England face a battle with the weather as they attempt to drive victory within the fourth Ashes Test and hold their hopes of a sequence win alive.
Only 30 overs had been attainable on Saturday, with lots extra rain forecast on what might be a irritating remaining day at Emirates Old Trafford.
Australia are more than pleased to accept a draw that may see them retain their 2-1 lead and the urn, which means England shall be pressured to make the operating in no matter home windows of play are attainable.
They have already been annoyed by a 103-run stand between centurion Marnus Labuschagne and Mitch Marsh, however noticed their prospects rise when Joe Root had the previous caught behind.
There is little margin for error after their 275-run first-innings lead was whittled all the way down to 61 by the vacationers, who will resume on 214 for 5.
View from the dressing room
I do not suppose we will give England a sniff…that is precisely what they’d like. No likelihood. Zero
Labuschagne scoffed on the very notion that Australia may make a daring bid for a win of their very own on day 5, making it clear England may count on nothing however resistance.
Tweet of the day
Leading meteorologist Simon King predicted no play at all around the weekend however is hoping to be proved incorrect for the second day in a row.
England see the sunshine
Midway by means of Saturday’s play, match officers Joel Wilson and Nitin Menon knowledgeable England captain Ben Stokes that the sunshine had deteriorated to such an extent that he may now not use his quick bowlers. That meant spin from each ends, with an out-of-sorts Moeen Ali backed up by Root. England had been annoyed with the choice and shall be hoping to make use of their full assault in any victory push, significantly the uncooked tempo of Mark Wood. Wilson was additionally lampooned for sporting sun shades on the identical time that he was adjudicating on the standard of the sunshine and could also be suggested towards a repeat efficiency.
All eyes on Anderson
Things have but to click on for England’s document wicket-taker this summer season, with simply 4 wickets at 76.75. He has been pushed to the periphery at key phases and whereas the 40-year-old would like to be the person to drive the crew onwards on his remaining Ashes look at his residence floor, he could have to attend his flip. The Lancashire devoted shall be with him all the best way, however Anderson wants to search out his lacking X consider a rush to provide them the present they need.
Cashback for the gang
After an exhilarating sequence of each day leisure, Saturday’s ticket holders had been pressured to observe the climate wipe out two full periods. Supporters had been handled to simply 30 overs of motion within the center, however their disappointment was mitigated by the information they’d obtain a 50 per cent refund. Just another supply would have taken them past the cut-off level. For as soon as, England’s slack over-rate supplied one thing for followers to be ok with.