England forward Alessia Russo felt she was not strong enough to play football at the highest level after losing weight during the coronavirus pandemic.

The 24-year-old is set to play a key part for the Lionesses at this summer’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

However, in an interview with Women’s Health magazine, the former Manchester United player opened up about her “low point” after losing weight using a calorie-counting app.

She told Women’s Health: “In lockdown, it was tough. I was training on my own, I was home and I lost quite a bit of weight. Then I signed for Man United soon after lockdown.

“And within about six weeks, I completely tore my hamstring, (which I) could only relate back to losing a lot of weight because I’ve never had a muscle injury before.”

Russo, who scored four goals in England’s victorious European Championship campaign last summer, revealed she would track calories and macros on an app.

She said: “I wanted to make sure I hit (my numbers) really, but it was also about really low calories.

“So (my diet) was high protein, but I was sacrificing all the carbs and the fats… and then that would be my calories for the day.

“I used to track everything (on an app). I know some people still use (it), but…I was at a low point with my food and with my weight.

“I wasn’t strong enough. I wasn’t robust. I thought I looked great… but really, on the football pitch, I wasn’t strong enough to compete.”

England have decided to go with an all-seam attack for the second Ashes Test against Australia, but surprisingly selected Josh Tongue as the fourth seamer.

Moeen Ali, who struggled with a burst blister on his right index finger at Edgbaston, is left out in the only change from the narrow two-wicket defeat in the series opener.

All-rounder Moeen appeared to allay any concerns over his fitness by taking a full part in Monday’s net session, but captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum have chosen to go with four seamers at Lord’s.

Tongue is preferred to the express pace of Mark Wood, who has not played Test cricket since December.

Seamers Chris Woakes and Matthew Potts were also overlooked.

Worcestershire bowler Tongue only made his Test debut against Ireland earlier this month but impressed with a maiden five-wicket haul and relished his chance to be the enforcer with a string of first-innings bouncers on a slow pitch at Lord’s.

England could have picked teenage leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed, called up to the squad on Friday, had they wanted to go with another spin option, but have opted for Tongue and will rely on Joe Root’s part-time off-breaks in their efforts to level the series in London.

After losing the first Test at Edgbaston, England will be looking to level the Ashes when the second Test starts at Lord’s on Wednesday.

The Home of Cricket has staged 37 Ashes Test matches since 1884 with Australia holding a fine track record at the ground.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the main moments of Ashes history at Lord’s.

The top prize up for grabs, England and Australia are vying to lift the small urn at the conclusion of the series.

The name “Ashes” was coined when England lost to Australia for the first time on home soil in 1882 and the Sporting Times published an obituary of English cricket, stating: “the body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia”.

England captain Hon Ivo Bligh vowed to “return the ashes” while on tour to Australia and was gifted a terracotta urn while away.

Although its contents are debated, the urn is said to contain the ashes of a bail and Bligh kept it until his death in 1927 when it was subsequently donated to the MCC.

The original urn can be seen at the MCC Museum at Lord’s and the winner of the Ashes will lift a replica along with the urn-shaped Waterford Crystal trophy introduced in the 1998-99 series.

The first Ashes Test at Lord’s took place in 1884 when Allan Steele’s 148 put England in the driving seat along with George Ulyett’s seven wickets to earn victory by an innings and five runs.

Another win followed in 1886, but Australia picked up their first success in 1888 after a low-scoring affair saw Charlie Turner shine with the ball and take 10 wickets across the match.

England then earned a six-wicket win in 1896, but it would be their last at Lord’s until 1934.

Clem Hill and Victor Gregory’s contribution of 135 each set Australia up for a 10-wicket win in 1899 and victories swiftly followed in 1909 and 1921.

Australian great Don Bradman then made his mark on English soil in 1930 with an incredible double century of 254, which led to the touring party declaring on 729 for six and easing to a six-wicket win.

Centuries from Les Ames and Maurice Leyland gave England an innings victory in 1934, but Lord’s has certainly since been advantage Australia with the visitors exerting a 75-year period of dominance.

After drawing in 1938, Australia won by 409 runs in 1948 and went on to pick up another eight victories until 2009 when England finally broke their losing run.

Their last win at the ground came in 2015 when a huge double century from Steve Smith in the first innings allowed Australia to set England a target of 509 in the second innings, but they crumbled to 103 all out.

Australia’s overall Test record at the Home of Cricket makes for far better reading with the tourists winning 16 matches compared to England’s six, while 15 draws have taken place between both sides.

Alongside Bradman’s mammoth knock in 1930, Lord’s has thrown up plenty of memorable Ashes moments with most being in Australia’s favour.

Allan Border put on an impressive batting display with a first innings 196 to guide his team to victory in 1985.

