Ben Stokes will not be bringing the Ashes urn back home after a fifth-day washout in Manchester but the captain believes his England side have played their way into the nation’s hearts.

Relentless rain at Emirates Old Trafford on Sunday ruined England’s hopes of putting the finishing touches to a dominant performance in the fourth Test, with five of the last six sessions in the match lost without a single ball bowled.

That was enough for Australia to get out of jail with five wickets in hand, retaining the Ashes with an unassailable 2-1 lead despite being beaten at Headingley and roundly outclassed in the first three days here.

Fans on both sides of the rivalry will now be denied the spectacle of a blockbuster series finale at the Kia Oval, but Stokes is confident his team’s thrill-a-minute style has already secured a place in the game’s folkore.

England have recast themselves as foot-to-the-floor entertainers in the ‘Bazball’ era, drawing in new fans and taking the Test format into places it has not been since the beloved summer of 2005.

“It’s a tough one to take, a tough pill to swallow. We were completely and utterly dominant throughout the hours of play we had, but the weather didn’t help us and we can’t change that,” Stokes said.

“If this game went without rain we probably would have been favourites to be sat here at 2-2 and I think that would have elevated everything that this series has already done for Test cricket.

“But I think what we’ve managed to do has already done wonders for cricket in England. I said in the dressing room that the reward for your work isn’t what you get, it’s what you become. And I think what we’ve managed to become is a team that people will remember.

“We’ve become a team that have been so unbelievably well followed and we will live long in the memories of those who have watched us.

“As much as I would love to be an Ashes-winning captain, I want this team to be a legacy team. Regardless of how the series ends up, people will always talk about us.”

Stokes refused to fumble for distractions, brushing aside questions about reserve days and the tradition of the holders having the right to retain in a draw series.

“Test cricket is five days. I don’t ever see there being a reserve day in a series like this,” he said.

“This is the way it’s always been. We know we can’t get the urn back but we can draw the series and that’s what we’ll be trying to do.”

There is precious little time for Stokes to rally his troops for that challenge, with the fifth and final Test starting on Thursday.

Whether England can carry their momentum through remains to be seen, but the prospect of denying Australia a first series win on these shores since 2001 is a motivation in its own right.

“We have to get over the disappointment and focus on that game,” Stokes said. “It is a massive one for us and we know 2-2 sounds a lot better than 3-1.

“The mentality and mindset within this dressing room is to go out and win. Every time we walk out on the field that’s all I encourage the players to do, just concentrate on what you need to do as an individual to influence a game in the right way.

“There’s no doubt if we’d managed to get a result in this game next week would have been a very, very special week in the history of English cricket, not just Ashes cricket. But we’ll be treating it as we do every other game.

“We’re always putting our front foot forward and trying to press the game as hard as we possibly can. As a captain that’s something that makes me very proud as a leader of the 10 other guys out there.”

Zharnel Hughes had a premonition he would blitz the British 200m record in the specific time of 19.73 seconds ahead of doing so at Sunday’s sold-out London Diamond League meet.

The 28-year-old warmed up for next month’s World Championships in Budapest by impressively shaving 0.21 seconds off the previous national mark of 19.94, set by John Regis in 1993.

Hughes revealed post-race that he had earlier written his precise finishing time, which was only good enough for third place behind Noah Lyles and Letsile Tebogo, in a notebook.

His latest feat was witnessed by around 50,000 spectators at London Stadium and comes just a month after he broke Linford Christie’s 30-year-old 100m record when he ran 9.83 seconds in New York.

“It’s the exact time,” he said. “If you want to come around here, you can check it out.

“It depends how I am feeling and, if I know I am in good shape, I just write down a time and I use that time as a target.

“I don’t care about winning as long as I execute the plan that my coach wanted and we get the British record. I wanted to do it here on home soil and I did it.”

Hughes previously ran 19.77 with an illegal wind speed to claim the UK 200m title in Manchester earlier this month.

He burst out of the blocks on Sunday and pushed American world champion Lyles hard before his rival and Tebogo of Botswana moved clear on the home straight.

