James Anderson feared Alastair Cook would quit as England captain

And he praised the leadership of Cook this summer as England have thrashed Australia to secure an unassailable 3-1 lead in the Investec Ashes Series with one Test still to come.

With the win in the fourth test in the Ashes series at Trent Bridge, England has regained Ashes series after a humiliating 5-0 loss in Australia. I think he’ll grow and be a really good leader. I made sure that all the shots I thought were my bread and butter, I worked on and made sure they were as good as they could possibly be.

In a message sent on Sunday, Buchanan said: “My view is that Michael was going to retire at the end of this Ashes…”

Australia’s young and prodigious number three batting star Steven Smith may have lost his top spot in ICC Test rankings, but is set for bigger things in his young and improving career.

The Oval track has had this reputation of assisting spinners but in the last Test that was played on this ground, India were rolled over by the English seamers for 148 and 94 respectively.

Steve Smith has been backed by coach Darren Lehmann to become Michael Clarke’s successor as Australia’s Test captain.

The report which incensed Clarke claimed there was a year-long disintegration in the off-field relationship between him and the rest of the team as he often chose to travel by private vehicle instead of the team bus and rarely attended team get-togethers.

James Anderson, meanwhile, has returned in a 14-man squad announced for the final Ashes Test at The Oval as he continues his recovery from a side strain.

After inflicting retribution on the same side who crushed England Down Under, Root said: “I can’t speak for other people, but personally that was the inspiration”.

Clarke retired from ODIs after leading Australia to a fifth World Cup title this year.

Speaking to the England and Wales Cricket Board website, he said: “I think he has done fantastically well in this series”.

Losing the coveted urn to arch-rival England is depressing enough in cricket-mad Australia, but the manner of the team’s capitulation after entering the series favorite and pumped-up with confidence has prompted criticism from all quarters.

“It’s heartbreaking to have played the way I’ve played and not helped the team get over the line”.

“You obviously get a little more time to see if your plans are working and then adjust it from there whereas in the shorter format you change pretty quickly”.