Working with Greg Ritchie (94), the pair dragged their side back into the game from 101 for four to 398 for seven by the time the Australian captain was dismissed, setting them on track for a four-wicket win.

Their bowling has also showcased some fine moments and in 1972 Bob Massie produced one of the finest Test match debuts, taking eight for 84 in the first innings and eight for 53 in the second.

His ability to get the ball swinging like no one else saw him finish with match figures of 16 for 137, a record for a Test debutant until bettered by India’s Narendra Hirwani in 1988.

Lord’s is no stranger to impressive bowling spells and Glenn McGrath etched his name into the history books in 1997 with a first innings eight-wicket haul.

On his first tour of England, the seamer ripped through the England batting line-up, reducing them to 77 all out and taking eight for 38.

Although Australia ultimately hold the happier memories at Lord’s, Andrew Strauss’ 161 and Andrew Flintoff’s second innings five-for earned England a first victory at the ground in 75 years in 2009.

Lord’s hosted the second Test of the last Ashes series in 2019, when an intriguing five days boiled down to a draw.

With day one washed out, Rory Burns and Jonny Bairstow made half-centuries on day two, but England were bowled out for 258 with Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon taking three wickets each.

There was plenty of buzz in the build-up to the game with fast bowler Jofra Archer making his Test debut and his sheer speed became one of the talking points when his 92mph bouncer caught Steve Smith on the neck.

The Australian batter fell to the floor and was taken off the field, but returned after passing concussion protocols before being bowled lbw by Chris Woakes with Australia all out for 250.

Smith was subsequently ruled out of the fifth day of the Test with concussion and would go on to miss the Headingley Test, with Marnus Labuschagne brought into the team as the first concussion substitute.

Ben Stokes then smashed an unbeaten 115 as England declared on 258 for five, but despite three wickets each from Archer and Jack Leach, Australia managed to hold on for the draw.

Nathan Lyon is set to play his 100th consecutive Test when Australia and England meet at Lord’s from Wednesday.

The second Ashes Test sees the visiting spinner bring up an unprecedented landmark for a bowler and here, the PA news agency looks at his record in that time.

Lyon will become only the sixth man to play 100 consecutive Tests, with the others all specialist batters including one regular wicketkeeper – current England coach Brendon McCullum, whose 101 Tests without missing a game mark the next figure for Lyon to pass. McCullum took the gloves in 52 of those games.

India’s Sunil Gavaskar and Australia’s Mark Waugh played 106 and 107 consecutive Tests respectively, both in Lyon’s sights barring injury or a shock omission.

Allan Border’s Australian record of 153 successive appearances will surely remain out of reach, however, along with former England captain Sir Alastair Cook’s world record of 159.

Even the other regular bowlers on the list were all-rounders, with Sir Garry Sobers closest behind Lyon with 85 consecutive appearances for the West Indies.

Kapil Dev had separate runs of 66 and 65 for India, missing only one Test in his 131-match career, while Lord Ian Botham also played 65 in a row for England between 1978 and 1984.

In terms of specialist bowlers, spinner Anil Kumble’s 60 consecutive Tests for India from 1992 to 2000 is the longest run other than Lyon’s.

Lyon’s 495 Test wickets rank eighth all time and fourth among spinners, with the fairytale prospect of bringing up 500 and adding his name to the famous Lord’s honours board in the process.

On his previous visits to the Home of Cricket, he took one for 53 and two for 27 in 2015 and three for 68 before a wicketless second innings in 2019.

He needs 24 wickets to catch former West Indies paceman Courtney Walsh for the next spot on the list, though compatriot Glenn McGrath could remain out of reach in sixth, 68 ahead of Lyon.

England’s long-standing new-ball pair James Anderson (686) and Stuart Broad (588) are in the top five along with the other spinners on the list – Sri Lankan Muttiah Muralitharan clear on 800, Australia great Shane Warne taking 708 and India’s Anil Kumble splitting Anderson and Broad with 619.

Since his debut in August 2011, Lyon has missed only four of the 125 Tests Australia have played – against India at Perth in 2012 and Hyderabad the following year, plus the first two games of the 2013 Ashes in England.

Since being recalled at Old Trafford in August 2013 he has been ever-present, taking 419 wickets at an average of 30.60 including 20 of his 23 five-wicket hauls.

He has four 10-wicket matches along the way, with his best figures of eight for 50 in an innings and 13 for 154 in a match both set in 2017 against India and Bangladesh respectively.

His run of 99 Tests so far includes 109 wickets in 29 Ashes Tests and 99 in 21 against India, with double figures of Tests too against South Africa (13) and Pakistan (12). Eight games against New Zealand, seven each against the West Indies and Sri Lanka and two against Bangladesh complete the list.

