4th Test, Manchester, July 19, 2023, 03:30 PM
Australia
317/10(90.2ov) & 214/5(71.0ov)
England
592/10(107.4ov)
England drew with Australia
Best Batsmen
R
B
4S
6S
SR
Best Bowler
O
R
W
Econ
Man of the Match
Zak Crawley
Commentry
That is it from this game then! Just the one game to go. Australia head into the last Test with a 2-1 lead. England can't retain the Ashes but they would love to level the series. Australia on the other hand, will be eager to win a series in England after a long time. The 5th Test will be played on the 27th of this month. That game begins at 1530 IST (1000 GMT). Till then, take care and goodbye!
Pat Cummins says he is hapy with how the boys played and the boys are proud of it. States this result does not change their ideas for the next game. States the ground is an amazing one and it will be special moment at the Oval. Adds England batted well, they tried a few different things but it did not come off and England were brilliant. Marnus Labuschagne and Mitchell Marsh were brilliant and they batted really well. Ends by saying they are fully focused on winning the last game.
Ben Stokes says it is tough one but they need to accept it. Adds the equation they were in, played in their hands, States, Pope's injury had to re-think the structure of the team but Wood and Moeen have been really good. Ends by saying they want to win the last game they play. Credits Zak Crawley for the way he played. Ends by congratulating Stuart Broad on his 600 Test wickets and says he and James Anderson have been brilliant for them.
Zak Crawley MAN OF THE MATCH, says they are disappointed, they played really good cricket but they now need to look ahead. He feels they had chances to win the game but the rain cost them the game. Adds this is one of his best innings for England. Adds he will take a lot of confidence from this knock and he is very pleased with it. Adds every game is massive and they will give it their all in the next game.
Rain though played spoil-sport in the days after that. Especially on Day 4 and Day 5. We only had around one session on Day 4 and none of Day 5. England will feel hard done by as they wre in a very strong position to win this game and level the series but that was not the case. Australia still lead 2-1.
Right from Day 1 it was the hosts who dominated the game. They elected to bowl and bundled Australia out for an average score. Woakes was the star for them with a five-for. Then it was their batters who were brilliant! They came out all guns blazing. Zak Crawley was the highlight with a massive ton. There were contributions from others too. Root was really good and Jonny Bairstow down the order was unlucky to not get to a ton. They ammased over 500 and took a lead of over 250.
The umpires are having a word with the captains! That should probably be it, should not be long before it is called off!
UPDATE 2033 IST (1503 GMT) - Well, we should not be far away from the day being abandoned which means, the match will end a draw. Pretty sure with the amount of rain that we have had, it is very difficult to see any kind of play even if the rain stops.
UPDATE 2000 IST (1430 GMT) - With every passing minute, hope of any kind of play is fading away as the rain keeps on falling. There are puddles out there on the field and it would be a miracle if we get to see some action now.
UPDATE 1855 IST (1325 GMT) - The rain continues to come down and this match seems to be heading for a draw! England fans will be praying for it to stop at the moment.
UPDATE 1810 IST (1240 GMT) - The story is the same as the first session, the rain continues to fall and the covers are firmly in place. For now, our wait continues...
... DAY 5, SESSION 2 ...
UPDATE - 1727 IST (1157 GMT) - Lunch has been taken! The rain continues to fall and chances of any play on Day 5 is reducing with each passing minute.
UPDATE - 1645 IST (1115 GMT) - Well, the good news did not last for long as the covers are back on and the rain is now steady! The wait continues.
We have some better news for you! The skies are clearing up and the rain has eased out a lot. The groundsmen could start their mopping up job in a bit. Fingers crossed for now. The news now gets better! THE COVERS ARE COMING OFF!
Nothing new to update! It continues to rain and it is steady rain! We probably won't be having any play in the first session.
Play should have started by now but the rain continues to come down and the wait continues. HOWEVER, it is a lot lighter than it was earlier on.
There was an insepction scheudled at 11 local but that does not seem possible now as it has started raining again! It s pouring now, it is raining quite hard. Not good news for England!
Well, scratch what we wrote below as it is raining in Manchester and the covers are on. Let us hope it passes by quickly.
It was rain which dominated Day 4 as we only managed around one session of play! However, the Aussies, courtesy Marnus Labuschagne and Mitchell Marsh fought back strongly in that session but England did manage to get the centurion out. Australia still trail by another 61 runs and England will be dearly hoping, they get a full day's play here and they can force a result. Difficult however, as the forecast is not the best. For now though, it is dry but quite overcast. Let us keep our fingers crossed and hope we get good amount of play.