Control C in the Ashes

Numbers Game: Smith, Rogers and Root were the top scorers in the Ashes, but one batsman had better control stats than all of them

What England have learned from the Ashes

Simon Barnes lists 11 lessons

England news

Rashid battles to prove his worth

One-day stage has Test debut as the prize | Lyth bares his soul on Facebook

In praise of the old dog

Ed Smith: Sometimes it just makes sense to pick an in-form player in his 30s than a younger alternative

Job done for captain Cook

Jarrod Kimber: For Alastair Cook, being a success is his reason for being

Clarke pulls his final few tricks

Mark Nicholas: He couldn't manage a grand send-off, but everything he has given the game should be remembered

Clarke second only to Taylor as captain

Ian Chappell: He made it clear to both the opposition and his own team that he was seeking victory from ball one

The Oval grind of 1938

Rewind: When a 900-plus total forced a rethink on the idea of timeless Tests

'This woman almost get run over looking at my car!'

The perils of being Kemar Roach, plus ridiculous paintings, and all kinds of peripheral Ashes action in the Twitter round-up

The Australian boyfriend edition

Two Men Out: Jarrod Kimber and Andy Zaltzman delve into complex family issues

'Clarke has been overshadowed by Cook'

Bowl at Boycs: Geoffrey Boycott assesses the careers of Clarke and Sangakkara, the support-staff help Cook has received recently, and more

Here's looking at The Oval

Rob Steen: The occasional Ashes dead rubber notwithstanding, there's something about this London venue that inspires

Steven Smith should continue at No. 3

Ricky Ponting: Australia's new captain looks dominant in that position, even with the pronounced initial movement of his feet

England's 1894 SCG miracle

Stuart Wark: With defeat imminent, they were drinking their sorrows away but on the last day they scripted one of the greatest turnarounds in Test cricket

The incidental redemption of Cook and England

Simon Barnes: They have stumbled upon an attacking and youthful brand of cricket, which we should savour while it lasts

In praise of Mighty Joe

Root has reached a pinnacle achieved by few Englishmen in modern times, and he has done it with a charming and infectious joy that belies his innate toughness. By Rob Smyth

Captaincy: why authenticity matters

Ed Smith: In the hare-and-tortoise comparison of Clarke and Cook, we must not lose sight of the fact that one man's methods are not necessarily superior

A weapon called home advantage

Tony Cozier: The contrasting fortunes of the two teams in the Ashes underlines the importance of home conditions in bilateral contests

Michael Clarke: a battle for greatness and love

Jarrod Kimber: He spent his career trying to win hearts and minds, as well as cricket matches. He could hardly have done more, but the whispers never disappeared

Australia's failure has revolved around Clarke's struggle

Ian Chappell: He hasn't been watching the ball out of the hand well enough, and moving to No. 5 was a mistake as well

Where were you when...

Jonathan Wilson: As Stuart Broad ripped through Australia, one writer found himself in an electronics store, surrounded by TVs, none showing the cricket

'We're receiving reports of Aussies in trouble'

The Nottingham police take notice of the Ashes at Trent Bridge, and so does everyone else, in the Twitter round-up

Beautiful Broad swings it for England

Mark Nicholas: He brought agony to all of Australia. It is an agony that will live forever in the history books

'Lack of batting technique leading to collapses'

Bowl at Boycs: Geoff Boycott on why a well-fought Ashes series has had one-sided matches

Why England and/or Australia will win the Ashes

To Andy Zaltzman it's pretty clear where the urn's headed

The importance of knuckling down

Ricky Ponting: Batsmen don't seem adept at getting through testing spells of bowling these days - as we saw at Edgbaston

Why England shouldn't win at Trent Bridge

Rob Steen: At the risk of sounding unpatriotic, we need a 2-2 scoreline ahead of the climax

Test match drama can't be beaten

Mark Nicholas: The way this Ashes has developed it is impossible know what will follow. Every moment should be savoured

A shifty little thing called momentum

Simon Barnes: How much truth is there in the notion that it rests with the team fresh off a victory?

England reawaken Australia's demons

Jarrod Kimber: Australia are facing some familiar foes as they attempt to recover from their Edgbaston thrashing

Selection: the most underrated force in a team's fortunes

Ed Smith: Once the players are out on the pitch, they are on their own - which makes it important to get the right ones out there

Alastair Cook's mind games

Aakash Chopra: Was the England captain's slump in form brought on by issues of technique or by a cluttered mind?

