Ashes

English cricket's decision to stick with the status quo in the wake of the Ashes debacle had been long expected - but it is more of a gamble than the ECB hierarchy seem to think.

LAWRENCE BOOTH: Those in search of an emblem of England's Ashes reached a grim consensus: the dismissal of Jamie Smith by Marnus Labuschagne at Sydney.

Cameron Green is clearly feeling the pressure when it comes to his lack of runs at the crease.

The long-time footy reporter has detailed the impacts on his health after undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

LAWRENCE BOOTH: Tribe, 21, stood out during the Lions' tour Down Under over the winter, and is now expected to provide competition for both Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett this summer.

LAWRENCE BOOTH: If Brendon McCullum may not enjoy spending the Test summer on probation, then he should console himself with the thought that he's lucky still to be in the role.

LAWRENCE BOOTH: McCullum confirmed his desire to keep his job after England's T20 World Cup semi-final defeat by India in Mumbai on Thursday, and he will be given that chance.

RICHARD GIBSON IN MUMBAI: Pink ball Tests will not form part of future Ashes series following talks between England and Australia on reciprocal tour arrangements.

Veteran footy journalist Paul Kent broke the news about his devastating illness in January.

Earlier this week at the Twenty20 World Cup, Harry Brook sauntered into a press conference, clocked the facial expressions of those present and suggested a smile wouldn't go amiss.

Ian Healy has called on Australia's selectors to 'get real' as the cricket great launched a brutal takedown of Mitchell Marsh's T20 side.

Usman Khawaja announced his retirement from Test cricket in January - and he's now revealed his next exciting life prospect

Despite Ben Stokes' plea to halt the Aussie influx to the County Championship ahead of next year's ashes, a number of players are closing in on deals with English sides for this season.

Ben Stokes left fans shocked and concerned as he shared a gruesome photo on social media.

Damien Martyn says he is 'on the mend' a month after the Australian cricket great was admitted to a Gold Coast hospital fighting for his life.

RICHARD GIBSON: Brook took off his gloves on reaching three figures and appeared to imitate wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin's ring entrance of slamming two imaginary beer cans together.

RICHARD GIBSON: Lack of suitable preparation has been at the heart of a review into the woeful 4-1 Ashes defeat but England's leading players will be pushed to breaking point this summer.

Although there will be no formal notification of rules, Daily Mail Sport understands they will be reminded of their responsibilities as international sportsmen upon arrival in Colombo.

Ashes outcast Shoaib Bashir has flown to Zimbabwe for a week of specialist coaching with former Pakistan wrist-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed.

Wood, who turned 36 on Sunday, hobbled out of the 4-1 defeat to Australia after sending down just 11 overs having spent seven months of rehabilitation to line up for the first Test in Perth.

Footy reporter Paul Kent has opened up on how he found out that he was suffering from throat cancer, adding that it had been 'tough' telling his partner and daughter about his diagnosis. 

The BBC, which first aired radio coverage from Wimbledon 100 years ago, will see its current broadcast deal end after the 2027 tournament.

Matthew Hayden has joked that he now has more hair on his head than there was grass on the wicket at the MCG, as the Australian cricket great unveiled his amazing new hair transformation.

Between the end of the comparatively civizilsed Ashes cricket series and the start of the Australian Opentennis sits the annual Summernats spectacle in Canberra.

The stunning decision to prevent the ABC from interviewing any team members was made in response to strident criticism of some of the sport's top brass in Australia.

Football fans have criticised TNT Sports over their coverage of the FA Cup, taking to social media to brand the broadcaster's Goals Show programme 'absolute garbage'.

SIR JAMES ANDERSON: The first thing I would insist upon is players going back into county cricket to prove they are good enough to face New Zealand at Lord's in June.

Kevin Pietersen has sensationally backed the man who effectively ended his international career to become England's next coach.

Let's face it, cricket and alcohol have history. In fact, they are intrinsically linked, dating back to Victorian times when village green contests were followed by post-match pints in the local.

Speaking after his side had surrendered the Ashes 4-1, but before news broke of the Brook incident in Wellington, McCullum insisted: 'Half our guys don't have a drink, to be honest.'

Steve Smith and Pat Cummins took to the temporary stage on Thursday afternoon at the Sydney Cricket Ground and beamed with delight.

LAWRENCE BOOTH IN SYDNEY: Brendon McCullum has insisted he wants to carry on as England head coach after his side's chastening 4-1 Ashes defeat but has sent a warning.

LAWRENCE BOOTH IN SYDNEY: This was not England's worst Ashes tour among their many failures in Australia down the years. But it was arguably their most disappointing.

LAWRENCE BOOTH IN SYDNEY: Harry Brook was involved in an altercation with a nightclub bouncer during England's recent tour of New Zealand, in their latest off-the-field misdemeanour.

Daily Mail Sport's LAWRENCE BOOTH was at all five Tests as England succumbed to another battering Down Under - here are his Ashes series player ratings.

LAWRENCE BOOTH IN SYDNEY: Australia completed an action-packed five-wicket win on the final afternoon at the SCG to wrap up a well-deserved 4-1 series triumph.

Until the bitter end, we have been confronted with the cool indifference of Brendon McCullum, a man more absorbed with his own image than the catastrophe he has visited upon English cricket.

Tomorrow, thank God, the Ashes will come to an end, bringing the curtain down on a series of unforgivable crimes against cricket.

LAWRENCE BOOTH IN SYDNEY: Cause for celebration, then, at the end of a long, humiliating tour, but also cause for regret. This ought to have been Bethell's 14th Test, not his sixth.

ASHES BREAKFAST: Jacob Bethell danced down the track to an off-break from Beau Webster and launched it over midwicket for the boundary to his parents' delight.

