Tag: Fourth Ashes Test

Australia have retained the Ashes after the fourth Test against England ended in a rain-affected draw, with bad weather at Old Trafford washing out Sunday’s final day.

The result ensured Australia, as the holders, kept the Ashes at 2-1 up with one match left in the series — regardless of the result of next week’s fifth Test at The Oval.

Heavy overnight rain left the outfield sodden and meant play was unable to start as scheduled at 11:00 am (1000 GMT) in Manchester.

No sooner had it been announced that play would resume at 1200 GMT, provided there was no further rain, the ground was subjected to a fresh downpour lasting several hours.

The match was officially abandoned by the umpires as a draw at 1624 GMT.

Despite this draw, Australia will still have to avoid defeat at The Oval if they are to secure their first Ashes series win in England since 2001.

“The group should be pretty proud. Our preference is to come over here and win the Ashes but it’s nice to retain it, albeit not in the best of circumstances,” Australia captain Pat Cummins said.

England skipper Ben Stokes was understandably downbeat, saying: “It is a tough one to take, playing the cricket we did over the first three days, but it is all part of the journey.

“We knew what we needed to do and that played into our hands. It was another do-or-die game for us and I don’t think we could have done much more — bowling them out and then scoring 590.

“We have got one game left and we want to go out with a win and draw the series, like in 2019.”

Australia finished on 214-5 in their second innings, 61 runs behind England’s first-innings 592, after rain meant only 30 overs’ play was possible on Saturday’s fourth day.

England managed to take just one wicket in that time when part-time off-spinner Joe Root had Marnus Labuschagne caught behind, but not before the Australian had held up the hosts’ victory charge with 111.

Old Trafford is notorious for weather delays — the ground has now had 25 complete days rained off in Test cricket, plus an additional two entire Tests abandoned.

England restricted world Test champions Australia to 317 in their first innings before racing to 592 all out, thanks largely to opener Zak Crawley’s breathtaking 189 and an unbeaten 99 from Jonny Bairstow.

Fast bowler Mark Wood ripped through Australia’s top order on Friday with three wickets.

But Australia kept England at bay on Saturday during a stand of 103 between Labuschagne and Mitchell Marsh (31 not out).

Crawley, the player of the match, added: “We are quite flat. We were in a good position to win this game but the weather cost us.”

Sunday’s result ended England’s bid to become just the second side in Ashes history to win a series from 2-0 down.

The Australia team of 1936/37, inspired by batting great Don Bradman, overturned that deficit to win 3-2.

Australia won the first Test of the current series with a thrilling two-wicket victory at Edgbaston where Stokes controversially declared at 398-8 on the opening day, even though star batsman Root was 118 not out.

The tourists went 2-0 up with a 43-run win at Lord’s, a match where England collapsed from 188-1 to 325 all out in their first innings before Stokes gave his side hope of achieving an improbable run-chase with a stunning 155.

England bounced back to take the third Test at Headingley by three wickets, but the Manchester rain ensured that wasn’t enough to spark an Ashes-winning fightback.

READ: LA Knight Riders stun leaders Seattle Orcas to claim maiden MLC victory

Fast bowler Mark Wood ripped through Australia’s top order following Jonny Bairstow’s thrilling 99 not out as England strengthened their grip on a must-win fourth Ashes Test at Old Trafford on Friday.

Australia were 113-4 in their second innings at stumps on the third day, still 162 runs behind England’s huge first-innings 592.

Mark Wood had superb figures of 3-17 from seven overs, a haul that included the 100th Test wicket of an injury-blighted career.

England, at 2-1 down with two to play in, must win in Manchester if they are to stand a chance of regaining the Ashes.

Forecast rain over the weekend could scupper their hopes, but Bairstow told the BBC: “We’ve put ourselves into a position taking four wickets tonight that hopefully, well, we’ve done everything that we could’ve done in the game.

“The weather is the weather. What comes will come and we can control what we have done so far in the game which is score at a rate that puts us in a position that hopefully forces a result,” the 33-year-old Yorkshireman added.

Wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow followed his blistering 81 ball-assault, which included 10 fours and four sixes, by holding a routine edge off Wood as Australia lost Usman Khawaja early in their innings.

David Warner, Australia’s other left-handed opener, survived against nemesis Stuart Broad before uncertainly chopping onto Chris Woakes for 28.

Mark Wood’s 100th Test wicket arrived when Australia star batsman Steve Smith was caught down the legside by Bairstow for just 17.

Durham express quick Wood, 33, again showed the value of sheer speed when Travis Head, on one, was undone by a rising delivery that took the shoulder of the bat before looping to Ben Duckett in the gully.

Marnus Labuschagne was 44 not out at stumps, with Mitchell Marsh unbeaten on one off 27 balls.

England had already enjoyed a remarkable run-spree, with opener Zak Crawley top-scoring with 189 when Bairstow came in at 437-5 on Friday.

Jonny Bairstow, one of the stand-out batsmen during England’s ‘Bazball’ era of aggressive run-scoring, was only on 49 not out when joined by last man James Anderson.

He pulled a six off Mitchell Starc to complete his fifty in style.

Jonny Bairstow also hoisted Australia captain Pat Cummins for two soaring sixes off successive balls, even though by then all the fielders — with the exception of wicketkeeper Alex Carey — were on the boundary, a sure sign of how England had rattled their arch-rivals.

There were more cheers from the crowd when the last-wicket pair ran a bye to Carey, who had controversially stumped Jonny Bairstow during the second Ashes Test at Lord’s when the England batsman thought the ball was dead.

