "very difficult circumstances".
Mrs Hermon, said that while the scheme was referred to in parliamentary records, the existence of the letters was "kept secret" until "John Downey walked out of the Old Bailey".
Mr Blair said republicans had not boasted about the letters because what they wanted was a mechanism to deal with those who were subject to potential prosecution if they returned and were less interested in letters given to people the authorities were not pursuing.
At the time in 2007 when Mr Blair was coming under pressure to deal more quickly with the OTRs, he believed the political process could falter.
"We almost lost the thing," he said.
To his successors in government, Mr Blair said: "You inherited a peace process that worked, but be careful with it, it's fragile still."
He said he did not think there was "any big issue" about telling people they were not wanted, because we "were not changing the law to do that".
Mr Blair said, as in Northern Ireland, killers had been released as part of the Middle East peace process in which he was now involved, and that move had been met with protest too.
"These are hard decisions to take I'm afraid, but the one thing I can say for absolute certainty is that without that provision in the Good Friday Agreement, we would not have had peace.
"Whether it was justified to do it is another matter and I asked myself that hard question at the time, by the way."
Mr Blair said he would like to seek legal advice before he would be comfortable naming people who had received letters telling them that they were not wanted by any UK police force.
After the hearing, Christopher Daly, whose brother was killed in the Hyde Park bombing, said: "I think both myself and the other families directly impacted by Downey's case will appreciate the fact that Tony Blair decided to appear in person before the select committee and also the fact that he took full responsibility as well as apologising for the mistake that allowed Downey to walk free.
"A catastrophic mistake was made, as identified by Lady Justice Hallett, and somebody needs to be held to account for that mistake or some organisation and it was done on Tony Blair's watch."
The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee is conducting an inquiry into the scheme, and hopes to publish its findings before the end of this month.
It has heard evidence from senior police officers and politicians, including Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers and a number of her predecessors.
The committee wrote to Mr Blair twice and emailed him several times asking him to identify a suitable date for an appearance.
BBC News NI security correspondent Vincent Kearney
One of the most controversial elements of the Good Friday Agreement was the early release scheme for hundreds of republican and loyalist prisoners but it crucially did not deal with so-called On the Runs.
After negotiations between the government and Sinn Féin, Tony Blair gave Gerry Adams a personal assurance, an undertaking, that he would take steps to resolve this issue.
His government then set up a scheme whereby Sinn Féin could submit the names of individuals who wanted to check their legal status, to see if it was safe for them to return to Northern Ireland or if they could face arrest or questioning if they did so.
He replied by saying his busy schedule meant he was unable to do so.
In November, committee chairman Laurence Robertson MP wrote to Mr Blair, accusing him of being disrespectful to the House of Commons.
However, the situation changed dramatically last week.
The BBC understands the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, phoned the former prime minister last Tuesday and urged him to give evidence to the inquiry.
It is understood he made it clear that Parliament would take a very dim view of any refusal to do so.
The following morning, the committee was informed that Mr Blair would give evidence on Tuesday afternoon.
Committee members hailed the move as a major victory for parliament.


The trophy for the new Northern Ireland Open is to be named after two-time world champion Alex Higgins.

Higgins, one of Northern Ireland's best-known sportsmen, died in 2010.
The event, with a £70,000 first prize, will be part of a Home Nations series and takes place from 14-20 November at Belfast's Titanic Exhibition Centre.
"Alex was an extraordinary talent and this is a fitting tribute to one of the game's all-time greats," said World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn.
As well as world titles in 1972 and 1982, Higgins won the Masters twice and the UK Championship.
The Belfast man was known for his exciting style of play and was credited with helping bring snooker to a wider television audience.
The Northern Ireland Open will feature 128 players, including five-time world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan, current world champion and world number one Mark Selby and world number four Judd Trump.
On Monday, World Snooker announced that the English Open trophy would be named after six-time world champion Steve Davis.
Any player winning all four Home Nations events will earn a £1m bonus.