Ben Stokes would have been forgiven for putting his feet up after an epic Ashes series, but that is not how this remarkable cricketer operates.

Not yet a week into his one-day resurrection, and amid murmurs about a top-order crisis ahead of the World Cup, he spanked New Zealand for 182 – the highest score by an England player in 782 one-day internationals stretching back 52 years.

There were 15 fours and nine sixes in 124 balls of mayhem, handshakes from the fielders, and a standing ovation from an appreciative crowd. Above all, there was a sense – ominous for opponents – that Stokes is primed to help England defend their title in India. It is bizarre to think he had never previously passed 102.

With Dawid Malan contributing a high-class 96, England could accommodate a late collapse of six for 32 and still make 368. Thanks to a superb opening burst from Chris Woakes, New Zealand got nowhere near, bowled out for 187.

Victory at Lord’s tomorrow will give England a 3-1 win – a flag in the turf before these sides meet again to kickstart the World Cup in Ahmedabad on October 5.

But when Stokes is in this mood, it may be better simply to enjoy the moment. And, having led England to an Ashes-squaring victory here in late July, he now gave a packed Oval its second treat of the summer.

When Trent Boult reduced England to 13 for two – including the wicket of Jonny Bairstow, caught at square leg from the game’s first ball – it was tempting to wonder whether the top order had chosen a bad moment to unravel.

Jason Roy’s plans for a first international appearance since March had already been ended by a back spasm. And because the World Cup 15 could be finalised as early as this weekend, he may yet make way for Harry Brook. England’s Indian itinerary is heavy on internal flights, and Roy’s bad back may be a risk they are unwilling to take.

Joe Root, meanwhile, had been bowled off the edge for four, leaving him with 10 runs in three innings and confirming the suspicion he has long been undercooked as a 50-over batsman. This was only his 18th ODI innings since England won the World Cup four years ago, in which time he has averaged 27, with a strike-rate of 78.

But Malan, playing only because Roy was incapacitated, and Stokes glossed over concerns in a thumping stand of 199 inside 28 overs, ended only when Boult insisted on a review after Malan offered the faintest of leg-side tickles.

By then, Stokes had already brought up his fourth ODI hundred, and first for six years. It had taken him 76 balls; his next 82 runs needed only 48. It hardly seemed to matter that he was intermittently flexing his left knee.

He ended up hitting Lockie Ferguson, New Zealand’s fastest bowler, for 10 fours alone, although he didn’t clear the fence until he had reached 63. Then he cut loose, clouting spinners Rachin Ravindra and Glenn Phillips for three sixes each, and treating The Oval like his personal playpen.

Soon he was ticking off Roy’s England-record 180 against Australia at Melbourne in 2017-18, thanks to a huge leg-side six off left-arm seamer Ben Lister. Two balls later, Stokes miscued a full toss to deep square. England await their first one-day double-hundred.

Jos Buttler had thrashed 38 before he was caught slog-sweeping a delivery from Phillips that was perilously close to being a back-foot no-ball. But no one else passed 12 as Boult survived the carnage to take five for 51, and England’s hopes of 400 vanished in a hurry.

It proved academic. Woakes took three wickets in an exemplary eight-over opening spell, and Reece Topley pinned the dangerous Devon Conway.

From 37 for four, there was no way back, especially after Sam Curran had Daryl Mitchell – New Zealand’s best batsman while Kane Williamson continues his recovery from injury – caught behind on review for 17.

Phillips made a fighting 72, but Stokes almost outscored New Zealand by himself.

Jimmy Anderson has admitted Stuart Broad‘s retirement will ‘leave a big hole’ in the England team following the bowler’s fairytale Ashes farewell.

Broad, 37, announced the end of his cricket career after the third day of the fifth Test against Australia at The Oval.

In the perfect finale, Broad took the wickets of Todd Murphy and Alex Carey to seal a 49-run victory for England that levelled a captivating Ashes series at 2-2.

