BREAKING NEWS: Australia HOLDS the ashes ending England’s hopes after final match day at Old Trafford completely wiped out, leaving the visitors 2-1 down in the series with just one game to go
- The fourth Ashes Test ended in a draw after torrential rain meant no play on Sunday
- Australia have retained the Ashes as they lead the series 2-1 with one game remaining
- England cannot win the series now and have not won the Ashes since 2015
Australia have retained the Ashes after the fourth Test ended in a draw on Sunday and could not be played at Old Trafford.
England dominated the first three days in Manchester and looked well positioned to take the series to 2-2 heading into the weekend.
However, the weather had other ideas. With England needing six wickets over the last two days, they could only take one in just over two hours on Saturday, and were not given a chance to round out the last five as Sunday’s play faded completely.
It leaves Australia 2-1 in the series heading to the Oval for the final Test, which begins on Thursday.
The visitors will now set their sights on their first run in England since 2001.
England were denied the chance to aim for victory after rain meant no play could be played
Thousands of fans turned up hoping to see England win, but the rain had other ideas
It was a frustrating day for England fans after the hosts dominated the Fourth Test
For Ben Stokes’ side, it’s a cruel way to miss the Urn, having fought back admirably since trailing 2-0 in the series.
Australia won two thrilling Tests at Edgbaston and Lord’s to take a dominant position, but England gave themselves hope by coming out on top in another closely fought match at Headingley.
The momentum seemed to be with the hosts and they did little wrong at Old Trafford.
After knocking out Australia for 317, Stokes’ men produced a brilliant display of attacking batting to crush 592 in reply as opener Zak Crawley led the way with an excellent 189 off just 182 balls.
Leading 275 runs ahead of the second innings, Mark Wood took three wickets on Friday night to leave Australia 113 for four on the night.
But rain came to Australia’s rescue on Saturday, with just one play session completed before the heavens opened up again.
In that period, England only took the lone wicket of Marnus Labuschagne, but not before he completed his first century in England.
The No. 3 Australian was ably assisted by all-rounder Mitchell Marsh as the tourists moved to 214 for five ahead of the final day amid constant time wasting.
Marnus Labuschagne is congratulated by teammate Mitchell Marsh after scoring a crucial century on Saturday to help Australia avoid defeat and retain the Ashes
The test match looked set for another exciting final, but the weather in Manchester ruined those plans.
After heavy rain overnight, the day’s game was postponed, but there was hope when the covers came loose shortly after noon and a scheduled start time of 1pm was announced.
However, that was pretty much the news to the thousands of loyal fans who turned up at Old Trafford when it started raining again at 12.30pm.
A steady stream of drizzle and heavier downpours followed throughout the afternoon, before it was finally confirmed that no play would be played and the game ended in a draw.
It is the first stalemate in the era of Stokes and Brendon McCullum, with England scrambling to force results since the pair took charge last summer.
Under Stokes and McCullum, England have won 12 Tests and lost four, and are now holding on to their first draw at the worst possible time.
They need to lift themselves up for the final Test of the summer, knowing that a win will take the series 2-2, a repeat of the scoreline from England’s last Ashes four years ago.
Ben Stokes’ side came back from a 2-0 deficit but failed to cross the line at Old Trafford