England great Stuart Broad could bring the curtain down on a stellar Test career on day four of the final Ashes Test at the Kia Oval.

Broad made the shock announcement regarding his decision to retire following this series at the close of a productive third day where England made 389 for nine, an overall lead of 377.

If Ben Stokes does not spring another declaration, Broad will walk out in a batting capacity for one last time at the Kia Oval alongside James Anderson, the other half of the memorable bowling duo, on Sunday.

No matter how long England’s second innings does last, Broad’s main task of the day will be to terrorise Australia for one final occasion with plenty on the line in south London.

View from the dressing room

Broad confirmed his retirement plans in a post-play interview with Sky Sports after England had smashed 389 in 80 overs. He made up his mind at 8.30pm on Friday and told captain Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum later that evening before he revealed the news to the rest of the team on Saturday morning.

Creepy crunches through cover again!

Before Broad’s retirement had been made public, all eyes were on how England would fare following nip-and-tuck first and second days where Australia manufactured a 12-run lead after both teams had their first go with the bat.

Zak Crawley set the tone with another first-ball special, crunching a wide Mitchell Starc delivery through cover for four to begin his final innings of the series in the same vein he started this Ashes at Edgbaston, where he smashed the opening ball in Birmingham past cover to the boundary off Pat Cummins.

Crawley and Ben Duckett shared a fifty stand for the first wicket with the Kent opener eventually falling for 73, enough to put him back on top of the run-scoring charts with an overall total of 480 runs, with nearest challenger Usman Khawaja the only player realistically able to knock him off first spot with 57 runs required to do so on Sunday.

Another ravenous Root ramp

After Crawley’s dismissal, Joe Root joined Stokes at the crease with the England captain in the unorthodox position of number three due to Moeen Ali’s time spent off the field on Friday.

Root initially struggled, wearing a delivery on the body and surviving a narrow lbw call against Josh Hazlewood, but the introduction of Mitch Marsh was greeted with a ramp shot for six and the former skipper never looked back.

Anything short was treated with disdain while Root milked the field for singles and twos before a flurry of boundaries off Starc took him into the nineties, but he could not bookend this Ashes with centuries after a Todd Murphy delivery kept low to bowl him for 91. Nevertheless, he walked off after a 60th Test half-century with England’s lead already beyond the 300-mark.

Here’s one for Jonny

It is no secret that Jonny Bairstow has endured a difficult series with the gloves, but he again highlighted the upside of his inclusion in the England XI with a sparkling 78 on day three.

Bairstow walked out with England on 222 for four and only a batting collapse away from throwing away a position of strength in their efforts to level the series at 2-2.

The response from Bairstow was to counter-punch, striking 34 runs off 35 balls before tea and upping the ante in the evening session until he edged behind to Alex Carey. His third fifty of the series brought his own tally of runs up to 322, the third most by an English wicketkeeper in an Ashes behind Alan Knott and Alec Stewart, who made 364 and 378 runs respectively in the 1974-75 and 1993 series which both contained six Test matches.

One Last Dance?

Spectators at the Kia Oval were none the wiser about Broad’s retirement intentions when last-man Anderson walked out to join his friend at the crease but it represented a special moment with the pair together with bats in hand for potentially the last time.

Applause greeted the arrival of Anderson, despite announcing before this match his desire to continue playing Test cricket, and he delighted the sell-out crowd with back-to-back boundaries against Murphy. He then successfully reviewed a lbw decision that was given out.

Broad and Anderson may get given another opportunity to bat on Sunday but if Stokes does decide to declare, that is the perfect way for Broad to bring his batting career in Test cricket to its conclusion.

The end of an era

There have been many times where Broad has written his own script and you would not bet against him doing the same on day four, especially with the threat of rain on Sunday and Monday.

Broad will be desperate to bowl England to a series-levelling victory and even though he has enjoyed an outstanding Ashes with 20 wickets at an average of 28.15, four more scalps will ensure he finishes top of the wicket-takers charts.

It will be a target for the seamer, who may not be the only Englishman to hang up the boots in Test cricket during the next two days with Moeen expected to go back into red-ball retirement. If he can bowl after Thursday’s groin twinge, it would be a major boost for the hosts.

The West Indies rebounded from an embarrassing defeat in the opening ODI against India on Thursday with a comfortable six-wicket win in the second ODI on Saturday at the Kensington Oval to tie the three-match series 1-1.

Despite things looking ominous with Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill putting on 90 for the first wicket, the hosts produced an excellent bowling display to restrict them to 181 all out in 40.5 overs after winning the toss and electing to field.

Kishan followed up his fifty in the first match with a run-a-ball 55 to top score while Shubman Gill (34) and Suryakumar Yadav (24) were the only other batsmen to make any meaningful contributions to the Indian total.

Romario Shepherd and Gudakesh Motie were the stars with the ball for the hosts. Shepherd took a career-best 3-37 off his eight overs while Motie bowled 9.5 overs for his 3-36. Alzarri Joseph chipped in with 2-35 off seven overs.

The Windies then needed just 36.4 overs to reach 182-4.

The successful chase was led by Captain, Shai Hope, who made an unbeaten 80-ball 63 including two fours and as many sixes. Keacy Carty provided good support for his skipper with 48* off 65 balls including four fours.