Anderson, 41, who has been Broad’s new ball partner for many years in the England side, ushered him through an Australian guard of honour on Sunday after the retirement announcement.

He wrote in his Daily Telegraph column: ‘On a professional level, Stuart leaves a big hole for me.

Jimmy Anderson (right) has admitted the retirement of his close friend and bowling partner Stuart Broad ‘leaves a big hole’ 

Broad’s glittering career got the fairytale finale it deserved when he took the final two Australian wickets at The Oval to seal an Ashes series draw

‘We did not realise it at the time but when we were young, we were in direct competition, so raised our standards to compete.

‘When we started playing together we complemented each other’s game, how we were trying to take wickets and what we could do to help that.

‘As the years have gone on, we have bought into our respective games. I have been his coach and he has been my coach.

‘Whether in practice or in a game, having him stood at mid-off watching my action and saying, ‘Maybe you are running in too quick,’ or ‘Have you tried doing this or that?’ Was a huge help and that is something I will definitely miss.’

Anderson, who has no plans for his own retirement despite an underwhelming Ashes series, revealed that the England team presented Broad with a boxed bottle of champagne with personal messages from each player.

‘It’s hard to know where to start. Thanks for all the memories, I owe you so much,’ was Anderson’s message to his close friend.

Anderson said Broad told him he was retiring over a coffee ahead of the third day, with the news ‘not a surprise’ considering captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had to talk him out of it a year earlier.

Anderson is third in the list of all-time Test wicket takers on 690 and Broad is fifth on 604

Anderson had to usher Broad through a guard of honour by Australia ahead of the fourth day 

‘It was the perfect way to go out,’ Anderson said of Broad’s perfectly scripted final few deliveries.

‘It was nice that we did not go out at the same time together as well. We have always been put in a bracket as a partnership but he is in his own right one of the best bowlers England have ever produced, so he deserved his own send-off.’

But things might have been very different, with Broad admitting on Wednesday that Stokes was preparing to take him out of the attack for Mark Wood as England sought the final two Australian wickets on Monday.

Broad explained: ‘Stokes had said to me: This will be your last over because I’m going to get Woody on with the extra pace.

‘So, for that last ball of the over, I was running in knowing that was my last ball in professional cricket and actually my legs were a bit jelly-like.

‘I was just saying to myself: Hit the pitch as hard as you can, try to get the ball to move away, don’t bowl a floaty half-volley for your last ball in international cricket. And that’s why I was like ‘oh my God, he’s nicked it!’ 

Stuart Broad hopes to go out on the highest of highs today with a series-levelling victory over Australia after deciding this final Ashes Test and the 167th of his career will be his last.

Broad, 37, will retire upon the conclusion of this match following a 17-year career that has seen him become England’s second most prolific Test bowler overall behind close friend and new ball partner Jimmy Anderson, and the number one when it comes to Ashes wickets.

He will now join Sky Sports’ commentary team with immediate effect, after deciding to quit playing while still at the top of his game rather than hold on to tour India in early 2024.

Only Australia’s Mitchell Starc has managed more than the 20 wickets that Broad has taken during an Ashes series in which he became only the fifth player in Test history to reach the 600 mark and the first Englishman to take 150 against Australia, surpassing Ian Botham’s tally of 148 in the process.

Mail Sport understands that Broad decided the time was right at the close of the second day’s play of a contest at the Kia Oval that Ben Stokes’ team must win to secure a 2-2 draw.

Stuart Broad will retire upon the conclusion of the final Ashes Test following a 17-year career

The 37-year-old will now join Sky Sports’ cricket commentary team with immediate effect

Broad decided the time was right at the close of the second day’s play of a contest at the Oval

He informed long-standing team-mates Anderson and Joe Root of his decision before play on Saturday morning, and was said to be fighting back tears in the process.

England fed off the emotion on Saturday, powering their way to a lead in excess of 300 runs on the third day.