Hughes credited a “Kobe Bryant mentality” for his impressive recent results and warned he can become “much faster”.

“I’ve seen some little bits I can work on – and it’s exciting for me,” he said.

“I’m not pressured one bit. I am enjoying myself. I can get much faster.

“I spoke to you about that Kobe Bryant mentality. For me, I just wanted to go there and give it a great performance.”

Hughes broke away from his post-race interview to watch compatriot Dina Asher-Smith finish second in the women’s 100m, before Britain’s Jemma Reekie capped a stirring end to Sunday’s action by clinching 800m glory.

Former 200m world champion Asher-Smith crossed the line in 10.85 seconds, 0.10sec behind Marie-Josee Ta Lou of Ivory Coast, while compatriot Daryll Neita finished fourth.

“I am always disappointed not to win but this shows I am building,” said Asher-Smith.

“It is all about the end of August and Budapest, which isn’t a long way away, so I am excited.

“I managed to see the end of the men’s 200m and I am so pleased for Zharnel. British sprinting is doing so well.”

Max Verstappen said it would be “terrible” to remain stuck on the same number of career wins as Lewis Hamilton’s car number following his crushing triumph at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The all-conquering Dutchman beat pole-sitter Hamilton to the opening bend at the Hungaroring before going on to lead every lap and claim his seventh successive win and 44th of his career.

“Hopefully I don’t stay on 44 for too long,” joked Verstappen. “That would be terrible I need to get to 45 quickly.”

The evidence of the season so far would suggest Verstappen’s wait will last only a week with Spa-Francorchamps the venue for the final round before the summer break of this most one-sided of campaigns.

Indeed, Red Bull will head into next Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix unbeaten from the opening 11 rounds of 22, setting a new record on Sunday with their 12th consecutive win.

The perfect dozen includes the final round of last season in Abu Dhabi, eclipsing McLaren’s 11 in a row in 1988 when Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost were at the wheel.

“Twelve wins in a row is just incredible,” added Verstappen, who is now 110 points clear at the summit of the world championship on his unstoppable march towards a hat-trick of titles.

“What we’ve been doing for the last two years has been unbelievable. Hopefully we can keep this momentum going for a long time. We always want to do better but days like this are just perfect.”

Verstappen, 25, crossed the line more than half-a-minute clear of runner-up Lando Norris to record his ninth win of the season and retain Red Bull’s chance of becoming the first team in F1 history to complete a perfect campaign.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said: “As a young kid I remember watching Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna under the incredible leadership of Ron Dennis achieve that feat (11 wins in a row) and to think we have bettered that is something all the team in Budapest and back in Milton Keynes have worked so hard for and means so much.

“Max is a driver totally at one with himself in the car and with total confidence and trust in the team. We are witnessing a sportsman at the top of his game and he is a joy to work with.

“Max is a modest guy and he is uncomfortable with the plaudits he is given, but he deserves all the credit he is getting at the moment.”

American Brian Harman secured his first major title with a six-shot victory at Royal Liverpool.

Here, the PA news agency takes a closer look at the new Open champion.

Harman, now 36, made his PGA Tour bow while still an amateur at the 2004 MCI Heritage. He played on the victorious 2005 and 2009 Walker Cup teams. His first tour win arrived a decade later at the John Deere Classic, a victory which qualified him for an Open debut – at Hoylake. His second – and last up to this weekend – win was at the Wells Fargo Classic in 2017. Despite that, Harman had still won almost 29million US dollars prior to his Open victory – worth 3m USD (£2.3m).

In 2015 he became only the third player in PGA Tour history to have two holes in one in the same round at The Barclays at Plainfield Country Club, New Jersey.

Harman’s only other 54-hole lead was at the 2017 US Open at Erin Hills in Wisconsin, where he began the final day with a one-stroke lead but finished in a tie for second as Brooks Koepka won by four. His major record prior to Royal Liverpool was distinctly average, with missed cuts in 13 of 29 events and only two top-10 finishes. He has missed the cut in four of the eight Opens in which he has played but has finished sixth and first in his last two.

