England’s Ashes hopes hang in the balance as dismal weather and classy Labuschagne frustrate Stokes and Co

IF the rain didn’t frustrate England enough, they ran into a couple of damn stubborn Aussies.

England were able to bowl 30 overs on day four in their attempt to win the Fourth Test and level the series – which was more than they feared at one stage.

Dismal weather interrupted day four of The AshesRichard Pelham / The Sun

PA

Ben Stokes cuts a frustrated figure on the England balcony[/caption]

But Marcus Labuschagne scored a century and Mitchell Marsh batted throughout the play that was possible.

It added up to Australia losing just one wicket for 99 runs and, with more rain forecast on tomorrow, they believe they can retain the Ashes by saving the match. 

The Aussies trail by just 61 runs now and England will probably need to bat again to force a series-levelling victory – and that will use up more time and make England’s winning equation more tricky.

So the nightmare scenario remains of England dominating the match and still ending up only with a draw.

Labuschagne and Marsh repelled everything that England threw at them – which included some Mark Wood thunderbolts, a touch of Joe Root deception and a controversial change of ball.

When captain Ben Stokes was told by the umpires it was too dark to bowl his seamers, he tossed the ball to Root and the former captain’s off breaks were the most probing deliveries of the day.

Mind you, it was a mystery how umpire Joel Wilson could accurately judge the light because a pair of sunglasses were plonked on his nose all day under leaden skies and with the floodlights on.

Certainly, to the naked eye, it didn’t look as though the light had deteriorated much.

Root took the only wicket when Labuschagne aimed a cut shot and wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow held the catch at the second attempt.

Root earlier enticed an edge from Labuschagne, on 93, with a swinging delivery that the old-time spinners used to call an arm ball.

The edge travelled so fast that it flew through Zak Crawley at slip and to the boundary.

Wood worked up a decent, 90mph-plus head of steam with a following wind from the James Anderson End.

He pinged down plenty of short stuff and hit Labuschagne a painful blow on the finger. But generally the pitch remains resolutely flat, with only the occasional delivery keeping low or misbehaving.

There was little swing or seam for Anderson himself and Chris Woakes and Stuart Broad were not required to bowl much.

PA

Marcus Labuschagne frustrated England with a century[/caption]

For most of the night and throughout the morning, rain hosed down at Old Trafford with small puddles forming on the outfield where water spilled off the covers.

One time, during the mopping up process, the ground staff lost hold of the corner of one of the sheets and dumped several hundred gallons on the outfield.

But the rain ceased around 1pm and play was able to start at 2.45pm. Fair play to the umpires, they were positive and proactive.

Labuschagne and Marsh must have thought the chance of any play was slim but they were right on the job from ball one. 

Labuschagne resumed on 44 not out and was busy and bustling. He’s a quirky character, a bit of Steve Smith lite in the way he fiddles and fidgets at the crease.

The rankings insist Labuschagne is one of the world’s top batters but he has had a modest impact on this series, tossing away his wicket at least twice with soft shots 

But this could turn out to be a vital innings. It was only his second Test century away from home while nine have come in Australia.

He appeared to relax after reaching three figures and played a couple of loose shots before Root snared him. 

Labuschagne had a brief exchange of words with Stokes when England successfully asked for the ball to be changed.

Stokes objected to Labuschagne asking the umpires to see the replacement cherry because he wanted to check its condition and decide if it would swing.

Ben Stokes reviews an appeal to get Labuschagne out from a Root deliveryRichard Pelham / The Sun

Marsh has been superb since coming in for the Third Test at Headingley, initially as replacement for the injured Cameron Green.

He made a run-a-ball hundred in Leeds and a half-century in the first innings here. This time, Marsh adopted more watchful and conservative tactics as the situation demanded.

The burly lad nicknamed ‘Bison’ by his team-mates has so far contributed 31 not out from 107 balls.

Green came in at No.7 when Labuschagne was out and England reviewed an appeal for a catch by Root at slip off Moeen Ali.

Green lunged forward and the ball flew to Root but replays showed it brushed Green’s pad and not his bat.

It was the final delivery of the session and the players walked off for tea. With rain reappearing, they did not return.

If England fail to win on Sunday, they will wonder how on earth they are 1-2 down when they have dominated three of the four Test matches.

BETTING SPECIAL – BEST SPORTS BETTING APPS IN THE UK

PA

England face the frustration of a draw going into Sunday’s final day[/caption]

They might regret a slow over-rate in this match which caused virtually a session to be lost over the first three days. And they might live to regret not winning the First Test at Edgbaston.

But regret is not part of the Bazball mentality.