England have been left with a mountain to climb to regain the Women’s Ashes after Australia seized the upper hand in the multi-format series by triumphing in the lone Test.

Resuming on 116 for five in pursuit of 268 on a final day where Trent Bridge threw open its gates free of charge, England subsided to 178 all out inside 90 minutes despite a defiant 54 from Danni Wyatt.

Wily off-spinner Ashleigh Gardner’s eight for 66 saw her walk away with a 12-wicket match haul as Australia claimed an 89-run victory to collect four all-important points ahead of the ODIs and T20s.

If England are to retrieve the urn for the first time since 2015 they will have to prevail in five of the six white-ball contests against the ODI and T20 world champions, with two points per win on offer.

Sophie Ecclestone fervently believes England can still win the lone Women’s Ashes Test, insisting she would have “bitten your hand off” for the difficult position they find themselves in.

England took to the field on the penultimate day at Trent Bridge with a telling-off from head coach Jon Lewis still ringing in their ears after Australia had racked up 82 in 19 overs late on Saturday.

But Ecclestone showed why she is widely regarded as the world’s best women’s spinner with another five-wicket haul to finish with 10 for the match as Australia collapsed from 149 for one to 257 all out.

England’s openers put on 55 in their pursuit of 268 to draw first blood in this multi-format series but Ashleigh Gardner snared Tammy Beaumont, Nat Sciver-Brunt and Heather Knight as the hosts wobbled.

They closed on 116 for five and need another 152 but their fightback with the ball has convinced Ecclestone the Test remains in the balance.

“We’ll always believe in that dressing room,” she said. “We’re definitely going into it ready to win that Test match. I’m absolutely backing our team to do that.

“We’d have bitten your hand off for this situation (on Saturday) after our disappointment. We had a bit of a rocket so we had to go at them early, put a lot of pressure on them, put it all back on them.

“We definitely showed that. I’m really proud of this team. We’re just going to go away and we’ve got to figure out how we’re going to win the Test match.”

Ecclestone was selected as England’s lone frontline spinner and has been one of the Test’s standout performers with remarkable figures of 77.1-16-192-10 on a pitch that is becoming increasingly tired.

The odd delivery has kept low while Gardner extracted prodigious turn to trap Knight on the crease late on in Sunday’s evening session. Gardner is one of three Australia spinners although Alana King did not bowl in England’s second innings after sustaining a painful blow to her elbow when batting.

While Ecclestone conceded she did not anticipate bowling as many overs as she has, she is appreciative of doing so after becoming just the fourth English woman to take a 10-wicket match haul.

“I’m absolutely buzzing,” she said. “There’s been a lot of hard work, a lot of overs put in up until this point. I really wanted a five-for and to get two I’m absolutely made up.

“I knew I was going to bowl a lot of overs, I didn’t think it would be this many but I’m grateful that I was bowling a lot as I’ve come out with 10 wickets and I’m made up with that.”

As for how she prepared for the enormous workload she took on, Ecclestone said: “Not much, just made sure I played as much golf as I could to get out and about and take my mind off cricket.

“I think you can’t really prepare for that, you’ve just got to go with it and be tough in the mind.”

Ecclestone was similarly phlegmatic when asked to explain England losing four wickets in 29 deliveries before Test debutant Danni Wyatt and nightwatcher Kate Cross got them to stumps.

“It just shows that Test cricket changes so fast,” she added. “Dan and Crossy played really well to get us through to the end of the day. We’ll have to come back and put them back under pressure.”

Half-centuries from Beth Mooney, out for 85, and captain Alyssa Healy, who ended a run of three Test ducks in a row with a crucial 50 after demoting herself to number eight, buttressed Australia’s total.

That they are in pole position to claim a first Ashes Test win since 2015 – there have been three successive draws – owes much to extending this contest from the customary four days into a fifth.

The notion was proposed by the England and Wales Cricket Board and accepted by Cricket Australia last year, and there is a prospect of a thrilling finish – with four points available for a win.

“This is a sign of why it’s important,” Mooney said. “At a really critical point it would be a real shame if it just petered out (into a draw), so credit to the ECB.”

Sophie Ecclestone fervently believes England can still win the lone Women’s Ashes Test, insisting she would have “bitten your hand off” for the difficult position they find themselves in.

England took to the field on the penultimate day at Trent Bridge with a telling-off from head coach Jon Lewis still ringing in their ears after Australia had racked up 82 in 19 overs late on Saturday.

But Ecclestone showed why she is widely regarded as the world’s best women’s spinner with another five-wicket haul to finish with 10 for the match as Australia collapsed from 149 for one to 257 all out.

England’s openers put on 55 in their pursuit of 268 to draw first blood in this multi-format series but Ashleigh Gardner snared Tammy Beaumont, Nat Sciver-Brunt and Heather Knight as the hosts wobbled.

