A total of 22 wickets fell on the opening day of the LV= Insurance County Championship Division One match between Warwickshire and Middlesex at Edgbaston.

Warwickshire were put into bat but were all out for just 60 runs – their lowest championship total since 1982 when they could only muster 43 against Sussex.

Middlesex were in scintillating form with the ball as Ethan Bamber took five for 20 and captain Toby Roland-Jones chipped in with three for 27, as the Middlesex attack made the most of the bowling conditions to remove Warwickshire with just 22.5 overs bowled.

The visitors had a lead of 139 after posting 199 in response. Ryan Higgins top-scored with 53 as bowlers Ed Barnard and Mir Hamza both took three for 49.

There was still time left for Warwickshire to start their second innings and they lost two wickets before stumps, reaching 53 for two at the end of a hectic day’s play.

Nottinghamshire opener Ben Slater notched his first ton since April last year to give his side a healthy advantage over Kent.

Slater put exactly 100 runs on the board before he nicked Jaskaran Singh straight into the hands of Harry Finch and while Haseeb Hameed, Will Young, Joe Clarke and Steven Mullaney all made starts, they failed to go on.

Kent took regular wickets to stop the hosts from going on to make a big partnership, but in the end it was wicketkeeper Tom Moores who frustrated the Kent attack, finishing unbeaten on 72 as Nottinghamshire closed on 275 for five.

Northamptonshire’s Emilio Gay posted three figures for the first time in nearly a year as their batters dominated against Lancashire at Emirates Old Trafford.

Gay posted 144, one run short of his career-best total, and hit 14 boundaries in his 342-minute innings which helped his side post an impressive 302 for five at the close of play.

Aiming to haul themselves off the bottom of the table, the Northamptonshire opener put on 207 runs with captain Luke Procter for the fourth-wicket stand and earn just their second batting bonus point of the season.

Jamie Porter took five wickets as Essex landed the first blow over Hampshire at the Ageas Bowl.

Pace bowler Porter conceded just 37 runs as the hosts could only manage 120 on a bowler-friendly pitch, with Simon Harmer chipping in with three for 26.

Batting also proved tricky for Essex, who replied by reaching 145 for six at the close, but more importantly take a 25-run lead into day two.

Surrey’s Tom Lawes destroyed the Somerset top order as they were bowled out for just 170 at Taunton.

The hosts were all out after just 56.3 overs, with 20-year-old seam bowler Lawes claiming wickets of three of the top four on his way to figures of four for 41, Tom Kohler-Cadmore top-scoring with 59 for Somerset.

Surrey replied with 138 for four, Tom Latham leading the way with 67 not out while his fellow countryman Matt Henry began his final appearance of a prolific spell in red and white-ball cricket for Somerset by taking three for 26.

Division Two leaders Durham endured a frustrating day at Scarborough after Yorkshire openers Adam Lyth and Finlay Bean shared a century stand as the hosts threw the first punch on a curtailed day’s play.

Lyth and Bean shared 113 inside 31 overs and went on to a score of 142 for two from 38 overs before Bean fell lbw to England Test pacer Matthew Potts.

Lyth led the way with 75 not out off 118 balls, but hail at lunch prevented an afternoon restart and when play looked to get under way at 2.30pm, rain fell again and it was not until 5.30pm when play resumed for nine overs before bad light cut short play for good.

Colin Ingram’s century put Glamorgan in the driving seat of their clash with Derbyshire.

Ingram notched his first century of the season and stood firm with a record second-wicket stand of 193 from 338 balls with Zain-ul-Hassan, who himself made 69 before being caught and bowled by George Scrimshaw.

After Ingram was bowled for 136 from 200 balls, Kiran Carlson and Billy Root hit half-centuries and shared a run-a-ball fifth-wicket stand of 107 as the visitors closed on 408 for six.

Harry Brook was just two years old the last time Australia won an Ashes series in England and wants to ensure their wait goes on by securing a “moral victory” for the home side at the Oval.

The tantalising prospect of this week’s fifth and final Test being a do-or-die shootout for the urn disappeared in a downpour at Old Trafford, where England’s dominance was rewarded with a rain-ruined draw.

A 2-1 lead means the Baggy Greens retain as holders, but they remain intent on becoming the first Australian side to win outright on English soil since 2001.

