Third Test, day five (close): Australia (375-5 & 263) drew with England (376).
Australia saved the third Test at Edgbaston thanks to a century from Michael Clarke to leave England 1-0 up in the series with two matches to play.
Clarke scored an unbeaten 103 and Marcus North 96 as Australia thwarted the England bowlers and silenced the Edgbaston crowd with some resolute batting.
It meant the rain affected third Test petered out into a tame draw as Australia batted comfortably after the day started with England harbouring hopes of forcing victory.
Clarke and North added 185 in 50 overs for the fifth wicket before Stuart Broad claimed his second dismissal of the day when North fell four ashort of his second hundred of the series. James Anderson dived acrobatically to his right to claim a catch in the gully.
But the dismissal arrived far too late in the day to change the outcome of the match and once Clarke reached his century the umpires halted play when it became clear there would be no prospect of a result with Australia holding a commanding lead.
An overcast day in Birmingham failed to produce conditions for England's swing bowlers to exploit and batting was rarely a troublesome occupation. England bowled too many poor deliveries and failed to exert pressure as they once again struggled to bowl on a slow pitch.
Anderson and Broad took the only wickets to fall on a day which proved how close the two sides stand in terms of talent and ability. Anderson had Shane Watson caught behind off a straight and full delivery while Broad took the wicket of Mike Hussey for 64 when he played at a ball that swung late.
Those two dismissals left Australia 161 for four holding a slender 48 run lead. It was a parlous position for Australia and with Test debutant Graham Manou due in next North and Clarke held the key to the outcome of the match.
Both batted sensibly and were solid in defence forcing England captain Andrew Strauss to employ Ravi Bopara's trundlers in an effort to find a way through.
It so very nearly worked with Bopara's second ball pulled hard straight to Strauss at short midwicket by Clarke but he spilled the chance and with it England's hopes of winning the match. It was not Bopara's day. As the match fizzled out and the crowd became restless he had Clarke caught at second slip off a no-ball for 96.
Flintoff bowled England's most dangerous spell at the start of the day but Graham Onions and Anderson rarely threatened as the ball failed to move off the straight and narrow.
Graeme Swann bowled too many loose deliveries and was wicketless today despite the presence of heavy rough outside the off stump. He finished with expensive figures of one for 119.
Clarke is a fine player of spin and he was particularly brutal when Swann dropped short and in total he struck ?? fours on his way to a second hundred in as many Tests.
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