They closed on 116 for five and need another 152 but their fightback with the ball has convinced Ecclestone the Test remains in the balance.

“We’ll always believe in that dressing room,” she said. “We’re definitely going into it ready to win that Test match. I’m absolutely backing our team to do that.

“We’d have bitten your hand off for this situation (on Saturday) after our disappointment. We had a bit of a rocket so we had to go at them early, put a lot of pressure on them, put it all back on them.

“We definitely showed that. I’m really proud of this team. We’re just going to go away and we’ve got to figure out how we’re going to win the Test match.”

Ecclestone was selected as England’s lone frontline spinner and has been one of the Test’s standout performers with remarkable figures of 77.1-16-192-10 on a pitch that is becoming increasingly tired.

The odd delivery has kept low while Gardner extracted prodigious turn to trap Knight on the crease late on in Sunday’s evening session. Gardner is one of three Australia spinners although Alana King did not bowl in England’s second innings after sustaining a painful blow to her elbow when batting.

While Ecclestone conceded she did not anticipate bowling as many overs as she has, she is appreciative of doing so after becoming just the fourth English woman to take a 10-wicket match haul.

“I’m absolutely buzzing,” she said. “There’s been a lot of hard work, a lot of overs put in up until this point. I really wanted a five-for and to get two I’m absolutely made up.

“I knew I was going to bowl a lot of overs, I didn’t think it would be this many but I’m grateful that I was bowling a lot as I’ve come out with 10 wickets and I’m made up with that.”

As for how she prepared for the enormous workload she took on, Ecclestone said: “Not much, just made sure I played as much golf as I could to get out and about and take my mind off cricket.

“I think you can’t really prepare for that, you’ve just got to go with it and be tough in the mind.”

Ecclestone was similarly phlegmatic when asked to explain England losing four wickets in 29 deliveries before Test debutant Danni Wyatt and nightwatcher Kate Cross got them to stumps.

“It just shows that Test cricket changes so fast,” she added. “Dan and Crossy played really well to get us through to the end of the day. We’ll have to come back and put them back under pressure.”

Half-centuries from Beth Mooney, out for 85, and captain Alyssa Healy, who ended a run of three Test ducks in a row with a crucial 50 after demoting herself to number eight, buttressed Australia’s total.

That they are in pole position to claim a first Ashes Test win since 2015 – there have been three successive draws – owes much to extending this contest from the customary four days into a fifth.

The notion was proposed by the England and Wales Cricket Board and accepted by Cricket Australia last year, and there is a prospect of a thrilling finish – with four points available for a win.

“This is a sign of why it’s important,” Mooney said. “At a really critical point it would be a real shame if it just petered out (into a draw), so credit to the ECB.”

England Under-21s reached the quarter-finals of Euro 2023 as Group C winners following a comfortable 2-0 victory against Israel.

Anthony Gordon’s header put them in front in the 15th minute before Emile Smith Rowe doubled the lead in the second half.

Lee Carsley’s side, guaranteed top spot after beating the Czech Republic in their opening match, will meet Germany in the final group game on Wednesday.

After starting brightly, England nearly took the lead after some quick passing around the box was finished by Smith Rowe, but his backheeled effort was ruled out for offside.

They continued to attack with Gordon firing a promising ball into the box and Curtis Jones’ shot was well defended by Gil Cohen.

The dominant start was rewarded with quarter of an hour gone when a brilliant cross from Morgan Gibbs-White on the left found Gordon in the centre of the box and the Newcastle forward nodded the ball into the bottom corner.

England were in charge but Israel sparked into life in the final 10 minutes of the first half.

Dor Turgeman had the first opportunity with his header going wide of the post and Ethane Azoulay had a better chance in stoppage time when his direct free-kick from the edge of the area was saved by James Trafford.

England had an opportunity to double their lead three minutes after the break when Gibbs-White threaded a great ball through to Noni Madueke, but his effort flew wide.

Daniel Peretz made a great punch to clear the danger from Gibbs-White’s curling free-kick before a solid spell of pressure from Israel saw Karm Jaber’s effort go wide.

England eventually earned their second through Smith Rowe in the 68th minute with an excellent finish from the Arsenal forward drilled low into the left corner.

They continued to push and substitute Cameron Archer nearly made it three, but Peretz made a solid save from a tight angle.

A great run from Harvey Elliott down the centre found Cole Palmer on the right, but his shot was easily blocked and cleared by the Israel defence before Yoav Hofmeister made a solid challenge to stop Jacob Ramsey’s attempted shot in the final minutes.

England were left in a spin by Ashleigh Gardner as their hopes of victory in the lone Women’s Ashes Test drastically receded despite the indefatigable Sophie Ecclestone’s 10-wicket match haul.

