Australia

Australia were scheduled to welcome their trans-Tasman rivals for three ODIs and a solitary T20I, with New Zealand set to be in the country from January 24 to February 9.

However, the New Zealand government has been unable to relax strict quarantine rules that have been imposed in response to the Omicron wave of coronavirus.

The conditions for re-entry into the country mean travellers have to undergo a 10-day period of hard quarantine.

As such, NZC has confirmed the tour has been shelved for the time being and discussions with Cricket Australia over when the matches can be played are ongoing.

"As we now know, the advent of Omicron prompted a change of heart from the government, resulting in a hard 10-day mandatory isolation period being imposed on all incoming travellers," said NZC chief executive David White.

"NZC and CA had explored a proposal to expand the tour and to push out the date on which the squad might return to New Zealand, in the hope that might be more achievable for the government.

"But we received advice this morning that they could not provide certainty over this, either."

Mitchell Starc also claimed a wicket to leave West Indies on 38-4 in their second innings and needing an improbable 459 runs to avoid defeat on Sunday.

West Indies resumed play on day three on 102-4 and got off to a poor start when shining light Tagenarine Chanderpaul (47) was run-out by Starc.

Jason Holder (0) then edged Starc behind and, while Anderson Phillip (43) and Joshua da Silva (23) put together a 60-run seventh-wicket stand, the Windies soon faded again.

The tourists reached 214, and Australia then built up a seemingly unsurmountable lead as they posted 199-6 declared in their second innings and sent their opponents back in to bat.

Usman Khawaja top-scored with 45 off 50 balls for Australia, while Marnus Labuschagne (31), Steve Smith (35) and Travis Head (38 not out) all contributed in a rapid 31-over innings from Australia.

West Indies' opening batters were 15-0 off five overs when Smith brought in Boland, who took the wicket of Kraigg Braithwaite (3) off his first ball.

Boland then trapped Shamarh Brooks (0) in front with a ball that nipped back into the right-hanger from his third delivery, before snaring Jermaine Blackwood (0) with his sixth.

Chanderpaul did not fare much better as he was dismissed for a second time in the day three overs later for 17 when caught by Alex Carey off the bowling of Starc.

Labuschagne adds further misery

West Indies are winless in their past 18 Tests against Australia since 2003 and they have not had many – if any – worse days across that run than Saturday.

They lost 10 wickets for 150 runs across two innings, either side of Australia piling another 199, with Labuschagne's 31 taking him to 502 runs from his four innings – the sixth-most scored in a two-Test series.

Boland rips through Windies

Boland famously took 6-7 against England on his Test debut in last year's Ashes and he produced a display that was equally as ruthless here.

The 33-year-old, making just his fourth Test outing, claimed 3-9 off 5.2 overs bowled and now has a bowling average 9.81 for his 21 wickets.

Hazlewood, who has played only four Tests in the last two years, will not feature in Nagpur on Thursday due to an Achilles issue, with Scott Boland in line to play instead.

A side injury suffered against West Indies in November saw Hazlewood miss not only the second Test of that series, but also the first two matches against South Africa in December.

He returned for the final Test of that series, taking 5-57 at the Sydney Cricket Ground, but will now have to recover from another niggle.

Hazlewood joins fellow paceman Mitchell Starc in missing the first Test of the four-match India series, while all-rounder Cameron Green is also a doubt, meaning an overseas bow for Boland is likely.

Boland has taken 28 wickets across his six Test appearances.

Discussing the injury, Hazlewood said: "It's still lingering from the [Sydney] Test match [against South Africa].

"We obviously bowled after a lot of rain and the jump-offs were quite soft, where we were taking off from and they ended up replacing them as well.

"It sort of worked to a degree, but just that extra load jumping off a soft ground to bowl and again first Test match your body is not used to that sort of workload as well.

"So we thought we'd give it a few days here straight off the bat and try and get over the hump and have a bowl from Tuesday and hope it goes well."

Boland has the full backing of his team-mate, however.

"Scotty has bowled plenty at the MCG when it was a flat wicket, it probably wasn't swinging or reverse swinging so he knows how to work hard for a long period of time," Hazlewood said.

"You've got Lance Morris who has worked hard on reverse swing for the last month and then a nice lead in here with a few sessions.

"The guys are excited first of all to play in the subcontinent, they both haven't yet, but they're very well qualified to do so."

