Ian Botham led an onslaught of criticism for England's Ashes failures after Joe Root's team capitulated pitifully to lose the final Test in Hobart.

Botham was joined by fellow former England captains Alastair Cook, Michael Vaughan and David Gower in picking apart another wretched display, with Australia tying up a 4-0 series victory.

England sit at the foot of the World Test Championship, and Botham said the culture of English cricket needed to change, with the heavy emphasis on domestic limited-overs competitions harming the five-day team.

Speaking on Channel 7, Botham said: "It's been embarrassing, if I'm honest. Gutless.

"The way they performed today disappointed me and will have disappointed everyone back home."

England went from 68-0 to 124 all out, the final ignominy from a shambolic tour performance as Australia won by 146 runs.

"The one thing we need to do right now is take our heads out of the sand and pull together and prioritise red-ball cricket," Botham said. "If we're not careful, the eskimos will be beating us."

Cook, Joe Root's predecessor as captain, found it a jarring watch as England went from building a solid foundation to outright carnage, unable to hold back Australia's victory charge.

"There was no resilience there. As soon as they get under pressure, you seen how much resolve there is," Cook said.

"That was very, very tough viewing and that has to be our rock bottom. There cannot be any worse a place in terms of getting bowled out in an hour and a half."

Speaking on BT Sport, Cook added: "As a batter and a professional who plays games of cricket, you get bowled out in a session once or twice in a career.

"You see a batting line-up devoid of all confidence and belief, that once you lose one wicket or two wickets, nobody's going to step up and stop that slide.

"You can talk all you want about it in the dressing room, but until some people grab this team by the scruff of the neck and move it forward themselves, I can't see what's changed."

Vaughan, on Twitter, said England had carried through 2021's "year of the batting collapse" into this year, adding: "You can cope with losing but not when you throw the towel in."

Gower suggested the positive messages that Root and coach Chris Silverwood attempted to deliver were misleading.

"I think we understand very easily that neither Joe Root or Chris Silverwood are going to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth under these circumstances," Gower said.

"Both are under pressure for different reasons. Joe has handled it well, kept a smile on his face. When you see him run out to bat today you can see there is a man who wants to do his best to finish on a high note, but he is not being supported.

"Silverwood's role is a different one because he is fully implicated in selection, and selection's been one of the huge talking points on this tour, right from Brisbane onwards."

For the first Test at the Gabba, England went into the match and series with star bowlers Stuart Broad and James Anderson mystifyingly left on the sidelines.

"There were jaws dropping at home and in Brisbane when the team was announced and when events unfolded," Gower said.

Also speaking on BT Sport, Gower said he had "genuine sympathy" for Root given the focus on white-ball cricket. Although England won the World Cup, in Test cricket they are firmly in the doldrums.

"This is the oldest, most important form of the game," Gower said. "We need to defend it, we need an England team that plays it well, that is not languishing at the foot ... barely even at the foot of the World Test Championship.

"These things really annoy people and apparently it's really annoying me at the moment.

"When you're going to try to be constructive, you look at personnel for sure, so there will be people fearing for their position in the side. Then you also have to consider who else is there to take over. There are players out there who would hope they might get a go as a result of other people's failures, but they've got to show character."

Joe Root declared England must make decisive changes to their Test cricket programme following their Ashes humbling – but warned that things will not "change overnight".

Australia clinched a 4-0 series victory on Sunday after another batting collapse from the visitors saw them slump to a 146-run defeat in the fifth Test in Hobart.

England had looked in a promising position to claim a first win of the series after Mark Wood's career-best 6-37 helped to dismiss the hosts for 155 in the second innings.

Rory Burns and Zak Crawley mounted a good start as they chased a target of 271, but Cameron Green (3-21) sparked another rout.

The tourists proceeded to lose all 10 wickets for 56 runs as they were bowled out for 124.

It was a pitiful end to a dreadful series from England's perspective and another indication of their problems in the longest format.

