Hull KR coach Willie Peters will spare his star men the prospect of facing a potentially-vengeful Wigan on Friday night with their Wembley Challenge Cup final date fast approaching.

Peters plans to field a virtually-unrecognisable line-up for their Betfred Super League clash at the DW Stadium, including three players he has brought in this week on short-term loan deals plus three academy graduates who will make their first-team debuts.

Rovers edged Matt Peet’s men in a semi-final thriller at Headingley less than two weeks ago and despite their desire to cement a play-off spot, Peters is making no apologies for refusing to take risks with his already injury-hit squad.

“Obviously it’s a very important game this week but it’s a very important game next week too,” said Peters. “We will be going there with a team that is going to compete but we’ve got to be smart as well.

“If we have a team that goes out and competes from one minute to 80, I’ll be a proud coach. I think this is a game that we can hopefully go and make our fans proud of us, that a young team has gone over to Wigan and given their all.”

Rovers face Leigh at Wembley on August 12 where they will hunt their first Challenge Cup victory since their only previous triumph over city rivals Hull FC in 1980.

Peters confirmed the respective signings of Catalans half-back Cesar Rouge, Wakefield prop Isaac Shaw and Warrington forward Luke Thomas, all on two-week loan deals.

In addition, academy players Leo Tennison, Louix Gorman and Lennie Ellis will make the first team for the first time.

Peters is still hopeful that Tom Opacic, Eliot Minchella and Ethan Ryan will all recover from their current injuries in time for the Challenge Cup final a week on Saturday, but Jordan Abdull will definitely miss the Wembley date.

Two goals and three assists from Lauren James led a revived England attack and ensured the Lionesses secured top spot in Group D with a thumping 6-1 victory over China at the Women’s World Cup.

Alessia Russo opened her account for the tournament after four minutes while Lauren Hemp and James made it three by the halfway point, with James seeing another chalked off following a VAR check in stoppage time at Adelaide’s Hindmarsh Stadium.

Wang Shuang clawed one back with a spot-kick after the break, but strikes from substitute Chloe Kelly and Rachel Daly assured the Lionesses of a dominant victory in front of 13,497 in the stands.

England next travel back to Brisbane, where they will face Nigeria in the last 16 on Monday.

Ground conditions are the chief concern for trainer Shark Hanlon ahead of Hewick’s bid for back-to-back wins in the Tote Galway Plate.

Victory in the €270,000 contest 12 months ago was the middle leg of a huge treble in 2022 for the eight-year-old, as he also landed the bet365 Gold Cup at Sandown and the American Grand National.

He subsequently fell two fences from home when still in with a shout in the Cheltenham Gold Cup and has since returned to Sandown to win the Oaksey Chase and finished fourth in the French Champion Hurdle.

Hanlon is thrilled with his stable star’s condition ahead of his planned return to Ballybrit, but admits the prospect of carrying top-weight in testing terrain is a worry.

He said: “Hopefully the ground will dry up a bit – we need to get the ground a bit drier.

“He’s in great form and everything, but he doesn’t want very soft ground. There’s nothing we can do about it, only wait and see.

“In fairness the two-mile-six might be on the short side for the horse and a bit of cut in the ground might be a help to us, but you’re always afraid when it gets very soft.

“I couldn’t have the horse any better, but if they end up with heavy in the ground I couldn’t run him. Hopefully it won’t get to that.”

With his first-choice pilot Jordan Gainford sidelined by injury, Hanlon turned to Rachael Blackmore to partner Hewick in his last two races.

However, Blackmore rides Gabbys Cross for Henry de Bromhead, leading Hanlon to book Britain’s champion jockey Brian Hughes.

He added: “Brian is a great jockey and he looks after me when I go to England. I’m delighted to have him on board.”

Gavin Cromwell is looking forward to saddling Final Orders, who won five successive races over fences last season before finishing fifth in the Grand Annual at Cheltenham.

The seven-year-old fell in the Topham Chase over the Grand National fences at Aintree on his next start, but recently proved his well being with a Flat victory at Bellewstown.