The 35-year-old Bonner has earned plenty of accolades for gritty performances for the West Indies since making his debut against Bangladesh in 2021.  The player has, however, struggled vor vorm ov late, managing just 65 in his last 5 innings and has been hit twice off short pithed bowling in the last year.

Bonner has been ruled out of the current Test series against Australia after being struck on the back of the helmet by a Cameron Green bouncer.  Despite being allowed to continue batting for another few hours Bonner is now under the team’s concussion protocol.

In light of the latest incident, questions have been raised regarding the player susceptibility to pace bowling.

“Short bowling is simple yet complex, you are either looking to attack the ball or defend it. I think.  In simple parlance either you are hooking or you ducking.  I think either Bonner is caught between two minds,” Smith told the Mason and Guest radio program.

“…He takes his eyes off the ball.  We’ve seen him now being struck.  If we’re being honest, we can pinpoint some of the technical deficiencies our batters have,” he added.

“We can’t knock Bonner because he’s done reasonably well up until this point, but you know he’s languid, he always looks little bit slow on the ball and these hard bouncy surfaces will show that up.”

Bonner has recorded two 100s and three 50s for the West Indies in 15 matches so far.

Bairstow was dismissed in bizarre circumstances on a tense final day in the second Test, with Australia wicketkeeper Alex Carey throwing down the stumps after the batter ducked the final ball of the over and set off to talk to partner Ben Stokes.

The wicket was upheld by TV umpire Marais Erasmus, who judged that the ball was not dead, but Bairstow clearly felt the over had been completed.

England captain Stokes said he would have withdrawn the appeal and suggested it was not in line with the spirit of cricket, and he found an unexpected ally in Hogg.

The 52-year-old, who played seven Tests and 138 limited-overs internationals for Australia, told talkSPORT: “I was disappointed from the start, I thought they should have called Bairstow back.

“He wasn’t taking any advantage. At the end of the day it’s not a good spectacle for Test cricket.

“England, for me, were hard done by. You don’t want to win a Test match by taking cheap wickets like that. It’s not the same as a stumping, not the same as running someone out batting out of their crease. He was in his crease (when facing).

“He did the same act a number of times at the end of the over beforehand, Australia should have warned him if they were going to do this.”

The Windies already have one warm-up fixture under their belt, a high-scoring three-day match against a combined NSW/ACT XI which ended in a draw on Saturday.

That game saw the Windies get scores of 424-9 declared and 114-4 while their opponents got 426-4 declared.

“Everyone is feeling good. We had a nice, competitive three-day game. The pitch was more batting friendly but I think our bowlers got a good run out as well.”

Australia’s PM’s XI will feature players with a lot of international experience and Brathwaite says this will give his side a big test ahead of the series.

“This second game is obviously a different team; a much more competitive team so we look forward to that challenge,” he said while also noting how important it will be to get used to the pink ball ahead of the first test.

“Gearing towards the first test, it will be good to get used to the pink ball and the conditions here in Australia. It will react differently off the surface, especially when the lights turn on. It tends to do a lot more at night so that is something we have to keep on our minds,” Brathwaite added.

The match gets underway on Tuesday at 10:00pm Jamaica time (11:00pm ECT).

Chanderpaul, the 26-year-old son of legendary Windies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul, was called into the team earlier this month and widely expected to get his first cap when the series gets under way in one week’s time.

The younger Chanderpaul is expected to become the 7^th batsman to join Brathwaite in an opening partnership for the West Indies in the last five years, joining the likes of Kieran Powell, Shai Hope, Devon Smith, Jermaine Blackwood and John Campbell.

Campbell, Brathwaite’s most recent partner at the crease received a four-year ban for a whereabouts doping violation earlier this year.  Despite the fact that the duo are yet to face a ball, Brathwaite believes there is potential for the partnership to do well.

"I think the partnership will work extremely well, to be honest," Brathwaite told members of the media on Monday.

"Tage is obviously a guy that could spend a lot of time. For me, my game, there's nothing that's going to change, just focusing on being in the right positions for each ball and… I look forward to the partnership. I've seen him play first-class for a little while, and he's always impressed with the time he has spent (batting). And I really look forward to seeing us do good things together."

Chanderpaul has scored 2669 runs in first class cricket so far and has 5 100s and 10 50s.