The news comes just hours after fellow veteran Anderson, 41, insisted he had more to offer at the highest level.

Exiting centre stage on his own terms and at the end of the most prestigious of series feels appropriate.

Like his father Chris, facing Australia has brought out the best in Broad: his five-wicket burst at the Oval in 2009 set up victory and a 2-1 series win while his eight for 15 at Trent Bridge in 2015 was one of the great Ashes performances.

He informed long-standing team-mates Anderson and Joe Root (above) of his decision before play on Saturday morning, and was said to be fighting back tears

Ben Stokes’ team must win to secure a 2-2 draw against Australia in this year’s Ashes Test

In between, he also ransacked the Australian batting with a man-of-the-match performance at Chester-le-Street in 2013 as England eased to a 3-0 victory.

But he has also been public enemy number one in Australian cricket circles, the target of booing from the stands during the winter of 2013-14, triggered by a refusal to walk after nicking behind in the Trent Bridge Test the previous summer.

He has also gained a reputation for revving up the atmosphere in home Tests with his gesticulating to crowds and was this week involved in another Aussie-riling moment when he randomly walked up to the striker’s end and switched the bails – Marnus Labuschagne countered his way from the field after edging the very next delivery.

Broad’s early career saw him feature across all three international formats and he came back from being hit for six sixes in an over by Yuvraj Singh at the 2007 Twenty20 World Cup by being a member of the team that lifted England’s first ever global trophy at the same event in the Caribbean three years later.

The Nottinghamshire seamer also captained England in T20 cricket for a period before concentrating on Test cricket from 2016 onwards.

England had already moved away from him and Anderson following a disastrous 50-over World Cup the previous year.

His resurgence under the captaincy of Ben Stokes followed a controversial omission for the tour of the Caribbean in the spring of last year, and followed another episode in 2020 when his omission from a Test against West Indies in Southampton triggered a public outburst and him to contemplate whether he had an England future.

Now, however, he will have the chance to say goodbye in style to Test cricket and will do so with only Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne, Anil Kumble and Anderson above him statistically amongst its bowlers.

H will have the chance to say goodbye in style to Test cricket and will do so with only Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne, Anil Kumble and Anderson above him statistically

Steve Smith narrowly escaped a sensational run out from England’s substitute fielder, George Ealham, during the second day of the fifth Ashes test match at the Oval. 

It was almost reminiscent of Ricky Ponting’s dismissal at Trent Bridge in the 2005 Ashes series and ironically, the former Australian captain was on Sky Sports’ commentary at the time the incident took place .

The decision, which has sparked much discussion online, saw Smith knock a ball from Chris Woakes down to mid-wicket.

On the television coverage, the ball seems to trickle away out wide, with the 34-year-old and his batting partner, Pat Cummins, attempting to make it back to the crease in time for two runs. 

But appearing from out of the picture of the television coverage came Earlham, who steamed in to throw a rocket of a ball into Jonny Bairstow. 

The England keeper took the catch and swung his hands into the wicket as Smith dived for his crease with the bat. 

The decision went upstairs to the television match official, with Ponting initially saying ‘this could be out’ before asking the question everyone in the stands was thinking ‘had Smith made his crowd.’

It was a very hard decision for the TMO to call, with there being millimetres between Smith’s bat and the crease. 

But it seemed that Bairstow had made contact with the stumps before he caught the ball and under Law 29, the wicket was not removed fairly and subsequently decision was ruled as ‘not out’.

Ponting, meanwhile, who had notably been dismissed by substitute fielder Gary Pratt in a similar incident was on hand to tell Smith that he should have learned from his mistakes. 

‘The lesson is, don’t take on the sub fielder you know nothing about … the bloke’s covered 100 metres in 8.5 seconds,’ Ponting said on Sky Sports. 

Woakes would be back to attack Bairstow again soon after, with the Australian swinging again with his bat towards mid-wicket, but he erroneously caught it wrong and sent the ball up into the air with a poor top edge flying backwards behind his own wicket. 

