Stokes struck an unbeaten 84 in the final against New Zealand on the way to England's maiden World Cup title and then crashed a barely-believable 135 not out to keep the Ashes alive at Headingley.

England's top cricketer was seen with his hand on Clare Stokes's face at the Professional Cricketers' Association party in London last Wednesday.

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.

The 1000-year-old Allerton Oak in Calderstones Park, Liverpool, will represent the UK in the European Tree of the Year contest which begins in February.

NASSER HUSSAIN: Sam Curran is something of an anomaly in the England side who will take to the Bay Oval for the first Test against New Zealand.

LAWRENCE BOOTH AT MOUNT MAUNGANUI: Make no mistake: BJ Watling, who brought up his eighth Test hundred an hour into the evening session, played superbly.

With another year's end came another installment of SPOTY, as England cricket star Ben Stokes picked up the honour. Sportsmail went behind the scenes to capture the special moments on reel.

England's Instagram account posted a compilation of Stuart Broad bowling David Warner out during the Ashes (pictured) after the batsman won Australian cricketer of the year.

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.

EXCLUSIVE BY LAWRENCE BOOTH: Dom Sibley recalls the moment he wondered whether he was good enough to be an England opener. He'd just been caught behind for four.

EXCLUSIVE BY LAWRENCE BOOTH: Stokes and Leach pulled off an incredible run chase at Headingley in 2019 by chasing more than they had ever managed to keep Ashes alive.

Stokes was due to be playing with Smith this month for the Rajasthan Royals but the IPL has been postponed indefinitely because of the coronavirus pandemic.

England's white-ball opening batsman says he has been going 'stir crazy' during the coronavirus lockdown, hitting a tennis ball against a wall as he attempts to stay in some kind of touch.

Dan Garrett, 30, of London, who founded Farewell, a UK will writing and death specialist, told FEMAIL direct cremations are 'here to stay' and will surpass traditions dating back 'hundreds of years'.

Connie Talbot has returned to Britain's Got Talent, 12 years after making the 2007 final with her angelic voice.

The Good Morning Britain star has been a vociferous critic of the royal couple ever since they complained about their treatment by the media on an ITV documentary that aired on Sunday.

The 'activist', 33, inspired the Love Island host, 39, to hit back, which saw Caroline insist those at the heart of the series 'are people not contestants' as she branded it 'a discussion show'

Strictly Come Dancing fans pointed out Motsi's 'fuming' reaction as Catherine, 36, and her professional partner Johannes Radebe, 32, were booted off the show on Sunday evening.

Mike Bushell and his wife Emily have hit back at trolls on Twitter who have slammed the BBC Breakfast presenter after he was saved on Strictly Come Dancing at the weekend.

Chrissy Teigen, 33, has been having a tough time understanding the phrases used by the contestants on the hit British reality show Love Island

Bake Off fans were left stunned by Paul Hollywood's 'brutal' comments to sobbing Chester-based contestant Steph Blackwell in response to her show-stopper during the final.

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.

The shot showed a soft focus Kathy - so soft she lacked a belly button - lying in an unmade bed, wearing just a leopard print bra and black panties.

Strictly Come Dancing's Shirley Ballas, 59, sends fans into meltdown as she shared a 'mind-blowing' throwback clip from her professional dancing days on Twitter on Monday.

The 37-year-old addressed the situation as he took to Twitter on Sunday to address his 3million followers.

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 WAG, 33, took to Twitter on Friday to share a black and white snap with the footballer, 34, as they enjoyed a double date with pals. She tellingly captioned the post 'It's been a while...'

The online exchange started when Washington Post data reporter Christopher Ingraham shared his own feline troubles.

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.

The 35-year-old singer joked about the age gap between she and her 70-year-old Canadian musician husband in some recent Twitter banter.

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.'

Twitter users had a field day after Donald Trump posted tweeted an image of himself as Rocky Balboa on Wednesday. It came following recent comments he made about a health exam.

Jacqueline Jossa is reportedly set to confront Chloe Ayling about her alleged threesome with her husband Dan Osborne and fellow CBB star Natalie Nunn - claims which he strongly denied.

A London tribunal upheld the dismissal of Maya Forstater (pictured). Duncan Bannatyne and Sharon Davies MBE revealed their support for her - but others voiced their opposition.

The actor, 77, took to Twitter to post a festive snap of himself in front of a Xmas tree decorated with Elvis Presley baubles, which he tagged the legendary rapper, real name Tracy Marrow, 61.

A Twitter user named Sam took to social media on December 26 to share a video of the De'Longhi Magnifica espresso maker brewing a cup of coffee.

The Duke of Sussex collared the company's CEO Bob Iger and advertised his ex-actress partner's 'interest' in doing the roles during a Lion King premiere in July.

More than 16,000 people have signed a UK petition demanding Alastair Stewart, 67, gets his job of more than 40 years back and that his accuser Martin Shapland, 34, makes a public apology.

Vanessa Hudgens has apologised for her flippant Instagram video, in which she called the potential quarantine timeline 'a bunch of bull**t'.

The 27-year-old, who works as an orthopaedic clinical nurse specialist, revealed that she took the test after losing the ability to taste and smell, while a cough and fever are listed as the main symptoms.

Trump brought up possible treatments including 'injecting' cleaning agents in the body and use of ultraviolet lights at Thursday's White House press briefing.

Albania claim their players were assaulted by fans, stewards and police in Belgrade at the now-infamous Euro 2016 qualifier against Serbia which was abandoned after the violent scenes.

Albanian internationals Lorik Cana, Etrit Berisha and Thomas Strakosha share the same Lazio dressing room in harmony with Serbia's Filip Djordevic and Dusan Basta.

Stefano Okaka scored a late goal on his debut to give Italy a 1-0 win over Albania in a friendly on Tuesday as they remained unbeaten in six games since the World Cup.

France players including Olivier Giroud and Hugo Lloris were put through their paces at a training camp in Clairefontaine ahead of their international friendly with Albania on Saturday.

A court ruling for appeals filed by the Serbian and Albanian football federation against UEFA sanctions after their European Championship qualifier was abandoned is expected by July 10.

Albania have been awarded a victory over Serbia by the Court of Arbitration for Sport after a Euro 2016 qualifier was abandoned when a drone with a political banner flew into the stadium.

Cristiano Ronaldo and his Portugal team-mates were all smiles on Thursday as they took to the training ground ahead of Friday's clash with France and Monday's game against Albania.

Denmark's Christian Eriksen remains sidelined with a knee injury but that did not prevent him from watching his national side draw 0-0 at home to Albania in their crunch Group I clash.