Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting tips confident England to pose real Ashes threat.
England called up spinner Shoaib Bashir and seamer Matthew Potts for the final Ashes Test against Australia beginning on Sunday with one of them set to fill the void created by Gus Atkinson's injury-induced absence.
'We know we're behind the game again, in the situation we currently stand.'
Catching Stokes off guard with quick thinking, Iyer pointed to his index finger in playful mimicry, reminiscent of Stokes' celebration during a spectacular catch that dismissed Iyer on Day 3.
Images from Day 2 of the 3rd Ashes Test in Adelaide on Thursday
Having hit Western Australia's golf links before being beaten by eight wickets in Perth, England's enthusiasts will have access to a selection of championship courses to play a round before a refreshing dip in the Pacific Ocean.
England Head Coach Brendon McCullum revealed his team may have been victims of their own thoroughness, conducting "five to 10 training sessions" in the extended break between Tests after losing the opener in Perth inside two days.
Four-Test-old all-rounder Jacob Bethell was awarded his maiden central contract by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) which offered two-year deals to 14 multi-format cricketers, including Test captain Ben Stokes and injury-plagued pacer Jofra Archer.
The contest between England's dialled-down "Bazball" approach and Australia's more methodical batting could determine who prevails in the Ashes series beginning in Perth on Friday.
The Ashes could be decided within days at an Adelaide Oval furnace where England's hopes of wresting back the urn will fire anew or flame out entirely against a strengthened Australia.
Jacob Bethell scored his maiden Test century to lead an England rearguard action on the fourth day of the fifth Test on Wednesday but Australia still looked firmly set for victory.
Atherton reckons that in his three years at the helm, the series against India is Stokes' sternest test of leadership qualities.
Spin-bowling all-rounder Will Jacks will replace paceman Mark Wood in an otherwise unchanged England side for the second Ashes Test against Australia in Brisbane.
'He's done the biggest things on the biggest stage, highest level of achievement at the very highest level of the sport.'
Indian skipper Shubman Gill confirmed that world's best fast bowler will be back during the third Test starting July 10 and Stokes wasn't amused that he would be asked about the fast bowling talisman for zillionth time.
PHOTOS from the 3rd Test Between England and West Indies on Sunday.
Mitchell Starc made a late-career bid for all-rounder status when he scored a half-century and grabbed two wickets under the Gabba floodlights to push Australia to the brink of victory at the close of day three of the second Ashes Test.
India captain Shubman Gill, who has now lost all three tosses in the series, admitted he was uncertain about the call anyway.
The official 26-man squads for FIFA World Cup 2026.
Greg Chappell said that while he admires positive cricket, a "full-frontal assault" approach is insult to the intelligence of the players and the public alike.
England Test captain Ben Stokes has welcomed coach Brendon McCullum being given additional charge of the country's limited-overs sides.
Temba Bavuma, who led South Africa to their maiden ICC World Test Championship title and a historic 2-0 series sweep in India, also made the cut, while four Australian players were included.
Joe Root contributed a magnificent 160 to England's first-innings tally of 384 but Travis Head drove Australia to 166 for two in response on the second day of the fifth and final Ashes Test.
'But I think that the manner in which they play is part of the reason why I think they've got their best chance in 15 years of regaining the Ashes Down Under, because in 2010-11 when we went down there and won, we pushed back against Australia.'
England will be without captain Ben Stokes for the rest of the English summer after he picked up a hamstring injury, with batter Ollie Pope taking over the captaincy in his absence
Trescothick, who played in three Ashes campaigns including a triumphant 2005 series on home soil, said England's batters were also looking to be smarter on the pitch.
England's Test captain Stokes last played a T20 international for England in the World Cup final in November 2022.
England go unchanged at Edgbaston
England Test captain Ben Stokes was helped off the field after suffering an injury while playing in The Hundred on Sunday.
England lead 2-1 in the series and victory at Old Trafford would seal it.
Charlie Smith, one of the thousands of England fans cheering on Ben Stokes's struggling team, stopped off on the way to the ground to buy bin bags and gather up the garbage.
Earlier, after being 0-2 early in their second innings, India continued to battle on to frustrate England on day five, the tourists doing everything possible to keep the series alive on 322-4 at tea.
Despite England securing their first Test victory on Australian soil since 2011, Australia have already retained the Ashes by winning the first three Tests to take an unassailable 3-1 lead.
Dinesh Karthik and Nasser Hussain pointed to a string of missteps -- a dropped catch, a run out, a collapse -- that proved far more decisive than the final day's drama.
England captain Ben Stokes and India head coach Gautam Gambhir expressed contrasting views on the use of injury replacements in Test cricket.
England have not won the Ashes in Australia after losing the first Test since the 1950s but McCullum and Stokes will remain convinced they can turn the series around, just as they did against South Africa in 2022 when they won 2-1 after losing the opener at Lord's.
Bazball is in the firing line, with former players and pundits decrying the high-risk game on Australia's spicy pitches.
England's young batter Jacob Bethell joined an elite list after scoring his maiden Test century against Australia on Day 4 of the fifth and final Ashes Test.
Ben Stokes and Co. were also fined 10 per cent of their match fee after the Test, which they won by 22 runs on Monday.
From afar on Saturday, the SCG track looked to have a distinct tinge of green on it as the groundsmen ran the roller over it.
