Rain ruined the match on the fifth day when Australia maintained a 2–1 lead and ensured Ashe left the English coast unharmed.
Rain dashed England’s hopes of equalizing time on day five of the Fourth Ashe Test in Manchester as Australia held off Ashe. The visiting team, who are leading the series 2-1 with one test remaining, are the current trophy holders.
England, on the other hand, had high hopes of winning the test after being well placed in the Stamps on day four. Australia trailed by 61 points and England by 5, and had a good chance of winning until it rained for a day and a half.
Bowling on the fourth day was just 30 overs and the weather affected England’s chances but they looked pretty good after winning three days of testing.
Manus Labschagne on WTC final preparation and ashes
The test was the first draw since Ben Stokes and Brendon McCallum partnered for England.
Australia go into the final test at the Oval confident that a win will give them a historic series win on British soil.
Australia have not won an Ashes series in England since 2001.
England beat them in a remarkable Ashes series in 2005, repeated in 2009, 2013 and 2015. Australia managed to secure a draw in 2019, but it was the last of their five-match Test series here.
“This is definitely something I’ve always wanted on my to-do list,” Steve Smith said before the series began.
And now Australia has a chance to do just that. Unlike 2019, Australia don’t even need to win the final test to secure a series win, as they are already leading the first two tests following victories at Birmingham and Lords.
England came back in the third Test with a win at Headingley and looked set to level their winning streak here at Old Trafford before the attack was interrupted by rain.