A post shared by Brian Harman (@harmanbrian)

Golf is the only thing he does left-handed. Harman is a keen hunter, killed his first deer aged 12, and owns a farm in St Simon’s Island in his native Georgia. He responded to missing the cut at the Masters in April by returning to his farm in Georgia and killing a pig and a turkey. However, he insists he has a “deep respect” for animals and is “not a fan of people who kill for sport”. Many of his family members are world-class scuba divers and spear fishers.

Harman marks his golf balls with dots that look like deer tracks. He once said his favourite television show was ‘Duck Dynasty’, about a Louisiana business making products for duck hunters. He claimed they “remind me of my family, such rednecks”. At the time of his Open triumph he had just over over 20,000 followers on Instagram and just over 30,000 on Twitter. He has not tweeted for over three years. He has been reminded several times this week of his likeness to former Australia cricket captain Ricky Ponting – a “handsome fella”, according to Harman.

American Brian Harman survived an early scare to claim his first major title in dominant fashion on a rain-soaked final day of the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.

Harman’s five-shot overnight lead was briefly cut to three as he covered the first five holes in two over par in miserable conditions, but the 36-year-old responded superbly to regain his vice-like grip on the Claret Jug.

A victory made possible by a stunning 65 on Friday – the joint-lowest score in a Hoylake Open until Jon Rahm’s Saturday 63 – was sealed with gritty rounds of 69 and 70 for a total of 13 under par and six-shot win over Rahm, Jason Day, Sepp Straka and Tom Kim.

Rory McIlroy and Emiliano Grillo finished another stroke back, with home favourite Tommy Fleetwood and Royal Liverpool member Matthew Jordan in a tie for 10th.

Harman, who is just the third left-hander to win the Open after Bob Charles (1963) and Phil Mickelson (2013), last tasted victory on the PGA Tour in 2017, the same year in which he led by one after 54 holes of the US Open before finishing second to Brooks Koepka.

Only two players in championship history had squandered a five-shot lead after 54 holes – Macdonald Smith in the last Open staged at Prestwick in 1925 and Jean van de Velde at Carnoustie in 1999.

Harman briefly looked in danger of joining that unhappy club when he dropped a shot on the second before Rahm closed the gap further with a fortunate birdie on the par-five fifth.

Rahm’s drive was pulled towards a collection of gorse bushes but somehow avoided all of them and left the world number three with a good lie and clear shot, from where he came up just short of the green and two-putted.

Harman’s tee shot on the fifth then followed the same line as Rahm, only to plunge into a bush and force him to take a penalty drop, leading to a second bogey and cutting his lead to three.

That was just Harman’s fifth bogey of the week and for the third time he bounced back immediately with a birdie, holing from 15 feet on the sixth to edge further clear.

Another top-quality iron shot set up a birdie on the seventh, restoring Harman’s overnight cushion and effectively ending the championship as a contest.

Even when Straka briefly got within three shots thanks to a birdie on the 16th, Harman promptly holed from 40 feet for birdie on the 14th and he added another on the next before calmly parring the last three holes to seal a convincing victory.

McIlroy, who began the day nine behind, made the ideal start with a hat-trick of birdies from the third but was unable to make any further inroads and had to settle for a closing 68, his lowest score of the week.

The world number two won the Open at Hoylake in 2014 and the US PGA Championship a month later, but has not claimed one of the game’s biggest titles since.

Six-time major winner Sir Nick Faldo, commentating for Sky Sports, said: “When he won a quick four everyone was wondering is he going to have a dozen or how close can he get to Jack (Nicklaus, who won 18).

“People think you just roll off a log and win a major but you don’t. I said years ago he would either be ecstatic to get to five or disappointed to only end up with 12 and he’d be ecstatic to get to five now.

“He is talented enough, he’s got the desire and he is really fit, there’s just a couple of things wrong with his short irons. You’ve got to find a way of clearing the air and finding a way with eight iron or less.”

Rory McIlroy immediately turned his attention to the Ryder Cup after failing to end his long wait for a fifth major title at the Open.

