The Ashes - Day Four, Fourth Test, Old Trafford - Cummins strikes with two late wickets

England's already bleak hopes of keeping the Ashes alive were knocked further by two Pat Cummins wickets in successive balls.

Photo from The Straits Times

England - 301 & 18-2 / 497-8 dec & 186-6 dec - Australia
England lost two late wickets as their hopes of saving the Ashes faded away on the penultimate day at Old Trafford.
Facing the prospect of negotiating half an hour on Saturday evening and batting all 98 overs on Sunday, Pat Cummins removed Rory Burns and Joe Root in successive deliveries.
From the third ball of the innings, Burns edged to mid-off, while Root was bowled as his off-stump's bail was trimmed.
Joe Denly and Jason Roy survived the next six overs to close on 18-2, after yet more runs from Steve Smith had thwarted an England revival.
The tourists were reduced to 44-4 with Jofra Archer and Stuart Broad steaming in, with the lead at only 240, before Smith made 82 added to his first innings 211.
Australia declared on 186-6 setting England 383 to win, but more likely will be England batting the remainder of the match for a draw.
If they fail, Australia will have retained the Ashes away for the first time since 2001, and it looks likely that they will given that England have not batted out the last day of a Test for over six years.

Saturday at Old Trafford was jam-packed with all of the recurring themes of the Ashes series so far: batting collapses, brutal new ball spells, Stuart Broad having the wood on David Warner, the home crowd taunting the visiting team and Steve Smith unstoppable at the crease.
England were bowled out for 301, leaving them a first innings deficit of 196, before Archer and Broad had England believing with the party stand - complete with Teletubbies, umpires Chelsea pensioners - whipped into a fervour.
Even Smith seemed rattled, with England knowing that if they could get him out cheaply, the door would remain open for a result, however he moved Australia out of sight of England.
The drama of Cummins' first over will be remembered for a long time, it might just be the one that stunned England into being unable to keep the series alive.
But if England can somehow repel the relentless Australian attack, it would be remembered as another chapter in this astonishing series to set up a grandstand finale at The Oval.

Broad has bowled brilliantly throughout the series, and is increasing his psychological advantage over Warner, who he has dismissed six times in eight innings.
It took him six balls to trap the left-hander lbw for a third successive duck.
Bowling a fuller length than in the first innings, Broad also had Marcus Harris leg before while Archer made Marnus Labuschagne the third lbw with his pace above 90mph, beofre uprooting Travis Head's middle stump.
Smith was also troubled by Broad, helping for an electric atmosphere.
But when Craig Overton and Jack Leach took over, they couldn't sustain the pressure as Smith made a fourth-wicket stand of 105 with Matthew Wade.
Smith seemed to be poking fun at England, hitting the ball around the ground as he passed 50 with some incredible strokes.
He lofted Leach to long-off before Australia called the declaration 37 runs later.

England would have tried to get close to Australia's 497-8 from 200-5 overnight.
But when Mitchell Starc took the second new ball, that plan was derailed, as Jonny Bairstow was bowled and Ben Stokes poked to second slip.
Jos Buttler made an entertaining 41 alongside Leach who dragged England beyond the follow-on before he was bowled by Cummins.
That became the first of three wickets in five deliveries for Cummins across the two innings.
Burns found mid-off Head with a ball on his leg stump, and Root's defence was beaten for his third duck and second golden-duck of the series.
Roy stoutly defended the hat-trick ball and alongside Denly survived through to the close.
Both men could be playing for their futures in Test cricket tomorrow, but more importantly, batting for the Ashes.

The Ashes Fixtures and Results
1-5 August
First Test, Edgbaston
Australia won by 251 runs (England 0-1 Australia)

14-18 August
Second Test, Lord's
Match drawn (England 0-1 Australia)

22-26 August
Third Test, Headingley
England won by one wicket (England 1-1 Australia)

4-8 September
Fourth Test, Old Trafford

12-16 September
Fifth Test, The Oval

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