Shardul Thakur took 3-42 off eight overs for India.

The series decider is set for Tuesday at the Brian Lara Academy.

England bowler Stuart Broad has announced he will retire from Test cricket at the end of the Ashes series, bringing the curtain down on an illustrious – and at times electrifying – career.

Here, the PA news agency recalls some of Broad’s greatest displays in the longest format of the game.

Eight for 15, v Australia, Trent Bridge 2015

Undoubtedly Broad’s finest hour, this was perhaps among the most memorable feats in Ashes history. Bowling unchanged from the pavilion end on his home ground, Broad routed Australia almost single-handedly in the space of 57 deliveries. He had Chris Rogers caught by Alastair Cook at slip with his third ball, and doubled up when Steve Smith also fell in his first over. Broad finished with figures of 9.3-5-15-8, and Australia were blown away for 60 all out in 18.3 overs – en route to defeat by an innings and 78 runs in under three days, losing the Ashes in the process.

Hat-trick hero, 2011 and 2014

Broad is the only Englishman with two Test hat-tricks to his name. His first came against India, 12 years ago and again on his home ground in Nottingham. England were thoroughly dominant all summer, on their way to number one in the world under Andrew Strauss, and Broad did his bit when he had MS Dhoni flashing an attempted drive to second slip and Harbhajan Singh lbw despite an inside-edge in India’s pre-DRS days, before bowling Praveen Kumar. Broad repeated the dose three years later, this time against Sri Lanka at Headingley where the successive scalps of Kumar Sangakkara, Dinesh Chandimal and Shaminda Eranga were not enough to stop England losing the match and series.

Six for 17, v South Africa, Johannesburg 2016

This was another unstoppable Broad special. England had eked out a 10-run first-innings lead at the Wanderers, but South Africa’s openers Dean Elgar and Stiaan van Zyl appeared set to lay a decent foundation second time round – until Broad seized the moment again. In under 10 overs, he had the first five wickets. It was he too who completed the rout when he had Faf du Plessis last out, caught-and-bowled, as South Africa mustered just 83. England went on to win by seven wickets inside three days, wrapping up the series with a match to spare.

Five for 71 & six for 50, v Australia, Chester-le-Street 2013

The Ashes were again in Broad’s sights, and he once more made no mistake. His five first-innings wickets restricted Australia to a 32-run lead. In the second innings, the tourists appeared on track to halve the series deficit to 2-1 with one to play when they reached 168 for two in pursuit of 299. Broad had other ideas, though, finishing with six for 50 as Michael Clarke’s men lost their last eight wickets for 56 – and England clinched a series win.

Six for 31 & four for 36, v West Indies, Old Trafford 2020

A brilliant outing, which saw Broad seal player of the match, player of the series, take a 10-wicket match haul and become just the seventh bowler in history to claim 500 Test scalps. Broad’s name was all over this encounter, even chipping in 62 with the bat for good measure. After the match he made it clear the landmark was not a parting gift to English cricket and he has lived up to his word, going strong three years down the line.

Five for 37, v Australia, The Oval 2009

A young Broad’s calling card to the world game. With the Ashes on the line he elbowed aside more established names such as Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison to take matters into his hands. From 73 without loss, he ran a wrecking ball through the Australian batting order in a devastating session as they slipped to 160 all out. They never reclaimed the momentum and the urn came home.

England bowler Stuart Broad will retire from Test cricket following the Ashes.

The 37-year-old made the announcement at stumps on day three of the final Test against Australia at the Kia Oval.

Broad has taken 602 wickets in 167 Tests, making him the second most successful paceman in Test history behind team-mate James Anderson.

“Tomorrow or Monday will be my last game of cricket,” he told Sky Sports.

“It’s been a wonderful ride, a huge privilege to wear the Nottinghamshire and England badge as much as I have.

“It’s been a wonderful series to be part of and I’ve always wanted to finish at the top. This series just feels like it’s been one of the most enjoyable and entertaining that I’ve been part of.”

England put themselves in pole position for an Ashes-levelling win in the fifth and final Test, leaving Australia a record chase after another display of ‘Bazball’ bravado at the Kia Oval.

The hosts turned in a swaggering attacking performance on day three in south London, clattering their way to 389 for nine as they ushered an enthralling series towards its end game.

Joe Root cracked 91 before being undone by a shooter, Zak Crawley signed off a fine summer with a vibrant 73 and Jonny Bairstow clubbed 78 as the tourists chased leather for 80 overs.

It was a fitting way for England’s batting unit to bow out after six weeks of fearless – and often reckless – hitting with 48 boundaries and three sixes.

Australia have already retained the urn thanks to their 2-1 lead but face a mountainous battle if they are to land a first outright win on these shores in 22 years.

Stuart Broad, England’s second-highest Test wicket-taker of all time, announced after the match that he would be retiring from all cricket at the end of this match.

They are already 377 behind on a ground where the highest fourth-innings pursuit sits at 263, while Donald Bradman’s ‘Invincibles’ are the only Australian team to have chased more.

They established a slender lead of 12 before being bowled out in the final act of day two, an advantage that lasted precisely an over.