They have won only one of their past 14 Test matches since last February and, when they return to Australia in 2025, it will have been 14 years since they last won an Ashes Test away from home.

Speaking to BT Sport, captain Root said: "A number of things have to change. In the short term, guys have to learn quickly. If you want to survive at this level, you have to learn quickly. What they are lacking is the opportunities to do that at the level beforehand.

"We need to sit down and have a clear look at what direction English cricket needs to take, what direction English Test cricket needs to take to improve and improve quickly. That is not going to change overnight."

He added: "It has been a frustration throughout. We have played good cricket in parts but not managed to string a whole game together.

"We have to learn from these experiences and get better, not come away and make the same mistakes. That is the challenge moving forward."

Australia skipper Pat Cummins, meanwhile, declared his side want to make their mark on foreign soil after a resounding victory.

"It is pretty crazy," he said. "As a professional cricketer, these are the series you have in your diary a couple of years out, so to come out with so many positives and winning 4-0, I am pumped.

"It feels like we are really building to something big. Now we want to share our wares overseas."

Australia won the fifth Ashes Test by 146 runs to seal a 4-0 series victory against England, who endured a woeful batting collapse in Hobart.

England dismissed Australia for just 155 in their second innings at Bellerive Oval and took control when Rory Burns and Zak Crawley combined to reach 68-0 in reply.

But the tourists fell apart from that point and finished 124 all out, meaning it will be 14 years since their last away win in an Ashes Test by the time they return in 2025.

The tourists trailed by 152 runs at the start of play on Sunday, but Mark Wood got his side off to a strong start by taking a career-best 6-37 to skittle Australia.

The hosts dug in from 63-6 to reach 155 all out and England gave themselves hope of chasing down an improbable 271 through Burns and Crawley.

The pair mounted the highest opening partnership of any side in the series, reaching 36 and 26 respectively but, not for the first time this series, a batting collapse followed.

Cameron Green picked up 3-21, with Dawid Malan (10) his other victim, and England added just 36 more runs from their final eight wickets.

Ben Stokes, who averaged 23.60 with the bat this series, went for five runs, as did Ollie Pope, with Joe Root (11) and Sam Billings (1) doing little to hold off Australia either side.

Chris Woakes (5) fell for single figures the first time this series as he edged Scott Boland behind on the drive, before Mark Wood (11) dragged Pat Cummins onto his stumps.

Australia did not have to wait long to take England's final wicket, with Ollie Robinson bowled for a duck by a Cummins full toss to end the tourists' misery.

England undone by Green

Burns and Crawley tried their best to turn the fifth Test into a contest that could potentially go to the wire, but then up stepped Green to completely kill England's momentum.

England were 60-0 when Green, who is the youngest player to score a half-century for Australia at Bellerive Oval, took over and they were 88-3 when he bowled his final ball.

Incredibly, the tourists were all out for 124 just 22.4 overs later.

Tourists' woes epitomised by Woakes

England have now won only one of their 14 Tests in the past 11 months, but Root must surely be left to wonder what might have been in Hobart.

A turning point arrived when Woakes appeared to have dismissed Alex Carey for 19 earlier in the day, which would have left Australia 91-7, but he was judged to have overstepped.

Carey went on to make a crucial 49 as Australia comfortably claimed another win and matched the margin of their victory from four years ago.

In Group C, Zimbabwe U-19s achieved the biggest margin of victory so far in the tournament, a massive 228 run win over Papua New Guinea U-19s in Port of Spain.

After Zimbabwe won the toss and batted first, captain Emmanuel Bawa scored one of two centuries on the day, an even 100 off 95 balls to help Zimbabwe post a formidable 321-9 off their 50 overs.

Papua New Guinea were no match for the Zimbabwean bowlers, being skittled out for 93 in 35 overs.

