England vs Australia Ball by Ball Commentary - The Ashes 2023

That is it from this game then! Just the one game to go. Australia head into the last Test with a 2-1 lead. England can't retain the Ashes but they would love to level the series. Australia on the other hand, will be eager to win a series in England after a long time. The 5th Test will be played on the 27th of this month. That game begins at 1530 IST (1000 GMT). Till then, take care and goodbye!

Pat Cummins says he is hapy with how the boys played and the boys are proud of it. States this result does not change their ideas for the next game. States the ground is an amazing one and it will be special moment at the Oval. Adds England batted well, they tried a few different things but it did not come off and England were brilliant. Marnus Labuschagne and Mitchell Marsh were brilliant and they batted really well. Ends by saying they are fully focused on winning the last game.

Ben Stokes says it is tough one but they need to accept it. Adds the equation they were in, played in their hands, States, Pope's injury had to re-think the structure of the team but Wood and Moeen have been really good. Ends by saying they want to win the last game they play. Credits Zak Crawley for the way he played. Ends by congratulating Stuart Broad on his 600 Test wickets and says he and James Anderson have been brilliant for them.

Zak Crawley MAN OF THE MATCH, says they are disappointed, they played really good cricket but they now need to look ahead. He feels they had chances to win the game but the rain cost them the game. Adds this is one of his best innings for England. Adds he will take a lot of confidence from this knock and he is very pleased with it. Adds every game is massive and they will give it their all in the next game.

Rain though played spoil-sport in the days after that. Especially on Day 4 and Day 5. We only had around one session on Day 4 and none of Day 5. England will feel hard done by as they wre in a very strong position to win this game and level the series but that was not the case. Australia still lead 2-1.

Right from Day 1 it was the hosts who dominated the game. They elected to bowl and bundled Australia out for an average score. Woakes was the star for them with a five-for. Then it was their batters who were brilliant! They came out all guns blazing. Zak Crawley was the highlight with a massive ton. There were contributions from others too. Root was really good and Jonny Bairstow down the order was unlucky to not get to a ton. They ammased over 500 and took a lead of over 250.

The umpires are having a word with the captains! That should probably be it, should not be long before it is called off!

UPDATE 2033 IST (1503 GMT) - Well, we should not be far away from the day being abandoned which means, the match will end a draw. Pretty sure with the amount of rain that we have had, it is very difficult to see any kind of play even if the rain stops.

UPDATE 2000 IST (1430 GMT) - With every passing minute, hope of any kind of play is fading away as the rain keeps on falling. There are puddles out there on the field and it would be a miracle if we get to see some action now.

UPDATE 1853 IST (1324 GMT) - The rain continues to come down and this match seems to be heading for a draw! England fans will be praying for it to stop at the moment.

The story is the same as the first session, the rain continues to fall and the covers are firmly in place. For now, our wait continues...

... DAY 5, SESSION 2 ...

Lunch has been taken! The rain continues to fall and chances of any play on Day 5 is reducing with each passing minute.

Well, the good news did not last for long as the covers are back on and the rain is now steady! The wait continues.

We have some better news for you! The skies are clearing up and the rain has eased out a lot. The groundsmen could start their mopping up job in a bit. Fingers crossed for now.

Nothing new to update! It continues to rain and it is steady rain! We probably won't be having any play in the first session.

Play should have started by now but the rain continues to come down and the wait continues. HOWEVER, it is a lot lighter than it was earlier on.

There was an insepction scheudled at 11 local but that does not seem possible now as it has started raining again!

Well, scratch what we wrote below as it is raining in Manchester and the covers are on. Let us hope it passes by quickly.

It was rain which dominated Day 4 as we only managed around one session of play! However, the Aussies, courtesy Marnus Labuschagne and Mitchell Marsh fought back strongly in that session but England did manage to get the centurion out. Australia still trail by another 61 runs and England will be dearly hoping, they get a full day's play here and they can force a result. Difficult however, as the forecast is not the best. For now though, it is dry but quite overcast. Let us keep our fingers crossed and hope we get good amount of play.

... DAY 5, SESSION 1 ...

