Kevin Pietersen has branded England's Ashes cult hero Jack Leach a 'laughing stock' and claims the spinner could have done more to prevent Australia retaining the urn.

Justin Langer rejected suggestions Australia's Ashes celebrations at Old Trafford targeted England's Jack Leach for mockery, insisting the on-pitch party was a 'two out of 10' performance.

EXCLUSIVE BY MIKE KEEGAN: Sportsmail understands that hours of revealing footage has been collected from the last year, which includes Australia's trip to England for World Cup and Ashes.

Members of the Australian cricket team were understood to be trying to contact Jack Leach on Tuesday night following suggestions that they mocked him during their Ashes celebrations.

Steve Smith's glorious Ashes has raised calls from some fans and pundits for his restoration to the Australia captaincy but incumbent Tim Paine has no plans to hand over the reins quietly.

His time in charge is destined to be remembered for a phenomenal improvement in white-ball cricket, capped off by this summer's World Cup win at Lord's.

The urn might be returning to Australia but England still have a job on their hands to ensure their old foes don't win the compelling Ashes series outright.

MIKE DICKSON: The Oval is no stranger to farewells, and this final Test will be the valedictory appearance of both David Gower (left) and Sir Ian Botham (right) on the Sky commentary team.

Pat Cummins and Mitchell Marsh finished England's innings as the hosts were bowled out for 294 early on the second day at the Oval.

Jofra Archer and Sam Curran combined to hand England a vital first-innings lead in the final Ashes Test, raising hopes of a series-levelling win at The Oval. Follow the action live with Sportsmail.

England set the stage for a series-levelling victory after setting a total of 399 for Australia to chase on the fourth day of the fifth and final Ashes Test. Follow the action live with Sportsmail.

Both men have been staples of the cricketing world since their debuts in the 1970s, but were - in their own words - 'being retired' after the TV network did not renew their contracts.

Joe Root knows England have 'something special' on their hands in Jofra Archer but has already started the job of managing expectations around the breakout star of the summer.

Cricketer Nathan Lyon, 31, and his girlfriend Emma McCarthy couldn't take their eyes off each other as they touched down in Australia on Wednesday evening. 

The all-rounder, who took 5-46 in the first innings of the fifth Test against England, was dismissed in a Sheffield Shield match against Tasmania on Sunday and took his frustration out immediately.

It has been a long slog for David Beckham and the power brokers behind Inter Miami but next March, they will finally see their vision become a reality. 

From the bushfire crisis ravaging New South Wales and Queensland to the final climb of Uluru, Getty Images has reveals its most powerful photos from the past year.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY RICHARD GIBSON: England's greatest ever bowler Jimmy Anderson is fit again and is targeting the 2021 Ashes series which begins in November that year.

Siddle, 35, made his debut in 2008, took 221 Test wickets at an average of 30.66 apiece, and played his last Test in the fifth and final match of this year's Ashes series in England, which England won.

EXCLUSIVE: This week Sir Ian Botham will join friends at an Adelaide vineyard to help scatter the ashes of his great mate and longtime brother-in-arms Bob Willis.

A new documentary on the Australian cricket team has captured the moment when the worst was feared for Steve Smith after he was struck by a Jofra Archer bouncer in last year's Ashes series.

A large crowd of English cricket fans were seen taunting the Australian team as they boarded their bus during the Ashes tour in 2019.

The Riley Lynx is a pristine example of fourwheeled elegance from the early days of motoring. But only five years ago, this 1934 Riley Lynx sports car was a burnt-out shell in Yorkshire.

NASSER HUSSAIN: You have to think outside the box at times like this and Sky had the idea of trying to emulate Gogglebox with their look at the last day at Headingley.

The beauty, 38, was hardly recognizable with more even features and a thinner nose. Her 145M Instagram followers noticed right away as they asked 'Is that you?' and 'What happened?'

Kim Kardashian promoted her new makeup with a glamour pic on Tuesday.

Instead of sporting her signature long, raven tresses, the 38-year-old reality superstar and makeup mogul had her hair styled into a short chocolate brown coif with caramel-colored highlights.

Every new look from the social media queen gets the utmost in fanfare, and today's was no exception.

The compère, who has also worked on X Factor, entered rehab last month after celebrities including Simon Cowell and Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly helped pay towards his treatment.

One Twitter user aimed the youthful jibe 'OK Boomer' at Shatner (pictured in France) yesterday but the Hollywood veteran fired back: 'Sweetheart, that's a compliment for me.'

The Apprentice has come under fire this year for seemingly picking off those from an ethnic minority group when it comes to the boardroom firings - and this week has been no different.

President Trump blasted former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch in a series of tweets an hour into her Capitol Hill testimony.

The former Hollyoaks star, 31, reflected on years of battling drug addiction as well as his 2012 suicide attempt, and the moment he recognised that he had the mental health disorder four years ago.

Sian Lloyd was complaining about her journey from Swansea to Neath and said it was the 'worst ever' after it had taken her longer than usual to reach her destination.

And while the Capital DJ, 26, knows he was voted to participate by the public, he was no doubt unaware that his famous father Martin, 58, would be ringing in

Rob Schneider tweeted Monday in his anti-vax rant: 'Democrats and Main Stream Media tell us to, "Believe Women!" But do NOT believe the Women who ... witnessed their precious child injured.'

The 35-year-old reality star candidly replied to a fan on Twitter and even gave some insight on where she stands with the 28-year-old Cleveland Cavaliers power forward.

UN Ambassador Majid Takht Ravanchi said the airstrike 'is tantamount to opening a war against Iran.' It comes as thousands lined the streets for funeral processions in Baghdad this morning.

Mourners chanted 'Death to America' as they thronged in the streets beside the coffins of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi militia chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis on Saturday.

The news of Harry and Meghan's departure from frontline royal roles was shared on the Sussexes' social media channels, causing a flood of reaction from Twitter and Instagram users.

Fact-checkers have identifies multiple false posts and the Silicon Valley tech firms are battling to stop such claims from spreading to avoid mass hysteria

Thousands of people on social media backed the 57-year-old This Morning host, who has been married to his wife for nearly 27 years, after he made the announcement on Instagram today.

Gloucester player Danny Cipriani, 32, dated Flack, 40, (together in April) for just eight weeks last year, with the ITV presenter ending their romance because she saw 'no long term future'.

Sarah Vine: The death of Caroline Flack is truly a tragedy. A talented young woman who nevertheless felt so worthless and unloved, so scared and hopeless, she decided to take her own life.

Nazir Afzal, a former CPS prosecutor, posted on Twitter hitting out at online trolls and explaining why the CPS decides to prosecute cases when a complaint has been withdrawn.

Nazir Afzal, former Crown Prosecution Service prosecutor in the North West, spoke out amid criticism of the CPS for continuing with an assault case against the late Love Island host Caroline Flack.

She previously revealed she had tested positive for the coronavirus after working on the NHS frontline. 

Northern Ireland manager Nigel Worthington saw his side's dreadful away record continue but lauded the performance of rookie Corry Evans.

England for the English? Well, not exactly, but a line has to be drawn somewhere and Adnan Januzaj may be it. Here's the latest debate. Enjoy...

Portugal may have been without superstar Cristiano Ronaldo but it was not less of a shock as they slumped to an embarrassing 1-0 defeat at home to Albania in their Euro 2016 qualifier.