As expected, England has retained the Ashes. The manner of the victory was muted, though, as the Old Trafford game petered out into a rain and light-affected draw.

England captain Alastair Cook will know that atmospheric conditions, rather than good cricket, extended his team's tenure with the terracotta urn.

The Australians bossed every session of a game they had to win to keep the series alive. They failed, but will take more from this performance than their host.

Michael Clarke's superb first innings 187 drove his side to a commanding total, and the cause was helped by solid contributions from Chris Rogers, Steve Smith and even paceman Mitchell Starc.

Clarke's bowlers performed skilfully and with intent, none more so that the resurgent Ryan Harris. Peter Siddle and Starc really bent their backs and offspinner Nathan Lyon teased England's batsmen, without looking too dangerous.

England, by contrast, displayed a now familiar and worrying tendency to drift, as if the players have decided they've done enough and allow their collective game to drop off marginally, but decisively. Sometimes, the only thing louder than their protestations that they won't take their eye off the ball just because the team is 2-0 up, is the dull thud of said sphere hitting them on the back of the head when they least expect it.

The bowling was a mixed bag: James Anderson looked innocuous and there was little reverse swing for Tim Bresnan, but spinner Graeme Swann took a five-fer in Australia's first innings and Stuart Broad was sharp.

Maybe the cares of captaincy are getting to Cook? His batting has fallen off and he has looked out of sorts, as evidenced by a just couple of scratchy 50s in the series so far.

Meanwhile, Ian Bell has been superb and Kevin Pietersen has fired fitfully, but Jonathan Trott's predilection for the leg side is now so pronounced that he's been easy to contain. New boy Joe Root failed in both innings, notching up just eight and 13.

The jury's still out on Johnny Bairstow; he has the shots, but his temperament may not be quite what's required to succeed at this level. Fairly or not, the axe is hanging over the young Yorkshireman.

The teams meet again at Chester-le-Street, Durham, on Friday. Back-to-back Tests are tough on players, bowlers especially, and a three-day break isn't long enough for aching limbs to recharge.

Moreover, Harris has a poor fitness record and while he will have benefited, physically at least, from the rain breaks at Old Trafford, history suggests he will break down sooner or later. If Australia wants to achieve series parity, Clarke will need a fit and firing Harris in his team. A drawn series would give Australia something to work with and allow Clarke to plan a serious campaign for the return rubber in Australia this winter.

Having finally shown what they can do, the Australians appear to be moving forward. England, however, looks as though it is treading water.

Contact Paul at paultomic@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 08/07/2013 page22)