Victor Chirwa was the pick of the Zimbabwean bowlers with 2-11 from seven overs while Brian Bennett (2-20 from 6 overs) and Ngenyasha Zvinoera (2-25 from 6 overs) also had good spells.

In the lone Group A match on Saturday, UAE U-19s beat Canada U-19s by 49 runs in a competitive game in Basseterre.

UAE U-19s won the toss and batted first, making 284-7 off their 50 overs thanks to half-centuries from Punya Mehra (71) and Ali Naseer (73).

Gurnek Singh took 2-38 off seven overs for Canada U-19s.

A well-played 96 from captain Mihir Patel wasn’t enough for Canada U-19s to successfully chase their target, eventually finishing 235 all out off 46.4 overs.

Anoop Chima (46) and Kairav Sharma (43) also got runs for Canada U-19s against 2-32 from eight overs from Nilansh Keswani.

Adhitya Shetty, Jash Giyanani and Alishan Sharafu also got two wickets each for UAE U-19s.

In the first of two Group B matches on Saturday, Ireland U-19s Joshua Cox was the day’s second centurion as his 111 not out helped them secure a 39-run win over Uganda U-19s in Georgetown.

Uganda U-19s won the toss and elected to field first, a decision that proved costly in the end as Ireland were able to get a score of 236-9 off their 50 overs with Cox getting the most support from Phillipus le Roux who made 32.

Juma Miyaji, captain Pascal Muringi, Joseph Baguma and Matthew Musinguzi all took two wickets each for the Ugandans.

Murungi then top scored with 63 and Miyaji also contributed 38 but it wasn’t enough as Ireland restricted them to 197 all out off 48.1 overs to seal the win.

Matthew Humphreys was the pick of the Irish bowlers with 4-25 off his 10 overs.

India U-19s secured a 45-run win over South Africa U-19s in Georgetown in the other Group B clash.

South Africa U-19s won the toss and elected to field first, a decision which looked like the right one as they were able to pick up early wickets thanks to good bowling by left-arm pacer Aphiwe Mnyanda.

India got on the right track, however, and used innings from captain Yash Dhull (82), Kaushal Tambe (35) and Shaik Rasheed (31) to recover to 232 all out in 46.5 overs.

Matthew Boast led the South African bowlers with 3-40 off nine overs while Mnyanda took 2-29 from five.

A stroke-filled 65 from Dewald Brevis and a solid 36 from captain George Van Heerden proved to be insufficient as South Africa lost wickets in quick succession before eventually being bowled out for 187 in 45.4 overs.

Vicky Ostval was the chief destroyer for the Indians with a brilliant 5-28 off his 10 overs while Raj Bawa supported him with 4-47 from 6.4 overs.

Sam Billings claims England have a "huge opportunity" to win the fifth and final Ashes Test, despite another poor batting display from the tourists on the second day in Hobart.

A frantic day of action saw England bowled out for just 188 in response to Australia's first innings of 303, before three late wickets gave them a glimmer of hope as they look to restore some pride after a disappointing series.

Looking ahead to day three, where Australia will resume on 37-3, Billings was optimistic about the chances of reducing England's 3-0 series deficit.

"I still think all results are possible," said Billings, speaking after the close of play on day two. "We have to cut out those bad sessions and take it to a manageable total for us as a batting unit.

"There is a huge opportunity to get a result out of this game. The first session is going to be huge, and will set the tone for the rest of the match. You have to look at those big moments and really grasp them.

"This evening was the template of how we have to bowl. The intensity and consistency was there, and we made it really difficult for Australia."

Billings joined the England squad as a late replacement last week after driving over 500-miles along the Australian coast, and became the 700th man to represent England in test cricket on the opening day of the Hobart Test.

The key to the West Indies winning their CG Insurance One-Day International series against Ireland will be the ability to maintain wickets in hand in order to launch at the back-end of the innings, according to opening batsman and vice-captain Shai Hope.