Should they fall at the final hurdle, as they did from the same position four years ago, it would be a flat finish to a tour that started with a triumphant World Test Championship final against India.

And Brook, 24, is eager to press home the growing impression that England have enjoyed the better of this summer’s rivalry.

“We haven’t lost yet, they’ve only retained it. There is another Test match to be won,” he said.

“It’s a shame the weather ruined it for us because we’d have felt very confident going into this game at 2-2. We were dominating the game last week, so if the game had played out, I would like to think we would have won. If we can win this week, yeah, it almost can make it a moral victory.

“We’re not focused on winning as a side, we’re focused on making people enjoy watching and bringing Test cricket alive again. I think we’ve done a decent job of that in the last 12 months and it’s been exciting to watch. It’s definitely been exciting to play in.”

Asked if spoiling the Australian party was a motivating factor, he added: “That would be lovely. It’s not nice drawing, but it would be lovely to not give them that privilege.

“We’re just going to go out there and play the same way we have in this series.”

Brook is one of the least experienced members of a seasoned England squad and has embraced his first taste of Ashes cricket.

He has 271 runs, three half-centuries and a middling average of 38.71, but played a match-winning hand of 75 during a tense fourth-innings chase at Headingley.

“On a personal note, that is one of my favourite innings – a crunch game, at my home ground, so to have contributed a significant amount was nice,” he said.

“I’m learning every day and there are so many things I have learnt this series playing against some of the best bowlers in the world. Having grown up watching quite a bit of the Ashes, it feels like the pinnacle of Test cricket.

“There is a fine line between aggression and recklessness. I’d probably rather be on the reckless side than the tentative side. I’m not just there to survive. I like to score runs and I try to score them quite quick.”

There are some tired bodies in the England camp, particularly among the bowling group. Chris Woakes and Mark Wood are both battling stiffness and soreness, while Stuart Broad is eyeing the prospect of playing a sixth Test in just over seven weeks at the age of 37.

But while many of their group are looking forward to a well-earned rest, Brook’s youth and exuberance means he plans to turn out for Northern Superchargers in The Hundred just three days after the end of the Ashes.

“I’m going straight into it. I’m happy to play that first game,” he said.

Brook is well in demand on the short-form circuit, having won a £1.3million deal with Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League as well as representing teams in the Pakistan Super League and Big Bash.

But he insists the international game is his overwhelming priority and has no intention of letting his head be turned.

Addressing reports that the England and Wales Cricket Board is preparing to introduce improved multi-year deals which would limit availability in T20 tournaments, he said: “I want to play cricket for England. I’m not bothered about all the franchise stuff.

“Obviously, it’s a bonus but I’m completely focused on playing cricket for England. I’m playing all three formats for England, I don’t really feel like there’s too much time to be playing any other franchise stuff, to be honest.

“The IPL is the only one that is really free, when you’re available for everything, so there won’t be much thought there.”

The Texas Super Kings advanced to the playoffs of the inaugural season of Major League Cricket after a three-wicket win over the San Francisco Unicorns in their fifth and final league phase game at the Church Street Park in Morrisville, North Carolina on Monday.

The Unicorns won the toss in the winner-take-all encounter and decided to bat first.

Matthew Wade led the way with 49 while Chaitanya Bishnoi made 35 as the Unicorns posted 171-8 off their 20 overs.

Pacer Gerald Coetzee took 4-31 off his four overs for the Super Kings.

Texas then reached 172-7 with five balls to spare.

Milind Kumar set the foundation for the successful chase with a 42-ball 52 before Daniel Sams hit a whirlwind 18-ball 42 including two fours and four sixes to help seal qualification to the playoffs.

Haris Rauf and Shadab Khan each took a pair of wickets for the Unicorns.

The Seattle Orcas, Texas Super Kings and Washington Freedom have all confirmed their spots in the playoffs.

The final spot will be determined on Tuesday when the Orcas face MI New York. MI New York and San Francisco both have four points with New York ahead on net run rate. MI New York would seal their spot in the playoffs with a win or by avoiding a heavy defeat. If they lose by at least 130 runs, they would finish fifth and the Unicorns would advance.

Travis Head admitted Australia had “mixed emotions” after Sunday’s washout in Manchester saw them retain the Ashes, but knows the feeling will be very different if they can win the series.

