Australia draw with England at Edgbaston

Third Ashes Test, Edgbaston (day five) - England 376 drew with Australia 263 & 375-5: A determined batting effort from Australia at a rain-hit Edgbaston ensured the tourists a draw in the third Ashes Test yesterday. Their efforts see England move on to Headlingley on Friday with just a 1-0 lead.

Australia may have been in a precarious position during the morning session, four wickets down in their second innings and only 48 runs ahead. But the partnership  of centurion Michael Clarke  and Marcus North saw the pair dig in after lunch to put on 185. Shane Watson and Michael Hussey also made half-centuries, taking the tourists' total to 375 for five. The match ended at 1750 BST, when the two captains agreed on an early draw with 13.4 overs remaining.

Meanwhile England are confident Andrew Flintoff will be fit for the fourth Test despite taunts by Australian captain Ricky Ponting that the all-rounder's fitness is going "downhill pretty quickly". Flintoff bowled just 11 overs yesterday, all wicketless. England will assess the 31-year-old's right knee tomorrow before putting him through his paces in Leeds on Thursday.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING:Mike Atherton, the Times: "In the end, the best part of two days lost to bad light and rain, a pitch that remained, in the best Edgbaston traditions, something of a featherbed and determined batting from Australia’s middle order was enough to ensure that England’s lead going to Headingley Carnegie will be a slim one. The weather was the ultimate victor, because but for the disruptions a result would surely have been possible."

Kevin Mitchell, the Guardian: "As the third Test wound down like an old clock, it became worryingly clear that England are too easily defanged when conditions do not give their bowlers an edge.... You sensed that if the elements had been more conducive, if a heavy cloud cover had turned the ball into a banana and the rain that had wiped much of Thursday and all of Saturday had juiced up the surface sufficiently, victory against a demoralised Australia would have been there for the taking. None of this happened. And that is cause for concern."

Derek Pringle, the Daily Telegraph: "It had gone almost to plan for England in the morning session, after Australia had lost two wickets, though a third would have strirred real belief. Starting the day 25 runs light of making England bat again, Michael Hussey and Shane Watson were made to work hard for their survival after Strauss opened with Graham Onions and Flintoff." ·