Facing a mammoth 598 for 4 declared, the West Indies ended day 2 at 74 without loss after facing 25 overs.  Chanderpaul, the 25-year-old son of legendary West Indian batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul, made a solid 47 from 73 balls while Brathwaite himself made a more patient 18 from 79.

Chanderpaul was called into the squad last month as a replacement for previous opening batsman John Campbell, who is currently serving a doping violation suspension.  A match-up against top-ranked Australia certainly isn’t the easiest debut for the young batsman, his captain Brathwaite was, however, not worried.

“I wasn’t surprised.  I’ve known him for a while.  I’ve played against him and he has always had fight always takes his time to bat and bats for long periods,” Brathwaite said at the end of the days play.

“I know he is a fighter, so it isn’t surprising.  I just look forward to a lot from him playing for West Indies.  It was good to see but we need to continue,” he added.

Chanderpaul previously stood out for the team last week against the Prime Ministers XI where he recorded a century in the four-day affair.

The tourists played to a draw in their lone three-day warm-up game against a Cricket Australia XI on Friday.

“We as a team are very pleased. The facilities here are outstanding and the boys made good use of it,” the skipper said in an interview after Friday’s final day.

The team had some excellent individual performances throughout the three days including Brathwaite himself getting 52 in the first innings.

He didn’t bat in the second, however, giving the opportunity to wicket-keeper Joshua Da Silva to get some time out in the middle at the top of the order. Da Silva grabbed it with both hands, producing a well-composed 105.

“Felt good. It was important for Joshua to get some batting in the second innings so it was a very good game for us,” Brathwaite said.

Brathwaite also singled out the performances of Justin Greaves and Kavem Hodge in the game. Greaves had scores of 65 and 41* and took two wickets in the match while Hodge had scores of 52 and 99.

“He’s a quality cricketer. I’m not surprised by what he did and I look forward to his future in West Indies cricket,” he said of Greaves.

“Very pleased with the hunger he showed to come again in the second innings and do it. That’s what we want in this team,” Brathwaite said about Hodge.

The team has been in Australia since late December, something Brathwaite believes has helped them to better acclimatize to the conditions.

“I think it’s very good. We would have flown a number of hours to get here so I think initially getting here and getting accustomed to the time zone and getting over jet lag was quite important,” he said.

“Having the time, as well, to practice here in Adelaide and get accustomed to the pitches and stuff was great for us,” he added.

“Quite clear,” was Brathwaite’s response to questions about the XI for the first Test.

“Very happy with how all the guys went about this camp and this game and, obviously, it’s time next week to make the West Indies proud,” he said.

Brathwaite particularly lauded the impact of debutant Shamar Joseph, expressing confidence in the young cricketer's bright future in Test cricket.

As the West Indies resumed from their overnight score of 73-6, hopes for a resilient batting display were dashed. The team was eventually bowled out for 120, with Alzarri Joseph's 16 and Shamar Joseph's 15 offering some resistance. The standout performances of the Joseph duo forced Australia to bat again.

Australia swiftly achieved their target, scoring 26-0 and securing a resounding 10-wicket victory. Brathwaite acknowledged the success of his bowlers in restricting Australia within 300 runs but underscored the need for improvement in the batting department.

"Bowlers did well to bowl out Australia inside 300. Batters did not get going. As batsmen, it is good for guys to get a feel of playing cricket and what it is like to play the No. 1 team. It is about learning how to score and how to put away the bad ball," Brathwaite remarked, emphasizing the importance of a swift learning curve.

Praising debutant Shamar Joseph, who took 5-94 in Australia’s first innings and had scores of 36 and 15, Brathwaite commented on the youngster's infectious energy and humor, foreseeing a promising future for him in Test cricket. He noted, "[Shamar] is full of energy. Makes me laugh. Has a bright future and also scores runs."

During the Test, Shamar Joseph became the first player in Test history to

The match concluded with Australia's 10-wicket victory before lunch on the third day. Josh Hazelwood, with career-best match figures, played a pivotal role. However, the highlight came when Shamar Joseph, on his debut, drew blood from Usman Khawaja with a bouncer, forcing him to retire hurt.

Shamar Joseph's impact wasn't limited to bowling; he showcased his batting prowess at No. 11. His partnership with Kemar Roach added crucial runs, signaling a potential promotion in the batting order for Joseph in the future.

