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.

Celtic have confirmed the signing of 21-year-old South Korean winger Yang Hyun-jun.

The attacking player has moved from Gangwon on a five-year contract to link up with compatriot Oh Hyeon-gyu and become Celtic’s third summer signing.

Manager Brendan Rodgers told Celtic’s website: “We’re delighted to bring Yang to the club and I’m sure he’s going to be another great addition to the squad.

“He’s a player that we’ve looked at closely and who we think will further enhance our attacking options which, of course, already include his fellow countryman Oh.

“He’s an exciting player who was the young player of the year in South Korea last season, which is an indication of his quality, and I’m sure he’ll be looking forward to having a big impact at the club.

“It’s also clear that he was very keen to make this move to Celtic so I know he’ll be delighted that everything has now been agreed and we’re really looking forward to working with him.”

Yang’s club had been hoping to keep him until the end of their season but the player made it clear he wanted an immediate transfer rather than waiting until the January transfer window.

He said: “I’m very pleased to come to Celtic and I’m looking forward to meeting my new team-mates and to begin training with them.

“This is a move that I wanted to make and so it is great to be here in Scotland now as a Celtic player.

“I have spoken to Hyeon-gyu Oh who has already told me great things about the club and its supporters, so I can’t wait to meet them and play in front of them.”

There will be a continental flavour to the Qatar Sussex Stakes next week as French raider Facteur Cheval is set to take his chance in the red-hot Goodwood contest.

It will be a long journey to the Sussex Downs for the four-year-old, with trainer Jerome Reynier based near Marseille in the south of France.

However, having produced a career best when denied by a head in the Prix d’Ispahan in May, connections are keen to pick up a share of the £1million prize-fund on offer, en-route to their main objective for the second half of the campaign, the Woodbine Mile on September 16.

“Our main goal for the fall is the Woodbine Mile and we needed something to tick him over,” said Barry Irwin, CEO of Team Valor, who own the gelding in partnership with Gary Barber.

“We know this is going to be an insurmountable task, but the timing is right and he is improving, so we are going to send him and see what happens.”

Facteur Cheval has won five of his 10 career stars with his biggest victory coming in the Prix Perth on his final outing last year.

Although he has failed to add to his tally this season, the son of Ribchester has held his own in three high-class events and connections retain plenty of faith in Facteur Cheval, who will be partnered for the first time by Maxime Guyon in the Qatar Goodwood Festival contest.

“Obviously we’re probably going to be running against Paddington and you can’t go into it thinking we’re going to win,” added Irwin.

“But we’ve got a lot of faith in this horse, he’s had a lot of bad luck and we’re hoping we’re going to get a better go of it this race.

“He’s going to be ridden by Maxime Guyon and he has a lot of ability. He just needs the space to run in, once he gets going he’s pretty good.”

Irwin hopes Facteur Cheval will fare better than Star Of Cozzene, who was sent to the Sussex Stakes in the early 1990s in search of testing ground and found the undulations of Goodwood too hot to handle.

“I ran a horse there in the same race in 1992 called Star Of Cozzene,” he added. “He was one of the best horses we have ever had.

“He was fantastic over here in America and I got the bright idea to send him to Europe because he loved heavy ground. He never won a race there, he placed a couple of times but it just never happened.

“When we ran him at Goodwood, he had never run without toe wraps before and he just slid down the hill, he must have been 25 lengths off the lead at one stage and ran sixth. So I know what a difficult place Goodwood is.”

Open champion Brian Harman says making his Ryder Cup debut would “mean the world” to him following his dominant victory at Royal Liverpool.

Yet when he recovers from the after-effects of drinking a celebratory Guinness or two from the Claret Jug, Harman will be able to ponder the welcome prospect of a longed-for debut in the biennial event in Rome.

Harman’s six-shot victory lifted him from 20th in the standings into the top six automatic qualifying places and effectively ends the two-time Walker Cup winner’s long wait for a Ryder Cup debut.

“I’ve spent I don’t know how many years chasing,” Harman said following the second round of 65 which provided the springboard for his first major title.

“It always seems it’s right there at the end and I end up in between 13th and 18th on the list and I’m hoping for a pick. It would mean the world to me to play on the Ryder Cup team. I think I would do very well.”

Speaking after lifting the Claret Jug, the 36-year-old left-hander added: “I enjoy match play. I’ve done well in all the match play tournaments I’ve played in.

“I had a really good junior record and amateur record in match play. I enjoy the head-to-head competition.

“I had a lot of success as a junior golfer. I won the US Junior and then as an amateur I was the number one ranked amateur in the world for a good while, was the youngest American to get picked for the Walker Cup.

