England are on the verge of securing a third-straight Ashes series, with bad weather, time wasting and a farcical stopping of play due to bad light conspiring against Australia’s bid to win the third Test at Old Trafford.
Just as the frustrated Australians were returning to their Manchester hotel rooms after play, no doubt feeling pessimistic about the dire weather forecast for the final day on Monday, the city which will largely determine their Ashes fate broke out in glorious sunshine.
It was the final insult on a ironic day of Test cricket, when Stuart Broad walked, Joe Root caught another hook from David Warner and the first rain of the Ashes summer threatened to rob Australia any chance of victory in their most impressive performance to date.
Australia are certain to declare at their stumps score of 7-172, and set a 332-run target.
But with 32 overs lost on day four, time is well and truly against the tourists, with a maximum of just one hour that can be added onto the final day’s play.
On a ground that’s seen more Test match draws than anywhere else in England, it’s hardly a surprise that several sessions could be lost.
But it would be a cruel way for Australia to surrender their Ashes hopes, even if they only have themselves to blame for falling 2-0 behind in the series.
The silver lining that a draw would at least ensure they avoided the worst losing streak ever by an Australian Test team would provide little solace.
“We now have to come out tomorrow and take the wickets and hopefully we can make it 2-1,” said batsman David Warner, who with 41 from 57 led Australia’s quick-fire sprint for runs.
“At the end of the day we can’t control the weather.
“We’ve set it up for us to come out and take the rest of the wickets.”
As if DRS wasn’t enough, umpires found a new way to controversially impose themselves on the series when they suspended play due to bad light at 4.25pm.
Despite Australian captain Michael Clarke (30no) at the crease and desperate to continue batting, a distinct lack of umpiring discretion forced players off the field.
Half an hour later rain set in anyway to ensure the rest of the day was abandoned, but the principle of robbing a capacity crowd of more thrilling action under the loose premise of “player safety” was absurd.
Not to mention the fact that every minute counts for Australia.
Umpires Tony Hill and Marais Erasmus claimed safety was an issue, yet they admitted play could have continued had England bowled their spinners.
An England side that had been shamelessly time wasting for the entire innings were always going to jump at the chance to leave the field.
Clarke was filthy and remonstrated with the officials for several minutes, but to no avail.
In 2010 the ICC changed their rules to take bad light decisions out of the hands of the batting team and give complete control to the umpires.
With floodlights on for much of the afternoon, former England captain Nasser Hussain described the decision to suspend play as baffling.
“I cannot see how there was a safety issue at all.”
England certainly didn’t care about the spectacle, wicketkeeper Matt Prior admitting his side were hoping the final day would be a wash-out, refusing to apologise for their go-slow tactics.
“We have become tough to beat,” he said.
“We have a lot of confidence we can save the day.”