Rain forced the final day of the fourth Test at Old Trafford to be abandoned, wiping out the chance of a potential winner-takes-all decider at the Kia Oval.

Australia have arrived in south London with a 2-1 lead and know the urn will return home with them, but a similar scenario in 2019 saw them come unstuck in the final Test and subsequently forced to settle for a drawn series.

Given the tourists have not won an Ashes series in England since 2001, there is plenty on the line despite the disappointment of last weekend’s wet weather.

“The feeling around it was yes, we have got away with one, but ultimately we have come here to win the Ashes and we have gone a huge way to doing that,” Head reflected two days out from the fifth Test starting on Thursday.

“We played really nice for three Test matches, maybe not played the best week last week, but if we can shut that out and think about what we did well for the first three Test matches, it will put us in good stead for this week.

“This week is very important and I think there are a lot of similarities with ’19.

“Coming here with the opportunity and a lot of different feelings with how the weeks panned out in ’19 and then this week, but I also think off the back of that, it probably showed us how much it meant and how much winning the Ashes would actually really mean instead of retaining them.

“No-one had done it for such a long period of time until 2019 and the high of retaining them, achieving that was huge and great, but then we didn’t have our best week that year.

“So, I think when we reflect from that and moving forward with the group being pretty similar, the ambition is to come here and win them so we have got that chance.”

Australia were completely outplayed in Manchester with England able to post 592 to establish a 275-run first-innings lead and Pat Cummins’ side were still in the red when the heavens opened at Old Trafford.

Only 30 overs of a scheduled 180 were bowled during the weekend and Head painted the picture of a calm dressing room once the draw was confirmed.

Head added: “It is mixed emotions because you would love to win a Test match to retain them and hopefully this week we can win a Test match to do it.

“A draw is a different feeling, no matter what the situation, but there was no real massive elation because we could see the situation coming.

“It was a really relaxed group, we had a quiet beer and a chat about where we need to go and what we can achieve this week, so our heads moved pretty quickly onto this week.”

Harry Brook wants to end England’s Ashes summer on a high and believes levelling the series at the Kia Oval would represent “a moral victory” over Australia.

The tourists already know they will be lifting the urn at the end of this week’s fifth Test, with their current 2-1 lead enough to guarantee they retain as holders.

They are still aiming to pull off an outright victory to become the first Australian men’s side to win a series on these shores since 2001, but England can ensure their achievement rings hollow if they make it 2-2 in south London.

After winning at Headingley and dominating the first three days at Old Trafford before rain robbed them,  Ben Stokes’ men want to prove they have had the better of the contest.

“We were dominating the game last week so, if the game had played out, I would like to think we would have won. If we can win this week, it almost makes it a moral victory,” Brook said.

“That would be lovely. It’s not nice drawing, but it would be lovely to not give them that privilege.

“We’re just gonna go out there and play the same way we have in this series. It’s a shame the weather ruined it for us because we’d have felt very confident going into this game at 2-2. The rain won last week.

“We were thinking that (we deserved something) last week when it was pouring down in Manchester. It never seems to be sunny there.”

Brook has registered three half-centuries and scored 271 runs across seven Ashes innings, but would love a big score to finish the series.

On his match-winning 75 at Headingley, the Yorkshireman said: “On a personal note, one of my favourite innings, in a crunch game, at my home ground, to have contributed a significant amount was nice.

“There are so many things I have learnt this series and to play some of the best bowlers in the world, I haven’t got a big score but feel I have contributed in a few games now.

“I know I am at my best when I am trying to be positive, not just trying to survive. A couple of times I feel like I have been reckless, especially that innings at Lord’s in the first innings and then some innings where I’ve been tentative and not trying to score. It is just about getting it right.

“I have definitely got used to them (the Australian bowlers), I haven’t faced them before this series so it takes time but I feel I have watched enough and faced enough to go out there and feel confident now.”

Persistent rain wiped out the entire final day's play in Port-of-Spain, denying India a chance to sweep the Test series 2-0. The game was called off at 2.50pm local time.

The day had started with showers and the teams didn't even arrive at Queen's Park Oval until after lunch. The rain relented briefly before returning once again in the afternoon to force an end to the game.

India won the series 1-0, having brushed West Indies aside in three days in the first Test in Dominica.