Cromwell said: “He’s in great shape and I’m delighted with him. I would love if the ground was a little bit better, hopefully it won’t be too bad.

“We’re happy he’s in great nick and if he can get a bit of luck in running, hopefully he’ll be involved.”

Another high-class chaser who warmed up for Galway’s midweek feature with a victory on the level is the Barry Connell-trained Enniskerry, having bolted up by six lengths at Leopardstown in June.

However, his participation is also dependent on conditions.

“The big problem is the ground – if it comes up soft he won’t run,” said Connell.

“It’s unfortunate because he’s in the form of his life, he has a lovely racing weight (10st 7lb) and if it was good ground we’d be very optimistic about his chances.

“We have him in another race on Friday, so that’s an alternative if we don’t get to run on Wednesday.

“He won his beginners’ chase there last year, so we know he likes the track and he’s a second-season novice who is unexposed, so he ticks a lot of boxes.”

Mick Appleby is “pretty confident” Big Evs can lower the colours of Kylian in a good renewal of the Jaeger-Lecoultre Molecomb Stakes at Goodwood on Wednesday.

Winner of the 23-runner Windsor Castle at Royal Ascot on his last run, the son of Blue Point will be tackling easy ground for the first time and Jason Hart’s mount is drawn on the wing in stall eight.

“He’s in good order. I think we have got a decent enough draw and we should be going there with a very good chance,” said Appleby.

“I think he will be OK on the ground, as long as it doesn’t go heavy. You’d think he’d be OK on good to soft ground and the dam won on soft ground, so hopefully he should be all right.”

Big Evs and the Karl Burke-trained Kylian dominate the market for the five-furlong Group Two contest.

The latter is more experienced with four runs under his belt and was a scintillating six-length winner of the Listed Dragon Stakes at Sandown on his last run.

“Obviously we have Kylian to beat,” admitted Appleby. “It is a great race, but we’d go there pretty confident and he should have a good chance.

“Should all go well, we’ll probably go for the Gimcrack (at York) next – that’s most obvious one for him, I should have thought.”

Ryan Moore maintains his partnership with Kylian, who is bidding for a hat-trick, having previously won on the all-weather at Newcastle.

“I sat on him for the first time at Sandown last month and you had to be very impressed by the manner in which he picked up after I switched him to the outside after a rail run clearly didn’t materialise,” Moore reported on his Betfair blog.

“Big Evs is probably the one to beat, but this horse isn’t far behind him form-wise after what he did at Sandown, though both horses are unproven on soft ground and that is the question mark.”

Richard Hannon is equally hopeful that Baheer, an easy winner of a Newbury novice over six furlongs, can handle the ground and a drop back in trip.

He said: “He is in great form. He’s very quick and has easily got the speed for five (furlongs) no problem.

“The ground is an unknown quantity, but Mehmas liked it. I think he’d have a great chance as well.”

The other Group Two contest on the card is the seven-furlong Whispering Angel Oak Tree Stakes, which has attracted a field of 16 fillies.

John Quinn saddles Breege, who was pitched into Group One company in the Irish 1,000 Guineas at the Curragh on her seasonal debut, where she finished seventh to Tahiyra.

She then was beaten a length by Coppice in the Sandringham at Royal Ascot, so drops back in trip to a course and distance she handled well when a narrow runner-up in a Group Three last August.

“We’re happy with her,” said Quinn. “She ran very well at Ascot and we tried to run her at Sandown (in the Coral Distaff), but we just couldn’t run her – it wasn’t a lot, I just couldn’t run her.

“We have been thinking about this race because we thought the conditions might suit her. She ran here as a two-year-old over seven furlongs and she handled the track well.

“She is a big, strong mare and, with a bit of ease in the ground, she’ll go on that.

“She is not slow. She won over five and a half (furlongs) as a two-year-old and was placed in the Princess Margaret. She is a quality filly, so let’s hope she runs well in a tough race.

“She is drawn in stall three, which is grand. I’d rather be three than 13. I’m glad she got drawn there, because over seven furlongs, if you are drawn out a long way, it is difficult.”

