The Nikkei 225 average closed at 13, 694, down 105 yen, the fourth straight day of (small) losses, off a multiyear high of 13, 926 set on April 25.

FORBES: Whither Japan Stocks: Investors Saying 'Show Me Growth'; Sharp On Life Support

After going 16 straight months in my new entrepreneurial life without taking a single day off, I slammed head first into a mental wall.

FORBES: Surprising Financial Lessons From A Caribbean Cruise

Two dot balls followed before Bilal Shafayat was caught at short fine-leg, Kevin O'Brien walked in front of a straight one and Jake Ball, on his one-day debut, looked shell-shocked as Smith trimmed his off bail.

BBC: Devastating Smith destroys Notts

Instead it was Flintoff who applied the coup de grace with a solid thump straight back down the ground over the ropes off Harris, to give England heart going into the one-day matches that begin with a Twenty20 international on 20 August.

BBC: Pietersen reign starts with a win