A Resurgent England
A resurgent England had brought about a turnaround at Headingley. The wind was changing its course, as the English appeared to be clawing back under an invigorated Ben Stokes. The addition of Mark Wood and Chris Woakes had spurred the English and The Ashes was poised for an exciting climax as the teams moved to Old Trafford, Manchester.
Zak Crawley’s Unalloyed Belligerence
England bowled well yet again and did not let the Aussies get away with the bat and when their turn came, they hammered the Aussie bowlers no end. Zak Crawley played an innings to remember, as he gave the finest bowlers in the world a hiding. He batted with utter disdain, showing scant respect to the likes of Pat Cummins and Mitch Starc. In the absence of Nathan Lyon, the Aussies suffered with an unsettling imbalance in their bowling. The English latched on to this Lyon deficit, with a pugnacious Johnny Bairstow providing the finishing touches to the mauling. England had scored at a feverish pace and by the end of the first innings they were in a commanding position with a massive lead of 275 runs.
A Labuschagne Fight Back
The Aussies had to show some fight to make a match of it. Mark Wood again was troubling the Aussies with his searing pace and very quickly the English had knocked out 4. But then Marnus Labuschagne, who had been struggling with his form put on some stubborn resistance in the company of Mitch Marsh. Labuschagne scored a century and held back the English, enough for the rains to take over.
The Heavens Pour as Australia Retain Ashes
It poured and poured at Old Trafford, drowning in its wake an English quest for victory which had looked so probable a day ago. The rains were nothing short of a swirl of destiny. No play was possible for a day and a half and the match ended in a draw painfully for England and joyously for Australia who retained the Ashes once again. Ben Stokes accepted the draw as a bitter pill, which they had to stomach, going into the final match of the Series at the legendary Oval.
India – West Indies face-off at Port-of-Spain
7000 kms away from Manchester, India were cruising against a brittle West Indies side at the picturesque Queen’s Park Oval in Port-of-Spain. A 2-0 whitewash of the hapless Windies was on the cards, though they had exhibited some resistance as compared to the previous game in Dominica.
Port-of-Spain : Heavens Open
A Domineering India & A Rain Crusher
The Indians led by Virat Kohli batted to muscle out the Windies bowlers and then Siraj’s heroics with the ball got the Indians ahead in the game. There was a threat of rain lurking in the horizon and to push for a win the Indians gave a tantalising score for the Windies to chase in the second innings. A 2-0 whitewash would have given India precious points in the World Test Championship race, but then the clouds opened up and it poured and poured at Port of Spain, as a frustrated Indian team watched from the sidelines.The match ended in a draw as victory slipped out of India’s hand, with the West Indies avoiding a 2-0 drubbing.
Are Retractable Roofs the Future ?
Rains eventually drowned the aspirations of two dominating outfits, so much so that a debate on having retractable roofs in cricket stadiums has emerged and who knows this might become a reality in the future.
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Featured Image : Dark Clouds hovering over Old Trafford
Very beautifully penned !
Thank you. Really appreciate