Having turned down the chance to get the two he needed for his hundred by only running a single, Jonny Bairstow finished one shy of what would have been a dazzling century after Anderson was lbw to Cameron Green, in what could be the 40-year-old England great’s last Test on his Lancashire home ground.

“Jimmy and I put on 66 for the last wicket,” said Bairstow. “We took the runs we could and it (being left 99 not out) is just one of those things.”

All of Australia’s three frontline bowlers, conceded more than 100 runs each, with Josh Hazlewood taking 5-126 in his 27 overs.

Hazlewood defended the way Australia bowled at Bairstow and Anderson.

“Bairstow had some incredible shots there at the end. So credit to him,” he said.

England resumed on the third day of the fourth Ashes Test at 384-4, with Harry Brook 14 not out and England captain Ben Stokes unbeaten 24 not out.

Both batsmen went on to make the fifties as Australia twice missed chances to run out Stokes.

Cummins bowled Stokes for 61 but the 30-year-old fast bowler’s figures of 1-129 were the most expensive of his 54-Test career.

READ: Lionel Messi scores late winner on magical Inter Miami debut

Zak Crawley’s super-charged 189 fuelled a dramatic England run spree on the second day of the must-win fourth Test at Old Trafford as Australia wilted in the face of an Ashes onslaught.

England were 384-4 at stumps on Thursday in reply to the tourists’ first-innings 317, a lead of 67 runs.

The home team, 2-1 down with two matches to play in the five-game series, must win in Manchester to maintain their hopes of regaining the Ashes.

Zak Crawley and Joe Root, who scored 84, shared a breathtaking partnership of 206 runs in just 29 overs.

That stand came after Crawley and Moeen Ali (54) had put on 121 for the second wicket.

At the close, Harry Brook was 14 not out with England captain Ben Stokes 24 not out.

Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum have continually backed the inconsistent Crawley since joining forces last year. The Kent opener has become a standard-bearer for England’s aggressive ‘Bazball’ style.

“I rode my luck at times but hit some good shots along the way,” Crawley told Sky Sports.

“I do doubt myself at times but I have to say ‘keep being me’. That is the way I play.”

The batter, celebrating his first Ashes century, added: “They (Stokes and McCullum) tell me to go out and have an impact. Sometimes I am going to have streaks of low scores but thankfully today it came off.”

There was little hint of the flood of runs to come as England reached lunch on 61-1 off 16 overs following the early loss of Ben Duckett.

Yet at tea England were 239-2, having smashed 178 runs in just 25 overs during the second session.

Crawley himself became just the sixth England batsman to score a hundred runs in a session of an Ashes Test as he advanced from 26 to 132.

“We had some clear plans to him (Crawley) but he was too good for us on a wicket like that today,” said Australia assistant coach Daniel Vettori.

“That period when he and Root got together, it was almost all-out attack,” the former New Zealand spinner added.

Zak Crawley extended his fourth hundred in 38 Tests past 150 with two superb straight-driven boundaries off successive deliveries from Australia captain Pat Cummins.

But, in sight of a second Test double century, and with Cummins running out of ideas, Crawley chopped on to all-rounder Cameron Green.

It was the end of a remarkable innings in which the 25-year-old Crawley scored at better than a run-a-ball, facing 182 deliveries, hitting 21 fours and three sixes.

England’s 336-3 became 351-4 when Root was bowled for 84 by a Josh Hazlewood ball that kept exceptionally low.

By contrast, Stokes was then hit on the helmet by a Hazlewood delivery that reared off a length.

Australia’s woes were compounded when Starc, who led their attack with 2-74 from 15 overs, left the field after landing heavily on his left shoulder making a diving stop.

Moeen, in red-ball retirement until the start of this series, earlier became just the fourth England player to complete the Test ‘double’ of 3,000 runs and 200 wickets.

He was caught for 54 by a diving Usman Khawaja from a fierce pull off Starc.

Travis Head’s part-time off-breaks yielded an expensive 0-48 in six overs. Australia had dropped Todd Murphy — the first time in 11 years they had no specialist spinner in a Test side.

In the morning, Australia were bowled out after resuming on 299-8, with none of their batsmen making more than the 51 achieved by both Marnus Labuschagne and all-rounder Mitchell Marsh.

Chris Woakes wrapped up the innings to finish with 5-62 — his first five-wicket Ashes haul.

READ: Virat Kohli on brink of 76th ton as India on top in second West Indies Test

SYDNEY: England finished the first day of the fourth Ashes Test on a high after the seamers provided late breakthroughs on a rain-affected day.

Australia finished at 126/3 as the heavy rain forced early stumps and only 47 overs could be bowled.

At the toss, Australian captain – Pat Cummins elected to bat first after the coin flipped in his favour. Batting first, the openers provided a decent start to the side; putting on a brilliant fifty-plus opening partnership. The opening pair appeared to be solid, but, David Warner dismissed after scoring 30. He smashed six boundaries.

Marcus Harris and the top-ranked Test batter – Marnus Labuschagne then put on a magnificent partnership, the pair added 60 runs to the team’s total before Harris fell short to James Anderson after scoring 38.

Soon after, in the next over, Labushagne also lost his wicket. The right-handed batter nicked the ball straight into the hands of Jos Buttler on Mark Wood’s back of a length delivery. He managed to score 28 off 59 balls; hitting four boundaries.

Following his dismissal, the home side slipped from 111/1 to 117/3; handing the touring side a late advantage. Steven Smith (6*) and Usman Khawaja (4*) will now resume the proceedings for Australia at 126/3 on day two of the ongoing Test.

For England, Anderson, Wood, and Broad claimed one wicket apiece.

READ: COVID-19 outbreak causes Heat-Sixers contest to postpone