Ashes:England retains series after 3rd test ends in draw

Manchester, England, Aug 6: Spectators were huddled under umbrellas in rapidly emptying stands and rain was splattering large puddles on a drenched outfield when a message on the giant scoreboard blared out: “England Retains The Ashes.” It was hardly the picture-perfect way England's players imagined finishing off great rival Australia for a third straight Ashes series, but they couldn't really care less.“It's an anticlimax in one way today,” England captain Alastair Cook, “but. I'd have snapped your hand off to be in this position.”Manchester's notoriously grim weather came to England's rescue on Monday as Cook's side escaped with a draw on the final day of a third test dominated by the Australians.Needing to bat out the day to avoid defeat and clinch the series at the earliest possible opportunity, England was rocking on 37-3 and feeling the heat from some tight Australian bowling when rain arrived three balls after lunch.It never relented and the match was abandoned as a draw an hour after tea, leaving England with a 2-0 lead with two tests remaining in the series. “It would have been a classic test match - it would have been a great finish today.”Australia was well aware that rain could scupper its chances on the final day and had no option but to declare overnight on 172-7 -- setting England a victory target of 332.The forecast was for rain all day but showers that had come down throughout the night stopped an hour before the start of play, and only the first half an hour was lost.Under threatening skies, Cook, Jonathan Trott and first-inning centurion Kevin Pietersen all departed as England stumbled to lunch on 35-3.The comeback was on for Australia—it just needed the rain to hold off.“It wasn't the ideal first hour and a half,” Cook said.However, umbrellas were out in force shortly after the resumption, allowing Joe Root and Ian Bell to scurry off.The rain stopped at one stage, and a pitch inspection was called. Only 20.3 overs were possible Monday.The news came over the loudspeaker at 4.38 p.m. local time that the match had been abandoned, generating a few cheers from pockets of wet fans around the ground.England's next task is to win the series by securing victory either at the fourth test at Durham starting Friday, or the fifth test at The Oval.“Our first objective was to retain the Ashes, now I want to win them,” said Cook, who won his first Ashes series as captain.“We didn't play our best game here and were put under pressure by Australia but we fought extremely hard here batting a long time and avoiding the follow on was crucial - so I can't complain how we have handled this week.