The first ball of the day was a wide half-volley from Mitchell Starc, practically begging to be crashed through the covers for four. Crawley had done exactly that to the opening ball of the series back at Edgbaston and needed no encouragement to repeat the stroke.

A single and two boundaries from Ben Duckett followed in quick succession, clearing the deficit in six balls. For an Australia side who had scraped just 13 runs off the bat in a soporific first hour on the second day, England’s self-assured start seemed disorientating.

Starc was hauled off after shipping 22 from two overs – a poor spell even by T20 standards, let alone an Ashes Test – with Australia unable to plug the scoring. England reached 50 in 8.4 overs, with Duckett collecting seven fours.

The touring attack were light on ideas but finally made a breakthrough with 79 on the board, when the returning Starc had Duckett (42) caught behind off a thin edge. England were not allowed to send out Moeen Ali due to time spent off the field with a groin injury, leaving Ben Stokes to become his side’s fourth number three of the series.

Any hopes of the wicket allowing Australia to reset crumbled upon contact as Crawley stepped out of Duckett’s shadow and began to dictate terms. He took a liking to Todd Murphy, easing through his arsenal of sweeps and off drives to leave the spinner unsure of what line to bowl.

With Starc continuing to be costly, England romped along to 130 for one at lunch with Stokes an unlikely anchor as Crawley freed his arms. The Durham man is nobody’s idea of a wallflower, though, and he shifted gears abruptly by hooking Josh Hazlewood’s third ball of the afternoon for six.

His immediate reaction suggested Stokes was worried, but Starc could do no more than paw it over the ropes at fine-leg. Crawley was in sight of reaching 500 runs for the series, a landmark few would have tipped him to get close to at the start, but fell 20 short when he drove slightly lazily at a Pat Cummins delivery that shaped away.

That was the first of three wickets in the session, though it would be hard to call it a comeback. Stokes made 42 before hacking Murphy to mid-on and Harry Brook hit one huge straight six before nicking Hazlewood behind, but this was Root’s time to take the spotlight.

After surviving a marginal lbw shout on four, he came to life. Mitch Marsh was reverse ramped for six over third man, a party trick that never loses its sparkle, and flicked fine to fine-leg when he straightened up in response.

Starc, meanwhile, coughed up three consecutive boundaries culminating in a loose-limbed uppercut. Root’s half-century took just 42 deliveries and by the time tea arrived, he and Bairstow had already pushed the lead past 250.

Bairstow seemed particularly hungry to hurry along, depositing Murphy through the covers and popping him back over his head, then tucking into his favourite cut shot to give Hazlewood a dose.

By the time his frenzy took the fifth-wicket stand to 100, he had scored 70 of them. Root was quietly making his way towards his own century, an apparent inevitability until he was cut off by a grubber from Murphy.

The bowler can take credit for generating some handy turn, but Root had no chance as the ball skidded into his stumps off the toe end. Bairstow followed with a flat-footed poke at Starc and the innings wound to an end in a flurry of activity.

The ailing Moeen made an enjoyable 29 in what is surely his final Test innings, but joined Chris Woakes and Mark Wood in donating his wicket chasing quick runs at the close.

Joe Root picked up the baton with an unbeaten fifty after Zak Crawley hit 73 to help England’s lead move beyond the 250 mark by tea on day three of the final Ashes Test.

Crawley had walked off at lunch on 71 not out but could only add two more runs to his total before he nicked off to Pat Cummins, bringing a stellar series to an end with a final total of 480 runs.

England captain Ben Stokes followed him back to the pavilion when he picked out Cummins off Todd Murphy to join Ben Duckett in departing for 42.

When Harry Brook edged Josh Hazlewood behind for seven at the Kia Oval, the hosts were on the verge of throwing away a strong morning session where 130 runs were scored for the loss of one wicket.

Root ensured that would not be the case and reached tea on 61 not out after receiving support from Jonny Bairstow, unbeaten on 34, to guide England to 265 for four, a lead of 253 at the end of another run-fuelled afternoon session.

After Australia were all out for 295 from the last ball of day two, Crawley and Duckett walked out to glorious sunshine in south London with a 12-run deficit to wipe out.

England took six balls to move into a lead with Crawley beginning his final innings of the series in the same vein he started this Ashes at Edgbaston, crunching his first delivery through cover for four.

Mitchell Starc was on the receiving end this time and his opening two overs went for 22 runs, more than the 21 Australia had ground out during a pedestrian first hour on Friday.

It continued the culture clash between the two teams as Duckett clipped and cut away for four with ease to put on a fifty stand with Crawley inside nine overs.

Australia did finally make the breakthrough after nearly 90 minutes of play with Starc striking in the first over of his second spell when Duckett’s booming drive got the faintest of edges and, despite an initial not out call, Cummins’ review showed a spike on UltraEdge and the England opener departed for 42.

Stokes entered the fray at three, after Moeen Ali was absent from the field on day two due to his groin injury, but it quickly turned into the Crawley show.

Three runs off a Cummins misfield at mid-off saw Crawley reach his half-century off 61 balls before he swept Murphy for consecutive fours to bring up the fifty partnership before lunch.

Crawley took guard at the start of the afternoon session on 71 but there would be no Ashes hundred on this occasion after he nicked off two runs later, but with his place at the top of the run-scoring charts established.