England's chances hinge on Clarke

Simon Barnes: There's currency in the idea that a captain's failure with the bat dulls his decision-making powers

Seventy-eight frames of Mitch

It called for eight seconds of trigger-pressing to capture the fast bowler's celebration of Joe Root's wicket at Lord's. By Philip Brown

Decision on No. 3 emblematic of England's problems

Ian Chappell: The Lord's defeat shows that England are being reactive in terms of who bats at one-drop, and that they are likely to shed their new-found aggression

Backward steps costing Ballance

Aakash Chopra: His habit of moving deep into his crease has challenged right-arm fast bowlers. The same can't be said of the left-armers

The Ian Bell conundrum

Numbers Game: Since the start of 2012, he averages 35 when batting in the top six; among regular top-order batsmen, only Watson has a lower average

'Cook not doing his homework to solve top-order issues'

Geoffrey Boycott also talks about the pitches used in the Ashes so far, and what subcontinent sides must do to win abroad

Wanted: Ian Bell, sublime artist

Rob Steen: His recent stats do not make for good reading. Here's hoping he has a bit of magic left in him

Hurt after Lord's? Don't despair

Andy Zaltzman: There's plenty of hope for England, because old scorecards never lie

Mitchell learns to rock (again)

Russell Jackson: Soggy in Cardiff, he was back to red-hot at Lord's, providing a fine display of the art of heavy metal bowling

The art of losing

Simon Barnes: To be a great winner, you need to have lost greatly first. Australia have shown how to respond to defeat

Australia's brutal, ruthless day

Mark Nicholas: Day four at Lord's will have been traumatic for the England dressing room, but in Australia's the celebrations would rightly have been long and loud

Smith and Clarke - the rise and fall

Daniel Brettig: Steven Smith has eased into Michael Clarke's role of relentless run-scorer. The captaincy can't be far off

The plum sauce edition

In an Ashes special, Kimber and Zaltzman talk about how many runs Root would score locked in a box

What the Ashes opening ceremony taught us

Liam Cromar: Battles for the urn, like Wimbledon finals, always come with a sense of occasion. A round of flag-waving adds nothing

Every player will feel Haddin's absence

Ricky Ponting: His record against England is phenomenal. Walking out without him will be a very different experience for the Australians

The Rogers method

Aakash Chopra: The lack of a backlift restricts the Australian opener's range of strokes, but he has managed to use his limitations to his advantage

The Australian way may yet prevail

Michael Jeh: England played Australia at their own game in Cardiff, but don't rule the visitors out

More than a win for England

Simon Barnes: There's almost a moral dimension to the Cardiff victory: it feels as if England have left a great pile of stinking bad things behind them

England and the importance of optimism and innocence

Ed Smith: Momentum isn't only about winning sessions in a row. It is a direct result of the kind of players you pick

Get Root higher up at 3

Ian Chappell: England should look to make the most of his potential because unlike Gary Ballance, he does not get bogged down against pace or spin

Dear Alastair

The Great British Public bares its soul to the men in the team's Ashes engine room, via Rob Steen. This week: the captain

'I would like to see England attack a bit more'

Mike Brearley looks ahead to the Ashes: Cook's captaincy, dealing with difficult players, and more

The greatest Ashes Test

The Cricket Monthly: Tony Lewis, Malcolm Knox, David Frith, Rob Smyth and Alex Massie make their picks | TCM June issue

Loss of Harris will change Australia's bowling plans

Ricky Ponting: Ryan Harris was a bowler for all roles, and his absence makes the Ashes a bit more difficult to call

Will the new England last the Ashes?

Nicholas Hogg: They have been playing attacking, unfettered limited-overs cricket, but an Ashes series is a different battle altogether

'Opposition bowlers knew he'd put them under pressure'

Ricky Ponting picks an all-star Ashes team from among his contemporaries. At No. 1: Matthew Hayden

How well do you know your Ashes history?

Twenty questions, 15 minutes. What are you waiting for?

Ten years after

The Cricket Monthly: The memories of 2005 are still heady for Simon Barnes | Ponting, Vaughan, Jones and others on 2005

The greatest series of them all?

Ponting, Vaughan, McGrath, Hoggard, Gillespie, Simon Jones and George Dobell look back at the first three Tests of the 2005 Ashes

Anderson, Broad, and their Aussie battles

Numbers Game: With the red Dukes ball, Stuart Broad has a much better record than James Anderson against Australia

What I did on my holiday

Page 2: David Warner tells us - via Alan Tyers - what he got up to in London on a day off

The Ashes I remember

Mark Nicholas: The '70s was a fine time for a kid captivated by England-Australia Tests

Bell's Ashes rollercoaster

Ian Bell is England's one remaining player from the heady summer of 2005, but has mixed memories of it. By David Hopps

When I ditched the Aussies for England

Shot Selection: A once parochial Australia supporter decided to switch sides in 2005 - for a good reason. By Philip Brown

The definitive England-Australia preview

The only article you need to read to know how the series is going to pan out. By Andrew Hughes

Pace is gonna get you

Ian Chappell: Despite England's recent surge, Australia will likely prevail in the Ashes thanks to their lethal pace attack, which is suited to all types of pitches

The return of the merciless Mitchells

Scott Oliver: Even as England are tested by Australia's twin left-arm menaces, they must wonder why they can't regularly produce genuine pacemen themselves

Investec Ashes 2015

Ashes key battles: Bayliss v Boof

Mark Butcher and Jason Gillespie join Melinda Farrell to look at what effect the coaches will have on the Investec Ashes

A soft, pink, invisible ball

Kimber and Zaltzman discuss the innovation threadbare, and bring you (almost) all the cricket news

Dear Andy

The Great British Public bares its soul to the men in the team's Ashes engine room, via Rob Steen. This week: the director