The slow left-armer claimed back-to-back five-wicket hauls to finish with astonishing figures of 77.1-16-192-10 this week and restrict Australia to 257, which left England requiring 268 for victory.

Despite Emma Lamb and Tammy Beaumont putting on opening stand of 55, Gardner’s introduction to the attack was the catalyst for a top-order collapse as England ended day four on 116 for five.

Gardner’s wily off-spin bagged first-innings double centurion Beaumont, star all-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt and captain Heather Knight, leaving England needing an improbable 152 to win on the final day on a Trent Bridge pitch that has shown several signs of keeping low and had appreciable turn.

Australia require five wickets to collect a first Ashes Test triumph since 2015 and seal a sizeable four points that would go a long way to helping them retain the urn in this multi-format series.

They had been under the cosh as Lamb (28) and Beaumont (22) started the chase well. But Gardner had bowled Beaumont with her last ball in England’s first innings and struck immediately in the second to remove the same batter, whose attempt to dig out a fuller, flighted delivery ended up at first slip.

Australia got the benefit of the umpire’s raised finger after Tahlia McGrath thudded into Lamb’s front pad as a review showed the ball would have trimmed leg stump.

Knight got off nought with a heave for six but, in attempting something similar later in the over, Sciver-Brunt, who had earlier fallen in a heap at the end of an over while bowling amid concerns about her right knee, got a top-edge off Gardner which looped to short leg.

If that was something of a gift, Gardner found prodigious turn to trap Knight on the crease. While there was some suspicion she might have been outside the line, the impact went with the umpire.

Knight’s downfall meant England had lost four wickets in 29 balls to lurch to 73 for four and they lost another before the close as Kim Garth found the outside edge of Sophia Dunkley.

Test debutant Danni Wyatt made it to stumps unbeaten on 20 with nightwatcher Kate Cross (5no) seeing out 12 deliveries to ensure there were no further alarms.

Earlier, Cross required strapping after injuring her left thumb when shelling a waist-high chance to reprieve Phoebe Litchfield on 42 as Australia resumed on 82 without loss and a lead of 92.

But Cross atoned for a mistake that yielded just four runs with a delivery that jagged back and took out out off-stump as Litchfield was out again offering no shot.

Sciver-Brunt got both hands to a return chance after Beth Mooney had passed 50 but could not cling on before Lauren Filer took the fielders out of the equation as Ellyse Perry chopped on for 25 to fall for the second time to the England debutant, who then beat McGrath for pace by uprooting leg-stump.

The strikes in consecutive wicket maidens gave England a fillip ahead of lunch before the metronomic Ecclestone got into the act upon the resumption as Jess Jonassen had her bails disturbed after missing a full-blooded slog-sweep to a delivery that turned and snaked under her bat.

Annabel Sutherland was promoted two spots to six and the first-innings centurion had a life on nought when Wyatt spilled a difficult chance at square-leg, but Mooney was on her way for 85 after an attempted cut off Ecclestone took the under-edge before dislodging the stumps.

Gardner lasted just three balls as a low edge off Cross was held by a juggling Knight while Sutherland’s streaky innings concluded on 14 after she tamely lobbed to Wyatt.

Australia had stretched their lead to above 200 but they almost lost their fourth wicket in 13 deliveries as Alyssa Healy, who had demoted herself to eight after three successive Test ducks, got a thin edge to her first ball which brushed the glove of Amy Jones before rolling away.

The Australia captain rebuilt alongside Alana King in what may yet be a crucial 59-run stand either side of tea.

Healy was the aggressor but King’s departure after being squared up and edging to slip in Lauren Bell’s first over of the day marked the beginning of the end as Australia lost their final three wickets in seven balls.

Ecclestone grinned sheepishly and had her head in her hands after Healy bunted a rank full toss to Lamb, who took a catch above her head, before whirling away in celebration as Darcie Brown was lbw when she missed a forward prod to finish with second-innings figures of 30.5-7-63-5.

England all-rounder Rehan Ahmed has been backed to relish the big stage if selected to make his Ashes debut in next week’s second Test at Lord’s.

Leicestershire leg-spinner Ahmed has been called up to the England squad after the thrilling curtain-raiser at Edgbaston, which saw Australia win by two wickets to move 1-0 up in the series.

Teenager Ahmed, the youngest man to play Test cricket for England after his December appearance in Pakistan, was drafted into the set-up owing to concerns over Moeen Ali’s injured finger.

Moeen reversed his decision to retire from red-ball cricket to feature in the series opener – after Jack Leach was ruled out of the Ashes with a stress fracture – but a burst blister on his right index finger troubled the off-spinner in Birmingham.

The wound is being monitored by England’s medical staff ahead of Wednesday’s start and while there is optimism Moeen will be passed fit, Leicestershire’s director of cricket Claude Henderson knows the county’s talented prospect will be ready if called upon.

