5 most memorable rain-affected Ashes Tests
England defeated Australia by three wickets in the 3rd Ashes Test, at Headingley on Sunday, to keep their series win hopes alive.
Harry Brook (75) and Chris Woakes (32*) stood tall despite the threats posed by Australia to turn the game with regular breakthroughs. England chased 251 in 50 overs to clinch the game in the second session of Day 4.
Although two sessions were washed out on the third day due to a heavy downpour at Headingley, England took only 20.1 overs after play began to pick up Australia's remaining six wickets. The hosts bowled out the visitors for 224 and gave themselves a very achievable target in the fourth innings.
Scoring wasn’t easy in the third Test as a wicket fell after every 6.2 overs and fast bowlers reaped rewards on a seaming wicket at Headingley.
The fourth Test will take place at Old Trafford in Manchester, where England will again have to pull their sleeves up in a bid to level the series 2-2. On the other hand, Australia will look to wrap up the series and earn a much-awaited series win in England, their first since 2001.
With this match proving to be another exciting encounter, despite the rain, it gives us an opportunity to take a look at some of the most dramatic rain-affected Ashes games in the past. Here are five of the best.
#5 1948 Ashes, 5th Test, The Oval
This Test is famously known to be the last match of Sir Donald Bradman's career. The pitch was affected by rain a day before the match.
England captain Norman Yardley opted to bat first in the overcast conditions. Australian pacer Ray Lindwall’s destructive bowling spell (6/20) ripped through England’s batting as the hosts were skittled out for a paltry 52 in the first innings.
Australia, in response, posted 389 thanks to Arthur Morris’ resplendent 196. However, Bradman, who had the opportunity to score just four runs to finish his glittering career with 7000 runs and a staggering average of 100, was dismissed for a second-ball duck by Eric Hollies.
When England were 178/7 on the evening of the second day, bad light and rain hindered the day’s play. However, in the next morning, left-arm pacer Bill Johnston picked up the last three wickets to bowl England out for 188. This took Australia to an empathic win by an innings and 149 runs as they swept the Ashes 4-0.
#4 2005 Ashes, 3rd Test, Old Trafford
The 2005 Ashes series is touted to be the greatest ever in the history of the game. After squaring off the series 1-1 in Birmingham, the two teams moved to Manchester.
Shane Warne set the tone of the game by claiming Marcus Trescothick’s wicket as his 600th in Test career. England captain Michael Vaughan’s splendid 166 coupled with fifties from Trescothick (63) and Ian Bell (59) took England to a commendable 444.
Warne bailed out the Aussies from a disastrous batting collapse as his 90 helped the visitors put some crucial runs on the board, though they conceded a 142-run lead in the first innings.
The major part of the third day was washed away owing to rain. The rain-affected day allowed Australia to face only 14 overs with the game being suspended twice. Australia were bowled out on the morning of Day 4 after adding just 38 runs for the last three wickets.
Andrew Strauss scored a brilliant century (106) before England declared at 280/6 to set their rivals a daunting target of 423 to chase. The final day saw a lot of twists and turns - from Justin Langer’s early dismissal to Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee battling for 24 balls in the final session to enforce a draw.
In between, it was Ricky Ponting’s determined innings (156 off 275 balls) that stood as the difference between the two sides. He batted for six and a half hours, before falling in the last moments of the game.
#3 2019 Ashes, 3rd Test, Headingley
Rain delayed the toss on the first day till the lunch. Four overs were bowled before rain interrupted once again. Australia were bowled out for a modest 179 by the end of the day after play resumed at 2 PM (BST).
Much to everyone’s surprise, England got bundled out for 67 as Josh Hazlewood bagged 5 for 30. Australia added 246 runs in the second innings to set the hosts for a formidable target of 359 to chase. The final day of that Test saw one of the best finishes in the history of the game.
England were reduced to 286 for 9 before Ben Stokes pulled off a miracle in what can be described as a humdinger of a day of Test cricket. The England all-rounder neatly farmed the strike and smashed 11 fours and 8 sixes in his incredible unbeaten 135-run knock.
He was involved in an unseparated stand of 76 runs with Jack Leach for the last wicket, with the latter’s contribution being just 1 run off 17 balls.
#2 2013 Ashes, 5th Test, The Oval
England came very close to winning the fifth Test of the 2013 Ashes, but were denied by the inclement weather and the umpires' decision to go off for bad light. The home team had already won the series and were leading 3-0 going into this Test.
A dull pitch and rain seemed to drag the game towards a boring draw. However, Australian skipper Michael Clarke took a bold decision in the afternoon of the final day by declaring their innings on 111/6 and asking the hosts to chase 227 runs in 44 overs.
Kevin Pietersen scored the fastest Ashes fifty by an England batter, in just 36 balls, before his dismissal on 62. Jonathan Trott fired runs from the other end in England’s quest to get over the line and thump Australia by 4-0 in the series.
Just when England needed 21 runs to win from the last four overs with six wickets in hand, the umpires examined their light meters and decided to ask the players to go off.
As per the rules in place at the time, the umpires had to take the players off whenever the light deteriorated to the level at which had been used as a cut-off for the first time in the match.
Boos rang out around the ground and England fans and players felt cheated. But the umpires decided to stick to the letter of the law.
#1 2009 Ashes, 1st Test, Cardiff
England won the toss and Andrew Strauss opted to bat first. Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, and Matt Prior scored crucial fifties and Graeme Swann’s unbeaten 47 lower down the order added valuable runs as the hosts posted 435 on the board.
Ricky Ponting (150) and Simon Katich (122) led the charge for Australia in their dominating 239-run stand for the third wicket. Another set of centuries from Marcus North (125*) and Brad Haddin (121) meant Australia picked up a comprehensive lead of 239 runs.
On Day 3, 22 overs were knocked off due to two hours of rain. England were 20/2 before rains forced the players back into the pavilion at tea, but constant drizzles didn’t allow play to resume for the remaining part of Day 4.
England were reduced to 102 for 5 at Lunch on the last day. Australia had to pick just five more wickets to wrap the game, but Paul Collingwood’s resistance proved insurmountable for a long period.
Collingwood played 245 balls and batted for five hours and 45 minutes to score 74 runs and keep the Australian attack at bay.
The England middle-order batter was caught by Michael Hussey off Peter Siddle in the dying moments of the game. However, the last-wicket pair of James Anderson and Monty Panesar stayed firmly at the crease and batted for 69 balls to enforce a draw.
This match-saving effort proved crucial and England managed to win the 5-match series 2-1 after emerging victorious in the final Test.