England’s hopes of winning back the Ashes are over after Australia won the fourth Test at Old Trafford.

The tourists triumphed by 185 runs in Manchester to take an unassailable 2-1 lead in the series with one match remaining.

As holders, Australia only needed to draw the series to retain the urn, while England had to win to regain it.

Captain Joe Root’s team must now wait until they travel Down Under for the next series in the winter of 2021-22 to recapture the trophy they lost last year.

England, who were chasing a remarkable summer double after winning their first Cricket World Cup in July, managed to take the match into its final session before succumbing.

There was no repeat of Ben Stokes’ heroics in the previous test at Headingley as the all-rounder was out shortly before lunch for just one.

They might have hoped for some help from the city’s famously unreliable weather, but there was no sign of rain as the packed ground basked in sunshine for much of the day.

Defeat marks a disappointing end to Trevor Bayliss’ time as England coach, with the Australian set to quit when his contract expires at the end of this series.

Australia have largely outplayed England in a memorable series, winning the first Test, then drawing the second.

England levelled matters amid remarkable scenes in Leeds last month as Stokes single-handedly reignited their forlorn challenge with one of the best test match innings ever seen.

But that, and the explosive fast bowling of Jofra Archer, will be England’s main highlights from a series dominated by Steve Smith’s incredible batting feats and Australia’s fearsome pace attack.

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