England’s Ashes hopes washed away as Australia retain urn in anti-climax

The final day at Old Trafford was rained out as Australia secured a hollow victory that retains them the Ashes

England’s hopes of taking the Ashes to a deciding Test were scuppered by the rain (Getty Images)

England hopes of keeping the Ashes alive were dashed by the weather, with Australia retaining the urn after rain forced a draw at Old Trafford.

It was not the first time in cricket and it certainly won’t be the last, but the British weather has left fans frustrated and prevented what could have been a thrilling conclusion to the series.

If England had been able to claim victory in Manchester, it would have been a series to threaten 2005 for its iconic status but, instead, Ben Stokes’ side will be left to contemplate the first draw in the Bazball era with the final day completely washed out.

Josh Hazlewood on Friday said that Australia were hoping for rain, and they will be rightly celebrating returning the urn, but it seems bittersweet when the draw was accepted at 5.24pm.

There will be few in the cricketing world, even from Down Under, who would have wanted the weather to deny any chance of a result.

Even for Manchester, it has been unseasonably rainy. The day before the Test started should have been looked at as a warning of what was to come, but instead players and coaches were lulled into a false sense of security when the first three days took place in sunshine.

It rains elsewhere too, but this is not how Lancashire and Manchester would have wanted their final Ashes Test match for at least eight years to finish – no Tests further north of Trent Bridge are planned for the 2027 series.

The rain at Old Trafford made for a huge anti-climax (Getty Images)

Many will likely feel a sense of injustice that the weather has deprived cricket fans of what would have been a thrilling conclusion, with England needing five more wickets to win and Australia trailing the game by 61 runs.

A full day would have likely seen England chase again, and even a rain-affected day could have added to the interest, but a full day was lost for the first time in the series.

It was stacked in England’s favour but for five sessions, across two days, no play was possible. All chances of a result were washed away, especially when combined with the fact that 26 overs of play were lost across the first three days due to slow over rates.

Manchester has now had 25 days of cricket completely washed out, the joint-highest alongside Sydney, but Sydney has hosted 111 games compared to Manchester’s 84.

Australia may not complain about how they retain the coveted prize, but it was a hollow victory on day five at Old Trafford, after England played a near-perfect batting performance and having dominated the first three days.