In a dramatic turn of events, Shamar Joseph, who had dismissed Steven Smith with his first ball in Test cricket, continued to leave an indelible mark on his debut. Despite not being given the new ball, he eventually entered the attack and produced a memorable bouncer that forced Khawaja to retire hurt.

The second Test is scheduled to begin in Brisbane on January 25, promising another exciting encounter, this time under the lights in a day-night format. West Indies will be eager to bounce back, with Shamar Joseph's impactful debut providing a glimmer of hope for the Caribbean side.

Australia’s Josh Hazelwood was the best of the bowlers following up his four-wicket haul in the West Indies’ first innings with remarkable figures of 5-35 in the second innings for overall match figures of 9-79.

For his score of 119 that helped the hosts establish a crucial 95-run lead on first innings, Travis Head was named Player of the Match.

Scores in the match: West Indies 188 and 120 v Australia 283 and 26-0.

Already trailing 1-0 in the series after going down  by 164 runs to the home side in the lop-sided first Test, at Perth the West Indies once again found themselves behind the eight-ball on Saturday night (Caribbean time).

Their bowlers proved ineffective as Australia declared their first innings at 511-7. Their bowlers then dismissed the West Indies for 214.

Batting a second time after deciding against imposing a follow-on, Australia raced to 199-6 before declaring and then reducing the West Indies to 38-4 to be in complete command heading into the fourth day of the Test.

The hosts quickly completed the victory as the tourists capitulated to 77 all out to lose the two-Test series 2-0.

Brathwaite, the only batter to score a century for the West Indies during the series, said the team failed to put up much resistance.

“It was very disappointing. The first game, we fought to day five which was a decent effort. Coming here we didn't show any fight at all," said Brathwaite who had scores of 19 and three in the match.

"Obviously Australia bowled well but we didn't fight. The pink ball is always different, under lights is always tough. Bad days happen and bad games. This was a bad game for sure, but it's not the end of the world, we have a lot of Test cricket to play next year so we have to look ahead."

The Barbadian batter reserved praise for debutant Tagenarine Chanderpaul, who was one of the few bright spots in an overwhelmingly disastrous series. The 26-year-old son of West Indies great Shivnarine Chanderpaul had scores of 50, 45, 47 and 17 during the series to be the leading run scorer along with Brathwaite.

"It showed that he's tough," Brathwaite said. "You've got Mitchell Starc coming in at 90mph and you see a guy fighting like that, says a lot about his character. I thought he had a good start to his career and can see him really blossoming to have a superb career for West Indies."

Having travelled with seven uncapped players in their 15-man squad, it was always expected that West Indies would field at least three debutants in the series, which forms part of the ICC Test Championships, and with Joseph, Hodge and Greaves all showing their worth in the drawn three-day warm-up match against Cricket Australia XI, it comes as no surprise that they secured spots in the starting team.

In fact, only five members of the current squad -Brathwaite, Joshua Da Silva, Kemar Roach, Alzarri Joseph and Tagenarine Chanderpaul -were a part of the squad that toured Australia last summer, while Chanderpaul (eight), Gudakesh Motie (four), Alick Athanaze (two), and Kirk McKenzie (one) have a mere 15 Tests between them, which underscores the inexperience of the current West Indies outfit.

Still, Brathwaite, who is only 13 Tests away from the 100-mark milestone, is backing his side to prove competitive against the formidable Australians, provided they maintain their discipline for long periods.

The Domincan-born Hodge and Barbadian Greaves will bat at five and six behind Brathwaite and the left-handed trio of Chanderpaul, McKenzie, and Athanaze, while Shamar Joseph will join Roach and vice-captain Alzarri Joseph in a three-pronged pace attack.

"All I want to see from the team is fight. Obviously, we have a lot of guys that are relatively new to Test cricket, and they have got to show their worth to the world. It is understandable that we are the underdogs, but my thing for the guys is show the world what you can do and make West Indians proud," Brathwaite said. 

"We're obviously playing against the number one team, but I believe we do have the potential. It all revolves around discipline - how long we can be disciplined for as a bowling unit, because we don't want to go in fours and fives obviously. So, once we can be disciplined and obviously put partnerships on the board, anything is possible. But we've got to work extremely hard, and we have to believe in ourselves," he added.

