England’s hopes of setting up a winner-takes-all Ashes decider were wiped out by the Manchester weather, with a fifth day washout in the fourth Test handing the urn to Australia.
The most pessimistic forecasts came to pass at Emirates Old Trafford as relentless rain meant the players never made it to the middle, salvaging a draw for the tourists and rendering their 2-1 series lead unassailable.
England arrived 61 ahead and needing five wickets to get over the line but left without a ball being bowled.
They have all but eliminated the concept of the draw since captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum ushered in the ‘Bazball’ era more than a year ago, but – for the first time in 17 games at the helm – conditions finally left them with no cards to play.
After weeks of blockbuster entertainment in the closest, most exciting Ashes contest since 2005, a shootout for glory at the Kia Oval next week was on the cards if there had been enough time for England to convert their dominance.
Instead, dreams of a stirring comeback to beat their rivals for the first time since 2015 were swept away, leaving the holders to retain in circumstances that will surely ring hollow.
Australia made it clear they were more than happy to finish the job in the pavilion rather than out on the pitch, but any post-match celebrations may be slightly muted after this narrow escape.
There is still plenty to play for, with Australia bidding to claim a first outright win on English soil in 22 years while their opponents are seeking to square the ledger at 2-2 and preserve an undefeated streak under Stokes’ leadership. But a home win being taken off the table by the elements is the definition of a damp squib.
England had made all the running here, piling up a 275-run first-innings advantage and taking five of the 10 wickets they needed to finish the job before the skies turned against them.
Five of the last six sessions were lost without a ball bowled, leaving a 30-over window on Saturday afternoon as the only play possible on the wettest of weekends. England will be cursing their misfortune and have now lost the chance to be become just the second team in Ashes history to win from 2-0 down.
The momentum of the series swung when captain Ben Stokes embarked on a six-hitting rampage in the fourth innings at Lord’s, apparently sparked into life by Alex Carey’s controversial stumping of Jonny Bairstow, and, although his magnificent century was not enough to save that game, it set things on a new path.
England took the third Test at Headingley in relatively comfortably fashion – the first of three must-win games – and spent the first three days on the other side of the Pennines establishing an even more dominant position.
Zak Crawley’s outrageous 189 and an unbeaten 99 from Bairstow saw them pile up 592, their highest total against Australia in a dozen years, and an three-wicket blast from Mark Wood tightened their grip on the third evening as Australia stumbled to 113 for four.
That was as good as it got for the hosts, with Marnus Labuschagne making 111 and Mitch Marsh batting through what became the final session of the match to keep Australian heads above water.
The sides will reconvene in south London on Thursday for the final chapter in a memorable tour.
Borthwick names unchanged starting England team for Australia clash
Steve Borthwick has named an unchanged starting team for England's match against Australia on Saturday with two changes on the bench.
England enter their second November Test looking to bounce back from their narrow 24-22 defeat to New Zealand last weekend.
Borthwick, however has elected to name the same group that started against the All Blacks, though Henry Slade will shift to inside centre, while Ollie Lawrence moves to outside centre.
Marcus Smith retains his place at fly-half while Jamie George continues to lead the side at hooker, but there is no place for Theo Dan or Ben Curry.
The pair are replaced by Luke Cowan-Dickie and Ollie Sleightholme as England move from a six-two split between forwards and backs to a five-three combination.
Hooker Cowan-Dickie will make his first England appearance since November 2022 if he is introduced off the bench.
“Facing Australia is always a massive challenge, and we’ll work diligently this week to ensure we’re physically and tactically prepared to take on the Wallabies,” said Borthwick.
“The passion and energy from the crowd at Allianz Stadium last weekend was absolutely brilliant, from the opening whistle to the final moments, and we can't wait to be back at home this Saturday."
England squad in full:
George Furbank, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Ollie Lawrence, Henry Slade, Tommy Freeman, Marcus Smith, Ben Spencer; Ellis Genge, Jamie George (captain), Will Stuart, Maro Itoje, George Martin, Chandler Cunningham-South, Tom Curry, Ben Earl.
Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Fin Baxter, Dan Cole, Nick Isiekwe, Alex Dombrandt, Harry Randall, George Ford, Ollie Sleightholme
Dottin among nominees for ICC Women’s Player of the Month for October
West Indies all-rounder Deandra Dottin has been named among the three nominees for the ICC Women’s Player of the Month award for the month of October.
Dottin made her comeback for the national side at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in the UAE, and was a driving force as the islanders reached their first semi-final at the event since 2018.
She was instrumental in victories over Scotland and Bangladesh, but saved her most valuable contributions for the latter stages, where she shone with the bat, ball and in the field in their group stage win over England, before producing a memorable individual display with 33 runs and four wickets in the thrilling semi-final defeat to eventual champions New Zealand.
Dottin will be going up against New Zealand’s Amelia Kerr and South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt for the award.
The nominees for the Men’s award are New Zealand’s Mitchell Santner, Pakistan’s Noman Ali and South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada.
Kevin Sinclair replaced by Junior Sinclair in Harpy Eagles Super50 squad after internal report to GCB
All-rounder Kevin Sinclair will take no further part in the Guyana Harpy Eagles CG United Super50 Cup campaign in Trinidad and Tobago. The decision made by the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) followed the submission of an internal report by the Harpy Eagles' management team that it was necessary to replace the player.
The GCB, in making the revelation, also announced that Kevin Sinclair will be replaced by Junior Sinclair in the squad at the tournament.
Though the GCB’s statement did not clarify if sub-standard performance is the reason behind Kevin Sinclair’s ejection from the squad, it pointed out that it was a “necessary squad adjustment.”
“Following an internal report from the Guyana Harpy Eagles management, it has been decided that Kevin Sinclair will no longer be participating in this year’s competition,” the statement read.
In the three matches played in the Super50 Cup, Kevin Sinclair tallied 14 runs and snared three wickets.
He made 14 from 16 balls against Windward Volcanoes and took 2-66 from 10 overs in the same match.
However, he did not bat in the rained-out contest against Combined Campuses and Colleges Marooners and was dismissed without a score against Barbados Pride and only took 1-26 from 10 overs in that same match.
The Guyana Harpy Eagles are winless after three matches.
A similar situation arose last year during the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) T20 tournament when organisers announced Kevin left the Guyana Amazon Warriors squad for “personal reasons.”
Kevin Sinclair’s departure opens the door for Junior Sinclair to take up a spot in the Harpy Eagles squad ahead of Tuesday’s contest against Leeward Islands Hurricanes at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy.
Guyana Harpy Eagles Squad: Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Matthew Nandu, Tevin Imlach (captain), Kevlon Anderson, Kemol Savory, Junior Sinclair, Keemo Paul (vice-captain), Ronaldo Aimohamed, Veerasammy Permaul, Isai Thorne, Ashmead Nedd, Nial Smith, Sylus Tyndall, Rampertab Ramnauth.
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