Tournament favourite Gerwyn Price and world number one Michael Smith both crashed out the Betfred World Matchplay on a dramatic evening in Blackpool.

Price missed a match dart in a thrilling 13-11 tie-break defeat to Joe Cullen before Smith blew a 3-0 lead in an 11-7 last-16 upset against Chris Dobey.

The exits of the high-profile pair leave the competition wide open after reigning champion Michael van Gerwen suffered a shock first-round loss at the Winter Gardens.

World number four Price needed only bullseye for a place in the quarter-finals, having fought back from 8-5 down to lead Cullen 10-9.

But the Welshman, who averaged 100 and threw 11 180s, was unable to capitalise and then punished by the fine finishing of Yorkshireman Cullen, who secured victory with his second 112 checkout.

“It was just a case of trying to keep concentration – I knew I was playing terrible,” Cullen told Sky Sports.

“I just didn’t feel comfortable more or less the whole way through the match, but then when it came down it that’s probably the most comfortable I’ve been, so that 112 was pretty sweet.

“It was just a really funny game. Even at 10-8 down, I felt I could still win because I knew Gezzy wasn’t playing like he normally does. The finishes definitely won me the game.”

Price’s surprise elimination was swiftly followed by Dobey winning 11 of the final 15 legs to knock out top seed Smith.

“I don’t think I was ever in the game early doors, but I clawed my way back into it and, once I got in front, I didn’t want to let him come back, so I’m delighted with that,” said Dobey, who is through to his first quarter-final at the tournament.

“I thought my finishing was pretty spectacular compared to what I’m used to.”

Two-time semi-finalist Daryl Gurney awaits Cullen after he showed signs of returning to his best in dismantling 2018 champion Gary Anderson.

The Northern Irishman averaged 104 and hit 73 per cent of his checkouts in a superb 11-4 win over the Scot, who himself averaged 102.

“You were nearly thinking I was back, like the old Daryl, the one that was number three in the world,” said Gurney.

“There’s not many people that are going to beat Gary Anderson like that. For me to go and do that, I’m over the moon.”

In Tuesday evening’s other match, Nathan Aspinall defeated Dutchman Danny Noppert.

The 32-year-old from Stockport triumphed 11-9 and awaits Dobey in the last eight.

Michael Beale hopes he is closing in on another two additions to his Rangers squad.

The Gers boss, who has signed seven new faces this summer, was speaking after the Light Blues went down 2-1 to Newcastle in Allan McGregor’s testimonial at Ibrox.

The visitors took the lead in the 16th minute through Miguel Almiron, but in the 64th minute Dutch attacker Sam Lammers levelled for the home side with an Ibrox debut goal.

However, with three minutes remaining, Scotland Under-21 defender Ashby headed over McGregor’s replacement, home debutant Jack Butland, for the winner.

Beale was asked about Feyenoord’s Brazilian attacker Danilo and Ecuadorian midfielder Jose Cifuentes from Los Angeles FC after the game.

He said: “Danilo is a player that we like, I think a lot of people like.

“He’s not the only forward we are talking to, but he’s the one that’s out there.

“Cifuentes is again a player we like and we hope that’s one that can be moved on.

“I think we need to bring in one more midfielder. He’s powerful, he works the corridor, he can play deep or he can play as an eight.”

Asked if he hoped players would be in before their first league game against Kilmarnock on August 5, Beale said: “Yes, definitely.

“You can see we did a lot of our work early. The boys have only been back two weeks and tonight was our first game in front of the public.

“I won’t put a number on how many will come in, the market is moving quite quickly.

“We have real set targets and we’ve managed to get some done. I am really pleased with the work we have done.

“We will see some outs in the coming days as well. We are ahead of schedule.”.

On that note Beale was also asked about midfielder Glen Kamara, who has been linked with Leeds.

He said: “There have been quite a few enquiries for Glen. We gave him an extended break due to his international stuff in the summer and unfortunately he has been ill for the last few days.