Brathwaite is well aware that they are faced with a daunting task of trying to secure West Indies first win in Australia in over 27 years, but he is hopeful that the knowledge imparted by Brian Lara at training over the past few days, will serve as inspiration to spur the debutants, in particular, to great heights in Adelaide.

"It's always amazing to have Brian around. He has a good set of runs here at Adelaide, so if he could give some of the guys [an idea of how to score] that would be great. But obviously, his wisdom is always good, his advice. He's been through many situations, especially here in Australia and against Australia. My advice to the guys will always be to tap into him," Brathwaite said.

The opening Test will be live on SportsMax this evening from 7:30E Caribbean (6:30 JA).

West Indies XI: Kraigg Brathwaite (c), Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Kirk McKenzie, Alick Athanaze, Kavem Hodge, Justin Greaves, Joshua Da Silva (wk), Gudakesh Motie, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Kemar Roach

Australia XI: Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (c), Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood

Brathwaite hit 10 fours on his way to a top-score of 75 from 114 balls while Brooks, who opened with Brathwaite because Tagenarine Chanderpaul was unwell, got 56 off 116 balls including five fours.

All-rounder Holder (50) and Jermaine Blackwood (42) are the not out batsmen as the tourists closed the day on 297-5 from 90 overs. The other batsmen dismissed were Raymon Reifer (21), Nkrumah Bonner (15) and Kyle Mayers (17).

West Indies have two tour matches before the Test series begins in Perth on November 30.

Jonny Bairstow’s dismissal – out of his crease believing the ball to be dead as Alex Carey’s expedient underarm threw down his stumps – overshadowed Australia’s 43-run win to move 2-0 up in the series.

The laws of the game state: “The ball shall be considered to be dead when it is clear to the bowler’s end umpire that the fielding side and both batters at the wicket have ceased to regard it as in play.”

Carey throwing upon collection of the ball without hesitation seems to vindicate him but, as Bairstow was not seeking a run, the Australia wicketkeeper’s actions call into question the so-called ‘spirit of the game’.

And the famously laid-back McCullum admitted the flash point might impact relations between the teams as he said on the BBC’s Test Match Special: “I can’t imagine we’ll be having a beer any time soon.”

Carey’s swift handiwork and Australia captain Pat Cummins’ decision to uphold the appeal meant a visibly furious Bairstow had to depart but a normally sedate Lord’s crowd seethed at the outcome, with boos and chants of “same old Aussies, always cheating” ringing out throughout the final day.

Ben Stokes channelled any frustration into a jaw-dropping innings of 155 as England were all out for 327 in pursuit of 371, but the Bairstow dismissal remained on everyone’s lips after the denouement.

McCullum added: “I think it was more about the spirit of the game and when you become older and more mature you realise the game and the spirit of it is something you need to protect.

“You have to make decisions in the moment and they can have affects on games and people’s characters.

“By the letter of the law he is out. Jonny was not trying to take a run and the umpires had called over.

“It is one of those difficult ones to swallow and you look at the small margins it is incredibly disappointing.

“But lots of people will have their opinion on both sides of the fence. But the most disappointing thing is that it will be the most talked about event of a great Test match.”

Pakistan were set a 506-run target and lost two wickets early on, yet they fought back valiantly thanks to skipper Azam (102 not out) and opener Abdullah Shafique (71 not out).

The hosts reached 192-2 at the end of play on Tuesday in Karachi, leaving them requiring 314 runs on the final day to go nine Tests unbeaten against Australia at this venue.

Australia resumed their second innings at 81-1 and batted for half an hour before declaring on 97-2, with Marnus Labuschagne (44) and David Warner (seven) the men to fall.

If Pakistan's task looked tough at that point, it soon become even more daunting as they lost Imam-ul-Haq (one) and Azhar Ali (six) early on in their reply.

Azhar fell to Cameron Green when attempting to evade a short-pitched delivery, though replays showed he gloved the ball and would have stayed had it been reviewed.

Those wickets either side of lunch, with Imam trapped lbw from the bowling of Nathan Lyon, looked set to have Australia on course for victory inside four days.

But Shafique hit three boundaries and a six, while Babar hit seven boundaries in his knock to ensure Pakistan remain in with a fighting chance of avoiding defeat on home soil.