“I had success. Like I had the pedigree. Then I got to college and it just kind of sputtered a little bit. I just didn’t keep up the progression.

“My pro career has been really good at times and not good at times. Last year felt like I kind of found something a little bit, and yeah, man, it’s been great.”

Harman’s performance at Hoylake means he will not be needing to rely on a wild card to make the trip to Marco Simone Golf and Country Club, although his chances may have been better than imagined given the identity of the US captain.

“He’s a really good friend of mine,” Zach Johnson said after carding a closing 74 on Sunday.

“We live on St. Simons Island. I’ve known him for years. Great family, great wife, great kids. The Harmans are dear friends of mine.

“What is transpiring the last couple tournaments he’s played in does not surprise me in the least. He is a very formidable competitor, number one.

“Number two, hey, what does Brian Harman do really well? Well, he does everything quite well. He’s a very good driver of the golf ball and a very, very, very good putter.

“Then if everything else is good, then it can be pretty lethal. Our games are very similar except for the fact that he stands on the wrong side of the golf ball.

“He hits it a little further. He’s gritty. He’s got a great ensemble of coaches and a team.

“He’s still young enough and competitive enough that I think there’s still room for improvement in his game, which is pretty scary because I think he’s really, really good.”

John Barnes backed Liverpool for a top-three Premier League finish next season, although the Reds great believes the title race will be between Arsenal and Manchester City again.

Pep Guardiola's City overcame Arsenal in a two-horse title tussle last campaign, with Mikel Arteta's Gunners already strengthening for next term by signing Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber.

Jurgen Klopp's side were far from their best in the 2021-22 season but battled to a fifth-place finish to secure Europa League football for the upcoming campaign.

Liverpool have bolstered their midfield options by bringing in Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, with Barnes expecting the Reds to return to the top four this time round.

"As I've mentioned in the last year the injury situation really worked against us last season," Barnes, a two-time First Division winner with Liverpool, told Stats Perform.

"And of course, from that perspective, in terms of the age of the players we have to reduce the age and we did that in terms of the young players we had.

"So, it's a bit of a transitional period, not just in terms of the injuries and not having all the players available, but also in terms of having younger players coming into the squad.

"We have to give them time to develop and to grow to show their consistency. So, I have no doubt that we will be back, I'm not going to say we're going to win the league, but we'll be much closer to the top and I fully expect us to be in the top three next season."

Experienced midfielders Jordan Henderson and Fabinho, two staples of Liverpool's title-winning side under Klopp in the 2019-20 term, are expected to depart for Saudi Arabia.

The additions of Mac Allister and Szoboszlai will aid Klopp's cause but former England international Barnes believes Guardiola's City will again have too much quality to be overthrown at the top.

He added: "City are favourites, I think Arsenal have strengthened very well in terms of the players they've got with Declan Rice and Havertz, therefore they will be strong once again.

"There was a little bit of inconsistency towards the end of last season, but that will stand them in good stead. So I'll make those two, alongside ourselves, those two will be the main targets.

"Manchester United will also be stronger as well because of the harmony that they have within that squad and the lack of uncertainty in terms of the manager and the players and who's in charge.

"Chelsea will be interesting, to see how [Mauricio] Pochettino handles that situation. And Tottenham, with a new manager [Ange Postecoglou] from Australia, are they going to take that if all of a sudden they don't win matches?

"Are they then going to be negative because he's not a European? So yeah, I think that probably leaves ourselves, Arsenal and Manchester United [for the top four]."

Former Reds midfielder Lucas Leiva echoed Barnes' sentiment, suggesting Liverpool are strong enough to compete alongside the likes of City, Arsenal and United for the title.

"The top six, normally you expect all of them to challenge," the Brazilian said. "City is in a great moment, Arsenal are improving every year as well.

"I think Chelsea are playing only in the league this year. I think that could be better for them. I would say they could concentrate only on the league.

"And Liverpool like every season will be stronger. United as well. So the teams that we expect to challenge. City today are the team to beat but Liverpool are strong enough to compete for sure."

Liverpool have landed two midfielders perfectly fit for their system in Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, according to Reds legend John Barnes.

Jurgen Klopp secured the services of Mac Allister for a reported initial £35million from Brighton and Hove Albion, while Szoboszlai arrived from RB Leipzig for £60m (€69m) ahead of the 2023-24 season.

The pair will likely be utilised as multi-functional midfielders, adding energy to an ageing Liverpool midfield, which is expected to lose Fabinho and Jordan Henderson to Saudi Arabia.

Having initially played as a winger before moving to a central role, Barnes believes the versatility of Mac Allister and Szoboszlai makes the duo a tailormade fit for Klopp's men.

