Typical Manchester. Hailing from the city myself, I am all too aware of the daily potential for rain, with the weekly forecast rarely completely absent of the dark clouds and two drop symbols. However, after the recent heatwave, my hopes were initially high that we would see a result at Old Trafford, with a full 5 days play looking on the cards. After the result at Lord's, it appeared as though five days would not even be necessary, with the English rampant, and looking to wrap up a series win, pushing on to achieve a home whitewash. Once again though, this rollercoaster of a series threw up another surprise, with the rain eventually coming to the aid of the home side, ensuring that England retained the Ashes.
Day 1 began brightly, with the Australians winning their first toss, and electing to bat. This appeared to be an important moment, as the pitch seemed perfect for batting, and was only likely to worsen over the course of the Test. Chris Rogers and Shane Watson set about the English bowlers in the early overs, with Rogers looking particularly impressive. As has been the case recently, Watson got in, and then got out, managing just 19. At 76-1, Australia had got off to a good start. However, a moment of enormous controversy followed soon after. Having defended well since coming to the crease, Usman Khawaja was given out caught behind off the bowling of Swann. The batsman instantly reviewed the decision, standing his ground. As the TV began relaying the pictures, it became more and more obvious that Khawaja had not touched the ball. No mark on Hotspot, the thermal imaging used, no sound as the ball passed the bat, and even more convincingly, clear daylight between the bat and the ball. Despite this overwhelming evidence, unbelievably the decision was upheld, and Khawaja had to walk for 1. This drew criticism from fans, pundits, and even the Australian Prime Minister on Twitter, calling it 'one of the worst cricket umpiring decisions I have ever witnessed'. As captain Michael Clarke came to the crease, there was a sense of injustice amongst the Aussie ranks. This propelled Rogers and Clarke to put a good partnership together, before the opener eventually fell for 84, leaving Australia on 129-3. However, if England thought they had created a good platform for themselves, they were wrong. In a stand lasting the rest of the day (a full four hours), Clarke and Steve Smith put on a further 174 runs, leaving Australia at 303-3 at the close, with Clarke on an unbeaten 125, swinging the balance Australia's way.
Day 2 started in the same vein as the first, with Australia, and mostly Clarke, on top. Quickly bringing up his 150, the Aussie captain, aided by Smith, pressed on to put the Australians in a commanding position. With a century seemingly guaranteed, Smith was also beginning to play with increased freedom. However, this freedom eventually came back to bite him, as he played a loose shot to a Swann delivery on 89, putting Australia on 343-4. After such a fantastic innings, the 24 year old will be bitterly disappointed he couldn't manage his first Test century. Further misfortune for Smith was that David Warner was the next man in. This meant that rather than the rapturous applause he deserved, the pitch was alive to the sound of boos in the direction of the new man. After his 'unprovoked attack' on England batsman Joe Root, it was unlikely to be any different! His panto villain cameo was appropriately brief, with the Aussie being caught at slip by Trott on just 5. This brought about the largest cheer of the day from the English fans, who up until then had had precious little to cheer about. Brad Haddin's solid start led the Australians to 392-5 at lunch, putting them in a commanding position for the rest of the Test, and, with reports of poor weather on the horizon, leaving Clarke with a dilemma of whether to declare. Clarke's mammoth innings came to an end roughly a day after it started, playing onto his stumps to give Stuart Broad his 200th Test wicket. A fantastic knock from the captain, who Australia are often too reliant on for success. When Siddle fell just a couple of overs later, it looked as though the tail would be mopped up fairly easily. But an 8th wicket stand between Haddin and Mitchell Starc saw the Australians past 500, and handing the pair half-centuries. At 527-7, Clarke declared, decided that this would be sufficient to get the 20 wickets required. The next 40 overs seemed to prove him right, as England started poorly. After captain Cook got off to a positive start, Joe Root fell cheaply to Siddle for 8. Tim Bresnan was then sent out as night-watchman, only to perish for 1, leaving England in real trouble at 52-2 at the close, and in desperate need of a large score.
