‘It’d be great to lose a few overs’: Only rain can save Australia as Wood’s pace destroys again

Only Manchester’s infamous wet weather can save Australia after Mark Wood’s extreme pace left England in an unassailable position controlling the fourth Test at Old Trafford.

Wood (3-17) removed Usman Khawaja (18) fending and bounced out Steve Smith (17) and Travis Head (1), leaving Australia in tatters at 4-113 in their second innings on Friday, still requiring another 162 to make England bat a second time after the hosts scored 592.

With two days to play, a dodgy weather forecast over the weekend is shaping as Australia’s best chance of saving the Test and retaining the Ashes. Given how completely they have been outplayed in Manchester it would be a hollow triumph, remaining 2-1 up with just the last Test remaining at the Oval. As holders of the Ashes, Australia need only to draw the series to keep the urn.

Australia’s most successful bowler during a difficult two days, Josh Hazlewood (5-126) claimed Australia’s mindset was to look at victory first, but would be “very pleased” to see the rain.

“It’s obviously forecast, but forecasts can change all the time,” he said. “Obviously, rain and light plays a big part in cricket and has done forever. So yeah, it’d be great to lose a few overs here and there and make our job a little easier if I’m hanging in there.”

Regardless of whether Australia draw or lose this Test, they will still have the chance to attain a series victory in England for the first time in 22 years in the final match at the Oval.

However, following close victories at Edgbaston and Lord’s, a revamped England side with the pace of Wood and added bowling depth of Chris Woakes have proved a handful for the Australians, who have underperformed with the bat.

One of those under performers is David Warner, who is not having a 2019 nightmare revisited, but has continually failed to make the most of starts in this series. On Friday he hesitantly chopped on Woakes for 28, giving him 201 runs at 25 in four Tests with just one half-century, a top score of 66 at Lord’s. His tour average now matches his overall average in England, 25.6 in 18 Tests across a decade without a century.

His stated ambition of retiring from Test cricket after the New Year’s Test in Sydney following the home series against Pakistan is drifting ever further away.

Khawaja was leading run-scorer in the series until Zak Crawley went motoring past him in the first innings with his 189 at better than a run a ball, but the veteran left-hander’s tour is slowly starting to fade.

He scored 141 and 65 at Edgbaston and had three half-century opening partnerships with Warner across Edgbaston and Lord’s, making 77 in the second innings at Lord’s to help set up two tight Australian victories, but that has been his only half-century in his past six innings.

The introduction of Wood’s pace for the last over before tea on Friday caused Khawaja to push at a ball he would have otherwise left alone. So fine was the edge that Khawaja was surprised to be given out and reviewed, but lost to Ultra-edge showing a clear spike as the ball passed the bat.

Australia’s performance in the field was better on Friday because it couldn’t have been any worse than when they unravelled during the second session on Thursday, allowing England to score more than seven an over.

England resumed at 4-384 with Ben Stokes (51) and Harry Brook (61) adding relatively sedate half-centuries in the context of the helter-skelter England offered up the previous day.

But Jonny Bairstow then hammered an unbeaten 99 in just 81 balls with ten fours and four sixes, the first of which brought up his second half-century of the series.

He had a 10-wicket stand of 66 in just eight overs with last man James Anderson, who was lbw to Green for five, costing Bairstow the chance of a hundred.

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