"Last season I think it was fairly apparent that we needed midfield players," Barnes told Stats Perform. "Of course, what you do is you use every opportunity to get who you can.

"So, in the strikers that we've got, I think that bodes well for the future. But I think you can see that we were a little bit short in midfield from an age perspective but also from a quality and intensity perspective.

"We knew we were going to lose two or three midfield players, so they are welcome additions to the squad from a positional point of view and also from the quality point of view too."

Mac Allister was also the only player to average two-plus shots (2.68), two-plus tackles (2.18) and 50+ passes (56.2) per 90 minutes in last term's Premier League, among players with 1,000 or more minutes.

That all-round approach and energetic demeanour makes the 24-year-old a suitable fit for Klopp's high-pressing philosophy, in the opinion of Barnes.

"It's not all about what impresses me, but he's the type of player who will suit our style," Barnes said of Mac Allister, who hit 10 league goals for Brighton last term.

"He may not be able to play for Manchester City but that doesn't mean he's better or worse. It's just that we have to sign players that suit our style and are hardworking all-action midfield players.

"He's not a Bernardo Silva type, but he suits what we want. Liverpool have always done that and looked to get players who suit their system, regardless of how other good other people think they are, or not.

"He suits our midfield profile and the template of a midfield player that we want. Hardworking, aggression and playing the ball forward quickly. He suits our style perfectly."

While Mac Allister impressed for Brighton and also Argentina during their triumphant World Cup campaign in Qatar, Szoboszlai arrives as a lesser-known star on English soil.

The Hungary international again fits Klopp's criteria for free-flowing aggressive football, having been involved in 163 open play shot-ending sequences in last season's Bundesliga – 49 shots, 48 chances created, 66 in the build-up – the fourth-highest figure of any player.

Barnes added: "I haven't seen much of him. But once again, you look at him in terms of his size, his aggression, his ability to get up and down.

"And once again, I trust in Jurgen Klopp and the staff to know exactly what they want. Not many people have heard of him, I'm one who didn't hear of him but they would have done their homework on him.

"So I have faith in them because they know the type of player they want. As I said, I haven't seen much of him but he seems to be quite impressive."

England defender Lucy Bronze is drawing on the experience of her first World Cup eight years ago to allay fears that the Lionesses did not play like favourites in their 1-0 opening victory against Haiti in Brisbane.

That win, sealed by Georgia Stanway’s twice-taken penalty against a side 49 places below England in the FIFA rankings, extended the Lionesses’ streak without a goal from open play to three games, including their 0-0 behind-closed-doors pre-tournament training match with Canada.

Bronze made her World Cup debut at the 2015 tournament, where England fell to France in their opener but ultimately finished up with the third-place medal for their best-ever finish in a global showpiece.

She said: “Well, in my first World Cup we lost the first game and ended finishing third. There’s only so much you can take from the game. The most important thing is it gives us momentum but it’s better than having to chase points and we get to focus on the next two games.

“We’re playing against players we’ve never played before. It takes a little while to get into those games. Once we got going you saw England coming back to life again. We need to do that more for longer.”

Bronze had no doubt Stanway would step up to the spot twice on Saturday, after her initial penalty was saved by Haiti’s 5ft 4in goalkeeper Kerly Theus.

That would have left Stanway with a career record of six penalties scored and two missed, but she was given another chance after the referee ruled Theus had come off her line.

Bronze had full faith in Stanway to put the ball in the back of the net with her second opportunity, which the Bayern Munich midfielder did handily.

She said: “I don’t think anyone doubted that Georgia would take it. We just picked it up and gave it to her. She doesn’t need any encouragement to do that. Georgia is not the type of player that needs telling what to do or is lacking confidence. We all knew that a second chance was enough for her to bury it.”

England, who have now checked into their World Cup base on the New South Wales’ Central Coast, next face world number 13 Denmark on Friday in Sydney before taking on 14th-placed China in Adelaide to conclude the group stage, with the top two teams advancing to the last 16.

Bronze’s team-mate Alessia Russo, who on Saturday was favoured for the centre-forward role by Sarina Wiegman over Women’s Super League Golden Boot winner Rachel Daly, was one of the only England players to admit their first half against Haiti looked a bit rusty.

She said: “Yeah, I think so. Us as players are the first to recognise that. We’ll be back to training this week and training hard to push on now but tournaments are always about winning and that’s the most important thing.

“I don’t think I ever worry about goals and winning with this team. I think we’ve got a very special talented squad and I know that people show up at the right times.