White Moonlight is the sole last-time-out winner in the field and she bids for a hat-trick for Saeed bin Suroor, following a pair of Listed successes at Musselburgh and on the all-weather at Chelmsford, both over the same seven-furlong trip.

“She won well at Chelmsford, “ said the Godolphin handler. “She came back from that well and worked nicely. Definitely she is in good form.

“She won at Musselburgh on good to firm ground, but maybe the ground conditions will be good for her. It will be nearer soft ground.

“We’ll see, we’ll have a look, but she has won on easier ground in the past as a two-year-old.”

England head coach Brendon McCullum branded his first taste of Ashes cricket “a great heavyweight fight” and is already anticipating a rumble Down Under in 2025.

McCullum’s side were on the ropes at 2-0 down but hit back to square a thrilling series 2-2, and would surely have been celebrating an outright victory had rain not halted England in the fourth Test at Old Trafford. If the contest had been settled on judges’ scorecards, the urn would surely have been heading home.

The hosts ultimately settled for a share of the spoils on a rousing final day at the Kia Oval, where Chris Woakes and the retiring duo of Moeen Ali and Stuart Broad toppled the tourists to seal a 49-run win and maintain their year-long undefeated streak in Test series under the New Zealander.

An Australia team who came into the Ashes as newly-crowned Test world champions provided the stiffest challenge yet of the ‘Bazball’ blueprint, and McCullum was enthralled enough by what he saw to cast his eyes towards a rematch that lies two-and-a-half years away.

“I’ve looked from afar at the Ashes and to now be a part of it and witness how special it is is something quite incredible. I don’t want it to end actually,” said McCullum, who traded a few blows with the Australians during his own time with New Zealand.

“I think we should go round again and have another five Tests, keep doing what we’re doing. It’s been an incredible six weeks and I’m really proud to be sharing a dressing room with the England boys.

“But you’re sharing this series with the Aussie boys too. They walk away with the urn but both teams walk away with two victories under their belt. I think both sides have stayed true to their styles and that’s what makes a great heavyweight fight. It’s two different styles and total conviction in them.

“When you look back to when the skipper (Ben Stokes), thinking would we be able to take on a great Australian team – and they are a great Australian team – and go toe to toe with them? I think the answer is yes and that’s a tremendous confidence booster for the group.

“The next one is obviously a little way away and there’s certainly different challenges to cross before then. If we look at the growth of the team in the last 14-15 months it has been quite significant.

“There will be some new faces for both sides in two-and-a-half years, no doubt, but I’d imagine again it could be another cracking series when the time comes. But firstly we’re letting this one sink in and enjoying it.”

England do not play Test cricket again until January’s trip to India but McCullum already has two holes to fill, with Broad and Moeen bowing out on a high. The seam bowling ranks are looking distinctly well travelled too, with James Anderson (41), Chris Woakes (34) and Mark Wood (33) the men in possession.

Word has already been passed around the county circuit that England want to see Test hopefuls put their names forward by playing the same kind of fearless, selfless cricket McCullum and Stokes favour and events of the past seven weeks have surely left plenty with an appetite to join the fun.

“I certainly hope so. Naturally places do come up when guys come to the end of their careers so there will be opportunities there,” he said.

“We’re starting to build some nice depth in batting and bowling as well, so that’s encouraging and will pose some good conversations moving forward.

“What you’re trying to do is not only inspire the next generation but the layer underneath the top team, to have them understand how we’re going to play and work out in their own heads where they fit within that and try to force a place.

“Broady and Mo for a second are two incredible cricketers but also wonderful people and great characters in the dressing room. We’ll miss them, no doubt, but they have left a huge imprint on the side. It’s been great to have them around and I’m sure their legacies will carry on to the next generation.”

In the short term, McCullum will take a back seat for the rest of the year. His white-ball counterpart Matthew Mott will take charge of English ambitions in the meantime, with this autumn’s 50-over World Cup defence the next major goal.