“He didn’t come to Germany with us, but he’s due to return to training in the coming days. That will be ongoing, the speculation.”

On Scott Wright, linked with a move to Turkey, the former QPR boss said: “Scotty this summer has had one or two enquiries. He’s at an age where he wants to go and play regularly.

“I can’t guarantee that – he’ll have to fight for his minutes like everyone else here.

“I’m not willing to guarantee anyone that they’re going to play and I think he’s at an age where he’s good enough to play and he probably feels that he’s spent a lot of time here trying to get into the team.

“We’re off on Wednesday which gives him a chance to speak to one or two people and maybe make some decisions for himself. But there’s nothing guaranteed on that one.”

Eddie Howe confirmed Allan Saint-Maximin is “in discussion regarding a move to another club” following Newcastle United’s 2-1 win over Rangers at Ibrox.

The forward was missing from the squad which travelled to Glasgow amid speculation he could leave the club this summer.

There as speculation that the 26-year-old Frenchman, who joined the Magpies in a £16million move from Nice in August 2019, is a target for a Saudi Pro League club with some reports naming Al-Ahli as potential buyers.

Manager Howe said: “Allan is in discussions regarding a move to another club.

“Nothing is confirmed, nothing is done at these stages but that’s why he wasn’t here today.

“With financial fair play you sort of have to trade otherwise, for us this summer we would be stuck in a position where we couldn’t recruit players the other way. That’s how financial fair play works.

“Maxi is a top player. We definitely don’t want to lose him, we want to strengthen the group but sometimes these things happen and we have to accept that.

“It is early to speak of Maxi in the past tense at Newcastle, certainly our respect and love for him is the same as the supporters.

“They love him and we love him and certainly if he does go it will be a difficult moment for all of us.

“There is no immediate plans for him to join us tomorrow but we will wait and see. He could end up with us again and if that is the case we would love to have him back.”

The visitors took the lead in Allan McGregor’s testimonial in the 16th minute when Elliot Anderson slipped in Miguel Almiron who steered the ball low past the 41-year-old keeper.

In the 64th minute Dutch attacker Sam Lammers, signed from Italian side Atalanta, intercepted a slack pass from goalkeeper Karl Darlow to his fellow Toon substitute Bruno Guimaraes before moving in to beat the keeper but with three minutes remaining Scotland Under-21 defender Harrison Ashby leapt to head a cross from Alexander Isak over McGregor’s replacement Jack Butland for the winner.

Howe, who revealed Joelinton was not involved as he had complications with his visa for the impending trip to America although he is expected to join up later, was “very impressed” with the debut of his new signing from AC Milan, midfielder Sandro Tonali.

He said: “He brought everything I thought he would bring in that first 45 minutes.

“Calm, composed, technically high level, good relationships with the players around him.

“He looked at home in a black and white shirt so it was a great start for him.”

Martin Odegaard says Arsenal must use the pain of last season’s near-miss to fuel a renewed push for the Premier League title.

The north Londoners enjoyed a campaign to remember under Mikel Arteta, only for perennial champions Manchester City to pip them to top spot at the death.

It was a galling end to a promising season for Arsenal, whose captain Odegaard says the ultimate disappointment will spur them on as they look to topple Pep Guardiola’s men.

“We have to use it,” he said. “The end of the season was tough for us and very painful after leading for so long.

“That is always going to hurt but we have to use it in a good way to come back stronger and be even more motivated and even hungrier.

“That’s what we did last year after we missed the Champions League the year before. We came back stronger and that’s what we’re going to try to do.”

Asked if it was hard to erase last season, Odegaard said: “It was difficult to be honest. We were very close and had the big dream and goal to win something.

“To be so close to doing it with this team is always going to hurt but you have to deal with it in a good way and move on and that’s what we’re going to do as a team. That is the only way.”

Arsenal have not wallowed in self-pity since falling short in the title race.

Instead, they have gone on an eye-catching spending spree bringing in Kai Havertz, Jurrien Timber and £105million Declan Rice.