West Indies will not be in action in Test cricket until their trip to Australia in January 2024.

Scores: India 438 (Kohli 121, Rohit 80, Warrican 3-89) and 181 for 2 dec (Rohit 57, Kishan 52*) drew with West Indies 255 (Brathwaite 75, Siraj 5-60) and 76 for 2 (Ashwin 2-33)

The Cricket West Indies (CWI) Senior Men’s Selection Panel today announced the squad for the three match CG United One Day International (ODI) Series powered by YES BANK against India which starts on Thursday 27 July at Kensington Oval.

The 15-member squad was named following a four-day camp at Kensington Oval held to prepare the white-ball players for the upcoming CG United ODI Series, as well as the five-match T20I Series that follows. The selectors have recalled left-handed batsman Shimron Hetmyer and fast bowler Oshane Thomas. Fast bowler Jayden Seales and leg-spinner Yannic Cariah have been included following their rehabilitation from surgery while left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie is also included, having recovered from injury.

Lead Selector, The Most Hon. Dr Desmond Haynes said: “We welcome Oshane and Shimron back into the group. Both have played at the international level before, with some success, and we believe they will fit well into the set-up. Oshane brings pace and is a potential wicket-taker with the new ball. Shimron’s style of batting will offer a lot especially in the middle stage of the innings and he is also a potential ‘finisher’.”

Keemo Paul is out injured while Jason Holder and Nicholas Pooran were unavailable for selection.

Kensington Oval hosts the first two matches in the three-match CG United ODI Series on Thursday 27 July and Saturday 29 July. The teams then move to Trinidad for the third and final CG United ODI at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy on Tuesday 1 August. All three matches start at 9:30am local time (8:30am Jamaica time).

Tickets for the matches are available from box offices at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, as well as Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain, and the National Cricket Centre in Couva, Trinidad from Monday 24 July. Additionally, tickets are available online in advance from the Windies Tickets service, presented by Mastercard, at tickets.windiescricket.com .

Fans who purchase online will benefit from a 20% discount compared to the box office prices, with tickets ranging from the most premium seats with the best and shaded views in each stadium through to affordable standard seats or mounds/grounds entry.

FULL SQUAD

Shai Hope (Captain)

Rovman Powell (Vice Captain)

Alick Athanaze

Yannic Cariah

Keacy Carty

Dominic Drakes

Shimron Hetmyer

Alzarri Joseph

Brandon King

Kyle Mayers

Gudakesh Motie

Jayden Seales

Romario Shepherd

Kevin Sinclair

Oshane Thomas

West Indies v India Tour Match Schedule

CG United ODI Series powered by YES BANK

27 July: 1^st CG United ODI, Kensington Oval, Barbados

29 July: 2^nd CG United ODI, Kensington Oval, Barbados

1 August: 3^rd CG United ODI, Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad

• start time at 9:30am (8:30am Jamaica)

T20 Internationals

3 August: 1^st T20I, Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad

6 August: 2^nd T20I, Guyana National Stadium, Guyana

8 August: 3^rd T20I, Guyana National Stadium, Guyana

12 August: 4^th T20I, Broward County Stadium, Lauderhill, Florida

13 August: 5^th T20I, Broward County Stadium, Lauderhill, Florida

• start time at: 10:30am (9:30am Jamaica)

James Anderson is as fit as ever and could play professional cricket until he is 50, according to England and Lancashire team-mate Saqib Mahmood.

Veteran Anderson, who celebrates his 41st birthday on Sunday, has been included in his country’s unchanged 14-man squad for this week’s Ashes finale against Australia.

Amid speculation it may be his Test swansong, all eyes will be on how much of a role he plays at the Kia Oval after England’s hopes of reclaiming the urn were wiped out by wet weather in the fourth match.

Sidelined Mahmood, who on Tuesday will undergo a scan on the recurrence of a stress fracture in his back, believes Anderson is far from finished, despite struggling for wickets in the current series, which Australia lead 2-1.

“I’d like to think he’s going to keep playing on after this,” Mahmood told the PA news agency, speaking at the launch of KP Snacks’ community cricket pitches initiative which will fund 100 new pitches over the next three years.

“He’s been so consistent, he’s just had a little blip over the last few weeks and I am sure he will come good.

