As we expected, Australia declared themselves out first thing in the morning, and then set off in search of the 10 wickets they needed to take in order to win the match. Play has stopped for lunch (and some rain), and the English still have 7 wickets left. Here's the score:
AUSTRALIA: 699
ENGLAND: 403
INNINGS: Bottom of the 2d
AT BAT: England
WICKETS REMAINING: 7
It would seem that between the rain and the fact that there are only a few hours left, England should be able to hang on for the draw they would need to keep the Ashes in their possession. But England has lost many matches to Australia down through the years, and the English fans are quite nervous.
They played for about 3 minutes, starting at 2 P.M. British time, and then the rains came again. So play has been stopped.
ReplyDeleteAs it turned out the rest of the game was rained out, the match ended in a draw, and England (who have a record of 2-0-1 with only two matches remaining) keep the Ashes.
ReplyDeleteI suppose Australia should have spent more time bowling on Sunday.
ReplyDeleteHere was the final scoreboard:
ReplyDeleteAUSTRALIA: 699
ENGLAND: 405
MATCH DRAWN -- ENGLAND WAS BATTING IN THE BOTTOM OF THE SECOND WHEN PLAY WAS SUSPENDED