So, as expected it is Stumps on Day 4, we should be happy that there was some action as the forecast was showcasing rain for the full day. At the start of Day 4, the pressure was on the Aussies but the way Marnus Labuschagne and Mitchell Marsh handled themselves, they deserve the credit to build a stand. Marnus Labuschagne got his 11th Test ton but fell later to Root. England were bit wayward with the ball, too many balls on the pads or some avoildable short balls often. Australia trail by 61 runs now. The forecast for Day 5 is similar so it will be yet another day where we will be checking with the weather page. Let's be optimistic and hope for the best. Join us back at 3.30 pm IST (10 am GMT). Till then, cheers!

It continues to drizzle and the covers are placed firmly. It doesn't look like we will get any more action. Still, let's stay optimistic and hope for the best.

Well, play should have resumed by now but it has started to rain and the start has been delayed.

... DAY 4, SESSION 3 ...

A good session for the Aussies and they continue their fightback! Marnus Labuschagne and Mitchell Marsh batted really well. They both went after the bowlers and added a 100-plus stand. Marnus Labuschagne was the mainstay with a brilliant ton. They were also helped with the fading light as England were not allowed to bowl the pacers. England though continued with the spinners and they leaked runs. However, Root got the massive wicket of the centurion and the wicket has started turning. Cameron Green has looked fidgety to begin with and England would hope they can get him soon after the break. Can they do so? We will find out.

Dark clouds approaching!

The ground staffs are getting ready.

The ball fails to pass the ring test and a new ball is required.

The physio is out to check on Labuschagne. He is feeling discomfort in his right finger.

Chris Woakes is ready to steam in.

We are all set.

The inspection is done and we have some brilliant news. The play is set to start at 7.15 pm IST (1.45 pm GMT). This is excellent news. Stay tuned.

Some good news for everyone! The rain has stoped and one of the covers is coming off.

Still raining here which means the first session is a wash out! The radar is not the best going ahead today and we doubt if we can get any play on Day 4. Let's just be optimistic for now and hope this rain passes by quickly.

We have nothing new to update! The rain continues to fall and there are puddles on the outfield now! Not great news if you are an England fan but the Aussies won't mind.

Wood is marking is run-up, Mitchell Marsh and Marnus Labuschagne are in all readiness, the crowd here is buzzing, we are all set for the first ball of the day! WELL, THIS IS WHAT WE WOULD BE WRITING IF THERE WAS NO RAIN! For now though, it is POURING DOWN and the wait continues.

Well, we have some bad news to begin with, it is raining for now and the covers are in place. The start is surely going to be a delayed one but the forecast for the day is not the best. All we can do now is hope and continue to wait.

Rain, rain go away, come again some other day! Pretty sure all the England fans will be singing this for remaining two days of the game as weather is the only thing we believe can save the Aussies. They still trail by another 162 runs and have just the 6 wickets in hand. The Australian's won't mind the weather gods not showing any mercy. The forecast is not the best as a lot of rain is predicted. Let's keep our fingers crossed and hope we get some action. Welcome to the coverage of Day 4.

... DAY 4, SESSION 1 ...

Australia took the beating in the park. They bowled well in the first couple of sessions but once Jonny Bairstow walked in, it turned out to a nightmare. In a blink of an eye, England took the lead over 250. Australia needed a good start with the bat but lost Usman Khawaja cheaply. David Warner was victim to Chris Woakes once again. Steven Smith batted well but failed to stay in and late in day, Australia lost Head as well. They have Marnus Labuschagne out there, and still batting left but the pressure is on them. That's it from Day 3, we believe only rain can now save the visitors and a lot of it is predicted over the next few days. Let's hope though there is none and we get a full day's play. Action begins at 1530 IST (1000 GMT). Till then, goodbye and take care.

That will be end of Day 3. What a day for England. They are in complete control and 6 wickets away from equalling the series. Day 3 started with Ben Stokes and Harry Brook continue to add to the lead. Both added fifties and it was going all well until Lunch but the action turned into fireworks when Jonny Bairstow joined in. He hit the bowlers all around the park and along with the tail batted brilliantly. However, missed out on his century by just one run as James Anderson didn't survive.

Travis Head walks in the middle.

Back for the final session. Stuart Broad will bowl after the break.

...Day 3, Session 3...

England head into the Tea Break in firm control! Australia though began their reply with the bat well but that wicket of Khawaja towards the end of the session, spoils it for them. They would have loved to enter the break with no wicket down but that is not the case. They will now need the two batting out there to score big and put up a massive stand. They still trail by over 200. For England, their bowlers have got some assistance off the surface but they have not hit the right lines and lengths. They would like to be a lot more discilpined after the break. An interesting final session awaits.

Broad!