Ashes 4th Test

[claret wizard]

30 overs yesterday, no refunds!

Really hope we get the same result today. 30 should be enough to clear them up.

[dandeclaret]

30 overs yesterday, no refunds!

Really hope we get the same result today. 30 should be enough to clear them up.

50% refunds yesterday…. Has to be over 30 overs to pay full price.

[Taffy on the wing]

Pouring down all morning around Wakefield....hope it's not heading to Old Trafford.

[claret wizard]

50% refunds yesterday…. Has to be over 30 overs to pay full price.

Ahhh, top result then. Thought it was 30 overs, not more than. Aussies wasting time in that last over cost Lancashire about £600K minimum.

[ClaretTony]

Sadly any play is looking increasingly unlikely today

[kentonclaret]

Sadly any play is looking increasingly unlikely today

An England victory priced up at 9/2.

[Taffy on the wing]

Inspection at 12.15 according to BBC ...things looking brighter.

PLEASE.. someone tell me they won't play for 30 mins then take Lunch!

[BobSykes]

More rain heading to south Manchester according to the Met Office rain radar so the mooted start at 1pm ish looks optimistic. To my non expert eye it looks like the rain is filling in around Manchester not clearing so i think it's goodnight Vienna to play today and to the Ashes. We didn't deserve this.

[FCBurnley]

Lunch at 12.20. Earliest start 13.00 but prob 13.15/30. Obviously depending on no more rain

[criminalclaret]

There's more rain....

[criminalclaret]

I think the only opportunity we have to skittle them was the few hours yesterday. Today prediction is that the weather is only gonna get worse and worse....

[FCBurnley]

Terrible way to lose or win the Ashes !!

[FCBurnley]

Time to bring in a reserve day in case of a whole day being lost to weather or something similar ? The Aussies will obviously be happy but surely even they would be happier to win it on the field

[ClaretTony]

On Friday it was looking as though Saturday would be the worst day but there’s no let up today.

[123EasyasBFC]

If England where winning 2-1 we wouldn’t be bothered about the rain so we can’t really complain.

A wicket in first 5 overs yesterday and it’s a different game

[FCBurnley]

If England where winning 2-1 we wouldn’t be bothered about the rain so we can’t really complain.

A wicket in first 5 overs yesterday and it’s a different game

If it was reversed I would take the win but would much prefer to win it on the field. Test matches are played over 5 days for a reason

[123EasyasBFC]

Strictness of cricket doesn’t help either, first 3 days they could have easily played till 7:30pm

[RVclaret]

Looks like not selecting a northern test in the next home Ashes series is justified. Just cannot trust the weather to deliver a result and what a waste.

[Darthlaw]

Looks like not selecting a northern test in the next home Ashes series is justified. Just cannot trust the weather to deliver a result and what a waste.

Is my geography off or is Leeds not also in the North, which managed to deliver a result just fine.

A game which is dictated by weather is always going to have a chance of being interrupted anywhere in the UK, unfortunately.

[CoolClaret]

Looks like not selecting a northern test in the next home Ashes series is justified. Just cannot trust the weather to deliver a result and what a waste.

Little harsh - most of the Country has had heavy rain this week - would have had five days play if we were playing at Old Trafford when we played the 1st, 2nd & 3rd tests….

I’ll concede on OT, but Durham and to a lesser extent Yorkshire gets a lot less rainfall than Manchester - both get less rainfall than Southampton on a yearly basis

[taio]

Looks like not selecting a northern test in the next home Ashes series is justified. Just cannot trust the weather to deliver a result and what a waste.

I don't think this weather right now justifies it at all to be honest. It's really disappointing there won't be at least one in the North.

[kentonclaret]

If it was reversed I would take the win but would much prefer to win it on the field. Test matches are played over 5 days for a reason

Go back to 2013 and the headline then was “England retain Ashes after rain forces Old Trafford draw” with Australia in a commanding position. No pundits calling for Australia to be given an extra day not surprisingly.

[CoolClaret]

Strictness of cricket doesn’t help either, first 3 days they could have easily played till 7:30pm

It’s something that needs to change to get more fans on board and keep Test cricket strong.

A lot of my friends have taken a liking to the game from this captivating series but are pulling their hair out at how such a pivotal game and series could be affected like this!

Surely when there’s heavy rain forecast on one or two of the days (if agreed upon by captains pre game) we can do things like start at 9 or 10am and play on till a bit later?

Or have a reserve day in place…. Or the easiest change on days that have been disrupted stop going for lunch/tea or whatever - ludicrous to have more breaks when it’s unneeded

[Rileybobs]

Matches in Australia never seem to be affected by the rain because they’re more flexible with their start times. The Boxing Day test at the MCG for example starts at 01.30am.

[ClaretTony]

Matches in Australia never seem to be affected by the rain because they’re more flexible with their start times. The Boxing Day test at the MCG for example starts at 01.30am.

Sydney is the venue where they lose most time in Australia

[123EasyasBFC]

Oval test match has gone from potentially being the most watched test match in history to the least watched

[criminalclaret]

Assuming a damp squib here today (pun intended) with Australia retaining the Ashes and England go to Oval and win, 2-2 would still be the great reflection of the series.

I'm a big fan of how the Women ashes is a mix of red ball and white ball. Kinda makes a better more entertaining in that sense as a draw here or there doesn't derail a wider result.

[sjb]

Sydney is the venue where they lose most time in Australia

Presuming today is abandoned, Old Trafford will share with the SCG the record for the most washed out days in Test history - 25.

[FCBurnley]

Match drawn. Australia retain the ashes !!

[FCBurnley]

Sidney is the venue where they lose most time in Australia

Who is Sidney ?

[claret wizard]

Strictness of cricket doesn’t help either, first 3 days they could have easily played till 7:30pm

This!

And on Wednesday they didn’t even get the 90 overs in. They should play until they get those in at a minimum. Slow over rates are what is really cheating the fans.

[Bordeauxclaret]

The 90 overs thing is a real bugbear. Especially with the way ticket prices are going up.

The penalties for not bowling them all should be stronger, instead they are getting weaker.

[Spijed]

The 90 overs thing is a real bugbear. Especially with the way ticket prices are going up.

The penalties for not bowling them all should be stronger, instead they are getting weaker.

England are their own worst enemies when it comes to over rate:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/crick ... -Test.html

[TheFamilyCat]

The 90 overs thing is a real bugbear. Especially with the way ticket prices are going up.

The penalties for not bowling them all should be stronger, instead they are getting weaker.

Agree 100%. England not bowling 90 overs on the first day of a game when they knew every second was going to count was really poor.

[123EasyasBFC]

The 90 overs thing is a real bugbear. Especially with the way ticket prices are going up.

The penalties for not bowling them all should be stronger, instead they are getting weaker.

They also don’t seem to factor in the amount of time that is taken out of each day for the concussion check for when a short ball hits the helmet. Those checks have to be done but it’s makes session seem very stop start and then there’s the betters changing their gloves which is just another term for getting a drink when it’s not drinks

[dandeclaret]

Has any team anywhere, that doesn’t involve spinners bowling prolonged spells ever hit 90 overs in a day? Feels as though they need to change the time or the target, otherwise it’s just a false target.

Cricket does need to help itself though. I was at the ground yesterday, they announced a 2:45 start at 2pm…. In that 45 minutes, the England team played a bit of football, the ground staff and umpires stood. BY the recently uncovered pitch, and mark wood did a few warm up deliveries….. there appeared no reason why they couldn’t have started at 2:10.