The Northern Irishman was unable to reproduce his best form at Royal Liverpool and had to settle for a final score of six under after a closing round of 68 on Sunday.

Yet after winning the Scottish Open last week and making par or better in each of his four rounds at Hoylake, the world number two was not displeased with his showing and remains positive.

Chief among his aims is piloting Europe to Ryder Cup glory in Rome this autumn and gaining revenge for their heavy loss in the United States two years ago.

The 34-year-old said: “Confidence is high. I’m playing well, obviously off the back of the win last week and another solid performance here.

“I want to be to be right in there and win another FedEX Cup, (there is) the race to Dubai to win and the Ryder Cup, which is the most important of all.

“After what happened at Whistling Straits, I don’t think we couldn’t be more motivated to go to Rome and get that Ryder Cup back.

“There is a lot to golf to play individually before that but I think a lot of our attention will turn to Rome after this.”

McIlroy, who won the last time the Open was held at Hoylake in 2014, will now see his major title drought extended to a decade but he insists that is not something he thinks about.

He said: “I don’t think that way. I just keep looking forward. I’m optimistic about the future and I’ve just got to keep plugging away.”

McIlroy started his final round strongly with three successive birdies from the third hole but was unable to maintain the momentum amid heavy and persistent rain.

He said: “I got off to a really good start but it’s just hard to keep that going. They were tricky conditions out there.

“But every time I tee it up – or most times I tee it up – I’m right there. I can’t sit here and be too frustrated. Overall, it was a solid performance, not spectacular.”

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will be ready for the start of training camp after passing his physical on Sunday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported.

The Raiders signed Garoppolo to a three-year, $67.5 million contract in March, including $34 million guaranteed.

He is taking over for Derek Carr, who was released in February and went on to sign with the New Orleans Saints after serving as the Raiders’ starting quarterback since 2014.

Garoppolo began the 2022 season with the San Francisco 49ers as Trey Lance’s backup but found himself back in the starter’s role after Lance sustained a season-ending broken ankle in Week 2.

Garoppolo then led San Francisco to a 7-3 record before his season ended due to a fractured foot sustained in Week 13.

Garoppolo, 31, has appeared in 74 games since being selected by the New England Patriots in the second round (62nd overall pick) of the 2014 NFL Draft.

In 57 starts for New England and San Francisco, Garoppolo posted a 40-17 record while throwing for 13,923 yards with 84 touchdowns and 42 interceptions.

England’s bid to regain the Ashes is over as a drawn fourth Test at Emirates Old Trafford meant Australia kept hold of their 2-1 lead and the urn.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the reasons why England came up short in their bid to claim the urn for the first time since 2015.

Leach ruled out

Trusted spinner Jack Leach has had terrible luck with injuries and illness in his career but a stress fracture in his lower back a couple of weeks before the series began was a particularly cruel blow. Up until that point, Leach had been an ever-present in the ‘Bazball’ era, taking three five-fors and a 10-wicket match haul in 13 Tests, emboldened by Ben Stokes’ more attacking leadership. Leach being ruled out – and a dearth of county spinners – meant England had to hastily revisit their plans for Australia.

Declaration on the opening day

England had Edgbaston rocking and Australia on the ropes, with Joe Root starting to unleash his full repertoire after reaching his century, but Stokes wanted a crack at the opposition before stumps. He called Root and Ollie Robinson in with England on 393 for eight, coughing up the chance of going well past 400 for four overs at David Warner and Usman Khawaja, both of whom survived until stumps. Even though England eked out a slender first-innings lead, the tense climax that later unfolded meant England really could have done with the extra runs to put Australia under the pump.

Dropped catches

Fielding has been England’s weak link, with questions over Jonny Bairstow’s return as wicketkeeper just 10 months after a horrific broken leg increasing with every missed chance – eight in total. In Birmingham, his fluffed stumping of Cameron Green and drop of Alex Carey cost England 78 runs, although the hosts were profligate in general. Root and Stokes were unable to hold on to tough chances off Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon respectively, the fine margins that proved the difference in Australia’s win.