“You don’t get that many wickets without blips in your career, so I don’t think that is any biggie.

“In a few years’ time after he retires or whenever that may be – he’ll probably play until he’s 50 now – is when you’ll realise I was around a very special cricketer and he’ll go down as one of the best in the game.”

Asked if Anderson is capable of continuing for another decade, Mahmood replied: “Probably. Because he’s as fit as ever. He just seems to keep playing and keep getting better.

“His record over the last 12, 18 months is as good as anyone’s, I would imagine.”

While Anderson’s international future is once again a topic for debate, fellow seamers Mahmood and Reece Topley are on the comeback trail with eyes on this autumn’s ICC Cricket World Cup in India.

Topley, whose career has been littered with injuries, expects to make his return from a dislocated shoulder next week when Northern Superchargers take on Birmingham Phoenix at Headingley in their opening fixture of this season’s Hundred.

The 29-year-old left-armer believes fast bowlers across the sport will be seeking the advice of Anderson when he eventually does retire.

“He’s almost like a unicorn in the sense that it’s unheard of,” Topley said of the longevity of Anderson, who has taken a remarkable 689 wickets in 182 Test appearances – both England records.

“There’s no magic pill or anything like that, it’s just hard work.

“He’s a master of his craft, he’s worked at his craft and that mindset has surely translated into looking after his body as well.

“I’m sure every fast bowler is going to have him on speed dial, if he does hang them up, to tap into some of his secrets.

“I know he’s had a relatively quiet series but he’s obviously got the class and it wasn’t that long ago that we were all singing his praises so I’m sure he’s not far off a hatful of wickets, no matter if it is his last Test.”

:: KP Snacks are funding 100 new community cricket pitches over the next three years. To find out more and search for a pitch visit: .everyonein.co.uk/pitchfinder

Zak Crawley insists motivation will be no problem as England attempt to round off a memorable Ashes summer by levelling the series at the Kia Oval.

Without two days of rain at Emirates Old Trafford, this week’s clash was shaping up as an all-or-nothing shootout for the urn and would surely have been the most hyped Test match in this country since the touchstone summer of 2005.

The stakes are smaller for England now, but the prospect of securing a 2-2 draw and denying rivals Australia a first outright win on these shores since 2001 remains a prize to play for.

Crawley, whose outstanding 189 in Manchester became an instant Ashes classic as he flayed the Test world champions to all four corners of the ground on day two, admitted the soggy conclusion was frustrating but has no doubt about the hunger in the home dressing room.

“We’re massively up for it. Any game, you want to win,” said the opener, who sits as the top run-scorer in the series with 385.

“As Ben Stokes says, we’re building as a team, this isn’t the end just because it’s the end of the Ashes. Hopefully, it’s very much the start.

“I think 2-2 would be fair. They had the better of us at Lord’s, Edgbaston could have gone either way, we probably deserved this one and Headingley could have gone either way. So I think 2-2 would be right.

“It felt like we were getting on top of them for sure and if we’d won this game it would have been very interesting to see. They’ve got some very good players and would have bounced back but the momentum would have been with us for sure.”

England have named an unchanged 14-man squad for the fifth Test, leaving question marks over the make-up of their pace attack.

Record wicket-taker James Anderson, who turns 41 on day four of the match, is under the microscope after a disappointing series that has seen him take just four wickets at an average of 76.75.

He managed a single breakthrough in what was his farewell Ashes outing at his home ground last week and a familiar bout of speculation around his future follows him to south London.

Anderson has defied expectations around the longevity of fast bowlers for so long that it has become an almost annual tradition to wonder if he might be set for an emotional swansong.

His prospects of getting one more chance to make his mark on this series are improved by worries over Chris Woakes, who has been excellent for the past two games but complained off stiffness in the second innings at Old Trafford.

Woakes had not played Test cricket for 18 months before returning to the side at Headingley and three games in quick succession may be too much of an ask.

England also have the up-and-coming Josh Tongue at their disposal, as well as a fit-again Ollie Robinson, and may also ask to check on leading wicket-taker Stuart Broad, who will be eager for the challenge of playing a sixth consecutive game in little more than seven weeks.

It is understood that Anderson has given no indication at all that he is planning to hang up his boots, and the notion of a grand, emotional farewell in the vein of Sir Alastair Cook is unlikely to appeal.