Henderson told the PA news agency: “Rehan is one of those characters: the bigger the game, the more he wants to stand up.

“He loves the big stage so let’s see what happens. I don’t know what the situation is like with him yet regarding the next Test but he joined them today and let’s see where that goes.

“He loves a challenge. He doesn’t play names, he plays the ball. He loves cricket and just wants to compete against the best players in the world, which is a great attitude to have.”

If Moeen does not recover in time, England could still leave Ahmed out of their XI and go with an all-seam attack at Lord’s supplemented by Joe Root’s off breaks.

Ahmed is not short of match practice though, having featured in seven of Leicestershire’s red-ball fixtures in Division Two.

Four half-centuries have followed and the 18-year-old reserved his best display for Headingley, home of the third Ashes Test, where he claimed three for 89 and smashed 85 in a memorable three-wicket win for his county.

“He has played a massive role for us in the County Championship. He came in at number seven, got good runs, got a 90 (against Glamorgan) and got a hundred at the back end of last year, so he is a really promising batter,” Henderson added.

“His bowling has shown a lot of good signs as well. April and May can be tricky in county cricket for leg spin but he stuck at it, has shown progress and is just a wonderful character to have in the changing room.

“It is important from us on Rehan’s development to keep getting him overs, which is great. We’ll keep doing that to try and create opportunities for him to develop as the final cricketer.”

Six wickets at an average of 67.66 and an economy rate of 4.01 in Division Two this season may not strike fear into the Australians, but Ahmed showed on his Test debut with five for 48 in Karachi the difficulty of picking up his leg breaks.

At the age of 11, Ahmed had bowled to future captain Ben Stokes in the nets and two years later left the late Shane Warne in awe of his wrist spin.

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England’s decision to again go bold and call up the teenager to cover Moeen over more experienced options suggests even if there is no Ashes debut at Lord’s, Ahmed could break Brian Close’s record as England’s youngest player in the men’s Ashes later this summer.

And if not, Henderson feels the all-rounder can continue to aid Leicestershire’s promotion charge.

He said: “Look, let’s see what happens. We never know with Lord’s, Lord’s can spin.

“It depends on the weather and what they want to do but he just offers so much in the changing room, with the bat and he is the whole package.

“We’ll see what England say. I know they do send back some players when they are not playing, they ask them to go back and play county cricket.

“I think it would be healthy for Rehan to keep playing cricket, not sit on the bench but there are always opportunities and it is just great for us to see him back in the mix with England.”

Sophie Ecclestone took three wickets to lead England’s fightback on the penultimate afternoon of the Women’s Ashes Test but Australia increased their lead to 264 at Trent Bridge.

Australia were cruising on 149 for one but then lurched to 198 for seven, with Ecclestone to the fore as the tourists lost four wickets in 34 balls at a hectic juncture in the afternoon session.

Lauren Filer bowled Ellyse Perry and Tahlia McGrath in the morning, but there were a few let-offs for Australia’s batters as England dropped six chances of varying degrees of difficulty.

Beth Mooney’s 85 plus 47 from Alyssa Healy underpinned Australia’s teatime 254 for seven on day four in what is effectively a one-innings shootout at the start of this multi-format series.

Mooney put on 99 with fellow opener Phoebe Litchfield (46) and 50 with Perry (25) and was the beneficiary of being dropped on 55 as Nat Sciver-Brunt spilled a difficult return catch with her first delivery in Australia’s second dig.

Sciver-Brunt went off before tea after falling in a heap at the end of her ninth over, having been restricted in Australia’s first innings because of a jarred right knee.

Despite Tammy Beaumont’s historic double century on Saturday, Australia had edged ahead through Mooney and Litchfield, who outlined her intentions on the penultimate morning with an uppish drive at Ecclestone. She was reprieved after Cross spilled a simple waist-high chance at extra cover.

Cross required strapping on her left thumb but was able to continue bowling, and the England seamer’s drop proved not to be too costly as she got a delivery to jag back alarmingly towards Litchfield, who offered no shot and lost her off stump.

There was movement and spin in sunny and blustery conditions but England were largely unable to take advantage. Mooney offered a sharp caught and bowled chance after passing 50 but Sciver-Brunt could not cling on in her follow-through despite getting both hands to the ball.

Heather Knight’s off-spin drew the outside edge of Perry on 21 but the ball flew between wicketkeeper and slip. The talismanic Australia all-rounder’s luck ran out soon after as, leaning back and shaping to cut, she merely inside edged on to her stumps.

Cheered on by the Nottingham crowd, Filer struck in her next over as a fuller, pacy delivery proved too much for McGrath, whose leg stump was flattened, in a second successive wicket maiden.

