Rains returns to ruin Australia-England Manuka Oval Twenty20 clash

On a wet and soggy evening at Manuka Oval, Friday night's Twenty20 clash between Australia and England was washed out.

Reduced to 3-30 and chasing a mammoth 131 in a 12-over innings, the Australians were on the back foot when the rain returned to force a third break.

Twice already the precipitation had disrupted England's innings, but this time there was little room to move for match officials.

As the rain continued to fall and the clock approached the 10.39pm cutoff time, the likelihood of a resumption plummeted.

Eventually the umpires called it, denying Australia a shot at an unlikely victory and robbing England a chance of claiming a rare whitewash down under.

The match fell seven balls short of reaching an official result, Australia 3-30 and needing 52 to win what would have been a five-over shootout.

England ultimately secured a 2-0 series victory, having prevailed in Perth last Sunday and Canberra on Wednesday.

Australian captain Aaron Finch acknowledged his side has plenty to work on before the World Cup commences next Saturday but remains confident they can defend the title won 12 months ago.

"Overall we were pretty disappointing in this series, England definitely outplayed us," Finch said. "With the bat we were always one wicket down further than we need to be the whole series.

"In big run chases you need that one in batter towards the back of the innings. We were just falling a little bit short in that.

"With the ball, there were some really good signs. I thought the way Maxy closed out tonight, Zamp's contribution, all the quicks had good roles throughout and Stoin as well in that last game.

"All in all, we're not bad, just a little sharpen up will be nice."

The rain arrived early in the evening and wreaked havoc throughout the duration of the contest.

The England innings was a disjointed affair as the players left the field on two separate occasions.

Josh Hazlewood removed Alex Hales early however the visitors were able to steady the ship to reach 1-47 at the first stoppage.

Upon the resumption, Dawid Malan and Joss Buttler took their partnership past 50 before Pat Cummins struck to dismiss the former.

A second rain delay followed soon after, this one triggering another round of groans from the Manuka Oval crowd.

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The teams would return for 14 balls and they managed to pack plenty of action into a short period of time.

Resuming at 2-73, England piled on 39 runs, Buttler dispatching one Hazlewood over for 22 to finish unbeaten on 65.

Duckworth-Lewis-Stern saw the 12 over total of 2-112 revised up to 130, Australia needing 131 to win.

The run-chase started in the worst possible manner, captain Aaron Finch dismissed for a golden duck in the first ball of the innings. Mitch Marsh was removed the following delivery and suddenly Chris Woakes was on a hat-trick.

Steve Smith successfully blocked out the hat-trick ball before eventually getting off the mark with a single.

Woakes had a third victim in his second over, Glenn Maxwell out for eight.

The wicket extended a lean run for the enigmatic talent. Maxwell has not reached double figures in his last seven T20 innings and his form is now a major concern a week out from the start of the World Cup.

The all-rounder was promoted up the order on Friday night, handed a prime opportunity to open the batting and work his way into his innings.

Instead, he was undone by Woakes' slower ball as Australia's run chase sputtered along.

The English bowler finished with career best figures but was disappointed he could not guide his side to a win.

"It's a frustrating night for everyone," Woakes said. "As cricketers we're always keen to play the maximum amount we can. A 20-over game is always a better option. The more the overs come down, it becomes a bit of a lottery, especially if you haven't won the toss, it becomes a bit of a tricky one.

"After the start we had there with the ball, it would've been nice to get through five overs but that's the way it goes. We feel pretty happy with how we performed so we'll take the positives."

That triggered Marcus Stoinis' arrival and he made an instant impact with a stunning six before the rain forced another interruption.

The stroke marked the final act of a frustrating evening, the Canberra faithful who had braved the cold and wet conditions leaving the venue disappointed.

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