The difference, this time, was that it was lashing down with rain while they played. The only other people outdoors at Old Trafford were underneath umbrellas and for a time it seemed like England were trying to con everyone else into believing the conditions were fit for the 1pm start the umpires had promised earlier in the morning. As the rain became heavier and, one by one, more players and coaches came over to join them, it became clear it wasn't really the point at all.
They were just out there enjoying themselves in the wet, because what else was there to do on a rainy day at Old Trafford? They looked like a group of lads on a stag do in Newquay, assistant coach David Saker the one middleaged tagalong who is going to drink everyone under the table later in the evening.
So Australia have retained the Ashes and the best England can get out of the series now is a draw. Well, they never promised that they would win, just that they could, and told the rest of us we should enjoy watching them try. They have been saying this since the beginning, it's just that some of us refused to listen. "We're going to play without fear. We're going to hold nothing back. We're going to make some memories," Ben Stokes wrote before the start. "Hopefully, the result is that we take the urn back, but the most important thing is that, whatever happens, you will be entertained."
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