da blaze casino： Following days of endless sunshine and absorbing cricket, the fourth day ofthe final npower Test match was lost to the rain clouds today to reduceAustralia’s chances of victory and boost England’s hopes for a draw
Kate Laven26-Aug-2001Following days of endless sunshine and absorbing cricket, the fourth day ofthe final npower Test match was lost to the rain clouds today to reduceAustralia’s chances of victory and boost England’s hopes for a draw.The forecasters predicted more sun but less than two hours’ play was possiblebefore bad light intervened at the AMP Oval. Light rain started to fall andas the afternoon progressed, it became heavier, the puddles deeper and thecrowd thinner. Play was finally called at 4.40pm when the outfield wasdeemed too saturated for any further action.Australian captain Steve Waugh enforced the follow on after dismissingEngland for 432 which was tantalisingly close to the required target andwhen Mark Butcher and Marcus Trescothick were offered the light, they werestill 169 runs shy of Australia’s first innings total.They had also lost the services of their opening batsman Mike Atherton, whowas caught behind off Glenn McGrath’s bowling for nine and, judging byAtherton’s gestures as he walked off the field, England have lost them forgood.Atherton has spent months keeping everyone guessing over the timing of hisretirement. The deals concluded with his new employers in the media are saidto have flexible starting dates, giving him the option of starting now, ornext year. But as he walked towards the pavilion, he raised his bat in whatcould have been taken as a farewell gesture to the crowd.And when he climbed the steps to the dressing room, there were his long timeEngland colleagues Nasser Hussain and Alec Stewart waiting with warmembraces. But still no announcement from the 33-year-old Lancastrian whoseems determined to exit the game without fuss or fanfare.Twenty minutes into the day’s play, McGrath brought Mark Ramprakash’s epicinnings to a close, after he had added nine runs to his overnight total. Ithad been a magnificent performance, raising England’s hopes of saving thematch but when he left, the job was still not quite complete, Englandneeding another 18 runs to make Australia bat again.He was out to a rash shot, a wild slug outside the off-stump which sent theball flying to wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist, and responsibility fell toDarren Gough, who had resumed on 18, and new batsman Phil Tufnell.Gough survived a rare error from Steve Waugh when he was dropped at secondslip but after a couple of robustly-struck shots from Tufnell, the inningscame to a close. Gough was stumped by Gilchrist for 24, giving theAustralian keeper his 100th Test dismissal, a remarkable achievement giventhat he has played only 22 Tests.It also gave Shane Warne his seventh wicket, allowing him to claim his bestfigures against England in this country with 7-165 after another captivatingdisplay of leg spin bowling in what is expected to be his last Testappearance here.The dismissal left England trailing by 209 runs and by the close that hadbeen reduced by 40 runs, with Trescothick not out 20 and Butcher looking foranother big moment, this time on his home ground, with a start of 11 runs.