LAWRENCE BOOTH AT OLD TRAFFORD: Steve Smith accused England of playing into his hands after he continued to punish their bowling with a magnificent 211 in Manchester.

MARTIN SAMUEL - CHIEF SPORTS WRITER AT OLD TRAFFORD: The only surprise was the declaration. For some time, as the shadows lengthened, it seemed as if Tim Paine was waiting.

Trevor Bayliss will stand down from the role with England following the end of the Ashes, with the search for a successor among the ECB's high priorities.

LAWRENCE BOOTH AT OLD TRAFFORD: Archer finished Australia's first innings with figures of none for 97, returning to earth with a bump after taking 13 wickets in his first two Tests.

BUMBLE AT THE TEST: Josh Hazlewood has put Australia in complete control of the fourth Ashes Test after grabbing three quick wickets late on during the third day at Old Trafford.

England have abandoned plans to rest senior players from the two-Test series in New Zealand that begins this winter as they start to again prioritise the ultimate format.

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.

Australian cricketer David Warner has given a quick thinking response to a fan after being sledged in England during the Ashes test. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

Steve Smith was already the pantomime villain for England fans but he has riled them even more following Australia's celebrations after they retained the Ashes on Sunday.

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.

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.

After Australia beat England on Sunday, the team returned to the pitch after sunset for some raucous champagne celebrations.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Mick Jagger cut a casual figure as he watched England take on Australia in the Ashes on Thursday.

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.

Yvonne Cannings, 60, from Lancashire said her close friend and former employee June Watson was 'worse than heartless', after she was left relying on food parcels following the £225K theft.

IAN HERBERT AT THE OVAL: As if this desultory Ashes summer had not punished David Warner enough, there was to be yet another indignity: an infernal delay as he waited in hope for deliverance.

LAWRENCE BOOTH AT THE OVAL: Jofra Archer picked up the second six-wicket haul of his fledging Test career as England gave themselves hope of squaring the Ashes on a dramatic day at The Oval.

BUMBLE AT THE TEST: Finally I have an answer to my question. How do you get Steve Smith out? A straight one from Chris Woakes. Simple.

LAWRENCE BOOTH AT THE OVAL: There was a moment when a few critics were lured into the view that Jofra Archer was not, after all, the best thing that has happened to English cricket.

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.

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.

LAWRENCE BOOTH AT THE OVAL: Joe Root hailed a 'phenomenal' summer of cricket after England squared the Ashes at 2-2 almost exactly two months after England's World Cup win.

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

Real estate agent Emma McCarthy, 27, shared a photo with the smiling spin bowler captioned: 'Keeping the urn, so proud of you.' Steve Smith was seen sharing a kiss with wife Dani Willis.