“The first game, we’ve been building up to it for a long time. It’s done now, three points under the belt. Now we really push on. Moments were good and we’ll reflect on it, we’ll analyse and we’ll be ready for Denmark.”

Andy Murray will leave a lasting legacy on British tennis after his "historic" Wimbledon exploits when retirement eventually comes, according to Marion Bartoli.

Murray and Bartoli both triumphed at Wimbledon in 2013, the Scot defeating Novak Djokovic in straight sets and the Frenchwomen overcoming Sabine Lisicki.

A troublesome hip injury and subsequent surgery has caused issues in recent years for Murray, who also lifted the Wimbledon title in 2016 – adding to his US Open crown four years earlier.

The 36-year-old confirmed before the Queen's Championship last month that he has a period in mind for ending his professional career, leading Bartoli to hail Murray's impact on the sport.

"It's more for British tennis because the buzz when he won Wimbledon in 2013 for the first time was just insane – basically the whole country tuning in to watch that match," she told Stats Perform.

"Even the whole press, who are normally quite harsh with the players, especially the tabloids, were just cheering on for him because it was so historic.

"I can just remember the dinner we had at the Champions' Ball with Andy and his mother and my father and myself and it just felt like dinner with a mother and son, father and daughter, just being on the top of the world and just winning.

"Judy could say 'My son just won Wimbledon' and my dad could say 'My daughter just won Wimbledon' – it was very much that feeling. It was so special."

Murray, who has won two ATP Challenger titles this season, only made it as far as the second round at Wimbledon this month, losing to Stefanos Tsitsipas in a battling display on Centre Court.

His appearance at the British major represented another major milestone nevertheless, given injuries seemed set to curtail his playing days after the 2023 Australian Open.

Bartoli added: "For Andy, after all his surgeries and everything, it's about how much he can still enjoy his tennis.

"When he feels that's it, that every day on the practice court is not as enjoyable as usual, and he's dragging himself to practice, that’s when the passion is vanishing and you know it's time [to retire].

"It's not that difficult of a decision when that happens. When you still have that passion and fire but your body doesn't follow anymore, then it's slightly more difficult.

"In many ways, Andy had a second chance. He'd sort of announced his retirement when he lost in the Australian Open and everyone was crying.

"Then he decided to come back and he had those successes and those great matches and epics, so maybe he already feels like he had his second chance.

"He'll walk away with a beautiful family, a business – a hotel, I think, in Scotland where he grew up – so he has so many things to look forward to. I think he'll be a very happy man."

Murray's diminishing influence on the upper echelons of tennis marks a downturn in British fortunes, with Cameron Norrie seemingly the next in line.

"For the British side of tennis – you have Cameron Norrie – but you feel that especially with [Carlos] Alcaraz coming in and all those players it's going to be more difficult to win a slam," Bartoli continued.

"But he's going to have his chance as well. He's close to being top 10."

Tottenham attacker Son Heung-min feels the ongoing speculation surrounding Harry Kane is “not easy” for his team-mate, but has praised the professionalism of Spurs’ stand-in captain.

Son and Kane have landed in Singapore for the final leg of their Asia-Pacific pre-season tour after an eventful few days in Bangkok.

Monsoon weather saw Tottenham’s friendly with Leicester cancelled on Sunday and a day earlier a journalist from German publication BILD had unveiled a Bayern Munich shirt with ‘Kane 9’ on the back to new Spurs head coach Ange Postecoglou in his pre-match press conference.

Postecoglou was far from impressed but the noise around Kane shows no sign of going away, with Bayern expected to return with a third bid later this month and reports overnight stating Manchester United could enter the race again for the signature of the forward.

Kane, who is performing captain duties during Tottenham’s tour after Hugo Lloris was left back in England to finalise a move away from the club, has been hailed by his long-standing strike partner.

“Harry has been fantastic for me,” Son told reporters, via football.london, in Bangkok. “He’s always professional, always working hard.

“He’s never showed any thoughts about himself. There’s so much news going around it’s also not easy for him, but he’s captain at the moment and he’s working with the team.

“He doesn’t show any distraction. He loves being here. I love him as a player. I fully respect him.

“He’s one of the best strikers in the world, has been for five, six, seven years in a row. The decision will be between the club and Harry and we have to respect it.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Tottenham Hotspur (@spursofficial)

 

“I can’t say anything about the final decision because I don’t know anything. Probably Harry doesn’t know. We just have to wait.”

Kane has entered the final 12 months of his contract at Tottenham and Bayern have increased their efforts to sign the forward this month, with their honorary president Uli Hoeness claiming last week that personal terms had been agreed between the German club and the England captain.

