On the final day of the fourth Test, the most crucial day of the Ashes for England, the home team’s batsmen failed to hang on long enough at Old Trafford to take the team even close to Australia’s score of 383. After 91 overs, England were all out for 197.
With this, Australia will retain the Ashes as even if England manage to win the fifth Test, as the outcome of a 2-2 draw will still be that the defending champions will continue to keep the urn.
Openers Burns and Root were out for a duck each. Roy was out for 31 off 67 deliveries, as one of the four wickets that Cummins took this game. The miracle man, Ben Stokes, fell early and for just one run. Denly fell in the 39th over on an unbeaten 53.
After Bairstow was caught on the crease by a Starc delivery, Buttler was the last hope of the English rearguard, hanging in for 34 runs in 111 deliveries before getting bowled by Hazlewood.
By the 80th over, England had lost all their batsmen, with just Craig Overton and Jack Leach on strike. This time, Leach, who had hung in till the very end in the thriller that was the third Test, had no Ben Stokes for company this time, but a fellow bowler.
Leach fell in the 89th over on a Labuschagne delivery, caught by Wade on the short leg. This left Overton with Stuart Broad.
Overton got rapped on the pads in the 91st over, and that was the end of the game.
The Australian side were boosted by a stellar performance by Steve Smith, who returned to Test cricket after a one-year absence following the charge of ball-tampering. Smith scored half-centuries in nine matches straight, and a double century in the first innings of this test.
England failed to keep up in their first innings, trailing by 196 runs.
