Rain has delayed the scheduled toss in the fourth Test between England and India at Manchester’s Old Trafford ground.

Light early morning rain was sufficiently strong for both the pitch and square to remain covered on Thursday morning.

However, with conditions easing, the umpires planned to hold a pitch inspection with a view to getting the match under way as close as possible to the scheduled start time of 11am.

The five-match series is level at 1-1 after England won the third Test in Southampton by 266 runs – their first victory in 11 Tests.

England are set to include James Anderson, man-of-the-match in Southampton, after the International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed they would not appeal against the decision of judicial commissioner to clear the fast-medium bowler of charges he had abused and pushed India’s Ravindra Jadeja during the drawn first Test in Nottingham.

That left Anderson, 12 shy of Ian Botham’s England record of 383 Test wickets, free to play at his Lancashire home ground.

However, Anderson’s Test record at Old Trafford is poor, with the 32-year-old having taken just 12 wickets in four Tests there at 35 apiece.