England's Ashes dreams in the balance as Stokes and co pray for final chance
England will turn up to Old Trafford on Sunday looking for anything but a day of rest, praying for a final chance to keep their Ashes dreams alive.
They have pushed and probed and dominated the fourth Test from the start, but they remain hostages to fortune when it comes to the weather, and on 214-5, still 61 behind, Australia are not giving up their series lead without a fight.
Luckily for England they have plenty of players ready to scrap for every last crumb, and none more so than Joe Root who stepped up on day four to make something of the 30 overs of action they managed to squeeze in between the rain, edging them that little bit closer to elysium.
The occasional off spinner has long been a much more dangerous proposition than a mere part-timer, and he showed his all round value with the huge wicket of centurion Marnus Labuschagne just when it looked like the Aussies might see out the entire session without damage.
Labuschagne and Mitch Marsh had kept England at bay for 26 overs with wicket-taking chances pretty thin on the ground, but the removal of the former for 111 was a big win for Ben Stokes' side.
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Cam Green almost fell to Root straight after but was dropped at short-leg from an inside edge.
The skipper wasn’t even planning on using Root at all, but with the umpires decreeing that the light was too dark for pace it was spin at both ends for 13 overs and the breakthrough arrived with the edge behind brilliantly held by Jonny Bairstow.
Jonny Bairstow and Zak Crawley of England appeal for the wicket of Marnus Labuschagne of Australia which is given out after a DRS review (2023 Alex Davidson)When the rain returned during the tea break to finish any chance of more action, the deficit had been reduced by 101 runs, while England were just five wickets away from victory and nine overs away from the second new ball.
Two out of three for the home side ain’t bad and considering what was predicted before play, they have to look at the overall picture as a real plus.
The concern for England though must surely be that, in 17 overs of pace from their quartet of right-arm seamers, not a single chance was created let alone taken.
Whatever overs they get in on the last day simply cannot be wasted, especially with a new ball. This is where the Ashes will be won or not.
Saturday was expected to be a complete washout, with rain due to fall as relentlessly as a tight line and length from James Anderson, but it turns out God is a Bazball fan after all.
With a variety of rain radars and weather apps predicting the wettest of days, there was a miraculous holding back of the droplets for the best part of five hours, and in that time the ground staff mopped up the ground, peeled back the covers and got things underway at 2.45pm.
This was all England could ask for, a chance to allow the cricket to decide where the Ashes were heading, not the weather. And for the most part Australia, in the shape of Labuschagne and Marsh, were not only equal to it, they relished it.
Ben Stokes of England reacts as Marnus Labuschagne of Australia picks up a runLabuschagne had endured a tricky series by his incredibly high standards, getting starts but not managing to get the big score.
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Unlike Zak Crawley, who had pretty much done the same until this match, the expectations on Labuschagne had been much higher and a previous best of 47 at Lord’s and average of 24 for the series was way below his par.
This time he was determined to play his part in what would be a second successive Ashes retention at Old Trafford in four years if they survive.
He dealt with the skills of Anderson and Chris Woakes with aplomb before showing bravery and character against the hostility of Mark Wood.
He was rapped on the hand by Wood’s seventh ball and required treatment from the physio, but he stood firm to reach his hundred from 161 balls, sharing in a stand of 103 with Marsh who is 31 not out.
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