Moeen’s finger

Leach’s absence led to Stokes sending out an SOS to the more mercurial Moeen Ali, who reversed his Test retirement. He has returned just six wickets at an average of 64.5 and been outshone by part-timer Joe Root at times. This was evident in the opener in Moeen’s first Test in nearly two years, where the increased workload caused a blister on his spinning finger that then burst, impinging his ability to land the ball in the right areas. He was unreliable in Australia’s run-chase, sending down 14 overs, one fewer than Root, who was much more dangerous only for Cummins and Lyon to get Australia home.

Happy hookers

At 188 for one in response to Australia’s 416 at Lord’s, England were cruising. Australia turned to a bouncer barrage in desperation on an unhelpful pitch and the hosts obliged. First Ollie Pope, then Ben Duckett – two short of a first Ashes century – and linchpin Joe Root all flapped uncertainly as England lurched to 222 for four. Harry Brook later fell into the trap as England coughed up a big first-innings lead, with suggestions – rejected by the dressing room – they had taken an attacking approach too far.

Carey outsmarts Bairstow

The stumping heard around the world. Bairstow ducked a bouncer from Green then, believing the ball to be dead, immediately strode down the wicket after scratching his back foot in his crease. However, Carey gathered the ball and immediately threw the poles down. Cummins upheld the appeal and while the incident awoke the beast inside Stokes, the Yorkshireman’s perfectly legal dismissal left the England captain with just bowlers for company as they fell short in the chase. The issue mushroomed to the extent that the Prime Ministers of both countries had their say over the ‘spirit of cricket’.

Rain

Defeats at Edgbaston and Lord’s meant England needed to be note-perfect – and have a little fortune – to regain the urn. They rebounded at Headingley and were totally dominant at Old Trafford, bagging a 275-run first-innings lead to leave Australia shell-shocked. The writing looked to be on the wall when they slid to 113 for four at the end of day three but there was just a 30-over window over the weekend – with a Sunday washout – because of atrocious weather in Manchester. The idea that England should have declared earlier to give themselves more time to bowl out their opponents was arguably voided by them taking just one more scalp as Australia closed to within 61 with five wickets left.

Lewis Hamilton admitted he has not been driving at his best for over a year after a poor start at the Hungarian Grand Prix allowed Max Verstappen to rack up a record-breaking victory.

Verstappen gazumped pole-sitter Hamilton on the downhill run to the opening corner at the Hungaroring before racing off into the distance to score his seventh successive victory of this most one-sided of Formula One seasons.

Hamilton finished only fourth after both McLaren drivers also moved ahead of him inside the first two bends of Sunday’s 70-lap race.

Lando Norris was runner-up to Verstappen for the second consecutive race, 33.7 seconds behind the dominant Dutchman, while Sergio Perez fought back from ninth to third with Oscar Piastri crossing the line in fifth.

Verstappen’s ninth win from the 11 rounds so far sees him move 110 points clear of Perez heading into next weekend’s concluding round before the summer break in Belgium. The Dutchman’s Red Bull team remain unbeaten this season, setting a new F1 record with their 12th consecutive win.

For Hamilton, he is now 34 appearances without a victory – the longest streak of his career.

“I have not been at my best for over a year,” said Hamilton who has not won since he was denied a record eighth world title at the concluding round in Abu Dhabi in 2021.

Across the same period, Verstappen – the man who beat him to the title on that controversial night in the desert – has triumphed 24 times.

But the seven-time world champion added: “I am not disappointed. It was obvious that we do not have the quickest car. Max got a better start than me, I got a bit of wheelspin, and I was a bit compromised after that.

“I am really proud of myself and the job we did to get pole and outperform the world champion and the other two McLaren cars that are quicker than us. But today is just a reality check. The reality is that we are not fast enough.

“I was told in the strategy meeting this morning that I would be five tenths a lap slower than the Red Bull so the fight is not with Max but hopefully that we would be able to fight the McLarens. But then the McLaren was also too quick for us.”

Hamilton’s initial reaction to the lights turning green was fine enough, but he lacked traction in the next phase, with Verstappen moving alongside the Mercedes and then ahead under braking for the first corner.

