Well we all knew it was coming, and the Australians reluctantly had to accept a draw as only 20.3 overs were possible on the final day at Old Trafford. The draw obviously meant that, with England 2-0 up with just 2 tests to play, that England have retained The Ashes and will take the urn to Australia in November. Australia tried incredibly hard throughout the Test Match, and if a full days play would have been possible on day 5 they probably would have won. On many occasions the Great British weather has hurt England, so it was about time it worked in favour of the hosts.
Play was delayed by 30 minutes at the start of play, while the ground was made fit for play. Australia declared overnight as expected setting England 332 to win in a possible 98 overs. However, it was immediately apparent that England were batting for a draw. As soon as Australia got out their they made it worth the wait, taking 3 English wickets in the 20 overs before lunch. The first to go was Alastair Cook, still without a big score in the series really, LBW to Ryan Harris before a run had been put on the board. 15 more were added before Harris struck again, this time getting Jonathon Trott, also short of form, caught down the leg-side by Haddin for 11. Now that The Ashes are secure, hopefully Trott and Cook will be able to relax and show some better form ahead of the winter. Pietersen soon went as well, for 8 getting a faint edge to keeper Haddin. Pietersen was bemused and reviewed the decision, and while nothing showed up on the unreliable hotspot, there was a big enough noise for the third umpire to stick with the original decision, much to KP's disgust. Joe Root and Ian Bell saw England out to lunch at 37/3 with still a possible 78 overs to be bowled.
Rain delayed the restart after the lunch break, and once England got back out, only 3 more balls were possible before the next burst of rain came. After 2 hours more of prolonged heavy rain, enough was enough and the umpires abandoned play for the day at 4.40pm, much to the delight of the England players and fans as it meant that Australia's Ashes hopes were over - as England retained the urn.
On the whole though Australia dominated the Test with bat and ball, and deserved to win the game, and they would have done comfortably without the Old Trafford weather. Clarke batted exceptionally on the first 2 days, before Peter Siddle and Ryan Harris then took over with ball in hand. England were saved in part by Pietersen and Bell in the 1st innings, without whom they may have been forced to follow on. Australia have plenty of positives that they can take out of the match, and into the final 2 tests with the aim of getting a 2-2 series draw, taking some momentum back home for the start of the next series in November.
The Durham test starting on Friday should be just as close and will hopefully offer some good entertainment and an intriguing contest. I will be back on Thursday to preview the match, and the potential options for both sides for the 4th Test. Graham Onions is back in England's squad and hoping to play in his home Ashes test. I hope you enjoyed reading my daily summaries from the 3rd Test and I'm already looking forward to doing the same for the 4th Test.
See you then.
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