Australia progressed to 178 for three post-lunch before Jess Jonassen saw her bails dislodged after missing a full-blooded sweep at Ecclestone, with the ball snaking under her bat, while Mooney’s cross batted shot to the slow left-armer ended with her under-edging on to her stumps.

Ashleigh Gardner lasted just three balls as a low edge off Cross was held by a juggling Knight while Amy Jones and Danni Wyatt put down difficult chances off first-innings centurion Annabel Sutherland, who was out for a streaky 14 after lobbing Ecclestone tamely to square-leg.

Healy demoted herself to number eight and might have recorded a fourth successive Test duck after getting a thin edge to her first delivery but the ball brushed the glove of Jones, standing up to the stumps, before rolling away.

Healy (47 not out) and Alana King (9no) steadied Australia following the flurry of wickets with an unbroken 56-run partnership but a few minutes before the end of the session there were England concerns as Sciver-Brunt limped off the field after falling to the ground in her follow-through.

Australian batter Travis Head has laughed off sledging from England during and since the thrilling Ashes opener at Edgbaston – and has sent a word of warning to Ollie Robinson.

Robinson is viewed in some quarters down under as the pantomime villain following his expletive-laden send-off to Usman Khawaja, with Australian greats Matthew Hayden and Ricky Ponting rounding on the Sussex seamer in the wake of the tourists’ two-wicket win.

It has not deterred Robinson, who – in a column for Wisden.com this week – expressed his surprise at how “defensive” Australia were, and claimed England’s opponents must change their style to come out on top during the five-match series.

England opener Zak Crawley, meanwhile, predicted on Times Radio recently that the hosts would win the upcoming second Test at Lord’s by 150 runs.

“We’re only going for the lunch, apparently,” Head told 9News Sydney. “Yeah, they have got this mantra they’re going at.

“Not just on the field but off the field they are throwing some nice chat out, but this team is truly just worried about what we need to do to win the second Test to go 2-0 up and put some pressure on them.”

Middle-order batter Head hit 50 at Edgbaston and put on 79 for the fourth wicket with Khawaja, who faced plenty of verbals from Robinson in Birmingham.

Robinson ended Khawaja’s marathon knock and claimed five wickets during the first Test, but Head insisted the England bowler will have to improve if he wants to retain his position in Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes’ team.

Head added: “I find it pretty fun. I had a few quiet words, jovial words, to him out there.

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“It all makes for good fun and we’ll see where the next four Tests go.

“It didn’t go his way in the first one but he’s very competitive and he will want to step up. But if he doesn’t, I think they have got a few people at home that might want to get up his back.”

Head trained with his Australian team-mates at Lord’s on Sunday ahead of the second Test getting under way on Wednesday.

Fellow batters Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith were also present, having spent their Saturdays at the Home of Cricket in the nets following their low scores at Edgbaston.

Labuschagne took a painful blow to a finger on his right hand during his Saturday net session, but was fine to carry on after being checked over by team doctor Leigh Golding.

Lauren Filer made a crucial double breakthrough for England but Australia stretched their lead to 167 in the one-off Women’s Ashes Test at Trent Bridge.

Cross atoned for dropping Phoebe Litchfield minutes into the fourth morning by uprooting the off-stump of the Australia opener, out leaving for the second time in the match on her Test bow.

England debutant Filer, meanwhile, accounted for the highly-rated Ellyse Perry and then took out the leg stump of Tahlia McGrath, but Beth Mooney’s unbeaten 73 helped to lift Australia to 157 for three.

Mooney put on 99 with Litchfield (46) and 50 with Perry (25) and was the beneficiary of being dropped on 55 as Nat Sciver-Brunt, having only bowled five overs in the first innings before a sore knee, spilled a difficult return catch with her first delivery in Australia’s second dig.

Despite Tammy Beaumont’s historic double century on Saturday, Australia had edged ahead through Mooney and Litchfield, who outlined her intentions on the penultimate morning with an uppish drive at Sophie Ecclestone. She was reprieved after Cross spilled a simple waist-high chance at extra cover.

Cross required strapping on her left thumb but was able to continue bowling, and the England seamer’s drop proved not to be too costly as she got a delivery to jag back alarmingly towards Litchfield, who offered no shot and lost her off stump.

There was movement and spin in sunny and blustery conditions but England were largely unable to take advantage. Mooney offered a sharp caught and bowled chance after passing 50 but Sciver-Brunt could not cling on in her follow-through despite getting both hands to the ball.

Heather Knight’s off-spin drew the outside edge of Perry on 21 but the ball flew between wicketkeeper and slip, but the talismanic Australia all-rounder’s luck ran out soon after as, leaning back and shaping to cut, she merely inside edged on to her stumps.