Forced wide by Verstappen, Hamilton then lost two further positions. First to Piastri at the same right-hander, before Norris also muscled his way ahead around the outside of the next bend. Hamilton had a nibble back at his countryman on the long run up to Turn 4 but Norris held firm.

A contrite Hamilton was straight on the radio. “Sorry about that, guys,” he said.

“Don’t sweat about it, Lewis,” came the reassuring response from Hamilton’s ever-upbeat race engineer, Peter Bonnington.

As Verstappen did what Verstappen does and controlled the race to perfection, Hamilton appeared rattled.

He questioned if his Mercedes team had turned down his engine after falling a dozen seconds back from Verstappen by the time he stopped for fresh rubber on lap 16.

He then expressed his exasperation at being cast more than 10 seconds behind third-placed Piastri, the Australian dropping behind Norris at the first round of stops.

“Where am I losing all the time?” he asked, adding: “It is just the car is slow.”

Bonnington then called on Hamilton to pick up the pace. But the despondent 38-year-old replied: “This is as fast as it goes, mate. That is what I have been saying.”

When he finally stopped for rubber for a second time with 20 laps to run, Hamilton dropped to fifth.

He wiped out a six-second deficit to Piastri inside a handful of laps, and at the start of lap 57 he breezed past the McLaren man at the first corner, before taking the chequered flag 39 seconds behind the all-conquering Verstappen.

“The Red Bull car is phenomenal,” added an envious Hamilton.

The Briton’s Mercedes team-mate George Russell started 18th and finished sixth, benefiting from a five-second penalty to Charles Leclerc who sped in the pit lane. Daniel Ricciardo was a commendable 13th on his first race back.

Regional is likely to skip the King George Qatar Stakes, with Ed Bethell favouring heading straight to the Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe Stakes with his in-form sprinter.

Although having always been a consistent operator over the shorter distances, the five-year-old had won just one of his first 10 outings for the Middleham handler.

However, he has taken his form to the next level this season, winning a competitive York handicap in fine style before striking with authority in the Listed Achilles Stakes at Haydock.

Bethell is now keen to test the waters at a higher level with his speedster and with the Regional proven on the Knavesmire, the trainer is keen to head to the Nunthorpe fresh rather than take on what could be a stellar cast at Goodwood.

“He is still entered in the King George at Goodwood, but I would imagine it would have to cut up for him to go there,” he said.

“Goodwood wouldn’t really be his track. We ran him in the Stewards’ Cup and although he ran well, he absolutely hated the downhill.

“I imagine we will be going straight to the Nunthorpe. He’s very good fresh and he’s a big, flat track type of horse.”

Regional was meant to run over the Nunthorpe course and distance in the City Walls Stakes earlier this month, but was pulled out when rain altered the going prior to the contest.

Bethell is content with the decision he made, with the focus firmly on keeping Regional’s confidence high ahead of his shot at Group One glory.

“I could have run him at York in the City Walls with a penalty, but he is a fast ground horse and it did go good to soft,” he added.

“I was conscious I want to go to the Nunthorpe with a horse full of confidence, rather than me ruining his confidence by running him on soft ground.”

As well as Regional, Bethell has also seen Oviedo fly the flag for his Thorngill House string and the handler was pleased with his third-placed finish in Newbury’s Steventon Stakes despite the race not unfolding in the colt’s favour.

“Unfortunately the hour and a half of rain before the race got into the ground, so it was softer than ideal,” explained Bethell.

“But I thought he ran very well and way above 100. He needs a fast pace to aim at really and it was quite a stop-start race, which doesn’t play to his strengths.

“I was thoroughly encouraged by the run and it was maybe not a career best, but it was right up there with the best performances he’s shown me in the past.”

Bethell will now wait to see how the assessor adjusts Oviedo’s mark before finalising future running plans, with big-money pots at both Goodwood and York, as well as a raid on Deauville on the agenda.

“I will see what the handicapper does with him,” he added. “There’s two very nice handicaps, one at Goodwood and one at York that he might slip into nicely.