TNT Sports' Ashes coverage reached a new low after commentators mistakenly reacted live to a replay of a run-out during the fifth Test between Australia and England in Sydney.

Jacob Bethell's maiden first-class century has renewed England's hopes for the future as the tourists' poor Ashes series comes to a close at the SCG.

If Travis Head ever decides scoring 600 runs in a series is too easy to keep him engaged, the after-dinner speaking circuit will be quick to get him on the phone.

Steve Smith was in full flow at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Tuesday, dazzling with some incredible shots but also raising a few eyebrows for some of his hilarious antics at the crease.

As the ball hung in the air, you almost knew what was coming. Travis Head had been the key wicket all series, and England desperately needed to see the back of him. So Will Jacks dropped it.

LAWRENCE BOOTH IN SYDNEY - ASHES BREAKFAST: Centuries from Travis Head, his third of a dominant series, and Steve Smith, his first, combined to grind England into the SCG dirt.

Australian expert Sarah Rodrigues offers a guide exploring Australia's biggest city, with activities including kayaking across Sydney Harbour, climbing Harbour Bridge and some of the best spots to eat.

It takes a lot for a painting-by-numbers 46 to overshadow a masterpiece 160, but Jamie Smith gave it a go on a wildly oscillating second day at the SCG

LAWRENCE BOOTH IN SYDNEY: A superlative 160 from Joe Root laid the foundation for England's first-innings 384 - only for some of the gloss to be removed when he left the field clutching his back.

LAWRENCE BOOTH IN SYDNEY: A superb 160 from Joe Root lifted England to 384 on the second day of the fifth and final Ashes Test - their highest total in Australia since making 491 in 2017.

LAWRENCE BOOTH IN SYDNEY: As the ball hung in the air, and three Australian fielders converged from various points, Harry Brook may already have been penning his apology.

LAWRENCE BOOTH IN SYDNEY: After joining forces at a perilous 57 for three, Root and Brook set about compiling England's largest stand of the series - and only their third above 100.

LAWRENCE BOOTH IN SYDNEY: England reached a position of strength on 211 for three on the first day of the fifth Test at Sydney before bad light and rain cut short their progress

Readers got the chance to ask Daily Mail Sport columnist Sir Jimmy Anderson what he made of an Ashes series that began with hope but ends amid scrutiny over the future of those involved.

Usman Khawaja has enjoyed a very successful career at Test level for Australia - but it hasn't always been easy for the left handed opener

Usman Khawaja's future has been a major talking point in the midst of the ongoing Ashes series - and he's now confirmed when he'll end his career

Usman Khawaja is expected to make a call on his future as early as Friday, with the Test veteran to front a media conference at the SCG before training.

As ECB bosses rake over these Ashes the make-up of the dressing-room will figure high on the agenda

Ahead of the final Test in Sydney and before a review of what went wrong takes shape, these are the players that can help win back the urn in 18 months' time.

LAWRENCE BOOTH IN SYDNEY: McCullum, who became England's all-format coach a year ago, has an expensive ECB contract running until the end of 2027.

The 54-year-old veteran of 67 Tests for Australia has been placed in an induced coma in a Gold Coast hospital as he fights a bout of meningitis.

Jamie Smith being left out of England's new year white-ball plans completes a difficult few weeks for a player who is struggling to keep his head above water 18 months after making waves

Emma Lyon has written a very revealing new year's message, saying her 2025 featured 'euphoric' highs and 'challenging' lows that resulted in 'plenty of tears'.

Ben Duckett was slammed for his alleged drunken actions in a video posted to social media last week - but a past England legend has coome to his defence

This is my sixth Ashes tour, and the previous five had encouraged a hypothesis: even if Australians aren't always gracious winners, they can be magnanimous in defeat.

Lyon has forged a reputation as one of the best dressed WAGs in the cricket world with her expensive tastes.

Ben Duckett dished up a cheeky response to jeers from fans inside the MCG during the Boxing Day Test.

Travis Head has revealed he reached out to Ben Duckett to check on his welfare after a video of the England batter went viral last week, appearing to show him being intoxicated during a night out.

The end of the Boxing Day match at the MCG on Saturday was the first time the same series has had multiple two-day Tests in 129 years.

The premier sporting event of the Aussie summer lasted just two days thanks to an awful failure with the preparation of the wicket, leaving fans furious and the game out of pocket by millions of dollars.

The pitch is making headlines after the Boxing Day Test finished in two days but one Aussie cricketer is also making noise online for all the wrong reasons.

LAWRENCE BOOTH IN MELBOURNE: England arrived at the MCG with the mockery of a nation ringing in their ears, and left celebrating a first victory on Australian soil since January 2011.

LAWRENCE BOOTH IN MELBOURNE: England ended an 18-match winless streak in Australia and managed to avoid an Ashes clean sweep in a chaotic two-day Test to leave the series 3-1.

LAWRENCE BOOTH: England have won their first Test match in Australia since January 2011, avoiding the prospect of a whitewash with a tense four-wicket win on the second day in Melbourne.

Pat Cummins has insisted that he's aiming to be back playing again for Australia in February's T20 World Cup, after he was ruled out of the remaining two Ashes Tests.

It's been another wonderful year for British sport. But how much of the past 12 months of highs, lows and everything in between do you really remember?

England's cricketers began their Christmas Day yesterday at the MCG practising for the penultimate match of an increasingly sobering tour of Australia.

Sir Alastair Cook has pinpointed England's 'massive disconnect' with the County Championship as a major reason why Ben Stokes' side have failed to win back the Ashes.

Australia's most vocal home supporter bays have been infiltrated by England's Barmy Army, and local cricket fans furious