“Every time I played against him I saw the quality,” Odegaard said of the former West Ham skipper.

“He’s a leader as well so it’s great for me to work together and hopefully we can help each other a lot.

“Every time I played him it was a tough one. We had some tough battles so I’m happy to have him on the team and hopefully we can find a good connection very quickly.

“I think his presence in the game (stands out). He’s good on the ball, he can take it forward and physically he’s very strong.

“He’s good in many areas, is physical and is a leader so a lot of areas.”

Captain Heather Knight declared herself “super-proud” after her England team completed a remarkable Women’s Ashes turnaround to draw the series.

England trailed 6-0 after the opening two matches of the multi-format series – the solitary Test and the T20 opener – but rallied to win four of the remaining five white-ball contests to draw 8-8.

After winning the T20 matches 2-1, England’s 69-run victory by DLS method at Taunton on Tuesday gave them a second white-ball series victory over the world’s number one side.

“To win two series against the world champions in both formats is brilliant,” Knight said.

“The Ashes had gone the other day and the disappointment came out then. But the character in the side to turn it around here was unbelievable.

“We wanted to do justice to the way we have played so far, and it was a sell-out in front of a rowdy crowd.

“We wanted to continue to entertain and play how we want to. An ODI series on the line, there’s no bigger (test of) character than that against a team we haven’t beaten in 10 years.

“There’s disappointment we haven’t got the Ashes but it’s a draw, and if you’d told me that at 6-0 down I would have bitten your hand off.”

Nat Sciver-Brunt’s second century in the space of three days – 129 on the back of an unbeaten 111 at Southampton on Sunday – laid the platform for England’s series-levelling success.

England posted a challenging score of 285 for nine from their 50 overs; Australia’s target was reduced to 269 from 44 overs after a 54-minute rain delay.

Kate Cross took three wickets and Lauren Bell and Charlie Dean two each as Australia slid to 199 all out in 35.3 overs.

“Nat is unbelievable,” said Knight. “She’s got four hundreds in five games against the best team in the world.

“We talked about staying positive and believing that we were good enough to beat this side.

“Despite losing those two games it actually grew the belief that we were as good as this Australian team and we could go toe to toe with them.

“We had to do a few little things better because we felt we were so close in that Edgbaston (T20) defeat.

“To play like we have done this summer has been hugely pleasing. The most exciting thing is that we haven’t played our best cricket, this was probably our best performance.

“I think this team has got a huge ceiling to keep improving. I don’t think there is a gap between the two sides now. We’ve won two white-ball series, I’m not sure about the gap.”

Australia captain Alyssa Healy said the tourists could take satisfaction that the Ashes were “still within our grasp”.

Healy said: “We didn’t get over the line in the white-ball stuff but I’m proud the way the series has unfolded.

“It’s been an amazing spectacle for cricket in general and really cool to be part of it.

“It’s no secret we haven’t played our best throughout the entire series.

“England played really well and that’s not diminishing what they’ve achieved, we’ve not. We’ll sit back now and see what’s not quite gone well for us.

“In the long run it might do us good to have those reflections and know that we can be better.”

Tiger Woods has described his victory at Royal Liverpool in 2006 as the “most gratifying” of his three Open titles.

Woods has not travelled to Hoylake for the 151st Open as he continues to recover from surgery, but the 15-time major winner recorded a video message to thank the Association of Golf Writers for being given their award for Outstanding Services to Golf.

“Sorry I can’t be with you tonight,” Woods said.

“I just want to say that all my years of playing the Open Championship, starting at St Andrews in 1995, have been some of the greatest moments and greatest memories I have had, not just in my golfing career, but in my whole life.

“That week (at Hoylake) in 2006 was a very emotional one. It was the first championship I ever won without my dad being there.

“It was a tough, tough week, but also probably the most gratifying that I have ever experienced over there.”

Woods broke down in tears on the 18th green after successfully defending his Open title in 2006, his first victory since the death of his father Earl in May.