Rob Key, England’s managing director of men’s cricket, may find himself with a decision to make when the next batch of central contracts are awarded later this year but the three-day break between back-to-back Tests is hardly the time for such debates.

For once, Crawley’s continued selection faces no discussion whatsoever. His imperious century explained perfectly the faith he has enjoyed during leaner times and could act as a springboard for a new chapter.

“I feel I’m as good a player as I have ever been, I feel good about my game,” he said.

“Fast bowling suits my game and the Australian attack is a quick attack. I think a bit less when they’re faster.

“I’m pleased with how I’m playing, I’ve just got to build on it.

“I have a bit more experience now, things to fall back on in different conditions, so I feel I can kick on now. I’ll be keeping myself to myself and listen to close friends and family. They’re the only opinions I care about.”

MI New York are one step closer to booking a spot in the inaugural Major League Cricket playoffs after an eight-wicket victory over the Washington Freedom at the Church Street Park in Morrisville, North Carolina, on Sunday.

MI New York held the Freedom to a respectable 160-6 after winning the toss and electing to field first.

Glenn Phillips hit a 35-ball 47 while Captain, Moises Henriques, hit 32 off 30 balls for Washington.

New York skipper, Kieron Pollard, was amongst the wickets with 2-33 from his four overs.

Nicholas Pooran then starred with an unbeaten 62 as MI New York needed only 15.3 overs to reach 161-2.

The left-hander faced 33 balls and struck four fours and six sixes on his way to his first fifty of the competition.

Pooran was well supported by openers Monank Patel, who hit 44 off 29 balls, and Shayan Jahangir, who made 29. Pollard was at the crease alongside Pooran in the end, finishing 21* off just 10 balls.

The Seattle Orcas and Washington Freedom have each already secured spots in the playoffs with three teams battling for the remaining two spots.

MI New York, who play the Orcas in their last game, will be in with a win or if they avoid a heavy defeat.

The Texas Super Kings and San Francisco Unicorns are the other teams in contention for a spot and they will be facing each other in a winner-take-all clash on Monday.

Australia all-rounder Cameron Green admits his side “got out of jail” in their Ashes-clinching draw at Emirates Old Trafford.

A 2-1 lead with one more game to play at the Kia Oval this week means the tourists retain the urn as holders, but they were spared a winner-takes-all decider by a rain-ruined end to the fourth Test in Manchester.

England were well in control after piling up a 275-run first-innings lead, but with just 30 overs possible across the last two days they were prevented from converting their dominance into a series-levelling win.

Green, who was one of Australia’s not out batters as the washout unfolded, told cricket.com.au: “I think we definitely got away with one there.

“There’s no point denying it. Whilst we were behind the game, and you never know what would have happened, cricket is a funny game, but England dominated this one. We definitely got out of jail.

“We didn’t play our best game. The rain gods were in our favour the last couple of days. You just take it and move on to the next game.”

Green’s place is under some doubt for the fifth Test, with fellow all-rounder Mitchell Marsh in seemingly undroppable form and Australia pondering a return for spinner Todd Murphy. Whether he makes the XI or not, Green believes the tourists will be focused on completing a first outright win in England for 22 years.

Australia were 2-1 ahead going to the Oval four years ago and paid the price for over-exuberant celebrations before the final act as England squared the scores.

“The last time they were here they had a win here to retain the Ashes, but it’s a bit different this time around,” said Green.

“I’m sure a few guys are hurting from last time. We’ll keep it level-headed and looking forward to the next game.”

England have named an unchanged squad for the final Ashes Test of the summer with a decision now required over James Anderson’s involvement at the Kia Oval.

The Manchester weather washed out play on Sunday and wrecked England’s hopes of setting up a winner-takes-all decider this week.

The draw means Australia have retained the urn with the series at 2-1 with one Test to play, but England will try to rally as a group and win in London to ensure a second successive home Ashes ends 2-2.

An unchanged 14-man squad has been selected for the fifth Test, which begins on Thursday, and all eyes will be on what England do with Anderson.

Veteran Anderson, who will turn 41 on Sunday, has struggled to take wickets throughout the series, picking up four scalps in three Tests at an average of 76.75.