And despite likening his side to prize fighters, McCullum expects to see his players divide their time between the cricket pitch and the golf course until he next sees them.

“What will be really important for the time India comes will be trying to dial back into what we’ve achieved in the last 14-15 months and trying to make sure the team turns up with the same clarity of thought when we go about things,” he said.

“Until then I’m sure the boys will have a good time. They’ll score some runs, take some wickets and we’ll all make some birdies.”

Nashwa will face a very stern challenger for her Qatar Nassau Stakes crown at Goodwood on Thursday in the shape of Blue Rose Cen.

John and Thady Gosden’s filly was a stunning winner of the Group One feature last season, backing up her victory in the French Oaks.

She had been some way below that level of form in her early runs this season, but back down to a mile in the Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket’s July meeting she returned to her brilliant best.

Nashwa will need to bring that level of form to the table again, though, as Blue Rose Cen has looked every inch a superstar.

Trained by Christopher Head, she won the Prix Marcel Boussac last term and the French 1000 Guineas and Oaks, all in impressive fashion.

Nashwa also clashes with Joseph O’Brien’s Above The Curve, who beat her in the Prix Corrida in France, and Al Husn, her conqueror in the Hoppings Stakes at Newcastle.

Jack Channon’s Caernarfon and Aidan O’Brien’s Never Ending Story make up the six-runner field.

The John Pearce Racing Gordon Stakes sees William Haggas’ historic Royal Ascot winner Desert Hero reappear, having caused great scenes when winning for the King and Queen.

He is one of six in the Group Three, with Artistic Star, Burdett Road, Canberra Legend, Chesspiece and Espionage.

Clive Cox’s Jasour must defy a penalty to follow up his July Stakes success in the Markel Richmond Stakes.

Asadna and Hala Emaraaty represent Alice Haynes, Unquestionable is the Ballydoyle runner while the once-raced Sketch will aim to follow up an impressive debut win for Martyn and Freddie Meade.

England and Australia shared the spoils after an epic Ashes series ended in a 2-2 draw.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the key issues raised by five unforgettable Tests.

Which side comes out of stronger?

If sport is all about the end result, then Australia walk away happiest after hanging on to the famous urn. But on every other metric, England will feel like they have established the upper hand in this rivalry for the first time since 2015. There was something meek about the away side’s post-match celebrations after defeat at the Kia Oval, having last tasted victory 29 days and three Tests earlier at Lord’s. Australia have not won outright in England since 2001 and the wait will now go on for at least 26 years. Few could argue that England would have won the series had it not been for a two-day deluge at Old Trafford.

How much of a culture clash was it?

The contrast in the two teams’ methods was profound. England’s ‘Bazball’ brigade played with a freewheeling spirit that offered constant entertainment and veered occasionally into sheer recklessness. Australia, meanwhile, found themselves playing the role of traditionalists. They played conservative cricket, both with the bat and in their consistently-timid field placings, but felt vindicated at 2-0 up. The Baggy Greens now feel caught between two unappealing realities – being seen to copy English cricket or having the tone of their biggest rivalry dictated to them.

What does the next Ashes hold?

Make no mistake, Australia will still be firm favourites when the battle reconvenes Down Under. While series in England often tend to be closely fought, Australia have become dominant in their own patch. Since a brilliant away win in 2010/11, England have played 15 away Ashes Tests, losing 13 and drawing two. Getting a single victory would be an achievement of sorts, but regaining the urn looks an enormous challenge.

Was this the end of an era?

Stuart Broad and Moeen Ali both retired at the end of the fifth Test, but plenty more seasoned combatants might hit the end of the road before these nations next meet in the longest format. James Anderson is now 41 and is surely on his lap of honour, David Warner has already set his own end date in January and the list of thirtysomethings is long. Player of the series Chris Woakes has a lot of miles on the clock at 34, Mark Wood has had a dreadful time with injury, top run-scorer Usman Khawaja is 36 and even Steve Smith had to deny reports that he was set to call time. Whatever happens, the cast list of this gripping drama appears to be in flux.

Did any of the controversies really get settled?