Root encountered trouble during the early stages of his innings, wearing one on his body before he survived a tight lbw appeal against Hazlewood, with an Australia review showing it was umpire’s call on impact.

It would prove decisive with Root’s trademark ramp shot brought out to hit Mitch Marsh for six and a pull for four off Starc brought up another fifty partnership for England.

At the other end, Stokes had mixed aggression with patience alongside a degree of luck with Starc only able to stumble over the boundary rope after taking a catch at fine leg straight after lunch.

Stokes’ next attempted big shot did prove his downfall though with Cummins picked out at mid-on to give Murphy his first wicket of the day.

Brook followed for seven, although only after smashing Murphy back over his head for six.

Root had already reached fifty by this point but dropped anchor after the arrival of Yorkshire team-mate Bairstow at the crease.

England wicketkeeper Bairstow was happy to adopt the role of counter-punching, smacking five fours to march off for tea on 34 not out with the hosts’ advantage now beyond the 250-mark.

MI New York will take on the Seattle Orcas in the first ever Major League Cricket final after securing a six wicket win over the Texas Super Kings in the Eliminator at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas on Friday.

The Super Kings, coming off a brutal loss to the Orcas in Qualifier 1, posted 158 all out in the r 20 overs after being put in to bat by MI New York.

Devon Conway hit 38 and Milind Kumar made 37 to lead the Super Kings. Trent Boult took his third consecutive four-wicket haul (4-24) to lead the MI New York bowling effort.

South African Dewald Brevis hit 41* while Shayan Jahangir hit 36 as MI New York reached 162-4 with six deliveries to spare. Tim David also played a big hand with a 20-ball 33.

The final between the Seattle Orcas and MI New York will take place on Sunday at the same venue.

Zak Crawley continued his excellent series with an unbeaten 50 on the third morning of the final Ashes Test to help England into a position of strength at the Kia Oval.

Crawley signalled his intentions from ball one on Saturday with another booming drive through cover and walked off at lunch on 71 not out with England on 130 for one, a lead of 118.

Ben Duckett had played his shots and hit seven boundaries on his way to 42 before Mitchell Starc claimed a semblance of revenge by snarling a faint edge, having seen his first two overs go for 22 runs.

It left England on 79 for one and Ben Stokes joined Crawley at the crease with Moeen Ali, the hosts’ emergency number three, consigned to the pavilion until 120 minutes of the innings had passed or the fall of the fifth wicket.

Stokes eased into his new role with largely a watching front while Crawley upped the ante down the other end, taking a liking to Todd Murphy to establish his place at the top of the run-scoring charts for this series on 478.

After Australia were all out for 295 from the last ball of day two, Crawley and Duckett walked out to glorious sunshine in south London with a 12-run deficit to wipe out.

England took six balls to move into a lead with Crawley beginning his final innings of the series in the same vein he started this Ashes at Edgbaston, crunching his first delivery through cover for four.

Starc was on the receiving end this time and his opening two overs went for 22 runs, more than the 21 Australia had ground out during an pedestrian first hour on Friday.

There was no chance of England adopting that type of approach with the culture clash between the two teams continuing as Duckett clipped and cut away for four with ease to put on a fifty stand with Crawley inside nine overs.

Baggy Green captain Pat Cummins had already brought himself on by this point but with plenty of men pushed back to the boundary rope, England’s openers now milked the singles on offer to keep the scoreboard ticking over.

Soft hands from Crawley allowed him to run the ball down to third man to end a sequence of five overs without a boundary, but Australia did finally make the breakthrough after nearly 90 minutes of play on day three.

It was Starc who struck in the first over of his second spell when Duckett’s booming drive got the faintest of edges and despite umpire Kumar Dharmasena saying not out, Cummins’ review showed a spike on UltraEdge and the England opener departed for 42.

Stokes entered the fray at three, but it quickly turned into the Crawley show with three runs off a Cummins misfield at mid-off bringing up his half-century off 61 balls.

Better was to follow with Starc pulled away for another boundary before Murphy was swept for four from consecutive balls to bring up the 50 partnership for the second wicket with Crawley unbeaten on 71 at lunch.

England will hope to set a match-winning total when they begin their second innings on day three of the fifth Ashes Test.

Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett will walk out at the Kia Oval with Australia holding a narrow 12-run lead after the tourists were all out for 295 from the last ball on Friday night.

Australia had gone along at a pedestrian rate in the morning before wickets tumbled regularly, but Steve Smith’s 71 and late blows from Pat Cummins and Todd Murphy saw the tourists go beyond England’s 283.

Smith received a lifeline on 44 after substitute fielder George Ealham came agonisingly close to his own Gary Pratt moment and now all eyes are on England’s batters as they look to level the series.

View from the dressing roomSuperstitious Stu!

Australia crawled along at a snail’s pace during the opening hour of day two and, whether by coincidence or chance, it took Stuart Broad witchcraft to inspire a change in fortunes.

Labuschagne had scored nine runs from 81 deliveries before Broad decided to rearrange the bails ahead of the fifth ball of the 43rd over. Seconds later and Mark Wood found the edge where Joe Root took a stunner at first slip.

