Start of play officially delayed The square is fully covered. We won’t have any cricket for a while. Usman Khawaja’s century stole the show yesterday and it fell to Geoff Lemon to rhapsodise about a man so often a square peg in a round hole. Khawaja is no stranger to solving problems for Australia. During the one-day World Cup in 2019 he was thrown in at No 5 despite never having batted there in List A cricket. In the current match he was asked to bat there despite never having done so in Tests. By this point of his career the details such as where he bats don’t seem to faze Khawaja. He walked in on the first evening with Australia 117 for three, with trouble looming for the team if he failed, and instead made sure that he didn’t. He first batted through to stumps, then through the first session of the next day with Smith, before assuming the senior role once Smith was gone. Charles Sheldrick knows there are no rainbows without rain. “We could be on for England’s longest partnership of the series if it keeps raining. We can’t lose with the covers on!” Don’t tempt fate Charles, this is the England cricket team remember. Here’s what happened yesterday, through the eyes of Ali Martin. Well Christopher, feel free to drift off at your leisure tonight, there will be no cricket to distract you for a while. It’s raining in Sydney. Not heavily at the moment, and the radar isn’t too bad, but the covers are over the square and the start time remains a movable feast. Preamble Hello everybody and welcome to live over-by-over coverage of the third day of the fourth Ashes Test. We’re underway at the Sydney Cricket Ground at 10am local time (11pm UK). Today is Jane McGrath day at the SCG, so a sea of pink should brighten up English spirits after another grey day in this Ashes series. The tourists are once again on the back foot after being outplayed on day two, a day that belonged to the recalled Usman Khawaja. In a Test that has been interrupted by frequent showers, Australia have still managed to bat themselves into a strong position. Early wickets this morning with the new ball could give the match a familiar trajectory, and England a familiar sinking feeling. I’ll be back with more shortly, but if you would like to join in, you can reach me by email or Twitter (@JPHowcroft).