In his video message the 47-year-old fondly recalled being offered cups of coffee by journalists as he spoke after compiling a third round of 81 in horrendous conditions at Muirfield in 2002.

But he also could not resist referencing “an interesting side” to his relationship with the media and “some very creative writers and eclectic stories” that have been written over the years.

“I just want to say thank you for bringing joy to my life when I go over there to play the Open Championship; the history, the knowledge, the passing on of stories so I can pass them on to my son and to future generations,” Woods concluded.

Woods pulled out of the Masters during the third round in April, saying at the time it was due to plantar fasciitis.

However, he then had a subtalar fusion procedure in New York to address the problem caused by a previous fracture of his talus, a bone in the ankle joint.

Nat Sciver-Brunt was the hero again as England claimed a Women’s Ashes series draw with a 69-run win over Australia on the DLS method in the final ODI in Taunton.

Victory saw the multi-series format drawn 8-8, the same score as when England last avoided Ashes defeat in Australia five years ago, and meant England had won both the ODI and Twenty20 series 2-1.

Australia had retained the Ashes by winning the second ODI in Southampton on Sunday.

Fresh from her unbeaten 111 at Southampton, Sciver-Brunt made her second hundred in the space of three days – 129 from 149 balls – as Australia were set a challenging 286 for victory.

Batting of the highest order also secured Sciver-Brunt a fourth century from five ODIs against Australia, and the seventh of her England career in this format.

Australia’s target was reduced to 269 from 44 overs by rain and, despite Ashleigh Gardner providing brief hope with a bludgeoning 41 from 24 balls, England ran out comfortable winners to the delight of a capacity crowd.

England, having lost the toss, were soon in trouble as openers Sophia Dunkley and Tammy Beaumont departed with just 12 runs on the board.

Captain Heather Knight and Sciver-Brunt rose to the challenge of repairing the innings, leading England to 43 for two by the end of the first powerplay after 10 overs.

Runs came freely with Knight finding gaps in the field with ease and Sciver-Brunt, who survived a stumping review off Gardner on 25, landing a six on the boundary cushion with imperious precision.

But with McGrath spilling a return chance off Sciver-Brunt, then on 54, the third-wicket partnership was worth 147 when Knight advanced down the wicket to Alana King and was bowled for 67, her 72-ball stay containing six fours and a six.

Alice Capsey dragged Jess Jonassen to long-on for five but huge roars greeted Sciver-Brunt as she reached three figures off 126 balls.

England entered the final 10 overs seeking to accelerate and Danni Wyatt played the perfect cameo with a whirlwind 43 from 25 balls before being bowled attempting to cut a full-length ball from Gardner.

Amy Jones was run out for six and Sciver-Brunt’s resistance finally ended in the 48th over as Jonassen tempted an airborne pull into the safe hands of Gardner.

The latter then won an lbw review against Charlie Dean to finish with three for 39 and Jonassen also collected a third scalp by castling Kate Cross as England closed on 285 for nine.

Australia, as England had done, lost two early wickets. Phoebe Litchfield fell for one to Lauren Bell, with Sophie Ecclestone accepting a low chance at first slip, and Alyssa Healy was cleaned up by a beauty from Cross as Australia slipped to 15 for two.

Tahlia McGrath appeared well set on 26 as Australia steadied the ship, but Ecclestone’s flight deceived her and Jones completed a smart stumping.

The players were forced off by rain with Australia 97 for three after 19.2 overs, with England facing potential heartbreak as they needed to bowl 20 overs to constitute a completed match.

But the players were back on the field 54 minutes later, with Australia’s revised target asking them to score at seven runs an over.

Ellyse Perry, having reached her half-century with a free-hit six, provided a steepling catch to Capsey off Cross on 53, and Beth Mooney drove straight to Ecclestone at mid-off to give Cross a third victim.

Australia were given hope as Gardner went on the offensive, taking 17 from a Bell over, but her acceptance of a risky second after Sutherland drove through the covers proved fatal as she was just short of her ground when Cross took the bails off from Wyatt’s throw.