He only claimed a solitary wicket in the drawn Old Trafford match and, after being rested for England’s victory at Headingley, the return to fitness of Ollie Robinson following a back spasm will leave captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum with a tough call to make in the capital.

If Anderson is left out at the Kia Oval, it could mean he has appeared in England whites for the last time with a decision required by the seamer and the selectors regarding his role over the next 12 months with central contracts set to be handed out later this year.

Mark Wood and Chris Woakes, who did struggle with stiffness towards the end of the Old Trafford Test, have impressed since being drafted into the XI while Stuart Broad is the leading wicket-taker in the whole Ashes.

Sussex seamer Robinson claimed 10 wickets in the first three Tests of the series and Josh Tongue caught the eye with his aggression in his one appearance against Australia at Lord’s.

England’s batting line-up is set to be unchanged with Moeen Ali to continue at three, but a call on Anderson and the other seamers will be made over the next two days.

England’s suffered Ashes agony at Emirates Old Trafford, as their hopes of taking a memorable series to a winner-takes-all decider fell foul of the weather.

The fifth and final day of the fourth Test was abandoned without a ball being bowled, leaving a dominant home side unable to pick up the hunt for the last five Australian wickets.

The first draw of the ‘Bazball’ era guarantees the tourists will hold on to the urn, leading 2-1 with one more game to go at the Kia Oval, and here the PA news agency looks at some of the key questions coming out of the frustrating finish.

If England can still draw the series 2-2, why have Australia retained the Ashes?

To sum it up in a word: tradition. While England fans know all too well about one-day cricket’s tie-breakers – having needed a super over and a boundary countback to pip New Zealand to the 2019 World Cup – Test cricket has no problem with the draw. When it comes to the format’s oldest rivalry the holders must be beaten outright to lose their bragging rights. Australia’s last trip to England ended with similar questions, as the tourists celebrated a 2-2 scoreline while England reflected on unfinished business. Captain Ben Stokes was given the chance to question the custom after the match, but waved it away without a second thought.

Is there any way England could have forced a win in this Test?

Having been criticised for declaring too early on the first day of the series at Edgbaston, Stokes now finds himself scrutinised for doing the direct opposite in the fourth Test. Rather than calling his side in shortly after lunch on day three, he allowed Jonny Bairstow to continue flogging Australia’s bowlers in the afternoon session as he finished on 99 not out. England finished with a first-innings lead of 275, but did not have enough time in the field to convert that into victory. An earlier withdrawal would certainly have given them more time to collect 10 wickets, but a slimmer advantage means they would have probably needed to bat again. Ultimately, their push was ruined by the rain, with 30 overs out of a scheduled 180 over the weekend. By scoring their runs at almost 5.5 an over and picking 15 wickets, England can hardly be accused of being ponderous with the time they had.

How can cricket stop important matches ending like this?

Assuming the holy grail of cricket grounds with a roof remains an expensive pipe dream, what else is there to do? The World Test Championship final has been granted a reserve day since the International Cricket Council brought it in but the idea of rolling that idea out more broadly look fanciful in the extreme. Tours are getting shorter and more congested and the cost of booking holding venues and staff for an extra day that will rarely be used would be prohibitive, especially outside England. More realistic is a push to improve over-rates. Financial sanctions have proved a hollow threat. More proactive umpiring, fewer stoppages and run penalties could all be looked at, while others suggest eating into the lunch and tea breaks. The resistance to pulling start times forward from 11am to make up for lost time remains baffling.

What’s on the line at the Oval this week?

The last Australia side to win in England did so back in 2001, meaning the current class has a chance to do something a generation of their compatriots could not. They snapped a long losing streak with a shared series four years ago and will be desperate to go one better now. For England, there is a chance to keep up an undefeated streak under the Stokes-McCullum leadership regime and frustrate their rivals in the process. A 3-1 loss would be a poor reflection on their efforts over recent weeks, so there is some work to do to deliver a more fitting result.

Why does it feel like the end of an era?