The West Indies top-order batsmen have experienced difficulties with the moisture on the Sabina Park pitch, in the first two games of the series, after losing the toss and being asked to bat by Ireland on both occasions.

“We all know that in the morning time, there’s a lot of moisture in the pitch and it’s just unfortunate that we didn’t get to win the toss in the first two games,” he said.

Still, Hope emphasized the importance of trying to battle through the conditions, regardless of the result of the toss.

“Whether we win the toss or not, we have to do whatever we do, first, to the best of our ability. The key is to make sure we do it better this game because we know it is a series decider,” Hope added.

When asked about the average batting performance in the series so far, Hope once again pointed to difficult conditions.

“I think anyone who understands cricket can see that conditions aren’t conducive to stroke-play. It’s not a free-flowing wicket, especially in the morning at Sabina Park. It’s just important for us as batters to adapt to that as fast as we can. It’s not easy but we still have to find a way,” Hope added.

Finally, he offered possible solutions for the West Indies' batting woes.

“It’s just important for us to find a way, whether it’s putting the bowlers under more pressure or trying to run more singles in the middle period. I also think it’s important for us to maintain wickets in the middle so we can launch at the back-end because, at the end of the innings, the wicket tends to get a lot better,” Hope said.

The third and final CG Insurance ODI between The West Indies and Ireland takes place on Sunday at Sabina Park at 9:15 am Jamaica Time.

The series is currently locked at 1-1.

Cricket West Indies (CWI) Women’s Selection Panel on Friday named an 18-member squad for the One Day International (ODI) series against South Africa Women, at the Imperial Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, from January 25 to February 7.

The touring squad sees a return for Afy Fletcher, the experienced leg-spinner and right-handed batter, who returns from maternity leave.

The squad also includes three uncapped players: Kaysia Schultz, a left arm orthodox bowler, Mandy Mangru, a right-handed batter, and Jannillea Glasgow, a right-arm medium pacer.

The three newcomers were members of the West Indies Women’s A team, which played against Pakistan Women’s A Team last year.

“The South Africa series comes at an opportune time as the team prepares for the upcoming World Cup. The squad has been preparing and building during the past year, even with the limitations caused by the pandemic and hopefully, they can put it all together. The return of the experienced Afy Fletcher brings added variety to the bowling particularly with the absence of Qiana Joseph who has been ruled out due to injury,” said Ann Browne-John, CWI Lead Selector for Women’s cricket.

“In our drive to continue the expansion of our player pool, the panel has included three young, uncapped players. They are Kaysia Schultz, Mandy Mangru as well as teenager Jannillea Glasgow. Exposure to international cricket at this time will most certainly give them the experience and match time needed to develop and grow their individual talents. The panel believes that this blend of youth and experience will work well as we continue our preparations for the World Cup,” Browne-John added.

The West Indies Women are due to arrive in South Africa on January 16, where they will have a training camp ahead of the warm-up and four-match ODI series against the Proteas Women.

Full squad:

Stafanie Taylor (Captain), Anisa Mohammed (Vice-Captain), Aaliyah Alleyne, Shemaine Campbelle, Shamilia Connell, Deandra Dottin, Afy Fletcher, Cherry Ann Fraser, Jannillea Glasgow, Chinelle Henry, Kycia Knight, Mandy Mangru, Hayley Matthews, Chedean Nation, Karishma Ramharack, Kaysia Schultz, Shakera Selman, Rashada Williams.

Virat Kohli has stepped down as India Test captain following the 2-1 series defeat in South Africa.

The 33-year-old took over as skipper in the longest format following MS Dhoni's retirement in 2014 and has gone on to lead his country 68 times in the longest format.

Kohli called time on his reign as Twenty20 captain following the World Cup in the United Arab Emirates late last year, with Rohit Sharma taking that role before also replacing his fellow batter as ODI skipper.

India failed to secure a first Test series win over South Africa after they lost the decider at Newlands by seven wickets on Friday and Kohli has confirmed that will be his last match as captain.

