By the end, not even the diehards remained. Old Trafford had long since cleared out, English hope drowned in ankle-deep puddles around the wicket block.

The word came down at about 5:25pm local time that day five of the fourth Test had been washed out without a ball bowled, the match had been drawn and Australia had officially retained the Ashes. Hold the champagne, this was a result best celebrated over a cup of tea under a warm blanket.

The overwhelming Australian emotion was likely to be relief. The tourists had found themselves well behind the game and in a perilous position after three days of this Test, England suddenly roaring back into the series with momentum and the scent of blood in its nostrils.

And then the weather intervened. Pat Cummins blessed the rains up in Manchester and watched as the life dribbled out of the Test match. Cricket is often hamstrung by its own stuffy regulations on rainy days, but no amount of gerrymandering the session times could have saved a day like this.

There's no question that this Test has ended in anticlimax, and with it the battle for the urn itself. There is still plenty to play for at The Oval next week, but taking the prospect of an England series win off the table also removes some of the heat that has kept this clash at boiling point.

The England PR machine has been in overdrive all series, and this result falls neatly into the scriptwriter's hands. The first Test was a moral victory for England, the second a violation of the game's very essence by Australia, and now there's this.

There will be no shortage of naysayers declaring a hollow triumph for Australia. Some of those will come from inside the English team, with Stuart Broad already leading the chorus in his newspaper column after day four.

In some ways those dissenting voices are right. I'm sure Australia would have much preferred a glorious victory to seal retention of the Ashes, or at least a draw earned through a day of determined batting, rather than one of crosswords and cards in the dressing room.

But that take also ignores some pretty crucial facts, and should not stand in the way of immense Australian pride in a fantastic achievement.

Australia didn't retain the Ashes just because two days of rain meant this Test was drawn.

Australia retained the Ashes because it won the first two Tests of the series, both in fairly remarkable fashion, establishing the sort of lead that history suggests does not get overturned.

There's a reason that no team has come back from 2-0 down in an Ashes series to win since the days of Don Bradman. Test cricket is volatile and multifaceted. Luck always has a role to play, and the weather is a big part of that.

By holding its nerve and performing so admirably at Edgbaston and Lord's, Australia tipped the balance of the series massively in its favour. It meant there was no room for error for England, but also no room for misfortune.

It's also worth mentioning that a drawn series was enough for Australia to retain the Ashes because England failed to win the most recent series in 2021/22. Or the one before that. Or the one before that.

Winning the urn back is harder than keeping it and, generally speaking, losing the first two Tests makes it even harder. England has played good cricket throughout this series, getting progressively better with each passing Test, but will be left to rue the fine margins and sloppiness that cost them the first two games.

In reality all this is semantics, a debate for debating's sake.

It's also really a minor issue, because Australia didn't come to the series simply to ensure it kept possession of the urn. It came to be the first Australian team to win an Ashes series in England since 2001.

To achieve that, Australia will need a dramatic improvement from what was produced in Manchester.

A team that appeared tired and jaded through the first three days of this Test got away with one. The Australians have followed a path of pragmatism all series, but in this Test that tended towards tentative and meek cricket. The kind England feasts on.

Todd Murphy should again come under consideration. The team felt unbalanced without a recognised spinner, and there is an argument for his inclusion ahead of Cameron Green, whose batting form probably isn't strong enough to demand selection.

There are only a few days before the final chapter of this series begins in London, leaving little time for Australian celebration. Any revelry will most likely be muted in appreciation that the war is not yet won.

But retaining the Ashes away from home is an achievement for any Australian team. This series has been one of the noisiest in recent memory, but through all the hype and controversy this side has kept its professionalism and focus intact.

By any metric, this has already been a successful tour for Australia. The opportunity remains to turn it into an historically great one.