Broad’s agent of chaos act worked a treat and he has not ruled out a repeat when Australia are chasing. “It was a pretty successful result wasn’t it? So, I think if the game gets tight I might wander up again,” the England seamer smirked.

Honours up for grabs

After Wood’s breakthrough, Broad got on a roll after lunch with Khawaja and Travis Head out in quick succession to move the veteran on to 20 scalps for the series and bring up the 150-mark for Test wickets against Australia.

Broad has plenty of Aussies for company at the top of the wicket-takers column in this series and Mitchell Starc (19), Pat Cummins (17) and Josh Hazlewood (15) will get one last opportunity to bump up their numbers when they try to bowl England out for an attainable target on day three.

Remarkably, Chris Woakes is now up to 15 dismissals despite featuring in only five innings. Before he gets the chance to improve his figures, he may bat at three with Moeen Ali only able to come in after 120 minutes of England’s innings on Saturday or after the fall of their fifth wicket.

Jimmy jumping for joy!

James Anderson has endured a tough series, claiming only four wickets in three Tests before this outing, but he was able to bring the Kia Oval crowd to their feet with the crucial scalp of Mitch Marsh.

Marsh dragged onto leg stump in the opening over of Anderson’s first spell from the Pavilion End during a purple patch for the hosts on Friday afternoon.

It helped cement England’s grip on the contest at this point, with five wickets falling in the middle session and Australia walking off on 186 for seven.

‘You cannot do that’

On a day where plenty of fielders took centre stage, Ben Stokes saved the best until last.

During the final over on Friday, Cummins tried to launch Root into the stands and almost succeeded, but Stokes leapt to take the catch at long on before he threw the ball up in the air as he was about to stumble over the boundary rope.

England’s captain was then able to step back onto the turf and collect the catch at the second time of asking to bring Australia’s first innings to an end on 295 and set up an exciting third day.

Boy George is that the difference?

While England’s energy is now firmly on batting, you have to wonder what might have been had substitute fielder Ealham written his name into Ashes folklore with the dismissal of Smith.

Smith looked to complete a risky two in Australia’s 78th over, but Ealham sprinted in from the boundary rope and hurled in a hard, flat throw that forced the Aussie batter to dive to make his ground.

It provoked memories of Pratt’s memorably ran out Ricky Ponting during the 2005 Ashes, but TV umpire Nitin Menon eventually ruled Smith not out.

Replays showed Jonny Bairstow may have nudged one of the bails out of its groove before taking the ball and further clips highlighted how both ends of the bail may not have left their grooves before Smith made it home.

Smith was on 44 and the scoreboard briefly showed Australia on 195 for eight. He would subsequently make 71. How crucial may they prove?

Stuart Broad was content to give Steve Smith “the benefit of the doubt” after his run-out reprieve left England and Australia neck and neck after day two of the fifth Ashes Test.

Substitute fielder George Ealham, the 21-year-old son of former England all-rounder Mark, came close to swinging things decisively in the home side’s favour when he produced a lightning fast gather and throw to leave Smith scrambling.

Memories of former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting having his stumps thrown down by Gary Pratt 18 years ago came flooding back, but Smith was spared that fate as replays cast doubt over the role of wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow.

He appeared to nudge a bail loose with his arm before gathering the ball and completing the run out, leading TV umpire Nitin Menon to spare Smith on 44. Australia added exactly 100 runs for three wickets after the incident, finishing 295 all out and 12 runs in front.

The decision did not go down well with the majority of the sold-out Kia Oval crowd, but Broad admitted his own grasp of the technicalities was imperfect and accepted the verdict.

“I don’t know the rules to be honest. I think there was enough grey area to give that not out,” he said.

“What are the rules? Was it the right decision? It looked like benefit of the doubt sort of stuff. The first angle I saw I thought ‘out’ and then with the side angle it looked like the bails probably dislodged.”

Broad’s bowling partner James Anderson also sought to take any heat out of the umpires’ call, telling BBC Sport: “It felt like one of those where Australia think it’s not out and we thought it was out.

“I’ve not had a proper look on the TV, but it felt like a very close decision. We have to trust that the third umpire knows what he’s doing and got the decision right.”

Smith, who top-scored with 71, accepted his near miss but doffed his cap in Ealham’s direction after admitting the Surrey second teamer had caught him unawares with his rapid response.

“It was pretty tight, but when I looked the second time it looked like Jonny might have knocked the bail before the ball came in,” he said.

“It looked a close one but it got given not out, didn’t it? He was quick! I know now he’s very quick.

“The next one we hit out there we kind of pushed and he was haring round the boundary, coming in at pace. Had I known that previously, I might have just stayed there for the single.”

England will begin their second innings on Saturday morning, with barely anything to separate the sides as an enthralling series enters its final chapter.

There have been two distinct styles on show, with England scoring at a rampant rate 5.17 across less than 55 overs and Australia taking almost twice as long to get their runs at 2.85.

The tourists have already retained the urn with a 2-1 lead, but both teams have a viable route to victory as they look to finish the series on a high.

“It’s going to be another cracker, I think. Both teams played pretty different on it but pretty successfully,” Broad said.