Bayern are reported to have lodged two unsuccessful bids for Kane so far this summer, but Spurs remain determined to keep hold of their all-time leading goal-scorer.

A new contract has been offered to Kane by Tottenham, which is a significant increase on his current £200,000-a-week terms, but he has not made any decision on the new deal while speculation over his future continues.

Spurs are set to play local team Lion City Sailors in Singapore on Wednesday before they head back to England.

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti was impressed with the debut of “complete midfielder” Jude Bellingham in the 3-2 pre-season victory over AC Milan in Los Angeles.

Federico Valverde scored twice in quick succession before Vinicius Junior netted the winner six minutes from time after Fikayo Tomori and Luka Romero had given the Italians a 2-0 half-time lead.

England international Bellingham featured for the first time since making an £88.5million switch from Borussia Dortmund, playing 64 minutes before he was replaced by Nico Paz.

Ancelotti told Real’s official website: “I was really impressed with Bellingham.

“Bellingham played very well and the team has to get used to his quality, which is unbelievable. His arrival into the box is hugely important for the team.

“He’s a fantastic player, very important for us because he’s a complete midfielder and he brings real pace and intensity to the game.

“He moves extremely well without the ball and he’s different to the other midfielders we have. He makes the most of the free space and adds another dimension to this squad, which is fantastic.”

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.”

Alistair Brownlee beat brother Jonny to the gold medal in the men’s triathlon at the Commonwealth Games, on this day in 2014.

The Olympic gold medallist had time to grab England and Yorkshire flags and give his brother a clap before walking across the finish line at at Strathclyde Country Park.

England had never won a medal in the sport at the Commonwealths before but took home four in one day after Jodie Stimpson produced a superb performance to take gold in the women’s race, with Vicky Holland winning a surprise bronze.

The men’s race was not nearly as competitive because of the incredible dominance of Yorkshire’s Brownlee brothers.

They led virtually from start to finish but it was older brother Alistair who again had the edge to add the Commonwealth title to his Olympic and world crowns.

“I’m fortunate I’ve won the world title, I’ve won the Olympic title and to complete the set with the Commonwealth title as well, that’s the most important thing for me,” he said.

“They’re the big three things in Olympic-distance triathlon so it’s perfect, it’s far more than I ever could have dreamed of.”

Jonny, who won Olympic bronze in 2012, finished 11 seconds adrift while South Africa’s Richard Murray won bronze.

Open champion Brian Harman has revealed how being heckled by a spectator helped inspire him to a dominant victory at Royal Liverpool.

Harman held a five-shot lead after a stunning second round of 65 but got off to a slow start on Saturday with two dropped shots in the first four holes.

“After I made the second bogey a guy, when I was passing him, he said, ‘Harman, you don’t have the stones for this’,” Harman said in his post-championship press conference.

“It helped snap me back into (thinking) ‘I’m good enough to do this. I’m going to do this. I’m going to go through my process, and the next shot is going to be good’.

“I figured at some point, just with the weather and the scenario, you’re going to hit bad shots. I knew that the way I responded to that would determine whether I’d be sitting here or not.”

Harman carded a third round of 69 to maintain his five-shot lead and a closing 70 in miserable conditions to finish six shots clear of Masters champion Jon Rahm, Jason Day, Sepp Straka and Tom Kim.

“It’s pretty surreal. It really hasn’t sunk in yet,” Harman said. “I’m not going to let it (the Claret Jug) out of my sight for the time being. To win what I consider the greatest prize in golf is as good as it gets. I’m over the moon.

“It was a tough last three days, it really was. Being able to get some sleep was big last night. Sleeping on a lead like that is really difficult, so I’m proud of the way I hung in there the last couple days.”

Shot of the day

For the second time in the day Harman’s lead was briefly down to three shots before he holed from 40 feet for birdie on the 14th.

Round of the day

Three players shot 67 on the final day, but Harman’s 70 was even more impressive given the circumstances as he recovered from two early bogeys to card four birdies in a closing 70.

Quote of the day

“First I’m going to have me a couple pints out of this here trophy, I believe” – Harman said he was keen to get back home to see his family, but not before enjoying his triumph.

Toughest hole

With the pin close to the out of bounds to the right of the green, the par-four third hole played the toughest for the first time, with just four players making birdie, three carding a double bogey and three taking triple-bogey sevens.

Easiest hole

The par-five fifth was the easiest hole for the fourth day in succession, with one eagle and 34 birdies contributing to a scoring average of 4.618. Champion Harman made one of just five bogeys there on Sunday.

When is the next major?

The 88th Masters will take place at Augusta National from April 11-14, 2024.

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.