Stuart Broad will bring the curtain down on his career on Monday after day four of the final Ashes Test at the Kia Oval ended up being a damp squib with rain forcing Sunday’s play to be abandoned at 4.47pm.
Broad announced on Saturday night that he would retire following the conclusion of this series and there was potential for day four to be last.
The wet weather in south London had other ideas with rain setting in during the afternoon session with Australia on 135 without loss in pursuit of 384 after England were dismissed for 395 earlier on Sunday morning.
Broad batted, bowled and fielded during the 39.5 overs possible on day four and here the PA news agency looks at the penultimate day of his career.
Six of the bestBroad could not have envisaged a better start after his retirement plans were revealed at the close on day three.
A sell-out Kia Oval crowd gave him a standing ovation when he appeared from the pavilion to bat before Australia afforded him a guard of honour.
Once play did start with Mitchell Starc from the Pavilion End, singles were turned down from the first ball balls of the over before Broad launched into a short sixth delivery and pulled over square leg for a glorious six. It would prove the final ball he would face with James Anderson out to Todd Murphy in the next over.
Warner rivalry on holdBroad raced off once Anderson’s review had been unsuccessful and took the new ball against old sparring partner David Warner, but there would be no 17th dismissal on this occasion.
Warner inside-edged Broad’s first delivery before a sweet cover drive for four concluded the over.
With little happening, Stokes changed his bowlers regularly before lunch and Broad’s first spell was restricted to three overs and his second lasted 18 balls too, with Usman Khawaja not comfortable but able to survive and Broad was not used during the first hour of an afternoon session that ended at 2.41pm.
Same place Monday?Broad’s fiancée Mollie King and daughter Annabella were in attendance on Sunday while mum Carol and dad Chris recalled memories in BBC’s Test Match Special commentary box during the day’s play.
“Stuart is a master of making the right decision, so it’s always his decision and he’s done it again. It’s the perfect time,” Carol Broad said on BBC’s Test Match Special.
“He told me he doesn’t want a fuss but I thought, I want him to have a fuss. The first day I saw him come down the stairs I got a tingle and I still get that. I just really want them to win.”
Former England opener Chris Broad added: “Thank you to Leicestershire for seeing the ability of him as a bowler because I didn’t see that, and I was looking at his batting and I thought, well, I don’t really think he’s going to make it in first-class cricket as a batsman.
“But they saw him as a bowler.”
The Broad clang will have to come back on Monday to see if the 37-year-old can bring his Ashes love affair to an end with a bang.
Asalanka leads Sri Lanka to ODI series win over West Indies
Sri Lanka wrapped up the ODI series against the West Indies with a five-wicket victory in Pallekele.
The hosts successfully chased down their opponents' total of 189, giving them an unassailable 2-0 in the three-match series.
Sri Lanka controlled the early powerplay - Asitha Fernando (3-35) and Maheesh Theekshana (3-25) took two wickets apiece to leave the tourists at 31-4 in the ninth over.
Wanindu Hasaranga (4-40) then claimed three of his four wickets as Roston Chase, Romario Shepherd, Hayden Walsh and Alzarri Joseph were all dismissed in the space of 14 balls.
However, Sherfane Rutherford (80 off 82 balls) and Gudakesh Motie (50 not out) steadied the ship to take the Windies from 58-8 to 189.
Although Joseph claimed Avishka Fernando (9) in the fourth over, Nishan Madushka and Sadeera Samarawickrama both chipped in with contributions of 38 to get the hosts to 112-4.
Skipper Charith Asalanka (62 not out) led the charge thereon, while Kamindu Mendis (11) comfortably got them over the line with 34 balls remaining.
Data Debrief: Rutherford-Motie historic stand proves academic for tourists
West Indies were looking to level the series, but their hopes were not aided by Sri Lanka's impressive bowling.
Rutherford and Motie did their best. Their partnership brought 119 runs, which is their nation's highest ninth-wicket stand in ODI history, breaking the previous record of 85 between Yannic Cariah and Alzarri Joseph.
However, it ultimately proved in vain as the hosts secured the series with a game to spare.
'I was a tired, grumpy old man' - Stokes apologised to England team-mates after Pakistan defeat
Ben Stokes says he apologised to his England team-mates after his frustrations were evident during the second-Test defeat by Pakistan.
The hosts levelled the three-Test series on Thursday after wrapping up a 152-run win in Multan.
However, it could have been a different story but for fielding errors at crucial stages for the visitors, Jamie Smith and Joe Root notably dropping catches to dismiss Salman Agha, whose subsequent knock of 63 helped Pakistan seal victory with a day to spare.
Stokes, who returned to action following a hamstring injury, could not hide his frustration during a difficult day for England, but insisted he would not let his emotions get the better of him again.
"No one means to drop catches, but it just proves how important catches are in these subcontinent conditions, they don't come along that often," he told Sky Sports.
"I actually apologised to the group last night. It's the first time in my captaincy that I've let my emotions and how I was feeling with the way the game was unfolding show in my body language.
"I owned up to that and was very annoyed at myself for letting that out. It's something that I don't want to do or be seen to be doing, so I apologised to the group about that.
"Poor old me, I was a tired, grumpy old man last night! You won't see that happen again."
However, England coach Brendon McCullum defended the actions of his skipper.
"We all know how passionate Ben is, how much it means for him to play for England," he said.
"We've seen that through his bloody-mindedness to get back from injury, which was significant, and to do so in a nine-week timeframe and to have his first TM [Test match] in extreme conditions, 40 degrees, and be able to give what he gave to the side.
"I think, maybe, that's where some of that frustration led to - certainly, it wasn't directed at any of the players. It was more about trying to assess the rhythm of the game, and to impact on it."
Sri Lanka breeze to series win over West Indies
Sri Lanka cruised to a nine-wicket victory over West Indies to seal a T20I series triumph.
With the series delicately poised at 1-1 heading into the final match on Thursday, Sri Lanka started with intent in Dambulla.
Maheesh Theekshana (2-19) and Wanindu Hasaranga (2-24) led the charge as Sri Lanka skittled through the Windies' top order.
Rovman Powell's stubborn 37 and a contribution of 32 from Gudakesh Motie steered West Indies to a reasonable total of 162-8, but it was one well within reach of Sri Lanka.
Pathum Nissanka clipped seven fours and one six in a 22-ball 37 to get Sri Lanka's chase rolling at pace, before he was bowled by Gudakesh Mottie (1-31).
Yet the damage was mostly done, with Kusal Mendis powering his way to an unbeaten 68 and Kusal Perera plundering 55 from 36 balls to get the job done with the minimum of fuss.
Data Debrief: Perera closing in on Sri Lanka record
Perera is now just nine runs away from surpassing Tillakaratne Dilshan (1,889) as the leading scorer in Sri Lanka's T20I history.
His efforts, combined with those of Nissanka and Mendis, saw Sri Lanka win for a fourth time in their last six T20Is at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, although this is the first time they have won at the venue in that run when batting second.
The Windies' miserable record in Asia has continued, meanwhile. They have won only one of their last 11 T20Is in Asia (L10), with that victory coming in the first match of this series. They have now lost 33 T20Is on the continent in total, with only Ireland (35) having lost more.
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