“At one stage when Smith was nearly run out we thought we could get a pretty decent lead, but the Aussies battled pretty hard there and I think it’s just set up to be a cracking game again. That is the way the Aussies play, they try to see off the new ball, grind you down, and see off a huge number of overs.”

Smith added: “It’s ebbed and flowed the whole way…a few of us got good starts but couldn’t go and get a big score.

“We’re 12 runs in front so it’s pretty much a one-innings game from here. One positive out of the game so far is we have put more overs into their bowlers than the 50-odd ours bowled.”

Kent dropped into the bottom two of LV= Insurance County Championship Division One as they crashed to a heavy defeat against Nottinghamshire on Friday.

Dane Patterson took five for 41 and Brett Hutton four for 44 as Kent, set a notional target of 407, were skittled for just 85 in their second innings at Trent Bridge.

The hosts had declared on 372 for six after Will Young and Ben Slater both scored 87 and Joe Clarke a blistering 73 from 40 balls.

Bottom side Northamptonshire batted out for a draw against Lancashire at Emirates Old Trafford.

The Red Rose finally declared in their first innings with a lead of 202, having reached 544 for seven with overnight pair George Balderson and Tom Hartley unbeaten on 49 and 24 respectively.

Northamptonshire were 213 for five, with captain Luke Procter and James Sales having shared an unbroken stand of 51, when the players shook hands. Emilio Gay had top-scored with 61.

Derbyshire openers Luis Reece and Harry Came shared in a county record first-wicket stand to earn a remarkable draw against Glamorgan at Derby.

The pair put on 360 as they batted throughout the final day, with Reece hitting 201 and Came 141.

Glamorgan, who had begun the day 125 ahead and hoping to force victory, failed to take a single wicket despite trying nine bowlers.

Worcestershire are in a dominant position after three days of their game against Gloucestershire at Cheltenham.

Joe Leach, Dillon Pennington and Adam Finch all finished with three wickets apiece as the hosts were bowled out for 301 in their first innings, to concede a deficit of 105, despite 115 from Oliver Price.

Jake Libby then top-scored with 117 and Matthew Waite added 62 as Worcestershire built up a commanding lead of 421 by reaching 316 for eight before the close.

Yorkshire’s clash with Durham at Scarborough was abandoned as a draw as play was washed out for a second successive day.

England’s hopes of squaring the Ashes might have turned on the tiniest of margins at the Kia Oval as Australia’s Steve Smith came desperately close to being run out by substitute fielder George Ealham in a pivotal moment in the fifth Test.

Australia were 295 all out off the final ball of the second day, 12 runs ahead, as Smith rode his luck to top-score with 71 following a scare just after tea.

The 21-year-old son of former England all-rounder Mark Ealham looked to have replicated Ricky Ponting’s famous 2005 dismissal by the unknown Gary Pratt, combining with wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow to leave Smith diving for the line.

Smith initially looked bang to rights but, instead of departing for 44 and leaving his side 195 for eight, he was reprieved by TV umpire Nitin Menon.

Replays suggested Bairstow had begun to nudge one of the bails loose with his arm before collecting the ball cleanly and there was some debate over whether either bail was fully dislodged before Smith’s bat slid home.

What mattered most was the ‘not out’ decision that appeared on the big screen and the 100 runs which followed.

That was easily Australia’s most productive period of a day that had seen them embark on pedestrian go-slow in the morning session and a jittery collapse in the afternoon.

Having watched England blaze 283 in 54.5 overs, Australia crept just above that mark in 103.1, Ben Stokes taking an excellent two-stage boundary catch to end the innings in the closing moments.

England were one bowler down due to Moeen Ali’s groin strain, but Australia came out with nothing but survival on their mind, Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne scoring just 13 runs off the bat in a first hour that tested English patience in the field and in stands.

Labuschagne was completely bereft of intent, scratching out nine off 82 deliveries before Mark Wood finally drew the outside edge England had spent almost 90 minutes probing for.

It looked a regulation catch for Bairstow but he froze on the spot, leaving Joe Root to hurl himself into action at first slip and claim a brilliant one-handed grab. That was the height of the pre-lunch entertainment, with the scoreboard trudging to 115 for two by the break.

Australia had put miles in the English legs and taken time out of a game their rivals need to win, but they had barely moved the dial in real terms.

The limitations of that approach were exposed in the afternoon, with England taking five for 71 to take control of proceedings. Stuart Broad played the role of ringleader, dismissing Khawaja and Travis Head in successive overs to inject some electricity into a game that had gone to sleep.

Khawaja had spent more than four-and-a-half hours in defiance when Broad speared one in from round the wicket and trapped the left-hander in front of leg. Five balls later the seamer was celebrating again, challenging Head outside off stump and getting the nick.

England continued burrowing through the middle order as James Anderson belatedly opened his account for the match in the 16th over, bowling Mitch Marsh off a hefty inside edge and cracking a long overdue smile in the process.

The mistakes kept coming, Alex Carey chipping Root’s tempter to short cover and Mitchell Starc flapping Wood straight up in the air.

Smith was shaping up to be the key figure as he reached tea on 40, but he came desperately close to a self-inflicted dismissal.

Turning back for a second as Ealham sprinted in from the deep and flung a flat throw to the keeper, he looked to be struggling as he dived for his ground.

