England had already lost the series but at least rediscovered their stomach for a fight in Sydney and the battered tourists will look to produce a similar gutsy display in the final Ashes Test against Australia on Friday.
Australia retained the urn with comprehensive victories in Brisbane, Adelaide and Melbourne and while England managed to halt the juggernaut in Sydney, it was not without a price.
Wicketkeeper Jos Buttler's tour was cut short by a finger injury, while all-rounder Ben Stokes (side) and middle order batsman Jonny Bairstow (finger) are doubtful for the pink-ball Test in Hobart after getting bruised in Sydney.
England are ready to play Stokes and stumper-batsman Bairstow purely as batsmen with Sam Billings likely to don the keeping gloves in his Test debut.
Captain Joe Root has insisted on putting "some pride back into the badge" but they are struggling to put together a playing XI that can replicate their steely display in Sydney.
"A guy who has had injuries, I'm sure, will not want to go into the game unless they're certain they can provide what's needed," England fast bowler Mark Wood told reporters on Thursday.
Wood was pleased with the green look of the pitch at the Bellerive Oval, which is hosting its first Ashes Test.
"We talked about our batting so much but actually we got to try and make sure we get 20 wickets to win the game.
"Hopefully, if it stays like that, we can use that assistance and get those 20 wickets."
While England grapple with plenty of problems, Australia's problem of plenty heightened after Usman Khawaja smashed back-to-back hundreds in Sydney and the batsman he substituted, Travis Head, recovered from Covid-19.
Australia have accommodated both, sacrificing opener Marcus Harris who will be replaced by Khawaja at the top of the batting order.
Australia have yet to decide their bowling attack with Jhye Richardson, having recovered from shin soreness, vying with Michael Neser for a spot while Scott Boland, who hurt a rib in Sydney, declared fit to play subject to a final assessment in the morning.
Originally scheduled in Perth, it will be the first Test in Tasmania since 2016 but local favourite Tim Paine is missing in action having taken an indefinite mental health break last year after relinquishing the captaincy following a "sexting" scandal.
Multitasking pays off for money goals
Tackling money goals one at a time cost financial literacy expert Barbara O'Neill at least $1 million.
That's how much Ms O'Neill, a distinguished professor at Rutgers University in the US, figures she lost by starting saving for retirement only after she had created an emergency fund, bought a car with cash and purchased a home.
"I tell students that eventually, 30 years later, I hit the million-dollar mark, but I could've had $2 million," Ms O'Neill says.
Too often, financial experts say, people want to attack their money goals one at a time: "As soon as I pay off my credit card debt, then I'll start saving for a home," or, "As soon as I pay off my student loan debt, then I'll start saving for retirement"."
People do not realise how costly the words "as soon as" can be. Paying off debt is a worthy goal, but it should not come at the expense of other goals, particularly saving for retirement. The sooner money is contributed, the longer it can benefit from compounded returns. Compounded returns are when your investment gains earn their own gains, which can dramatically increase your balances over time.
"By putting off saving for the future, you are really inhibiting yourself from benefiting from that wonderful magic," says Kimberly Zimmerman Rand , an accredited financial counsellor and principal at Dragonfly Financial Solutions in Boston. "If you can start saving today ... you are going to have a lot more five years from now than if you decide to pay off debt for three years and start saving in year four."
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
if you go
The flights
Emirates fly direct from Dubai to Houston, Texas, where United have direct flights to Managua. Alternatively, from October, Iberia will offer connections from Madrid, which can be reached by both Etihad from Abu Dhabi and Emirates from Dubai.
The trip
Geodyssey’s (Geodyssey.co.uk) 15-night Nicaragua Odyssey visits the colonial cities of Leon and Granada, lively country villages, the lake island of Ometepe and a stunning array of landscapes, with wildlife, history, creative crafts and more. From Dh18,500 per person, based on two sharing, including transfers and tours but excluding international flights. For more information, visit visitnicaragua.us.