Kohli posted on Twitter: "It has been seven years of hard work, toil and relentless perseverance everyday to take the team in the right direction.

"I've done the job with absolute honesty and left nothing out there. Everything has to come to a halt at some stage and for me as Test Captain of India, it's now,

"There have been many ups and also some downs along the journey, but never has there been a lack of effort or lack of belief.

"I have always believed in giving my 120 per cent in everything I do, and if I can't do that, I know it's not the right thing to do. I have absolute clarity in my heart and I cannot be dishonest to my team.

"I want to thank the BCCI for giving me the opportunity to lead my country for such a long period of time and more importantly to all the team-mates who bought into the vision I had for the team from day one and never gave up in any situation.

"You guys have made this journey so memorable and beautiful. To Ravi [former India head coach Shastri] Bhai and the support group who were the engine behind this vehicle that moved us upwards in Test Cricket consistently, you all have played a massive role in bringing this vision to life.

"Lastly, a big thank you to MS Dhoni who believed in me as a captain and found me to be an able individual who could take Indian cricket forward."

Kohli is India's most successful Test captain, having led his country to 40 victories.

KL Rahul will be in line to step up and succeed one of India's greatest ever players, having recently been appointed as vice-captain in place of Ajinkya Rahane.

Kohli gave no indication he would quit after the loss to the Proteas in Cape Town, warning India "must come back as better cricketers” and improve with the bat.

England fought back with the ball after another batting collapse, but Australia remained on top after 17 wickets fell on a dramatic second day of the final Ashes Test.

Australia resumed on 241-6 in their first innings and were bowled out for 303 during Saturday's opening session, Stuart Broad taking 3-59 and Mark Wood 3-115 at Blundstone Arena.

The tourists then crumbled from 78-2 to 188 all out in reply, Chris Woakes top-scoring with 36 as the excellent Pat Cummins (4-45) and Mitchell Starc (3-53) did the bulk of the damage, with the ball zipping around off the seam and swinging prodigiously.

Australia were reduced to 5-2 in their second innings before closing on 37-3 in Hobart, leading by 152 runs and favourites to win the series 4-0.

Wood dismissed Starc and Cummins early on as Australia got the day's play under way, but Nathan Lyon struck the pacemen for three sixes as he held up England with a quickfire 31 and Alex Carey made 24, with Australia adding 51 runs for the last two wickets.

There was a sense of deja vu as England were two down early in their reply, Rory Burns run out without scoring on his return to the side and Zak Crawley caught by Travis Head at short leg to become Cummins' first victim.

Joe Root (34) and Dawid Malan steadied the ship, with left-hander Malan having a slice of fortune when he nicked Cameron Green behind with 13 to his name and Australia did not review.

Malan (25) was on his way after edging Cummins through to Carey, ending a third-wicket stand of 49, and England capitulated yet again, with Root trapped lbw by Australia's outstanding captain.

Lyon took a brilliant catch to get rid of Ben Stokes for four, before debutant Sam Billings (29) and Woakes offered some resistance, but Cummins ended another abysmal England innings by bowling Wood.

The tourists dazzled with the ball under the lights, with Warner bagging a pair and Marnus Labuschagne and Usman Khawaja departing, but Steve Smith (17no) and nightwatchman Scott Boland prevented further damage from being done.

Magnificent Cummins shows he's the best in the world

Cummins produced another exhibition of pace bowling as he exploited England's batting frailties yet again.

The Australia skipper was relentless and would have deserved a five-wicket haul, snaring Root with a brilliant delivery that nipped back sharply to claim the scalp of the England captain for the first time in the series.

He was supported well by Starc, Green (1-45) and Boland (1-33), who had Woakes dropped by both Warner and Khawaja early in the all-rounder's knock.