Bairstow was on hand once again and this time made no mistake, running backwards to take an impressive catch on the run to dismiss Smith for 71 off 123 balls. 

Follow Mail Sport’s live blog as England and Australia go head-to-head on Day Three of the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston. 

England cricket great Alastair Cook has called out Pat Cummins’ defensive tactics during day one of the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston, stating it ‘felt a bit un-Australian.’

The frenetic hosts declared after just 78 overs, having plundered 8-393 with Joe Root’s century the highlight.

And from the outset, it appeared the Aussies, usually famed for their aggressive nature in the cricket field, had gone into their shell.

‘It feels a bit un-Australian. They normally fight fire with fire,’ former England captain and decorated batsman Cook said on the BBC‘s Test Match Special.

‘I’ve never seen Australia with four men on the boundary.’

England cricket great Alastair Cook has called out Pat Cummins’ defensive tactics during day one of the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston, stating it ‘felt a bit un-Australian’

From the outset in the field, Australia were defensive, which shocked the likes of Cook and Aussie cricket legend Ricky Ponting (pictured, under pressure captain Pat Cummins)

Fellow cricket great Ricky Ponting couldn’t believe what he was seeing, with sweepers on the boundary rope either side of the field each time a new batsman walked to the crease.

Polarising ex-England star Kevin Pietersen continued the pile on, stating: ‘Australia have got it wrong, but from an England perspective it is fantastic to see Australia so defensive.

‘I just think first morning of an Ashes series, I would have thought that Pat Cummins would have said, ‘OK England, give it a go. We don’t mind. Hit us for six fours … a couple of sixes, no problem. Then we will go to plan B.

‘I think that they went straight to plan-B.’

Joe Root was brutal in belting an aggressive century (pictured) against the Aussies, who gave England plenty of opportunities to score runs

Steve Smith (pictured) reacts after missing a chance to catch England’s Harry Brooks 

Australia will start day two at 0-14, with openers David Warner (eight not out) and Usman Khawaja (four not out) successfully navigating four overs late in the day.

Ben Stokes’ aggressive declaration leading into stumps stunned many cricket fans, but it is part of England’s much hyped ‘Bazball’ mentality, a nod to coach Brendon McCullum.

‘It was a bold call, it was a good call,’ England wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow told Sky Sports after himself belting 78 from as many balls.

‘There will be conversations around it, but no-one likes going out there with 20 minutes and [seeing out] four overs… especially when you’ve got Stuart Broad and Ollie Robinson running in.’

Ever since Harry Brook faced the hardly hostile bowling of his grandmother in her back garden he has been dreaming of the moment that will come on Friday at Edgbaston.

An Ashes debut in just his third home Test is the fulfilment of an ambition Brook has had ever since he took those first cricketing steps as a toddler in Burley in Wharfedale.

‘This is absolutely a childhood dream,’ said the man who has taken international cricket by storm over the last six months. ‘To play in my first Ashes. My dad always said as soon as I could talk I would say I wanted to play for England. And here I am now.

‘I’ve actually been watching a few old videos of my grandma throwing some balls at me. There were some shockers. I’ve never had any throws as bad as that in my life!’

That dream was inspired, like so many of Brook’s generation, by the 2005 Ashes, including ‘the greatest Test’ at this same English fortress of an Edgbaston ground.

Batsman Harry Brook spoke ahead of England’s Ashes opener at Edgbaston on Friday

‘That series was the big one,’ continued Brook. ‘I always remember the over Andrew Flintoff bowled to Ricky Ponting here. And then KP smacking it everywhere against Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath and those boys. They were my earliest memories.’

Now Brook can try to emulate Kevin Pietersen and smack the modern Australia around after a ‘whirlwind’ introduction that has seen him smash four hundreds in his first seven Tests, all in that ultra-positive Bazball style, average 81.80 and make his runs at a staggering scoring rate of 99.03 per hundred balls.