“He’s a very hard horse to place in those Listed and Group races because, like yesterday, you could end up taking on a horse like Al Aasy who we all know is very good.

“He will have an entry in the Prix Nureyev (August 13) at Deauville as well, which would be very much ground dependent, but Deauville in August, you might just get some good ground over there.”

James Fanshawe’s Fresh will bid for back-to-back victories in the Moet & Chandon International Stakes at Ascot on Saturday.

The six-year-old was a short-head winner of the contest last season and is something of an Ascot specialist having been successful there three times and placed on several occasions.

His last run came in the Wokingham at the Royal meeting in June, a race he finished second in in 2021 and this time was the fifth-placed horse when beaten two lengths in a field of 27.

That run has persuaded connections to bid for an International Stakes title defence after the gelding disappointed when 19th in the Victoria Cup earlier in the season.

“He’s very well, he’s had this race as a target as he likes it there and he ran very well there last time,” said Fanshawe.

“He needs a lot of things to go right, but we’ve targeted it and he seems to really love the track there.

Of why the Fresh likes the course so much, Fanshawe added: “I don’t know, some horses just really do like the straight track at Ascot and he’s one of them fortunately!

“In the Wokingham he was just drawn on the inside, he ran really well and was finishing well. He was one that came from a long way back and ran very well.

“He won the International last year so it was the obvious race, the main thing after the Ascot run was that he’d gone well as he was a bit disappointing the time before.

“I’m really pleased with him and he seems in good form.”

England’s hopes of setting up a winner-takes-all Ashes decider were wiped out by the Manchester weather, with a fifth day washout in the fourth Test handing the urn to Australia.

The most pessimistic forecasts came to pass at Emirates Old Trafford as relentless rain meant the players never made it to the middle, salvaging a draw for the tourists and rendering their 2-1 series lead unassailable.

England arrived 61 ahead and needing five wickets to get over the line but left without a ball being bowled.

They have all but eliminated the concept of the draw since captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum ushered in the ‘Bazball’ era more than a year ago, but – for the first time in 17 games at the helm – conditions finally left them with no cards to play.

After weeks of blockbuster entertainment in the closest, most exciting Ashes contest since 2005, a shootout for glory at the Kia Oval next week was on the cards if there had been enough time for England to convert their dominance.

Instead, dreams of a stirring comeback to beat their rivals for the first time since 2015 were swept away, leaving the holders to retain in circumstances that will surely ring hollow.

Australia made it clear they were more than happy to finish the job in the pavilion rather than out on the pitch, but any post-match celebrations may be slightly muted after this narrow escape.

There is still plenty to play for, with Australia bidding to claim a first outright win on English soil in 22 years while their opponents are seeking to square the ledger at 2-2 and preserve an undefeated streak under Stokes’ leadership. But a home win being taken off the table by the elements is the definition of a damp squib.

England had made all the running here, piling up a 275-run first-innings advantage and taking five of the 10 wickets they needed to finish the job before the skies turned against them.

Five of the last six sessions were lost without a ball bowled, leaving a 30-over window on Saturday afternoon as the only play possible on the wettest of weekends. England will be cursing their misfortune and have now lost the chance to be become just the second team in Ashes history to win from 2-0 down.

The momentum of the series swung when captain Ben Stokes embarked on a six-hitting rampage in the fourth innings at Lord’s, apparently sparked into life by Alex Carey’s controversial stumping of Jonny Bairstow, and, although his magnificent century was not enough to save that game, it set things on a new path.

England took the third Test at Headingley in relatively comfortably fashion – the first of three must-win games – and spent the first three days on the other side of the Pennines establishing an even more dominant position.

Zak Crawley’s outrageous 189 and an unbeaten 99 from Bairstow saw them pile up 592, their highest total against Australia in a dozen years, and an three-wicket blast from Mark Wood tightened their grip on the third evening as Australia stumbled to 113 for four.

That was as good as it got for the hosts, with Marnus Labuschagne making 111 and Mitch Marsh batting through what became the final session of the match to keep Australian heads above water.

The sides will reconvene in south London on Thursday for the final chapter in a memorable tour.