Woe for Warner as Broad strikes again, Robinson returns

It was an all too familiar story for Warner as he fell to Broad for the 14th time in Test cricket, Ollie Pope taking a stunning diving catch at point to remove the opener.

Not since Warner failed to score in both innings of the Old Trafford Ashes Test in 2019 had an Australian suffered the misery of getting a pair.

Woakes snared Labuschagne and Billings took a second Test catch when Khawaja gloved a brute of a rapid short ball from Wood. Ollie Robinson was unfortunate not to take a wicket when he returned to bowl after suffering back spams on day one as England finished a disappointing day strongly.

An unbeaten 86 from opener Teague Wyllie propelled Australia Under-19s to a comfortable six-wicket win over West Indies Under-19s in the opening game of the ICC Men’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup at Providence today.

Australia’s opening pair of Wyllie and Corey Miller marched to the crease in pursuit of their target of 170.

Opening bowlers Johann Layne and Shiva Sankar started the innings with tight bowling and the pressure paid off when Layne removed Miller for a duck to leave the Aussies 5-1 in the third over.

Sankar then got in on the action by removing number three Isaac Higgins for nine to leave the Australians 21-2 off 7.5 overs.

After 11 overs, Australia was 45-2 with Wyllie (17) and captain Cooper Connolly (12) at the crease.

After Connolly and Willey put together a solid partnership, it was broken by Onaje Amory in the 18^th over when he removed Connolly for 23 to leave the Australians 74-3.

Australia after 20 overs were 77-3 with Wyllie on 36 and Nivethan Radhakrishnan on two.

Looking extremely comfortable at the crease, Wyllie (46) and Radhakrishnan (12) carried the Australian total past 100.

Soon after, Willey brought up his fifty, off 83 balls, in the 30^th over.

Australia lost their fourth wicket when Radhakrishnan was dismissed in the 39^th over by Matthew Nandu for 31 to leave the score at 139-4.

After 40 overs, Australia were 154-4 with Wyllie still batting on 79 and Campbell Kellaway on one.

The Aussies eventually got to 170-4 off 44.5 overs to register the six-wicket win.

Wyllie was voted man of the match.

Earlier, West Indies Under-19s were restricted to 169 all out in 40.1 overs, with captain Ackeem Auguste getting 57 and Rivaldo Clarke contributing 37 against three-wicket hauls from Tom Whitney (3-20 from 8.1 overs), Nivethan Radhakrishnan (3-48 from 10 overs) and captain Cooper Connolly (3-17 from 7 overs).

In the other Group D match today, Sri Lanka Under 19s (218 all out from 50 overs) beat Scotland Under-19s (178 all out from 48.4 overs) by 40 runs.

Both West Indies U-19s and Australia U-19s next games will be on Monday, January 17 against Scotland Under-19s and Sri Lanka Under-19s, respectively.

West Indies Under-19s were reduced to 169 all out off 40.1 overs, after winning the toss and choosing to bat first, in their opening ICC Men’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup game against Australia Under-19s at Providence today.

Their innings got off to the worst possible start as opener Matthew Nandu was dismissed with the second ball of the innings by Tom Whitney to leave them 1-1.

The second wicket fell soon after as Whitney removed West Indies U-19s number three batsman Teddy Bishop for five, in the fifth over, to leave the score at 12-2.

Opener Shaqkere Parris became the third man to go in the very next over after being dismissed by William Salzmann for four to leave the young Windies 12-3.

Captain Ackeem Auguste (14) and Rivaldo Clarke (8) ensured that West Indies U19s lost no further wickets in the first 10 overs, carrying the score to 38-3.

Auguste and Clarke continued to look assured as they brought up 50 for the West Indies U19s after 13 overs.

After 20 overs, West Indies U-19s were 99-3 thanks to more quality batting from Auguste (46) and Clarke (37).

Auguste brought up two milestones with one shot in the 21^st over, bringing up a classy 50 off 54 balls and the West Indies 100.