Australia never recovered as Jones produced another excellent stumping to remove Wareham for 14 and Dean, called up with Sarah Glenn needing surgery for appendicitis, bowled Sutherland for 18.

King went for nought as Jones held a towering catch and England’s win was completed as Bell held a thick edge from Jonassen at short third.

The simplest helmet in the NFL is getting even simpler.

For three games in the 2023 regular season, the Cleveland Browns are trading their classic orange, logo-less helmets for white ones.

The Browns will don an all-white look - white helmets, jerseys and pants - for their Week 2 Monday Night game on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers, at home against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 6 and in their final home game of the season against the New York Jets on Thursday Night in Week 17.

The white helmet features an orange stripe down the middle sandwiched around two brown stripes, similarly to their orange helmet with a white stripe down the middle flanked by two brown ones.

This will mark the first time the Browns will wear white helmets since 1951.

Cleveland began wearing its familiar orange, logo-less helmets in 1952 after sporting white ones for its first six seasons as a franchise.

A change to the classic look could be just what the team needs to end its championship drought.

The Browns are one of 12 NFL teams to have never won a Super Bowl and are one of just four franchises never to have even played in one, along with the Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans.

Their last NFL title came in 1964 – two years prior to the advent of the Super Bowl.

The Browns finished in fourth place in the AFC North last season with a 7-10 record to miss the playoffs for the 19th time in the last 20 years - the 2020 season being the lone outlier - but open this season with raised expectations with quarterback Deshaun Watson set to play a full season after being suspended for 11 games in 2022.

Sports stars and clubs across the world continue to provide an insight into their lives on social media.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the best examples from July 18.

Marcus Rashford extended his Manchester United stay.

There was some good news on another United great as Edwin van der Sar left intensive care.

James Maddison, Destiny Udogie, Guglielmo Vicario and Manor Solomon enjoyed their Spurs debuts.

A post shared by DESTINY UDOGIE (@udogiethree)

A post shared by Guglielmo Vicario (@guglielmovicario)

And Harry Kane was glad to get some minutes in his legs in Australia.

But West Ham came out on top in Perth.

Antonio Conte enjoyed Venice.

A post shared by Antonio Conte (@antonioconte)

Gabriel Jesus donned Arsenal’s new kit.

Cristiano Ronaldo was back at work.

Manchester City turned the clock back.

Alex Carey finally got his haircut!

Stuart Broad was sledged.

George North enjoyed Switzerland.

Home comforts for Stan Wawrinka.

Kevin Magnussen welcomed a new arrival.

Mika Hakkinen enjoyed being back in a car.

Andy Jameson was sad for swimming.

TNT Sports replaced BT Sport and underwent a rebrand.

Marketa Vondrousova must follow the example of Elena Rybakina to ensure her shock Wimbledon success results in becoming a top-10 regular, according to Marion Bartoli.

The 24-year-old became the first unseeded player to win the women's singles at Wimbledon with a shock straight sets victory over favourite Ons Jabeur in the final.

Vondrousova had previously reached the French Open final four years ago but had endured a tumultuous period since due to injuries and inconsistent form, while grass was seen as her weakest surface.

Her victory is the latest in a long line of shock major wins in the women's game, with Bianca Andreescu and Emma Raducanu among the others to cause upsets in recent years.

But the lack of a dominant group of players in women's grand slams is not a big concern to Bartoli, who made two Wimbledon finals in her career, winning once.

She has urged the crop of recent major winners, including Vondrousova, to take up the challenge of proving their successes were not flukes.

Bartoli cites the example of 2022 Wimbledon champion Rybakina, who is now ranked three in the world and reached the last eight this year before losing out to Jabeur, as one to follow.

"I don't see it as an issue – there is nothing you can do about it," Bartoli, who won Wimbledon in 2013, said to Stats Perform when asked about the recent trend in grand slams.