After two days of Australian dominance, Day 3 needed to be the day that England fought back. And when Trott fell to Harris for just 5, it looked as though England were in deep trouble. However, in came Kevin Pietersen. With the new spinner Nathan Lyon not performing as well as expected, Cook closed in on his half-century. However, similarly to Steve Smith, after looking good for a century, he fell, managing just 64. This put England on 110-4, still needing 218 to avoid the follow-on. Just like Australia, the middle-order then proved vital. Pietersen and the in-form Ian Bell then took England away from trouble, and towards that follow-on target. When Bell lost his wicket to a fantastic delivery from Harris for 60, England were looking altogether more secure on 225-5. Pietersen quickly brought up his maiden Test century at Old Trafford, playing some expansive cricket, and victimising the spinner Lyon. Jonny Bairstow had a brief cameo, making 22 before he fell to Starc. Pietersen went to the same bowler a couple of overs later, after an lbw review failed. With England at 280-7, they could ill-afford a collapse. Fortunately for England, Prior and Broad steadied the ship, taking England to 294-7 at the close, needing 34 to avoid the follow-on.
England's objectives for Day 4 would have been as follows: 1) avoid the follow-on 2) set a respectable target 3) attempt to skittle the Australians out in their second innings and 4) do several rain dances throughout the day. Number 1 was achieved fairly comfortably, with the capable Broad and Prior batting well to take England towards 350. Broad fell for a well-played 32, with Lyon finally taking his first wicket, after a miserable day the day before. Swann came in and went out very quickly, scoring a run a ball for his 11. A period of frustration for the Australians followed, as the English batsman attempted to while away overs and time. With the impending rain, the Australians knew that every over was crucial, and therefore getting the final wicket quickly was critical. The wicket of Prior eventually fell an hour and a half into the first session, leaving the Aussies to rush off and get themselves ready to bat. Treating the rest of the Test as a one-day game, the Australians set off at a decent pace, with Warner and Rogers opening. Rogers quickly fell for 12, but the scoring continued at a good rate with the partnership of Warner and Khawaja. When Warner perished on 41, who was there to take the catch? Joe Root, who else! Khawaja followed quickly, leaving the Australians at 99-3, with a lead of 258. Just four runs later, Watson had to make the walk back to the pavilion, having made a valuable 19 for his team. The last thing England would have wanted to have seen was Steve Smith striding out to meet Michael Clarke at the crease after the events of Day 1. However, a gift of a run-out managed to keep the run count down (lead at 300), and got rid of the dangerous Smith. Haddin and Starc both followed before tea, leaving the score at 172-7, with an Australian lead of 331. Another moment of controversy came soon after, as the players were taken off for bad light. Cue furious protests from the Australian players, spearheaded by Clarke, who recognised just how crucial this time may be. This proved even more critical as the rain prevented any further play after tea, and, with little signs of improvement for Day 5, it seemed as though the Aussies would run out of time and overs.
This proved to be the case in Day 5. After the decision by Clarke to declare at their overnight total of 172-7, with a lead of 331 to defend, England got off to a terrible start. Cook, who has looked fairly consistent throughout this series, went for a duck. Things went from bad to worse, as both Trott and Pietersen lost their wickets, leaving England in trouble at 27-3. Cue torrential Mancunian rain, which lasted for the rest of the day, eliminating any chance of the Australians winning the Ashes. This meant that only 20.3 overs were bowled in the day, but that did not prevent fans staying in the ground to chant their approval at the result.
As I mentioned in my last post, I wanted to see a little more fight from the Australians, particularly with the bat. I am pleased to say that the next two Tests look as though they will be highly competitive, with all three results realistically possible. No 5-0 whitewash for England, nor an Australian Ashes win is possible, but pride is still to play for, and I think that (provided the rain stays away), we are still in for an interesting couple of weeks of cricket.
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