Australia U-19s got a much-needed breakthrough when Clarke went off the bowling of Nivethan Radhakrishnan for 37 to leave the score at 107-4 after 21.5 overs.

Giovonte Depeiza joined Auguste at the crease but didn’t last long, being dismissed by Australian captain Cooper Connolly for a duck to leave the young Windies 109-5 off 23 overs.

Connolly got his second wicket at the start of the 25^th over, removing Auguste for a quality 56 to leave the score 112-6.

Radhakrishnan dismissed Anderson Mahase for six in the 28^th over to take his second wicket and continue Australia’s stranglehold on the West Indies U19 batting line-up to leave them on 124-7.

After 30 overs, West Indies Under-19s were 131-7 with Johann Layne on 12 and McKenny Clarke on two.

Layne became Radhakrishnan’s third wicket in the 32^nd over for 12 to leave the score at 131-8.

Connolly took his third wicket and Australia’s ninth when he removed Shiva Sankar for seven to leave West Indies U-19s 145-9.

Three McKenny Clarke sixes in the 38^th over brought the score past 150.

After 40 overs, the West Indies U19s were 168-9 with McKenny Clarke on 29 and Onaje Amory on zero.

The innings was finally ended when McKenny Clarke was dismissed by Tom Whitney in the 41^st over for 29.

Tom Whitney was the pick of the Australian bowlers with 3-20 off 8.1 overs and Nivethan Radhakrishnan supported him well with 3-48 off 10 overs.

Former West Indies head coach, Ottis Gibson, has decided not to renew his contract as Bangladesh’s fast-bowling coach.

The 52-year-old completed his two-year contract with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) this month and is set to join Pakistan Super League side Multan Sultans for the start of their campaign on January 27.

BCB’s cricket operations committee chairman, Jalal Yunus, spoke about the situation in an interview with ESPNcricinfo.

“Ottis Gibson didn’t want to renew his contract which we accepted. Local coaches will look after the fast-bowling department temporarily. We hope to replace Gibson with another foreign coach shortly,” Yunus said.

Gibson, who played two tests and 15 ODIs for the West Indies between 1995 and 1999, joined Bangladesh in January 2020, replacing former South African fast-bowler Charl Langeveldt.

Gibson was the head coach of the West Indies Men’s senior team from 2010 to 2014.

Gibson’s best time with the Bangladesh team came earlier this month, in New Zealand, where Bangladesh’s pacers took 13 wickets on the way to a historic victory in the first Test against New Zealand at Mount Manganui.

Australia's Travis Head struck a century to punish England on a rain-affected opening day of the fifth and final Ashes Test at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart.

The hosts, who have an unassailable 3-0 lead, finished Friday on 241-6 having earlier been reduced to 12-3 by an England side who won the toss and chose to bowl first.

England showed five changes from last week's drawn fourth Test in Sydney, including a debut for Sam Billings, and started in an impressive manner.

David Warner (0), Usman Khawaja (6) and Steve Smith (0) all went by the start of the 10th over, while Marnus Labuschagne would have followed had Zak Crawley not fumbled.

That may well prove a decisive moment in the final Test as Labuschagne and Head launched a counter-attack by scoring 53 runs from the next seven overs.

But on 71 from 72 balls, Labuschagne comically wrong-footed himself when attacking a Stuart Broad delivery and could only watch from the floor as Australia lost another wicket.

England lost bowler Ollie Robinson to injury and their problems were compounded by the work of Head, who continued to rack up the runs when joined by Cameron Green.

Head survived a big scare on his way to reaching 101 from 113 balls, but his day was ended after he chipped a Chris Woakes delivery to Robinson at mid-on.

Green got to 74 before holing out at deep mid-wicket and only nine more balls were bowled due to rain, with Mitch Starc (0) and Alex Carey (10) to resume play on Saturday.

Travis keeps his Head after Crawley loses his

England could not have asked for a much better start on the green surface, with Robinson and Broad dismantling Australia's top order by dismissing Warner and Smith for ducks.