Replays initially seemed to seal his fate, with his bat short of the crease line as the stumps were broken. He was halfway to the pavilion when he sensed something might be amiss, with the slow-motion footage suggesting Bairstow had nudged one bail loose before gathering the ball in and parting the stumps.

The images were scrutinised for a couple of minutes, analysing when and where the bails left their grooves, before Menon ruled in Smith’s favour. His decision was met with frustration among the home supporters and a healthy dose of confusion elsewhere, as the assembled pundits tried in vain to bring some clarity.

Smith added another 44 before skying Chris Woakes over his shoulder to Bairstow, who did his work well this time.

England should still have taken a lead into day three but struggled to mop up the tail. Pat Cummins made an assured 36 and Todd Murphy landed three sixes on his way to 34.

Woakes had the skipper lbw late on and Root finished things off when Stokes affected a smart catch-and-release take on the boundary to dismiss Murphy.

England will bat again on day three, with barely an inch to separate the sides.

England substitute fielder George Ealham came agonisingly close to his own Gary Pratt moment during the evening session on day two of the fifth Ashes Test at the Kia Oval.

Ealham, the son of former England international Mark, found himself in the thick of the action from the third ball of the 78th over of Australia’s innings.

Steve Smith looked to complete a risky two against the bowling of Chris Woakes, but Ealham sprinted in from the rope and hurled in a hard, flat throw that forced the Aussie batter to dive to make his ground.

It instantly provoked memories of former Durham staffer Pratt, who memorably ran out Ricky Ponting during the fourth Test of the 2005 Ashes.

Ealham was denied a similar place in Ashes history after TV umpire Nitin Menon eventually ruled Smith remained not out owing to the uncertainty over what was an extremely marginal call.

Australia were on 193 for seven when Smith dropped the ball towards the midwicket region and set off for two runs with captain Pat Cummins.

Smith stumbled briefly on his way to completing the second run and saw England substitute fielder Ealham throw in brilliantly with Jonny Bairstow dislodging the bails.

Before a decision had been made Smith started his walk back to the pavilion having seen that he was short of his ground, but replays showed that Bairstow appeared to nudge one of the bails out of its groove a fraction of a second before taking the ball from Ealham’s throw.

Further replays also demonstrated enough uncertainty over whether both ends of the bail had left their grooves before Smith made his ground with a dive.

It sparked debate and confusion amongst broadcasters but the cold reality was Smith remained at the crease.

The Marylebone Cricket Club, the lawmakers of the game, later published a statement about the decision and referenced Law 29.1.

“The wicket is broken when at least one bail is completely removed from the top of the stumps, or one or more stumps is removed from the ground,” the MCC tweeted.

“Tom Smith’s Cricket Umpiring and Scoring, MCC’s Official Interpretation of the Laws of Cricket, adds: ‘For the purposes of dismissal – a bail has been removed at the moment that both ends of it leave their grooves’.”

Smith was able to add a further 27 runs before he was eventually out for 71 after he top-edged Woakes high into the air with Bairstow taking an impressive catch on the run.

Yorkshire have been fined and docked points in two formats over the club’s “extremely serious” misconduct in relation to the racism experienced by former player Azeem Rafiq.

The club were fined £400,000 – £300,000 of which is suspended for two years – and docked 48 County Championship points and four in the T20 Blast from this season’s competitions by an independent Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) panel after admitting four charges.

Yorkshire released a statement accepting the sanctions. The punishment means Yorkshire drop from sixth to bottom of Division Two in the Championship, all but ending their promotion chances, while they go from fifth to eighth in the North Group of the already-completed 2023 Blast, a competition where they failed to qualify for the knockout stages.

Rafiq initially spoke out in 2020 about the racism and bullying he experienced across two spells at the county, between 2008 and 2014 and between 2016 and 2018. He also gave harrowing testimony about his experiences to the Culture, Media and Sport parliamentary committee in November 2021.

The first charge the county admitted was the mishandling of their response to an independent report prompted by Rafiq’s allegations.

The second related to what the panel found to be the “deliberate” deletion of emails relevant to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) investigation into Yorkshire, the third to their handling of racism complaints more widely and the fourth to a failure to address the “systemic use” of racist and or discriminatory language over a prolonged period, set in the panel findings as being between 2004 and 2021.

“The overall misconduct in this case must be regarded as extremely serious within both the sporting and wider societal contexts,” the CDC panel’s written reasons confirming the sanctions stated.

“The latter of course is not our concern – but the cricketing context is. The gravity lies not just within the nature of the discrimination itself, but because the message must be made clear to all who administer and who play the professional game, and to all those who administer cricket and who play elsewhere, that such conduct is wholly unacceptable and will not be tolerated.

“Complaint is made by Yorkshire that the sanctions which the ECB has asked the panel to consider are more severe than any sanction the CDC has imposed before. Yorkshire are right – in this panel’s experience this is the most serious case in respect of a first-class county which has been brought before the CDC.”

At a sanctions hearing on June 27, Yorkshire had called for any punishments imposed to be suspended. The ECB had called at the same hearing for the CDC to impose a £500,000 fine on Yorkshire, with £350,000 of it suspended.

