In Case You Missed It: England's Ashes hopes meet soggy end, Pakistan hand Sri Lanka an epic thumping

England's Ashes hopes took on water at Old Trafford after relentless rain wiped up most of the last two days, even as Marnus Labuschagne put up a fighting hundred to inch Australia closer to the urn. The Ashes remain with Australia now but England are determined to force a 2-2 result at The Oval in the final Test. Rain also denied India a definitive victory in the second Test and the series in West Indies, but they landed the first blow in the ODI series with a massive win. Ugly scenes took the shine off Bangladesh and India Women's tied ODI series while Pakistan administered a beat-down of legendary proportions to Sri Lanka in their own backyard. Here's a recap of a full week of cricket.

Australia secure Ashes retention as weather thwarts England
The rain wiped out any chances of a series leveller at Old Trafford or Australia's chance to secure an outright win after a determined Labuschagne hundred. Nevertheless, the England captain declared he was proud of the team's attempts to force pace, but Vithushan Ehantharajah says for Ben Stokes, the draw is bound to hurt. On the Switch Hit podcast, Ehantharajah joined Alan Gardner and Andrew McGlashan to discuss the merits and demerits of Australia retaining the urn under such soggy circumstances. Mark Nicholas looks at the two main takeaways from the Ashes so far - Zak Crawley's form and Steven Smith's lack of.

Noman Ali seven-for wraps up Pakistan's 2-0 victory
Pakistan served up an innings-and-222-run defeat to Sri Lanka, their worst-ever Test loss at home, as Noman Ali spun through the hosts' batting. And it wasn't a fluke, says Osman Samiuddin: Pakistan decided they were going to play like this, told us about it, and went out and did it.

Rain denies India shot at full WTC points in Port-of-Spain
India were set for a 2-0 sweep of the Test series in West Indies but the rain had other plans and after no play was possible on day five at Queen's Park Oval. The match however saw Virat Kohli score his first away Test hundred in five years, and the transformation of Mohammed Siraj's transformation into a complete fast bowler in the absence of senior pacers.

Drama in Mirpur as decider ends in thrilling tie
India and Bangladesh Women tied the ODI series in a thrilling third match, which however devolved into ugly scenes after Harmanpreet Kaur's remarks about "pathetic umpiring" saw her cop a two-match ban.S Sudarshanan says the series had more misses than hits for India, with bumbling batting, underused fast bowlers, and low returns from Smriti Mandhana, among others.

MLC Week Two: Russell heroics and Netravalkar demolition job the highlights
Ashish Pant rounds up the second week of the MLC, in which Orcas and Freedom have made the playoffs, while the three other teams scrap for the last two spots.

Can Indian fans ever expect a pleasant stadium experience?
Even as question marks hang over the World Cup schedule, Sidharth Monga says fans have yet more hurdles to face at the matches themselves, though there may be glimmers of hope as the BCCI looks to address some of the most pressing spectator grievances ahead of the World Cup.

Does Zak Crawley have the highest individual Test score at more than a run a ball?
And does Tammy Beaumont have the highest individual Test score in a losing cause? Steven Lynch has the answers.

Tammy Beaumont: 'We've got a ceiling that we can absolutely smash through'
England opener spoke to Andrew Miller about her starring role in the Ashes, and the thoughts of retirement that preceded it.

When Thala became Thalaivar: how MS Dhoni joined the pantheon of mythical Tamil heroes
Superstars in Chennai emerge from cinema or politics or both. Then came along a cricketer from Ranchi. Karthik Krishnaswamy looks at how Chennai first embraced Dhoni as one of their own, then added him to their roster of homegrown deities.

Farewell Brian Taber: keeper, manager, all-round good bloke
Ian Chappell remembers the former Australia wicketkeeper who was admired as a gloveman, and feared on golf courses.