But Crawley's drop of Labuschagne, combined with England's wayward bowling from that point on, allowed Head – recently sidelined due to COVID-19 isolation – to grab the fifth Test by the scruff of the neck.

He went past the 100 mark, becoming the seventh Australian to do so in a day/night men's Test innings after Warner, Labuschagne, Khawaja, Smith, Shaun Marsh and Peter Handscomb.

Green shoots of recovery

Australia all-rounder Green had a maiden hundred in his sights, only to fall to Mark Wood's short-ball trap 16 runs shot of three figures.

At 22 years and 225 days, he is the youngest player to score 50 or more runs in a men's Test innings for Australia at Bellerive Oval and the fourth youngest overall at the ground.

Sports Company of Trinidad and Tobago (SPORTT) Douglas Camacho is confident the country will benefit from hosting the ICC U19 World Cup, despite spectators not being allowed to attend matches.

The tournament, which will get underway on Friday will be played across the Caribbean territories of St Kitts, Antigua, and Guyana, in addition to T&T.

With case numbers for the Covid-19 pandemic remaining high, however, the T&T venues, Queen’s Park Oval, Brian Lara Cricket Academy, and Diego Martin Sporting Complex will only be occupied by players and officials.

Despite that fact, however, Camacho expects the tournament to be a success.

 “We wouldn’t be able to have spectators at attendance. While this is a downer for some, I don’t think this will impact upon the quality of the tournament itself or on the organisation that has been put in place,” Camacho said.

“The facilities, both for training and competitive matches, are world-renowned, world-class and the best of the best,” he added.

 “We are very confident that all the players, officials, attendees will have a wonderful experience, that would be to the benefit of Trinidad and Tobago.”

The tournament will get underway at the  

Providence Stadium, in Guyana, on Friday, with the West Indies playing against Australia.

Ireland secured a five-wicket win via the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method to tie their 3-match One-Day International series with the West Indies 1-1 at Sabina Park on Thursday.

Ireland’s opening pair of William Porterfield and Paul Stirling got off to a strong start reaching 37 off 4.5 overs before Stirling was dismissed for 21 by Akeal Hosein.

Ireland brought up their 50 in the eighth over with Porterfield on 22 and Andy McBrine yet to score.

Roston Chase removed Porterfield with the final ball of the 10^th over for 26 to leave the Irish on 60-2.

McBrine and Harry Tector formed a decent partnership and brought Ireland’s score past 100 before McBrine was dismissed by Romario Shepherd to become the third wicket to fall for a well-played 35, in the 20^th over, to leave Ireland at 104-3.

Tector (46) and Curtis Campher (11) were the batsmen at the crease when Ireland brought up their 150 in the 29^th over.

Tector brought up his sixth ODI 50 and second in the series off 69 balls in the 31^st over but in the same over was bowled by Hosein.  Curtis Campher was dismissed for 12 to leave the score on 157-4 with Ireland needing 73 more runs to win from 115 balls.

A long rain delay during the 32^nd over meant that upon the resumption of the game, Ireland only needed 11 more runs to win off 28 balls after the overs were reduced from 50 to 36 by the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method.

Kieron Pollard removed George Dockrell in the 33^rd over for five, with the Irish needing just three more runs to win before Gareth Delaney hit the winning runs off Pollard to close the innings at 168-5.

Harry Tector finished 54 not out for the Irish against Akeal Hosein’s 2-51 off eight overs.

Earlier, the West Indies recovered from being 111-7 to be bowled out for 229 in 48 overs thanks to a well-made 50 from Romario Shepherd and an aggressive 46 off 19 balls from Odean Smith against a four-wicket haul from Andy McBrine, who was voted man of the match, and a three-wicket haul from Craig Young.

The third and final ODI will take place on Sunday at 9:15 AM Jamaica time at the same venue.