ASHES SERIES: RAIN HALTS ENGLAND VICTORY PUSH

Rain hampered England's bid for victory on the fourth day of the fourth Ashes Test on Friday, with David Warner and Steve Smith also keeping the tourists at bay.

The umpires called off play at 5:20 pm (0620 GMT) after persistent rain with Australia 103 for two and trailing the tourists by 61 runs after England's first innings ended on the first ball of the day at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

When play was abandoned for the day, Warner was on 40 with skipper Smith not out 25.

There was some controversy even in the rain-shortened day, as there were suggestions in some Australian media outlets, including the site owned by Cricket Australia, that fast bowler James Anderson had tampered with the ball.

The tourists, with all the momentum after Alastair Cook's record-breaking innings of 244 not out, snared the wickets of Cameron Bancroft and Usman Khawaja to send early jitters through the home side.

Bancroft hit four fours before he chopped Chris Woakes on to his stumps on 27, while Khawaja was caught behind off James Anderson for 11.

England, pressing for their first victory in the already-decided Ashes series, were all out on their overnight total of 491 on the first ball of the day.

Anderson was caught by Bancroft at bat-pad off Pat Cummins for a duck to end the innings. Cummins finished with four for 117.

It meant that Cook achieved the highest score of anyone carrying his bat -- the rare feat of batting throughout the innings -- in Test cricket, bettering New Zealand's Glenn Turner's 223 not out against the West Indies in Kingston in 1972.

The last Englishman to carry his bat in Tests was Mike Atherton, who scored 94 in New Zealand in 1997, while Geoff Boycott was the last in an Ashes innings with his unbeaten 99 in Perth in 1979.

Cook set a number of records on Thursday's third day, when he surpassed the highest score by a visiting batsman in a Melbourne Test, bettering the 208 by West Indian great Viv Richards in 1984.

Cook's fifth double-century also catapulted him above West Indian Brian Lara to become the sixth highest run-getter in Test cricket with 11,956.

England have four sessions left in Melbourne to secure their first win of the Ashes series, after going an irretrievable 3-0 down in the first three Tests.

SCORES IN BRIEF

AUSTRALIA: 327 all out and 103 for 2 (Warner 40 not out, Smith 25 not out , Bancroft 27; Anderson 1-20, Woakes 1-24)

ENGLAND: 491 all out (Cook 244 not out, Root 61, Broad 56, Woakes 26; Cummins 4-117, Hazlewood 3-95, Lyon 3-109)

News source :AFP