Because it is. Several of the key protagonists are well into the autumn of their careers and face uncertain futures. The next battle is not until the winter of 2025/26 and there are a host of veterans for whom that seems a long way. England’s record wicket-taker James Anderson turns 41 at the end of the month, Moeen Ali is sure to return to Test retirement in the coming days, while Stuart Broad (37), Chris Woakes (34) and Mark Wood (33) have plenty of miles on the clock. As for Stokes, his body is creaking and the toll his injury problems are taking is not yet clear. For Australia, David Warner has already set his own timetable for departure while it would be a surprise to see Steve Smith, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon on these shores again in 2027. The Oval Test could be the last dance for these teams.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan believes Ben Stokes’ side still have “a huge amount to play for” in the final Ashes Test, as they look to deny Australia a first away win in over two decades.

A rain-ruined finish to the fourth Test at Emirates Old Trafford saw England’s chances of regaining the urn washed away on Sunday, but they have just three days to lick their wounds before embarking on the series finale 2-1 down at the Kia Oval.

The last Australian side to win a series on these shores did so in 2001, with Vaughan kicking off England’s era of dominance at home when he led his team to victory in the golden summer of 2005.

The Baggy Greens have had five winless tours in a row, also losing in 2009, 2013 and 2015 before taking a 2-2 draw four years ago, and Vaughan wants to keep the streak going.

“You wouldn’t want to be the first England team to lose here since 2001, so I do think there’s a huge amount to play for down at the Oval,” he told BBC Test Match Special.

“I know they’re 2-1 down but it just feels like England have been the better team. They’ve played some good stuff and dominated many parts of the Test matches.

“I’ll be interested to see how Australia play at the Oval and whether or not they try to be positive. If England win at the Oval, they deserve it because they have been the better side. If Australia play the way they have in this test then England will absolutely wipe them.

“They’ll go back to the first two Tests and look at mistakes they’ve made in the field and at that batting collapse in the first innings at Lord’s, but I do think they are a team that learn quickly now.”

Australia great Glenn McGrath, who was part of teams in 2001 and 2005, believes his country’s passive performance in Manchester was a deliberate tactic to scrape the draw they needed to secure the urn.

He also suggested England had cause for regret, suggesting they batted on too long on Friday before the weather turned and also passed up opportunities earlier in the series.

“To me, Australia played this game in survival mode, to protect the lead they’ve got,” he said.

“Australia knew what they wanted to do and they may have looked a bit ugly and a bit negative doing it, but their goal was to retain the Ashes in this match and they’ve done it.

“Looking back at that declaration (decision), if they had finished at lunch on day three, given themselves 10 more overs when the ball was doing a bit more, they could easily have picked up six or seven wickets.

“The story could be different. England had the opportunity but for some reason decided to play on after lunch which, to a degree, sealed their fate. If they’d played truly ruthless cricket, they could be 3-0 up by now but they’re 2-1 down at the Ashes have gone.”

The West Indies have their backs against the wall heading into the final day of the second Test match against India at Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad. At stumps on Sunday, the Caribbean men were 76-2, still needing 289 runs to achieve an unlikely victory in the milestone 100^th Test match between the two countries.

When play resumes on Monday, Tagenarine Chanderpaul will carry on from 24 and Jermaine Blackwood 20. They and their fellow batters will have to produce something extraordinary of the West Indies are to avoid being swept 2-0 in the series that has so far been a lop-sided affair.

On Sunday, the West Indies resumed from their overnight score of 229-5 with Alick Athanaze on 37 and Jason Holder on 11. Athanaze did not add to his overnight score, trapped lbw by Munesh Kumar. Holder added four when Mohammed Siraj had him caught behind for 15.

There was little resistance after that as Siraj tore through the lower order to end with figures of 5-60. Kumar took 2-48 while Ravindra Jadeja had 2-37 as the West Indies folded for 255.

With a commanding lead of 183 runs, India propelled by half-centuries from Rohit Sharma, who made 57 and Ishan Kishan 52 not out, raced to 181-2 declared in just 24 overs.

Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal added 38 and Shubman Gill was unbeaten on 29 when the declaration came.

Jomel Warrican, who dismissed Jaiswal, took 1-36 while Shannon Gabriel took the wicket of Sharma to end with 1-33.

Chasing an unlikely target of 365, the West Indies were in trouble early as Ravichandran Ashwin, who has terrorized the West Indies batters during the series dismissed Brathwaite for 28 and Kirk McKenzie for a duck.

Chanderpaul and Blackwood have so far added 32 for the third wicket and will need to add much more on Monday, if the West Indies are to have any chance of surviving the final two days without crumbling to yet another humiliating defeat.