The final day of the first Ashes Test looks set to be DELAYED due to heavy rain
It crackles! The final day of the first Ashes Test appears to be POSTPONED as heavy rain leaves huge puddles on the outfield at Edgbaston
- The last day of the first Ashes Test starts this morning
- The game is tied, with all three results still possible in Edgbaston
- The start of the match appears to be delayed due to heavy rain in Birmingham
The final day of the first Ashes Test appears to be delayed following heavy rainfall this morning in Edgbaston.
The match is delicately balanced, with England needing seven wickets for victory and Australia needing a further 174 runs to go up 1-0 in the series.
But it seems unlikely that play will get under way at the scheduled 11:00 start, as a continuous rainstorm has left huge puddles on the outfield.
It’s a stark contrast to how the match started, with England batting in the blazing sun on Friday morning to kick off the much-anticipated series.
It was also mostly sunny on Saturday when Australia got their first chance to bat, but rain disrupted Sunday’s game and wiped out most of the afternoon’s play.
The outfield at Edgbaston has huge puddles after a heavy downpour in the Birmingham area
It rained non-stop this morning and the blankets stayed firmly in place
Yesterday was a full day of play, with England putting their foot on the accelerator with the bat to try and force a result.
They then took three wickets in the evening session as Stuart Broad dismissed Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith to increase their chances on day five.
But England may now have to wait to get another chance on the Australian batsmen due to the weather in the Birmingham area.
The weather forecast predicted it would rain today, but there is hope that it will clear up this afternoon to give the players a chance to finish the game, with a potentially thrilling final ahead.
Ground crews have been seen on the field cleaning up the puddles but will have to do their job today as it continues to rain.
There are 98 overs scheduled today due to lost time on Sunday. It’s almost certain we won’t get all of those now, but it may only take about half that number to force a result.
Ben Stokes’ side are hoping the weather clears up and they can bowl in overcast conditions, which proved tricky for their own batters on Sunday as they lost both openers in their second innings under a leaden sky.
Australia will be praying for the sun to come out, with batting appearing much easier in this test match when there has been little cloud cover.
Grounds personnel have been trying to clean up the puddles that have collected on the outfield
There is still hope that the weather clears up this afternoon to set up a thrilling finale