England vs Australia, Old Trafford Test, Player Ratings, David Warner, Pat Cummins, cricket news

Australia will return home with the Ashes urn in their possession after the fourth Ashes Test at Old Trafford ended as a draw on Sunday.

The final day in Manchester was abandoned due to weather, with Australia securing an unassailable 2-1 lead in the five-match series.

England absolutely dominated the Old Trafford Test, but the hosts will be left ruing missed chances at Edgbaston and Lord’s.

The fifth Ashes Test gets underway at The Oval on Thursday, with Australia looking to win the series and break a 22-year drought in England.

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DAVID WARNER — 4

32 and 28

David Warner’s spot in the Test side remains a talking point after the veteran opener made a pair of starts at Old Trafford this week but failed to convert.

The 36-year-old fell victim to Chris Woakes in both innings, edging behind on day one before a soft dismissal on Friday — after initially shaping to leave the ball, he dropped his bat at the final moment and chopped on.

Australia needed its senior players to step up in the second innings, but Warner once again couldn’t tame his English demons.

USMAN KHAWAJA — 3

3 and 18

After a phenomenal start to his Ashes campaign, Usman Khawaja has failed to reach fifty in four consecutive knocks.

The Queenslander wasted a review in both innings, somehow not feeling his outside edge against Mark Wood on day three.

However, Khawaja claimed a superb catch at mid-wicket to get rid of Moeen Ali on day two.

MARNUS LABUSCHAGNE — 9

51 and 111

Marnus Labuschagne finally stepped up for the Australians in Manchester this week.

After falling to a soft dismissal on day one, the right-hander peeled off a classy century on Saturday afternoon, his second Test hundred outside Australia, guiding the tourists to safety.

However, Labuschagne has fallen to off-spin in three consecutive Ashes knocks, and each dismissal was avoidable.

STEVE SMITH — 4

41 and 17

The Australian vice-captain hasn’t been able to replicate his Ashes heroics from four years ago, and it’s proving costly for the tourists.

Steve Smith looked in vintage touch on day one before missing a straight one from Mark Wood, yet again trapped on the pads.

Wood also toppled the right-hander in the second innings, with Smith gloving a bouncer through to wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow just when Australia desperately needed him to form a partnership.

Smith has only passed fifty once in eight knocks this series.

TRAVIS HEAD — 4

48 and 1, 0-52

England continued peppering Travis Head with bouncers at Old Trafford, and the strategy paid dividends.

The South Australian fell victim to bumpers in both innings, top-edging a hook shot towards deep fine leg on day one and meekly throwing his wicket away on Friday evening.

Head’s second-innings dismissal, where he awkwardly fended at Mark Wood’s riser and gloved the ball to short third man, ensured he’ll be targeted with short stuff for the rest of his career.

Having essentially been promoted to Australia’s strike spinner, he didn’t contribute anything with the ball either.

MITCHELL MARSH — 8

51 and 31*, 0-57

The latest iteration of Mitchell Marsh’s Test career is off to a flyer.

The West Australian scored a classy half-century in the first innings before falling victim to an absolute peach from Chris Woakes.

He then survived 107 deliveries under heavy clouds on day four, combining with Marnus Labuschagne for a crucial 103-run partnership for the fifth wicket to frustrate England in the second innings.

However, Marsh was woefully ineffective with the ball in Manchester — England’s batters treated his seamers with disdain, leaking 6.33 runs per over.

CAMERON GREEN — 5

16 and 3*, 2-64

It remains to be seen whether Cameron Green has done enough to retain his spot in Australia’s Test side ahead of the series finale at The Oval.

The West Australian looked tentative in the first innings, prodding and edging his way to double figures before Chris Woakes trapped him on the pads — Hawkeye couldn’t save him, with the ball clipping the edge of leg stump in cruel scenes.

He also knocked over centurion Zak Crawley for a vital breakthrough on day two, albeit in fortuitous circumstances.

ALEX CAREY — 4

20, two catches

For the first time in the series, Alex Carey was outclassed by his English counterpart at Old Trafford.

After a brain fade in the first innings, where he failed to get his bat out of the way while leaving, he missed a run-out chance early on day three, gifting rival captain Ben Stokes an extra life.

The South Australian also leaked 15 byes across the first innings, albeit due to some wayward bowling from his teammates.

MITCHELL STARC — 6

2-137

Mitchell Starc created two early breakthroughs for Australia in the first innings, but the left-armer was ineffective once the Dukes ball lost its shine.

He sustained a worrying shoulder injury on Thursday evening, also grabbing at his hamstring throughout day two.

However, Starc’s love affair with batting at Old Trafford continued this week, finishing unbeaten on 36 in the first innings to push his average at the Manchester venue up to 170.00.

PAT CUMMINS — 2

1-129

The Old Trafford Test might go down as Pat Cummins’ weakest performance in Australian whites.

The captain dropped a catch, misjudged another chance, bowled four front-foot no-balls, missed two run-outs and botched a third opportunity in the field.

He conceded the most runs in an innings in his Test career, while his captaincy also came under scrutiny throughout the match.

JOSH HAZLEWOOD — 7

5-126

The Bendemeer Bullet was the pick of Australia’s bowlers at Old Trafford, claiming the tenth five-wicket haul of his Test career.

After removing the dangerous Joe Root with a grubber, Hazlewood ripped through England’s lower order with the second new ball, taking four wickets in a 22-ball burst.

He came within millimetres of bagging a hat-trick, but the Dukes ball narrowly evaded Mark Wood’s outside edge.