No play before lunch on third day of fourth Ashes Test

MANCHESTER, United Kingdom: Rain meant there was no play before lunch on the third day of the fourth Ashes Test between England and Australia at Old Trafford on Friday.Although a heavier downpour had given way to light drizzle in Manchester, both the pitch and square at Lancashire´s headquarters remained fully covered as the clock ticked round to the scheduled start time of 11:00 am (1000 GMT).Although the skies started to brighten, the rain fell steadily enough to delay the resumption.The umpires decided to bring lunch forward by 30 minutes to 12:30 pm, with a view to holding a pitch inspection at 1:00 pm in the event there was no further rain.England will resume on 23-1, 474 runs behind Australia´s commanding first innings 497-8 declared, with left-handed opener Rory Burns 15 not out and nightwatchman Craig Overton unbeaten on three.Australia are well-placed thanks to Steve Smith´s 211, his third Test century in four innings.Smith, the world´s top-ranked Test batsman, missed England´s dramatic one-wicket win in the third Test at Headingley with concussion suffered when felled by a Jofra Archer bouncer during the second match at Lord´s.This is the former Australia captain´s first Test series since a 12-month ban for his role in a ball-tampering scandal in South Africa.The 30-year-old has so far scored 589 runs in the series at a colossal average of 147.25, having marked his return to the format with scores of 144 and 142 that were key to Australia´s 251-run win in the first Test at Edgbaston.Even having retired hurt, having been felled by Archer, he still resumed his innings at Lord´s to make 92 -- his lowest score this series.The five-match Ashes contest is currently all square at 1-1 and victory at Old Trafford would see holders Australia retain the urn at 2-1 up with one to play.Australia last won an Ashes series in England in 2001.

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