Former Australian white-ball captain Aaron Finch has taken a jibe at England cricket experts for blaming the weather for robbing them of victory in the 4th Ashes Test at Old Trafford in Manchester. With former English cricketers citing weather as the reason behind Australia retaining the urn, Finch sarcastically said the tourists controlled the climate.
With England needing five more wickets to win and Australia having a deficit of 61, the hosts fancied their chances of victory. However, weather inclement forced the game to be resulted in a draw, with the rain being unstoppable on day 5. Nevertheless, Australia boosted their chances of retaining the urn on day with a century-stand between Marnus Labuschagne and Mitchell Marsh.
Meanwhile, Finch took to Twitter and replied to an Australian publication, stating, 'Apologies… Pat and the team had control over the weather.'
Ben Stokes 'frustrated' but determined to level the five-Test series:
Following the drawn result, England captain Ben Stokes lamented the poor weather conditions and felt they did everything in their power to achieve the desired outcome. However, the 32-year-old remains determined to end the series on a high.
"It is frustrating when the weather dictates the outcome of a game. It's a shame. We did literally everything we could and the weather didn't help us. It's a tough pill to swallow knowing that's the reason we sit here with a draw. We will have to get over this disappointment and focus on that game as it is massive for us - 2-2 sounds better than 3-1. The mentality we have within the dressing room is go out and win. Everything we do is to be positive."
England have retained the same squad for the fifth and final Test at the Kennington Oval, starting on Thursday.
