Ashes T1 Day 3 Stumps: Australia Rule The Way, Then Rain Reigns

Rain made sure that much of the action after tea was washed out but Australia were in the ascendancy when play was finally called off on the third day of the first Test of the Ashes at the Sophia Gardens, Cardiff.
Michael Clarke and Marcus North carried off from where Ricky Ponting and Simon Katich left off. The duo, the former more experienced than the latter, continued to pile the pressure on the hosts who found next to no respite from the position that had been slowly but surely steadily slipping out of their grasp.
Clarke and North raised 110 runs in the session between lunch and tea without further loss of wickets. Clarke looked good on seventy-one while North built on his Test half century. Australia went into tea on 458 for four, thirteen runs ahead of England’s first innings total.

But the session after tea turned into a waiting game. Australia had barely taken guard again that it started to come down. What started out as a slight drizzle turned into a rather lengthy break that caused doubts over whether play would even resume given the uncertainty. However, when it did start, it was just a matter of running through till the rain would force stumps on day three again.
The only thing England got out of the situation was the prize wicket of Clarke for eighty-three to Stuart Broad who finally broke his wicketless spell. But England are still behind and will need more than five wickets to create a winning position for themselves. Australia will sleep comfortably at 479 for five.

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