Stumps it is! Another tough day, but it would be fair to say that our boys came out owning it#BoysReadyHain l #PAKvAUS pic.twitter.com/VtRpO0Vhis

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) March 15, 2022 Pakistan fightback led by Babar

Babar's batting average of 65.7 from four innings at the National Stadium prior to this Test is his highest at any venue where he has batted more than two innings.

The hosts' inspirational skipper once again led from the front with what was his first Test century in more than two years, spanning across 21 innings.

The hope that kills you

Pakistan's previous highest successful chase came against Sri Lanka in 2015 when set a 377 run target, so history will be made if they can dig in on Tuesday.

If they can make it to the final session of the day with some wickets in hand, the hosts would no doubt consider a draw as being like a victory.

England have enjoyed a significant upturn in fortunes since Brendon McCullum was appointed Test head coach and Ben Stokes replaced Joe Root as captain.

An attacking philosophy enabled them to secure an unprecedented 3-0 away series whitewash of Pakistan after they beat New Zealand and South Africa on home soil, as well as India in a rearranged Test.

They also drew 1-1 in New Zealand, losing a thrilling second Test by one run after making the Black Caps follow-on.

Seamer Broad believes Australia could come unstuck if they try to score at a rapid rate in the battle for the urn.

He told the Daily Mail: "'It's going to be a slight clash of styles and I'm fascinated to see how their bowling attack will defend against us.

"And it will be interesting to see how their batters stay calm because we play so aggressively now. Will they be able stick to their game plans and bubbles when we're playing this style? That will be a test for them.

"I think it would be great for us if Australia try to take us on at our own game. If we can get them playing in a slightly different style they could make mistakes and that would be brilliant for us.

"Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne and Usman Khawaja are all guys who like to bat time and accumulate so if we can nibble away at them and just get them thinking 'why are we not scoring quicker? Why are we not moving the game forward?'

"We leave Jack Leach's mid-on and mid-off in all the time and Stokesey basically says 'you're not having them back. Let them keep hitting you'.

"And he's probably got more caught mid-offs now than lbs, so it's playing on minds. I'd love Smith to dance down the track and sky one to mid-off early doors. That would be classic."

England were hammered 4-0 in the last Ashes series in Australia, but Broad has written that off as "void".

"Nothing was harsher than the last Ashes series," he said. "But in my mind I don't class that as a real Ashes. The definition of Ashes cricket is elite sport with lots of passion and players at the top of their game.

"Nothing about that series was high level performance because of the Covid restrictions. The training facilities, the travel, not being able to socialise. I've written it off as a void series."

Broad announced the fifth Test against Australia would be his last match as a professional cricketer on Saturday, before ending his glittering career on a high two days later.

With England requiring two late wickets on day five to level the series at 2-2, Broad dismissed Todd Murphy and Alex Carey to deny Australia a first series win on English soil since 2001.

The 37-year-old ends his career with 604 Test wickets, a tally only bettered by long-time team-mate James Anderson (690) among England players.

Asked about Broad's remarkable final outing, former England skipper Gower told Stats Perform: "Stuart's finished as anyone would like to, on a high, on an absolute high. 

"The Ashes has probably been his specialist subject, but he's taken wickets all around the world. His record, of course, is absolutely outstanding, bettered only by Jimmy Anderson. 

"His last shot being a six over deep midwicket, then to finish with the two wickets that wrapped up the game at The Oval… that is the stuff of legend. 

"Most of us go out without that script, most of us have to slink off having had a pretty bad day! 

"To go [out] on a highlight… that is a privilege accorded to very, very few. Alastair Cook did it at The Oval, others have done it at The Oval. The gods are looking after you when you have that sort of finish.

"I think for so many players, whatever else happens elsewhere in the world, if you are good at The Ashes – because of the history that comes with it – that stays in your memory forever. 

"I was very lucky to have a pretty good record in The Ashes as a batsman, and that's something I'm very proud of. Stuart can be equally proud about the way he succeeded and the way he played.

"We will always miss great players. When England next take to the field in a test match in India or next summer back here against different opposition, [we'll] be looking at the England eleven and thinking, 'I wish we still had Stuart' because people really enjoyed the way he played the game."

Broad's total of 153 wickets in Ashes series is the best of any England bowler, with only Australia pair Shane Warne (195) and Glenn McGrath (157) boasting more dismissals. 

Meanwhile, fellow bowling great Anderson has refuted suggestions he could follow Broad into retirement, saying his team-mate's exit has made his own desire to play on "even more firm".