It is the young Yorkshireman’s turn now to inspire a generation as part of England’s near evangelical plan to save Test cricket. ‘That’s the aim,’ he said in his no-nonsense, confident, matter of fact manner. ‘I’m going to go out there and try to play the same way I have been for the last 12 months. Hopefully that will be enough to inspire a few.’

brook says that playing in the Ashes is something he has dreamt of since he was a child 

The extraordinary beginning to a career that has also seen the 24-year-old become a Twenty20 World Cup winner and earn a £1.3 million IPL deal with Sunrisers Hyderabad has taken even Brook by surprise.

‘I probably wasn’t thinking I was going to have this start but I’d take it every day of the week,’ he smiled. ‘The last six months in particular have been a whirlwind. It was the best winter I could have asked for and long may it continue.

‘Now I’m looking forward to this. Australia are one of the best teams in the world and are coming here off the back of a World Championship win. I’ve always wanted to play against the best and see how good I really am. Not that I’m really bothered who’s bowling at me. They’re good but it’s just another cricket ball coming down at me.’

There is one big test left for Brook to face and it will come in the form of high quality, fast short-pitched bowling, the like of which he did not really encounter while conquering both Pakistan and New Zealand. But he is ready for whatever Pat Cummins and company throw at him – even if it is quite a step up from Granny Pauline in her garden.

‘We got a fair bit of short stuff in New Zealand to be fair and I feel like I combated it quite well,’ Brook added. ‘Obviously Australia might have a bit of extra pace but if they bowl quicker it tends to go to the boundary quicker.’

Australia have been warned.

Brooks has always wanted to test himself against the best and see how good he really is 

A number of Aussie cricket identities – including decorated wicketkeeper Ian Healy – can’t get enough of the animated series Bluey after the popular kids show paid homage to the sport in a recent episode.

The episode in question was a ratings hit – it had more viewers than Pat Cummins’ team winning the World Test Championship against India on Sunday night.

Healy, who played 119 Tests for Australia, felt the show produced in Brisbane is a throwback to simpler times.

‘We think we are busier than we have ever been, backyards are smaller than they were and just going to the park now there can be security issues,’ he told News Corp.

‘At a time when the game is trying to get cricket in more schools it’s good to see this episode come out. I love Bluey – just the simple, strong messages. You sit down to watch one episode and end up watching three or four.’

A number of Aussie cricket stars – including decorated wicketkeeper Ian Healy (pictured) – can’t get enough of the animated series Bluey after the popular kids show paid homage to the sport 

The seven-minute episode showed Rusty’s sporting journey from the backyard to Test cricket

The Bluey episode (563,000) had more views than Australia’s World Test Championship win over India (524,000) on Sunday night 

Former opening batsman Ed Cowan reportedly choked back tears while watching the episode, with ex-Aussie paceman turned media personality Trent Copeland tweeting ‘how good’ after kicking back and enjoying the show.

Commentator Andy Maher felt the series three episode was a ‘thing of beauty’, with The Grade Cricketer co-host Sam Perry declaring the detail was ‘perfect’ from start to finish.

In the Bluey episode simply titled ‘Cricket’, viewers meet Rusty, whose passion for cricket may rival Steve Smith.

He is seen playing the sport at every spare moment, be it with his brothers in the backyard, with other mates in the park and even by himself, knocking a tennis ball against the wall and trying to knock over a single stump.

If that wasn’t dedicated enough, the cricket tragic also sleeps with a cricket bat by his bed.

Rusty’s talent – which begins in the backyard, as it has for so many stars of the game – eventually pays off, with one of the final scenes showing the batsman walk out onto Brisbane’s famous Gabba ground to represent Australia.

And given the Bluey episode (563,000 views) had more eyes on the screen than the win over India (524,000) at the Oval, cricket may yet explode in the US, where the show is a huge hit.