Cheered on by the Nottingham crowd, Filer struck in her next over as a fuller, pacy delivery proved too much for McGrath, whose leg stump was flattened, in a second successive wicket maiden for the England youngster.

Tammy Beaumont believes her historic 208 in the lone Women’s Ashes Test may have been inadvertently aided by being axed from England’s T20 set-up last year.

After breaking Betty Snowball’s 88-year record for the highest score by an England woman in going past 189, Beaumont became her nation’s first double centurion and just the eighth female overall in Tests.

Her epic knock – which helped England to 463 and a 10-run deficit before Australia got their noses in front by closing on 82 without loss to lead by 92 at Trent Bridge – raised the question as to whether Beaumont can slot back into the T20 side after being dropped ahead of the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

While Beaumont was coy at the suggestion, the England opener, who has featured in 99 T20 internationals, admitted being discarded led to her working hard to seek advancements in her batting.

“It’s certainly not been on my mind in the last three or four days, Test match cricket is very different to T20 cricket – even though the England men try to make it look pretty similar,” she joked.

“How I’ve worked this winter on my game, that probably has had an impact on me trying to find that motivation to get better and improve.

“I’ve worked on trying to not get hit on the front pad so much and get out lbw. That came about from trying to be more aggressive in the T20 game and access midwicket and because of that, I’m defending the ball better.

“In an indirect way, it’s definitely played a part but it’s also reminded me that I’ve got a lot of cricket left that I want to play for England. Whether that’s in T20 cricket or not, who knows?”

Beaumont, who batted for more than eight hours across two days and struck 27 fours, revealed she was unaware she had eclipsed Snowball’s innings against New Zealand in Christchurch in February 1935.

“No, not at all,” she said. “I think when I hit the ball, it was announced and Sophie Ecclestone was desperate to give me a hug. But I was like ‘no, no, the job’s not done here’, so I just sent her away.

“I guess I was in the zone and I wasn’t thinking about records. I’d been really calm and tried to not show any emotion for two days but when I hit that run (to get to 200), it all came out.

“If you’re going to score 200 for England, you might as well celebrate it properly.”

England’s seamers were leggy and wayward at the outset of Australia’s second innings, with Beth Mooney and Phoebe Litchfield putting on a 50-stand in just 55 balls as boundaries proved easy to come by.

With an enviable pool of batting talent to come – Annabel Sutherland scored a century from number eight first time around – Australia are already flying in a Test that is effectively a one-innings shootout.

Beaumont, though, feels England will be seeking to disrupt their progress on what remains a flat pitch at the start of the penultimate day.

“We’ve got to come out fighting and knock a few over,” she said. “Whoever comes out and seizes the moment in the morning and early afternoon session will be the one in charge.”

One prospect is Australia trying to bat England out of the game then declare ahead of or early into day five but Beaumont insisted that scenario would not be followed by the hosts just going for a draw, with captain Heather Knight and head coach Jon Lewis having emphasised an attacking approach this summer.

“It’s still a good track to bat on,” she said. “There are plenty of runs out there to get and we want to push ourselves and we want to try and get a result, no one came here for a draw.

“If they set us a target I have a feeling we’ll be giving it a good old crack.”

Off-spinner Ashleigh Gardner, who was the pick of the Australia bowling attack with four for 99, was adamant the tourists do not have a total in mind before declaring.

“I would certainly say there’s probably going to be a result and that’s what we’re going to be pushing for,” she said. “But I don’t think there’s a real target in mind that we’ve spoken about as a group.”

England Under-21 manager Lee Carsley believes the versatility of his players gives him plenty of options to find ways of winning as he looks to secure their place in the knockout stages of the European Championships.

Victory over Israel on Sunday would take England into the quarter-finals, having won their opening game in the tournament for the first time since 2009, when they reached the final.

Carsley’s team selection in beating the Czech Republic saw him pick seven midfielders, with Newcastle winger Anthony Gordon playing as a striker.

The manager thinks that flexibility is advantageous.

“We’ve tried to come up with two or three ways of exploiting the opposition,” he told a press conference.

“We’ll try and find gaps and spaces. It surprises me that there is surprise (at his team selection). The players nowadays are multi-functional.

“I see that we’ve got a lot of players within this squad that can do different roles.

“Part of the squad selection was having that flexibility to play with a different kind of nine (striker).

“I see pretty much any of the forward players, whether they’re wide players or forwards, being able to do that nine.

“You get a different type of nine with Anthony than you would with Cole (Palmer) or Curtis (Jones) or Emile (Smith Rowe). We’ve got plenty of options.

“The way we’ve picked the squad, when we make a change it shouldn’t affect the team too much.”

Manchester City midfielder Tommy Doyle will miss the game against Israel, who drew 1-1 with defending champions Germany, after he sustained a minor knee problem in training while Norwich defender Max Aarons is ill.