Reflecting on the duo's incredible Test records, Gower added: "What will stay indelibly in black ink is that record. 

"The records of the game will show him [Broad] with 600-odd wickets in a lot of Test matches, 600 wickets for a seam bowler of his ilk is a lot of wickets. 

"Jimmy Anderson is ahead in that game, and he is even more incredible for his longevity. Jimmy is saying, 'I don't want to give up, I'm only 41!'

"It's an extraordinary thing for him to be quite so fit and strong and capable at that age as a quick bowler. 

"Both of them will look back as their lives develop, and there will always be those figures in the book."

Matters looked bleak for England as Australia set them a tough target of 305, with the tourists having reached 304-7 in their 50 overs at the crease.

Steven Smith scored 60 and Alex Carey, who starred in the second ODI as Australia took a 2-0 series lead, plundered an unbeaten 77, striking seven fours.

Indeed, Australia looked like they would cruise to another victory as Mitchell Starc sent Phil Salt packing for a duck and then dismissed Ben Duckett four balls later.

Yet Will Jacks and Brook had other ideas, putting on a third-wicket stand of 156 to put England in control.

Jacks' stand finally came to an end on 84 in the 28th over, but Brook simply picked up the slack, clipping his way to a maiden ODI ton.

With Brook, who reached 110 not out, at one end, Liam Livingstone added an unbeaten 33 to the total before the rain closed in at Chester-le-Street, but with England needing just 51 runs from 74 balls, they got over the line on DLS, leaving the series delicately poised at 2-1 to Australia heading into the final two matches.

Data Debrief: Leading by example

When Brook gets into his stride, there are not many better big hitters, and his knock on Tuesday was nothing short of spectacular. It also included 15 boundaries (13 fours, two sixes) and came at a strike rate of 117.02.

He is England's stand-in captain for this series in Jos Buttler's absence, and he certainly stepped up to the plate as Australia saw a 14-game winning streak (only two teams - Australia in 2003 and South Africa in 2005 - have ever won more successive ODIs) snapped.

The tourists were bowled out for 270, but England struggled to mount a real threat in the chase, with Phil Salt, Will Jacks, Brook, Ben Duckett and Liam Livingstone all taken inside the first 10 overs.

Though England attempted to make up for their early collapse, Mitchell Starc soon took care of the rest, with the hosts only managing 202.

And, after losing the first ODI in the series by seven wickets, Brook admitted that his side's inexperience played a part in Saturday’s defeat.

"We are a very young side. We are an inexperienced side playing against one of the best teams in the world and a new era and ilk of how we are trying to play the game," Brook said.

"It is about patience, and we are only two games in, we try and have a bit of fun as well.

"There are so many positives we can take for these two games. We have done everything we have said we were going to do.

"I think we bowled really nicely. To restrict them to 270 on that pitch, I thought we did a good job there, but we lost early wickets in the Powerplay that killed us really.

"It just hasn't gone our way."

The third match of the ODI series will take place at the Riverside Ground on Tuesday. 

Harry Brook, England's stand-in captain in Jos Buttler's absence, was the star man on Tuesday as the hosts claimed a six-wicket victory on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method.

The rain closed in with England on 254-4 chasing down 305 to win.

Matters looked gloomy for England, however, after they lost Phil Salt and Ben Duckett in the space of four balls in the third over, but Brook, who plundered 110 not out, and Will Jacks (84) took control.

England's victory means it is now 2-1 to Australia heading into the final two matches.

"It's nice to get the first one on the board and hopefully plenty more to come," said Brook after scoring his first ODI century.

"We just have to keep doing what we said we are going to do [at Lord's] and keep being positive, take the game to them and put them under pressure.

"That should stand us in good stead.

"With the bat myself and Will just tried to build a partnership and create that platform. We didn't have much of a chat between innings.

"I thought the pitch got better towards the end of Australia's innings. It was a simple message of go out there and play your own game."

Australia looked well set to wrap up a series-clinching win when they posted 304-7 before Mitchell Starc took those early wickets.

Captain Mitchell Marsh, though, said England merited their win.

"I thought we did extremely well to get the 300 with conditions early on, a lot of seam and it was hard work," he said.

"They got a really good partnership going, and in one-day cricket with a big partnership you can set the game up for yourself, [so] fair play to them."