"I mean, you just can't say to a player, 'Oh, but why don't you win every single grand slam like Serena Williams?' All those [top-ranked] girls are trying their hardest when they're on the court, sometimes they're losing when they should have won, like Ons losing that final. 

"But it's not like you can go and say to her 'Oh, yeah, but why don't you try harder?' She tried her heart out on the court and tried absolutely everything to win. It just didn't happen. 

"You have new names, some newcomers are coming and winning, it was the same when Raducanu won her first grand slam, it was the same when Andreescu won.

"Now it's Marketa winning her first. It was slightly more of a shocker when Raducanu won because she came from the qualification. That was an even bigger story and then to become this £20million girl that gets all those contracts in the UK. She was into US Open qualifying and then three weeks later she was a mega superstar.

"Was tennis different back then when I was playing? Of course. Then you had 15 or 20 names who were coming back all the time. 

"It was extremely difficult just to get yourself inside the top 20 or into the top 10 because you had Serena and Venus, Kim Clijsters and all the Russians, you just didn't have the space. 

"But I like those news stories. I like those fairytale stories. I just hope that those girls can now stay there. 

"For Marketa [I hope] that she can bring that level constantly so she can be a face in the top 10 and people can come back to Wimbledon next year and say ‘OK, I know her now, she's top five, she has done this, she has this result somewhere’, like Rybakina in some ways. 

"Rybakina won last year but she came back this year and she was top three, so it's not like she was a fluke. 

"So if those breakthrough girls can now say 'I'm still part of the conversation, I'm coming back and I'm top five or top 10' then we are in for a great WTA Tour."

Vondrousova is the sixth unseeded player to win a grand slam title in the last decade, after Jelena Ostapenko, Sloane Stephens, Iga Swiatek, Barbora Krejcikova and Raducanu.

Bartoli feels it will take a while for the magnitude of her win to sink in, particularly when it was so unexpected. Vondrousova had only won four matches on grass before the tournament.

She added: "It's difficult to actually soak it in that quickly – for me, it took several days, even several weeks to be able to really understand what I just achieved, especially when you win for the first time.

"For Novak [Djokovic] or Roger [Federer] or all those players who have won Wimbledon on multiple occasions, then it almost becomes normal for them. Of course there is the happiness of achieving winning another grand slam, but it's not as much as a big deal as when it's your first one or your first Wimbledon in the case of Carlos Alcaraz.

"Especially for Marketa Vondrousova, being unseeded, it was completely unexpected for her to have that sort of run and being the total outsider in the final and coming out, playing great tennis and winning in straight sets as well.

"At the beginning of the tournament, no one would have thought to put her into the top five or top 10 contenders to go and win the title, and it is even more of a surprise after all the injuries she suffered.

"But all credit to her. She had some really tough matches, when you really have to push yourself that much you absolutely deserve to win your first grand slam title." 

Ben Stokes says he is “devastated” by the decision to deny cricket fans in the north of England a men’s Ashes Test in 2027.

After back-to-back defeats at Edgbaston and Lord’s, England kept their hopes of regaining the urn this summer alive with a memorable victory at a bouncing Headingley.

That was just the latest in the venue’s list of famous Ashes days, which also includes Stokes’ innings of a lifetime in 2019 and Sir Ian Botham’s heroics in 1981.

England are hoping to square this summer’s series at 2-2 in front of a sold out Emirates Old Trafford this week, but there is increasing disquiet about the allocation of matches for the next Australian visit in four years.

Yorkshire and Lancashire have both been overlooked, with Nottingham’s Trent Bridge the most northerly host.

The Ageas Bowl, near Southampton, has been added to the Ashes roster for the first time, with other matches at Lord’s, The Kia Oval and Edgbaston.

Headingley will host the women’s Ashes Test that summer, but Stokes was clearly frustrated by the uneven geographical split in the men’s series.

Speaking on the eve of the Old Trafford Test, the England captain said: “I think it’s always a loud atmosphere here.

