PAUL NEWMAN AT OLD TRAFFORD: Joe Root was battered and bruised as he tried desperately to keep England afloat at Old Trafford but he just could not steer his ship to Ashes safety.

England are staring at defeat in the fourth Ashes Test after losing Rory Burns and Joe Root in the first over of their fourth-innings after being set 383 to win by Australia,

CHIEF SPORTS WRITER: Steve Smith was still there. Turning our summer to autumn in the September chill. Taking away the Ashes. Infecting the glorious memories of the World Cup final.

England are on the verge of surrendering the Ashes after slumping to 18 for two on Saturday but coach Trevor Bayliss was still clinging to the belief that 'anything is possible'.

RICHARD GIBSON AT OLD TRAFFORD: After the miracle of Headingley kept their Ashes hopes alive, England now need a marathon stonewall across the Pennines to stop Australia killing them off.

Australia retained the Ashes with a 185-run victory at Old Trafford despite some dogged resistance from England's lower order. Relive the action from day five with JAMES DUTTON.

LAWRENCE BOOTH AT OLD TRAFFORD: Joe Root insisted he was still the right man to captain England, despite Australia regaining the Ashes on a tense final day in Manchester.

NASSER HUSSAIN: The way that England have played their Test cricket in recent years, they were always going to be found out by a high-class bowling attack.

PAUL NEWMAN AT OLD TRAFFORD: Australia have retained the Ashes with victory over England in the fourth Test at Old Trafford, claiming their first away series win since 2001. 

BUMBLE AT THE TEST: Australia retain the Ashes and in truth they have been the better team. They planned well in advance and got their attack spot on.

Steve Smith said retaining the Ashes in England was one to tick off his bucket list after Australia beat their traditional rivals by 185 runs to win the fourth test at Old Trafford on Sunday.

The 27-year-old has been in the UK supporting her boyfriend Nathan Lyon, 31, throughout the series. She shed tears of joy when Josh Hazlewood took the final wicket on Sunday

SPORTS AGENDA BY MIKE KEEGAN: England's footballers may well have been delighted last week when the FA announced a multi-year sponsorship deal with food delivery app Deliveroo.

MARTIN SAMUEL - CHIEF SPORTS WRITER: Some time around 2012, an internet movie geek unearthed what was quickly tagged the worst death scene in cinema history.

England have named an unchanged squad for the fifth and final Ashes Test at the Oval as Joe Root looks to salvage a consolation win after Sunday's disappointment of failing to regain the Ashes.

Sportsmail columnists Nasser Hussain, David Lloyd, Lawrence Booth and Paul Newman answer the big questions for England's Test team after they failed to regain the Ashes.

Archer was impressive at Lord's and then took six wickets in an innings at Headingley but struggled to replicate that form at Old Trafford and McGrath has questioned his attitude.

Joe Root's failed to lead England to Ashes glory for a second time and some are questioning if he really is the best man to lead an overhaul of the under-performing Test side.

PAUL NEWMAN: There have not been many England captains handed the chance to win a third Ashes series after losing his first two in charge but Joe Root could be the exception.

Jimmy Anderson will consider changing his diet in a bid to prolong his Test career after the disappointment of missing the Ashes through injury - and has looked at the possibility of going vegan.

Former captain Steve Smith who won the Ashes for Australia has opened up about the sandpaper scandal saying there was a time when he thought he wouldn't play again for the country.

Jason Roy's Test future looks uncertain after he was dropped from Thursday's Ashes finale at The Oval, as England look to finish their summer with a series-squaring win over Australia.

NASSER HUSSAIN: What happens on the field over the next five days is hugely important because a 2-2 scoreline in the Ashes would be far better for England than 3-1 to Australia.

PAUL NEWMAN AT THE OVAL: Root wore the tired, almost haunted, look of many an England captain coming to the end of the road as he tried to summon up one last effort on Wednesday.

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.

NASSER HUSSAIN AT THE OVAL: Australia opened the door for England here with dropped catches and a wicket off a no ball but they just could not force their way through.

LAWRENCE BOOTH AT THE OVAL: Buttler, whose previous eight innings in this series had produced a best of 41, deposited Josh Hazlewood for three sixes to reach stumps on 64 not out.

DAVID LLOYD AT THE OVAL: England's batting line-up is flimsy. At 130 for two, you would have thought it would be plain sailing for them, with most of the top order getting starts

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.

IAN HERBERT AT THE OVAL: The Australians have demonstrated in recent years the art of salvaging pride when the long shadows of late summer are falling across The Oval.

PAUL NEWMAN AT THE OVAL: For a short, sweet spell Jos Buttler produced a passable imitation of Kevin Pietersen's famous innings here at the Oval in the greatest of all Ashes series.

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.

PAUL NEWMAN AT THE OVAL: It did not quite inspire pronouncements on sandwich boards that 'He's out' as news of Don Bradman's demise was once greeted at the Oval.

When Sam Curran ran in at Mitch Marsh at a packed Oval yesterday it was somewhat different to their first cricketing encounters.

NASSER HUSSAIN AT THE OVAL: England fans may be entitled to ask where Sam Curran has been all this series after a very impressive effort with the ball.

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.

NASSER HUSSAIN AT THE OVAL: The duel between Matthew Wade and Jofra Archer at the Oval typified a fantastically watchable series that has been great for cricket.

PAUL NEWMAN AT THE OVAL: What a way to end England's longest season and what a catch from the flying figure of Joe Root to complete a victory that sees the first drawn Ashes since 1972.

England beat Australia by 135 runs in the fifth Ashes test to see the series end as a draw after the tourists had already retained the urn. Sportsmail gives a rating to every player throughout the series.

BUMBLE AT THE TEST: England produced a fine bowling display to draw the Ashes series with a 135-run fifth Test victory at The Oval. Consecutive Joe Root catches signalled the end of an era.

IAN HERBERT AT THE OVAL: There was something telling about Tim Paine sitting down to say that his terrible record with the decision review system might require him to 'enrol in umpire school'.

SPORTS AGENDA BY MIKE KEEGAN: Eddie Jones has included lessons on Japanese history as part of England's World Cup preparations

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.

Channel Nine is reportedly 'unsatisfied' with Sunrise host Edwina Bartholomew's apology after she 'defamed' journalist Seb Costello in a since-deleted Twitter post.

England have set a minimum target of 425 points in their quest to reach the inaugural World Test Championship final at Lord's in 2021. Joe Root's team claimed 56 from the 2-2 draw in the Ashes.

The biggest cricket summer in living memory provided an unforgettable World Cup triumph and one of the greatest Tests of all time at Headingley. 

Archer took 47 wickets in his first season of international cricket, including 22 at just 20 apiece in the Ashes , leaving new-ball partner Broad to lavish praise on his 'incredible attributes'.

Joe Root has declared his desire to continue as England Test captain despite a failure to win back the Ashes from Australia after a drawn series.