Ashes cricket tends to heighten emotions and there were several examples. There was enormous row about the spirit of cricket when Jonny Bairstow was controversially stumped by Alex Carey at Lord’s but the main upshot was that batters should stay in their crease until the ball is dead. Sections of the Australian media, including former captain Ricky Ponting, were worked up about a ball change that benefitted England in the fifth Test, but both sides had been asking for swaps all summer and the decision-making process lies squarely with the neutral umpires. Meanwhile, some found themselves railing against Mother Nature herself after England were denied by rain in Manchester. Potential solutions, including reserve days and roofs, look certain to wither on the vine.

Barry Connell is leaning towards heading over fences in the autumn with Marine Nationale ahead of his return to training later this week.

Yet to taste defeat in five starts, the six-year-old was last seen running out a brilliant winner of the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in March.

With his summer break coming to an end, his owner-trainer is beginning to consider plans for the upcoming campaign – and while he would be fully entitled to head down the Champion Hurdle route, he is currently favouring a switch to the larger obstacles.

“He’s coming in at the end of the week and he’s done very well. He got a good, long break because last year he was on the go all summer,” said Connell.

“I’d say we’re more likely to go chasing with him than we are to stay hurdling, so the Arkle looks the obvious target for him.

“He’s a brilliant jumper and he’s nearly a better jumper of fences than he is of hurdles, so that’s the current thinking and we’ll work towards that.

“The campaign kind of maps itself out. You’d be looking at a beginners chase in early November, then Leopardstown at Christmas, the Dublin Racing Festival and Cheltenham.”

Another horse for whom Connell holds high hopes is Good Land, who won a Grade One novice hurdle at last season’s Dublin Racing Festival before finishing fourth in the Ballymore at Cheltenham.

Connell feels he was not at his best in the Cotswolds and is hoping he can scale even greater heights over fences.

He added: “He is in (training) already and he definitely goes chasing. We’d be looking at a beginners chase possibly in October and he can go for the Drinmore at Fairyhouse then.

“He’s an exciting horse. He ran okay in Cheltenham, but when we got him home he was very flat and his bloods weren’t right.

“He was there an extra day and I don’t know if that was the issue because he seemed to be fine, but when Michael (O’Sullivan) got on him and cantered down to the start he just felt he was a little bit dead.

“I’d be hoping that wasn’t his true running and we’re looking forward to going down the two-and-a-half-mile route with him and the two-mile route with the other guy.”

David Willey says his goal is to play at the 50-over World Cup even though he is “completely at peace” with being overlooked by England.

Willey missed out on World Cup selection in 2019 when Barbadian-born fast bowler Jofra Archer, having qualified on residency just before the tournament, was preferred and England went on to win the trophy for the first time.

The 33-year-old all-rounder called it the “hardest point” of his career, and four years on making the England squad for the 2023 edition in India in October and November may prove an even trickier task.

“I see myself with England as very much on the fringes,” said Willey, who has swapped Northern Superchargers for Welsh Fire in this season’s Hundred ahead of end-of-season ODI and T20 series against New Zealand.

“If everybody’s fit I probably don’t play and I don’t get picked. I’m completely at peace with that.

“Do I want to play for England? Yes. Do I want to play in the World Cup? Yes. But the priority for me is to enjoy my cricket and then international or franchise cricket will take care of itself.

“They (the selectors) know what I can do. I’m not an X-factor player, they know I’m reliable and what they’re going to get from me.

“If they want a banker I might come into the frame a little bit. I’ve done well with my resources, if you like, over the years.”

Willey was part of England’s T20 World Cup-winning squad last November, although he did not feature in the tournament.

His last ODI cap came against South Africa in January – his 107th England white-ball appearance – as he opted out of the following tour of Bangladesh to spend time with his family before playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League.

England limited-overs captain Jos Buttler warned players who chose not to tour Bangladesh that it would put their place at risk, but Willey insists it was “100 per cent” the correct call for both family and financial reasons.