“You know the crowds we get in the north – and I say ‘the North’ quite bluntly there – are very good. We get a lot of support.

“I think we perform well in the northern grounds, especially at Headingley. So yeah, I’m a bit devastated that there won’t be any Ashes cricket here in 2027 in the north. It’s a shame.

“I don’t make those calls but, if I was involved, I would have said ‘please keep at least one game in the north’.”

England captain Ben Stokes has spent the past week immersing himself in the story of The Godfather and is ready to make Australia an offer they can’t refuse in this week’s must-win Ashes Test.

Both sides have everything to play for at Emirates Old Trafford, with the tourists seeking a first series win on English soil since 2001 and Stokes’ side hungry for a victory that would tie the scores at 2-2 and set up a thrilling decider at The Kia Oval.

The growing sense of anticipation around the fourth Test is only dampened by an uncompromising weather outlook, with plenty of rain forecast over the weekend, but Stokes has made it clear that he cannot abide draws and is willing to pull every lever in his power to achieve positive results.

Opposite number Pat Cummins may need some more encouragement to play ball, with a draw enough for Australia to retain the urn, but Stokes’ choice of pre-match entertainment took him in a different direction entirely.

“I spent most of my time on the sofa, watching a TV series called The Offer and I watched The Godfather. It’s a great film,” Stokes said of his downtime after a classic encounter at Headingley.

Francis Ford Coppola’s Mafia classic, and the 10-part drama about the making of the movie, will have exposed Stokes to some famously extreme methods of persuasion but he has already established his own way of forcing things in his favour, based around ultra-aggressive batting and bold declarations.

Expect more of the same in the coming days if the weather begins to eat away at England’s chances.

“I think we always try and look to be creative, I think the way in which we play will force the game on anyway. There might just be a few different tactical decisions to make,” he said.

“If there is potentially even 100 overs lost in the game, we might have to look at pressing the game on quicker than we normally would. I don’t know how they’ll play this game; we do know that they just need a draw to retain the Ashes. I’m not looking too much into that, but I do understand it.

“You never want to look too much into the weather but in the position we find ourselves in, we might find we have to. We know we have to win this game for us to have a chance of getting the urn back. It might bring more out of us again knowing that we might have to push the game on even more than we normally do.”

Stokes has made it one of the founding principles of his tenure as skipper to re-energise the five-day format, casting his teams as entertainers as well as athletes and making a clear bid to draw new fans to the Test arena.

On several occasions over the past few weeks, the Ashes has felt like the biggest sporting draw in the country with three tight finishes and plenty of nail-biting tension. Stokes is desperate to deliver a fitting climax by setting up a winner-takes-all finale but hopes the feelgood factor can outlive the series regardless of outcome.

“I hope this craze around cricket doesn’t get lost if things don’t go our way in this Ashes,” he said.

“I think we have captured the imagination of a few more people, whereas 2019 felt like we were getting a lot of cricket fans coming up to us and saying well done, now it’s more people who don’t even like cricket.

“It would be amazing (to win here). We would be focusing more on the fact of winning this game and going to The Oval 2-2 but then when we took a step back, that last game would be everywhere. If that does happen and we do go to The Oval level, I think we’ll be challenging 2005 for one of the best series in England.”

Despite 18 years having passed since that famous summer, James Anderson represents a dressing room link. He was an unused squad member in 2005 and returns on home turf in Manchester as the 40-year-old leader of the attack.

There are few accolades he has not achieved in a career that has seen him become the most prolific seamer in history in terms of wickets taken and games played, but a five-wicket haul at the ground which has an end named after him still eludes the veteran.

“Is he not on there yet?,” said Stokes, standing in front of Old Trafford’s honours board.

“I’ve got to say, I’m amazed at that. It would be good if he was able to do that, it would be nice to get his name up. To still be doing what he’s doing at 40 years old, and I think over the last six or seven years his stats have got better every year, he’s just an amazing performer. He’s been an incredible gift to English cricket.”