3rd Ashes Test: Old Trafford, 11-15 August: Day Three

[King Aragorn]

According to BBC, the latest forecast is for rain to stop around 1300 hours. According to a groundsman, the ground will dry up fast so we might yet see some play.

[Lemming]

It's started raining here and I think I'm about 50 miles south of Manchester. I think that means the weather is moving south and so hopefully the rain will focus on my house. I can live with that - so long as there's something half decent on TV!

[adamr]

I live 15 miles West of Old Trafford (in the nice Cheshire country side) and unfortunately it's still chucking it down!

[Occasional Fan]

All very frustrating! Cricinfo promised us an update at 1345BST, and it finally appeared at 1400BST: persistent rain now falling. Channel 4 encouragingly advises on its site that play will be extended to 1900 BST today, weather permitting, and of course we have now lost enough time for early starts (1000BST) to be applied to the remaining two days of the game. But at least one commentator - Angus Fraser on the BBC Ashes Log page - is already talking about a washout today. Given the propensity for Old Trafford to drain very quickly, he might be a bit premature with that: here's hoping!

[greg]

3.30 inspection.sounds ominous.

[Lemming]

Channel 4 just showed Old Trafford and it looked as though the groundspeople removing the outside covers, they had taken one of the bowler's run-up covers off and looked as though they were about to remove one of the midwicket covers. Obviously the rain must have stopped - otherwise they wouldn't have taken any covers off - and hopefully they can work on the outfield and get some play in soon!

[Occasional Fan]

This from Cricinfo:

Originally Posted by Cricinfo

Four runs have been added to the Australian total. Yesterday, when Simon Jones bowled a beamer, Steve Bucknor, the umpire was so busy giving the bowler his warning and speaking to him that he forgot to signal the four byes. Some of you had written in to us asking where the four runs had disappeared. Well, you now have your answer. Though we spotted it and scored it correctly, our hands were tied by the lack of a signal from the umpire. Now the match officials have got together and decided that the four runs should go to Australia. This means they only need to get 31 more to avoid the follow-on when play begins.

[Lemming]

The covers are off and play should hopefully be underway soon!

In fact play will start - for the day - at 4 pm BST. This should hopefully go on until 7 pm!

If the match can be played from 10am until 7pm for the remaining two days, and if my mathematics serves me correctly, we may not lose any time in the match!

Does anyone know if it is possible that this could happen?

[Occasional Fan]

I think on days after today, play will start 30 minutes early as we have lost more than two hours, but you only get time added on at the end of the day in which the delay occurred. So, we'll lose four hours today and can make up a maximum of two of those (one today, and half an hour tomorrow and Monday morning). Play will only be extended beyond 1800 tomorrow if time is lost during tomorrow. It's more complicated on the last day, but the easiest thing is to work on the basis that time cannot be added on at the end of the day unless time is lost on that day before the commencement of the final hour. It's all in regulation 16.1.3 if you want to look it up: my eyes have glazed over a bit!

[Occasional Fan]

We should also just be clear on hours of play for today. The official close is one hour after the original close - which will be 1830BST. Assuming a start at 1600BST and no more interruptions, there will be 38 overs due today, and play will end at the conclusion of the 38th over if that comes between 1830BST and 1900BST, or at 1830BST if they crack through those overs, or at 1900BST if they don't make all 38 today. Clear enough? And there will be three overs taken out of this for an innings change if we are lucky.

Life's tough for a cricket viewer. But it could be worse: we could be trying to schedule this evening's TV programmes!