Tom Fordyce
BBC chief sports writer at Old Trafford

To have been a newcomer to Test cricket converted by the final day at Headingley and arriving at Old Trafford expecting more of the same it must have been like listening to the Fab Four, thinking how much you liked the songwriting of John Lennon and making your next purchase his extreme avant-garde Two Virgins album.

Much of the talk between the end of the third Test and the start of this had been about the momentum now being with England. If that felt a little one-eyed - it having taken one of the great Test innings to rescue them, their top four still mainly out of form, their all-time leading wicket-taker out of the series - it felt more curious still when Smith returned to the crease.

Read more from Tom Fordyce here.

Michael Vaughan
Ex-England captain on BBC Test Match Special

England are going to have to win this morning's session and get back into this game with a few wickets.

England bowler Stuart Broad on TMS: "It was a bit of a flat day for us as a team The wind was as strong as I've seen - it was outrageous.

"The pitch did not play as we expected - it was very slow. It wouldn't be in our normal game plan to bowl the spinner after an hour and 15 minutes of day one of a Test against Australia.

"Today is a new day. We've got to put yesterday behind us. It might speed up today."

Michael Vaughan
Ex-England captain on BBC Test Match Special

All this talk of momentum is absolute nonsense between games. It does not exist - during games it can exist, but as soon as a game finishes there is no momentum to be gathered by either side.

Former England opener Alastair Cook on BBC Breakfast: "He’s a phenomenon. Those team meetings I used to have was about where you bowl to him. One of things that saves him so much is his hand-to-eye co-ordination. He’s a phenomenal player – eight 50s in a row in Ashes cricket is extraordinary."

Steve Smith is so good that he doesn't even need to stand up to hit England for four.

Michael Vaughan
Ex-England captain on BBC Test Match Special

If England don't get Steve Smith out in the first hour, he will be eyeing a double hundred. If England have another bad day, if Australia get a real big total, then England will have to bat under real big pressure.

Daniel Norcross
BBC Test Match Special

Jim Maxwell is wearing his sunglasses - he says for the first time since he's been over here.

...And Ponting has just sledged Warne for dropping Pietersen at The Oval.

Shall we just rewatch that series instead?

Incidentally, Sky have just made Ricky Ponting and Shane Warne relieve and analyse the 2005 Ashes.

Ponting still being really miffed about Gary Pratt running him out at Trent Bridge is my favourite thing. What a series.

David Warner got out to Stuart Broad again, Steve Smith batted for what felt like an eternity and a beach ball stopped play.

Luckily, Stephan Shemilt has a much more erudite analysis of yesterday's play over here.

Daniel Norcross
BBC Test Match Special

The good news is we're going to get play - and we're going to start on time.

BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra

Test Match Special are ready and waiting at Old Trafford, with Jonathan Agnew, Jim Maxwell, Alison Mitchell and Daniel Norcross joined by Michael Vaughan, Geoffrey Boycott, Ebony Rainford-Brent, Vic Marks and Glenn McGrath.

Click the icon at the top of this page to listen.

Weather watchpublished at 10:33 British Summer Time 5 September 2019

10:33 BST 5 September 2019

Look! No rain!

Morning!

Here's the state of the game - Australia are 170-3 on a very good batting pitch and England need to bowl a whole lot better than they did yesterday.

But first, the good news...

Is it me or was yesterday all a bit... weird?