Australia has retained their iron grip on the urn as the weather gods allied themselves with the visitors in Manchester, ensuring their Ashes reign will extend to nearly a decade and Pat Cummins joins an elite group of Aussie skippers.
Australia completed their third straight Ashes retention from the rooms as England were left heartbroken on the final day at Old Trafford, rain cruelling their charge to even the series, the day and their dreams of a historic comeback washed away.
After belting a mammoth 592 in the first innings and taking a 275-run lead into the second innings, England was on the verge of clawing their way back from 2-0 down and turning The Oval Test, starting Thursday, into a winner-take-all shootout for the Ashes.
But it wasn’t to be, with just one session of play, owned by Marnus Labuschagne, managed on the final two days as showers swamped Manchester.
The signs were bleak from the start on day five, with the covers having not moved from the day before when play was planned to commence.
English hearts soared as the rain abated, and play was set for after an early Lunch break.
But hope lasted all of 20 minutes before the heavens opened in a fury.
Puddles began to form in the outfield as the rain continued unceasingly throughout the middle session, dark clouds hanging low over the ground.
Rain was endless for the remainder of the day despite Ben Stokes waiting until the last possible moment to accept the match was over.
It was a momentous moment for Cummins as he shook Stokes’ hand, sealing an achievement that celebrated former captains Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke failed to do.
“Our preference is to come over here and win the Ashes but it’s nice to retain it,” Cummins said post-match.
“It’s not the best circumstances but it’s something the group should be pretty proud of.
“I know for this group we’ve had a really similar team for the last couple years and we’ve all turned up here pretty motivated so it will be a special moment at The Oval if we get a win next week.
“Retaining is nice but fully focused on trying to get the win.”
He also said his body was feeling “good” after playing five Tests in seven weeks.
Australian opener Usman Khawaja said retaining the urn felt good even if the method wasn’t ideal.
“It sits pretty well,” he told Channel 9.
“We were outplayed this Test match but be we earned the right to win (the urn).
“We will focus on the Oval and we have a lot of motivation for this last Test match.”
With the urn now out of reach, England won’t get another chance until they visit Australia in the summer of 2025-26, more than a decade after they last won the Ashes in 2015.