The weather that everyone had feared did not have as devastating an effect as first thought on day four of the crucial Old Trafford Test match, but England’s hopes of levelling the series have still been dealt a cruel blow.
At one point it looked like there would be no play possible on Saturday, but England and Australia managed to get out onto the field for two hours 15 minutes.
It proved enough time for Joe Root to claim the key wicket of Marnus Labuschagne. Ben Stokes chose to successfully overturn the on-field decision of not out, but it was after he had already scored a century.
England batting coach Marcus Trescothick even admitted there was more cricket played than they had first thought.
“We weren’t expecting much play today so to get what we did was a little bit of a bonus really,” he said.
“So fingers crossed, overnight and coming into tomorrow, it changes a little bit and we get a few more hours in that potentially what it’s looking like. But we’ll have to wait and see.”
Mitchell Marsh and Labuschagne offered a key partnership of Australian resistance, playing comfortably and taking on the bad ball as the game slowly ticked along.
Labuschagne in particular played a well-watched innings, scoring 100 off 161 balls, to take his helmet off and raise his bat for only the second time outside of Australia.
While fingers can be pointed at the amount of extra time taken, 26 overs were lost across the first three days, largely due to slow over rates, the weather will ultimately decide the fate of the match and the Ashes.
Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow appeal— (PA)
At 4.17pm, England were told the light wasn’t good enough to use their pace bowlers, and while Root eventually claimed the key wicket of Labuschagne, it was more expensive.
In the first six overs of spin from both ends, England conceded 40 runs and Australia went into the tea break 214 for five, trailing by just 61.
However, Trescothick insisted he could not see much of a difference between the conditions before and after England were limited to just bowling spin.
“Firstly, we were sat on the balcony and we didn’t it had deteriorated that much to not allow the seamers to bowl. The umpires out in the middle deemed it was too dark and they’ve got to make that decision,” the England coach said.
“Tomorrow, if that’s what we’ve got, and that’s what we’re given, then that’s what we’ll take.
“Any opportunity that we can get out in the middle tomorrow we will be grabbing with both hands.”
Unfortunately for the crowd and England, the rain returned at tea, and looked to settle in with no more play possible.
Whichever weather forecast is preferred for Sunday, the outlook does not look good. It could even rain all day scuppering England’s hopes in the series and ensuring Australia retain the Ashes.
Labuschagne said: “You’ve got to be prepared to play and I think we were today, we took the game on.
“We knew the task we had, we knew it wasn’t going to be a massively long day but we had to be on for that two-hour stint that we did get.
“Now it’s about retaining the Ashes, this is what it comes down to. Whatever time we have left tomorrow, there’s only one option which is to bat out the day.
“The rain’s going to play its part but I certainly think there’ll be some play.”