He said: “I was going off to the IPL and I’ve got a four and a five-year-old and a wife at home. I’m not centrally contracted, I’ve got an incremental contract. Being completely honest financially, it was an easy decision with what I would get at the IPL.

“That’s the challenge presented to the ECB at the minute. They are trying to work out what the future looks in terms of those central contracts and keeping players at ECB.

“The landscape of cricket is changing and it’s very difficult for people to get that right now, and what that looks like to make sure we are still promoting not only county cricket but playing for your country as well.”

Willey returned to his home county Northamptonshire this summer after spending six years at Yorkshire.

He has embraced the life of a franchise cricketer with various T20 spells in Australia, India and Pakistan and says the new and lucrative Major League Cricket in the United States is very much in his thoughts.

Willey said: “It’s a great concept, I’d love to go and do it, and there was an offer this year.

“But I’m moving house, I’ve just moved counties and, with The Hundred, family and having just come back from the IPL, it wasn’t the right thing for me to do this time.

“Last year I just spent 11 weeks at home. It’s a fine balance and sometimes you get it wrong but, as I say, I still want to play for England and in a World Cup.”

England captain Ben Stokes moved to squash any controversy about a lack of post-series drinks with Australia after an apparent misunderstanding over the traditional get together.

The rivals usually mark the end of the on-field hostilities by joining each other in the dressing rooms to socialise and debrief, but that did not happen at the Kia Oval on Monday.

Initial reports from travelling Australian media suggested the tourists were left disappointed as they waited to be invited in following England’s series-levelling 49-run win and even knocked on the England changing room before departing around an hour later.

England’s Test coach Brendon McCullum had cast doubt on the longstanding convention earlier in the summer, declaring “I can’t imagine we’ll be having a beer with them any time soon” in the aftermath of Jonny Bairstow’s controversial stumping by Alex Carey in the second Test at Lord’s.

But the PA news agency understands the home side were simply running late, with their own internal wrap up going on longer than usual due to an extended presentation session that marked the retirements of Stuart Broad and Moeen Ali.

England, who were still at the ground at 11pm, were said to be surprised that the Australian team had left the ground.

Stokes had his own say on the matter in a tweet posted at 4.11am, responding to journalist Bharat Sundaresan who had been reporting on the missed drinks.

Stokes, who had distanced himself from McCullum’s comments previously and stated he was happy to honour the tradition, wrote: “To clarify…Our wrap took longer than expected because of multiple last time events. We decided to meet up in the night club rather than the dressing room.”

Cricket Australia were unable to clarify which of their players made it to the club with Stokes, but Fox Sports quoted an unnamed source saying: “We don’t really care, we’ve got the urn, but after a hard-fought series it is pretty pathetic. Talk about the spirit of cricket.”

Shohei Ohtani just missed another home run, but his Los Angeles Angels teammates still provided plenty of power.

The surging Angels hit three solo homers to back a solid start from Chase Silseth en route to a 4-1 win over the major league-leading Atlanta Braves in Monday's opener of a three-game series. 

Luis Rengifo homered to lead off the game, while newly acquired Randal Grichuk and Chad Wallach went deep later to help the Angels to their 10th win in 13 games. That hot stretch has moved the Angels within three games of the American League's final wild card spot.

Grichuk was obtained Sunday from the Colorado Rockies along with first baseman C.J. Cron, who had an RBI single in his first game following the trade.

Ohtani finished 2 for 3 and nearly had his 40th home run of the season in the ninth inning, when his drive to deep center field was snared by a leaping Michael Harris II to rob the 2021 AL MVP.

Silseth yielded just three hits, including a solo homer from Matt Olson, over five innings to win his second straight start. Olson's blast was his National League-leading 36th of the season and 200th of the campaign for Atlanta, which tops the majors in that category.

The Braves entered the series having scored 29 runs in a three-game sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers over the weekend. Olson had two of Atlanta's four hits on the night.

Orioles hold off Blue Jays to maintain lead atop AL East

Ryan Mountcastle drove in three runs and Austin Hays made a game-saving catch in the ninth inning as the Baltimore Orioles held on for a 4-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.

