Prior isnt picked to score runs??

I had the same opinion before the series started.

Raining  Jim Maxwell on TMS sounds gutted 

The Aussies batting has been slated, not the bowling. That has always been seen as decent. Talk of them being the worst Aussie team for years is partly based on losing 6 straight games (4-0 in India) and also because of what has come before (incredibly Aussie teams from the 1990's on). They were always going to be tough if they got runs on the board.

Has the rain for the day finally set in? A colleague was rather hoping we would get to 89-9 before the rain, just to make it even more annoying!

In truth I would rather have had to bat the day out to get the draw to retain the ashes - it will almost feel like an anticlimax if thats it for the day now. It shouldn't, because the first two games have been deserved wins.

More from Jim Maxwell and the dry Yorkshireman:

"Siddle's vegetarian and he gets by on 14 bananas a day, could you do that, Geoffrey?"

Geoff Boycott responds: "Chimpanzees seem to... I wouldn't care what he eats or drinks, as long as he gets me wickets."

Jim Maxwell is good when he stops chuntering on about walkers and non walkers and repeating himself over and over.........

Generally he has good banter, but has been a miserable shyte since Trent Bridge.

Its being discussed at the local league forum here in Aberdeenshire. Consensus seems to be that its OK not to walk at pro level, but as amatuers (and not always with neutral umpires) the onus should be on the player to walk.

Have to agree with this. At out level when the ump is often one of your own team, probably not concentrating, you have to walk if you know you have hit it. I would hope that anyone with a sense of fair play would too - I once didn't walk and went on to get a 50, but it didn't feel right.

Thats a lot of rain still down to the SW of Manchester, we are drifting to a draw now 

Never done it, but been tempted in some occasions when we were playing a bunch of cheating *****... Was always impressed by Lara that he more or less always walked (apart from maybe the odd occasion). In stark contrast to Aussies like Waugh and Healy, who would have probably sold their own granny to win a test match...

I was a bowler for my school side and then village side, a real number 11 batman, I was never good enough to feather an edge, if I did get a ball good enough to do that it would have been wasted on me.

I have had a few where I know I have got an edge but they haven't walked   

I really gutted for the aussies if the lose their chance of getting the ashes back because of the rain 

Should have believed the forecast and declared yesterday

Then again, Cook would probably still be batting now if the roles were reversed

Looking more and more like its over for the day. Ashes retained, but still the series to win. Wouldn't be happy with 2-2 and ahses retained.

Why not finish it tomorrow? Or is it illegal to play cricket on a Tuesday?

Winning a high profile sporting international series because it's raining is, well, not very sporty.

Magic - never in doubt that we would retain it after we went 2-0, but the Aussies have shown this match that they can play a bit, and I think we will have to work hard to close out the series as a win (2-2 would be rubbish), and the winter now looks more interesting than after Lords.

ROFL!