Cricket News sort by Michael John Clarke

When a team dominates a Test for two days, they should be mighty disappointed to lose the match in four days. This heart-breaking feeling is what Australia must be experiencing having caved in to give up their Ashes challenge on Monday.

If Australia crashed and burned at Lords then Trent Bridge was a rising and a renewal. If terrible batting in the first two Ashes tests stripped Australian supporters of hope and hinted at the possibility of a series whitewash then their performance in the third test showed that there might be some stirrings of life in their batting after all,

So, England aren’t invincible after all. They may have retained the Ashes following the rain-marred draw at Old Trafford in Manchester, but it wasn’t a convincing one by any stretch of the imagination.

When the third Test of the Ashes series kicked off, England would have been on a real high, having won the first two Tests, and in particular because they had thrashed Australia at Lord’s.

Persistent rain robbed Australia a great opportunity to keep the Ashes alive at Old Trafford. Only three balls were bowled post lunch on the final day before rain settled down to force abandonment.

Australia for the first time has put England under serious pressure in the series by capturing a couple of wickets before the close of Day 2. England is 52 for 2 in 30 overs in reply to Australia’s 527 for 7 declared.

As it has been throughout the series, there was no shortage of drama on the opening day of the third Ashes Test at Old Trafford, Manchester. And, a lot of it had to do with those three capital words, DRS.

When Australia embarked on their tour to England to resume their Ashes battle, they were given the tag of underdogs. In that context, it shouldn’t be surprising that they are 2-0 down going into the third Test at Manchester.

Australian captain Michael Clarke may have vowed that his side will fight back strongly in the Ashes and that they can still comeback to win the prestigious series.