Hays' diving grab of Whit Merrifield's line drive into the left-center field gap with two on and one out in the ninth helped the Orioles take the opener of this four-game series and maintain their 1 1/2-game lead over second-place Tampa Bay in the AL East. The Rays recorded a 5-1 win over the New York Yankees on Monday.

Mountcastle gave Baltimore an early lead with a two-run double off Toronto starter Chris Bassitt in the first inning, then later extended the margin to 4-0 with a sacrifice fly in the third.

Kyle Gibson made the lead stand by holding the Blue Jays to one run on four hits over six innings to earn his 10th win of the season. 

Gunnar Henderson had a solo homer earlier in the third to help the Orioles to their sixth win in nine games. The Orioles are now 6-1 against the Blue Jays this season and 4-0 in Toronto. 

Bo Bichette, the AL's leading hitter at .321, went 2 for 2 for Toronto before exiting the game in the third inning with right knee soreness.

Bassitt had a streak of eight consecutive starts without a loss end after he was charged with four runs over six innings. 

Phillies' Walker beats Marlins for MLB-best 12th win

Taijuan Walker threw 6 2/3 effective innings to become the first 12-game winner in the major leagues this season in the Philadelphia Phillies' 4-2 victory over the Miami Marlins.

Walker allowed two runs on six hits and struck out four to help the Phillies win the opener of this key four-game series between NL playoff contenders. Philadelphia moved a half-game ahead of the Marlins, Milwaukee and Arizona for the league's second of three wild-card spots.

The Phillies also closed within a half-game of San Francisco for the NL's top wild card after the Giants lost to the Diamondbacks, 4-3, in 11 innings.

Miami had taken a quick 2-0 lead on Jorge Soler's two-run homer in the bottom of the first inning, but the Phillies tied it in the fourth on Johan Rojas' two-run double before moving ahead in the seventh.

Kyle Schwarber drew a leadoff walk against reliever Tanner Scott in the seventh, took third on Alec Bohm's double and scored on a sacrifice fly from Bryson Stott. 

Bohm extended the lead in the eighth with a single that plated Rojas.

Soler had two hits and Luis Arraez went 3 for 4 with a run scored for slumping Miami, which fell to 4-14 since the All-Star break. Arraez is now batting an MLB-leading .381 on the season. 

Ben Stokes paid a glowing tribute to Chris Woakes after England’s perennial unsung hero walked away as the leading man of this summer’s Ashes.

Woakes’ outstanding career has often played out in the considerable shadow of the record-breaking duo of James Anderson and Stuart Broad but, when it came to handing out the prestigious Compton-Miller Medal for player of the series, it was his turn to take the acclaim.

The 34-year-old was not picked for the first two Tests, both of which Australia won, but breathed fresh life into the contest after returning to the side and inspired the hosts to a 2-2 draw.

He starred with the ball at Headingley, Old Trafford and the Oval, collecting 19 wickets at a miserly average of 18.14 and bolstered the lower order with a couple of important cameos.

Woakes was the spark behind England’s fifth-day triumph in the final Test, taking four for 50 in a sustained spell of high-class seam bowling, and his contribution was key to denying the outright series victory Australia craved.

Already beloved by his team-mates, who know him as ‘the Wizard’, he now has an achievement to match the esteem they hold him in and nobody was happier than Stokes.

“I think to play three games and walk away with man of the series proves how good a cricketer Woakesy is. Has that ever been done before?” the England skipper said.

“He’s a massive team man and he should never be underestimated for his contributions to English cricket. He might not have got the opportunities people might think he should have but that’s purely because he’s been playing in the era of James Anderson and Stuart Broad.

“Every time he has walked out for England he’s given absolutely everything. This series in particular is something he’ll be very proud of for what he’s managed to achieve and I’m very proud of him too, for coming in and putting in these performances.

“The way in which Woakesy has come in, not just with the ball but with crucial runs down at eight, has been really good for us. He’s been a massive part of the reason we are sitting here talking about why we’ve drawn the series 2-2 after being 2-0 down.”

