The T20 series between England and Australia ended in a draw after the third and final match at Old Trafford was abandoned before any overs were bowled.
The coin toss was delayed as heavy rain poured down in Manchester on Sunday afternoon, with the referee having to stop play at 4.20pm local time due to the bad weather forecast.
The rain stopped for a moment, and grounds crews prepared to pull down the stadium’s covers and inspect the outfield.
But just before the scheduled stadium inspection, drizzle returned and this proved to be the deciding factor.
There must have been a sense of deja vu in the England camp, as just 12 months earlier, Australia had won the coveted trophy in the fourth Ashes Test at the same venue after the match was drawn due to weather.
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The T20 series ended in a 1-1 draw after Australia won the series opener in Southampton by 28 runs and England won the second match in Cardiff by three wickets.
“There’s always pressure when you lose the first game,” England captain Phil Salt said at the post-series presentation.
“The message to the players was to come back stronger when we’re pushed back, and that’s what we did.
“I was really happy with how we responded, but I was disappointed that I couldn’t connect today.”
England’s Liam Livingstone was named man of the series after scoring 124 runs and taking five wickets in the two matches.
“It would have been nice to finish (the series) with a decider today,” Australia captain Mitchell Marsh said.
“Now let’s move on to the daily series.”
England vs Australia 1st T20 Highlights | 09:48
All eyes will be on the five-match ODI series between the two countries, which begins at 9.30pm AEST at Trent Bridge on Thursday.
Mitchell Starc and Glenn Maxwell, who were rested for the T20 matches on the England tour, will join the Australian squad, while superstars Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne will also return for the ODIs.
Meanwhile, England white-ball captain Jos Buttler has been ruled out of the ODI series against Australia and Harry Brook will lead the team in his absence.