ECB lawyer Jane Mulcahy said it would be “wholly unproductive” to try to put Yorkshire out of business, with the club having highlighted a £3.5million cash shortfall to members at their annual general meeting back in March, and the need to repay £14.9m to their creditors the Graves Trust.

The panel recognised the “fragile” nature of the club’s finances, but said it would be an “affront” to those who had suffered as a consequence of the breaches Yorkshire had admitted if there was no financial penalty.

On the same day as the sanctions hearing took place, the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) published its damning report which found racism was “entrenched” in the sport.

Regarding the second charge concerning the mass deletion of emails and documents, the panel said it was satisfied the deletions “were both deliberate and were of emails relevant to the investigations being undertaken by both the ECB and internally”.

Yorkshire issued an apology to Rafiq in September 2021, accepting he had been the victim of racial harassment and bullying, but the following month the club said no individual would face disciplinary action over the report’s findings.

The club’s handling of the case led to sponsors deserting in their droves, calls for “heads to roll” at Yorkshire from the then Health Secretary Sajid Javid, and to the ECB withdrawing Yorkshire’s right to host lucrative international matches at Headingley until governance changes were made.

The panel and the ECB recognised the work done to make Yorkshire more inclusive, first by Lord Kamlesh Patel during his time as chair between November 2021 and March of this year, and subsequently by the current leadership.

The panel gave “significant weight” to efforts to remedy past failings but said those changes did not mean sanctions should not be imposed.

“If a company could avoid penalties simply by changing their employees after any wrongdoing, that would undermine the whole premise of corporate responsibility,” the written reasons stated.

“The internal upheavals may amount to some mitigation, albeit brought by the club upon itself, but it cannot render past misconduct incapable of sanction.”

The panel ordered the £100,000 to be paid in equal instalments on January 1, March 1, June 1 and September 1 next year.

Yorkshire accepted the sanctions but said in a statement: “We are disappointed to receive the points deductions which affects players and staff at the club, who were not responsible for the situation.

“They have worked tirelessly on and off the field to rebuild Yorkshire into an inclusive and welcoming club that reflects the communities it serves. Greater clarity over our situation will allow us all now to look ahead.

“There remains much to do, but we have made significant investments to put in place best practice processes and procedures, as well as driving equity, diversity and inclusion through a new framework and taking important steps to improve the matchday experience to encourage greater inclusivity and tackle discrimination.

“We look forward to continued dialogue with the ECB to ensure the financial penalty does not hinder our ongoing commitment to build on the strong foundations that have been laid.”

ECB chief executive Richard Gould added: “These were serious charges relating to racism over a prolonged period.

“There can be no place for racism in our game, and the penalties announced by the Cricket Discipline Commission mark the end of a thorough disciplinary process.

“No one should have to experience what Azeem Rafiq went through in cricket, and we once again thank him for his courage in speaking out.”

Rafiq has been approached for comment.

Stuart Broad kickstarted England’s resurgence as a Australia backed themselves into a corner on day two of the final Ashes Test.

The tourists produced a thoroughly passive batting performance, attempting to grind their opponents down but coming unstuck as they coughed up five wickets in the afternoon session.

At tea they had lurched to 186 for seven, a colourless innings that gave England the upper hand and struck a stark contrast to the hosts’ thrill-a-minute 283 on the first day.

At the break, the Baggy Greens were 97 behind with Steve Smith unbeaten on 40 and carrying the bulk of his side’s hopes.

While England burned out in less than 55 overs and scored at a rampant rate of 5.17, Australia slammed the brakes on as they eked out their runs at 2.48.

With the scoreboard moving at glacial pace in the morning, Australia scoring 54 in two hours of stoic defence, Broad grabbed the initiative after lunch as he removed Usman Khawaja and Travis Head in successive overs.

England kept charging in and chipped away at a side who have retained the urn but lost their mojo. James Anderson claimed his first breakthrough of the match when Mitch Marsh dragged down his stumps, an out-of-sorts Alex Carey lobbed Joe Root to short cover and Mark Wood bounced out Mitchell Starc.

Root, who was only pressed into bowling action due to first-choice spinner Moeen Ali’s groin injury, had earlier got England on the board with a super reaction catch at first slip.

After almost 90 minutes of blocking in difficult batting conditions the ultra-defensive Marnus Labuschagne, who scraped together nine runs off 82 deliveries, eventually nicked Wood for what should have been a regulation caught behind.

But Jonny Bairstow failed to make a move a move and the ball would have raced away for four had Root not flung himself into action, diving to his left to pull off a remarkable one-handed grab.

Australia still appeared to be in control at the interval, going in at 115 for two as Khawaja produced a watchful opener’s knock, but the limited ambition came home to roost in the middle session.

They added just 71 between lunch and tea as they lost control of the narrative. Broad was the primary reason for the change in tone.

He found a way through Khawaja’s well-rehearsed defences after nearly five hours of occupation, angling in from round the wicket and hitting him in front of leg stump for 47.

He then followed by making short work of the dangerous Travis Head, the man most likely to energise a quiet day.

Head got off the mark with a boundary but that was the start and the end of his scoring, as he felt for contact in the channel and nicked through to Bairstow.

Broad had two in six balls, the crowd’s pulses had raised and Australia had seen their hard work come undone.