Stokes attempted to share those exact sentiments with his fellow all-rounder when he finally took a breather after leaving Australia eight down – allowing the retiring Broad to finish things off in a dream finish – and got short shrift.

“When he stopped bowling I just said to him ‘you’ve been a massive reason we’re in this position right now’ but he wasn’t having a bar of it,” Stokes added. “He just said ‘let’s finish the job and get it done’. He’s been awesome for us. Just a quality cricketer.”

Woakes missed the first year of the ‘Bazball’ revolution due to injury problems and admitted finding his way back into the Test set-up in time to tangle with the Australians was a prime motivator.

“I’ve not been a part of this squad and team for over 12 months, so I was desperate to get back in and have a go,” he told BBC Sport.

“When you come into an Ashes series you want to perform and contribute to wins and I couldn’t have asked for it to go much better really. This is up there as one of my favourite moments in the series and probably up there with my best moments. This is the pinnacle of Test cricket so it is amazing.”

“Ballgate” and the reported lack of a post-match drink between the two sides dominated Australian press coverage following England’s victory in the fifth Ashes Test at The Oval.

The changing of the ball just before rain stopped play on the fourth day, when openers David Warner and Usman Khawaja were well set, sparked a fair amount of outrage among Australian journalists and pundits.

The Daily Telegraph in Australia described the ball change as “disgraceful”, while Peter Lalor in The Australian asked if a “blunder” by the umpires had cost Australia the series victory, saying the change “appeared to alter the course of the game” and argued it “cost the visitors dearly”.

And the Sydney Morning Herald quoted former Australian captain Ricky Ponting on Sky Sports who described it as “a huge blunder that needs to be investigated”.

He said: “The biggest concern I have is the big discrepancy in the condition of the ball chosen to replace it.

“There is no way in the world you can even look at those two balls there and say in any way they are comparable.

“That is a huge moment in this game, potentially a huge moment in the Test match. And something I think has to be investigated.

“I will put my hand up and say I have no doubt at all that [old] ball would not have done anywhere near as much as that one did this morning.”

But writing for the same title, Daniel Brettig argued “ballgate” was not to blame for Australia’s defeat.

He said: “It may be tempting to apply a conspiratorial lens to the replacement ball.

“But the underlying truth of The Oval, and indeed the second half of this Ashes series, is that Australia too often left themselves in positions where they needed to perform miracles in order to get ahead of the game.

“It will be a source of significant disappointment that a team of maturity and even temper was unable to summon a single performance good enough to win any of the last three Tests.”

Both the Sydney Morning Herald and The Daily Telegraph reported the customary post-series drinks did not happen.

The Herald quoted an England spokesman who said it had been a “misunderstanding” and Australia’s players had left the ground when they invited them in.

The report said an Australian team spokesman declined to comment, but quoted sources close to the team who said they knocked on the England dressing room door a number of times and waited for more than an hour.

The Australian’s Gideon Haigh looked beyond the drama of the five-match series and expressed concerns for the future of the format, despite England captain Ben Stokes’ assertion it was “what Test cricket needs”.

While conceding the series “contained classic matches, and imperishable passages of play, mainly from the hosts”, Haigh criticised the way the Ashes had been shoehorned into such a short period to make room for more short-form cricket.

He wrote: “This was an Ashes series not an Ashes summer. Australia have shoehorned six Tests into 54 days, England six into 60. Australia now does not play its next Test until December 14, England its next until January 25.

“Hours before the day began, one team beat another in Dallas, concluding a fortnight of T20 funded largely Indian capital and principally sponsored by an online betting company; today, one team plays another in Nottingham to commence The Hundred, in which the England Cricket Board will in due course try selling to similar corporate interests.

“Viva the Ashes! Long live Test cricket! That might be the most premature celebration of all.”

The Daily Telegraph also had some sobering news for cricket as it said viewing figures for Australia’s victory over Canada in the Women’s World Cup – which coincided with the first session – beat the final day drama at The Oval “by an enormous margin”.