Optimistic Aussie Hugh Garsden is last man standing in the wet

As the rain poured down throughout the fifth day at Old Trafford and the stands emptied, astrophysicist Hugh Garsden waited optimistically for play to start.

Astrophysicist Hugh Garsden waits for rain to stop. Picture: Jacquelin Magnay.

Hugh Garsden is somewhat of an optimist. As the rain poured down throughout the fifth day of the fourth Ashes test, the Toowoomba astrophysicist laughed that the stars weren’t in alignment for the decisive day’s play.

“I kept an eye on the forecast and there was an indication there would be some play, and at around 1pm we all expected some action,’’ he said.

He then looked around the stands to observe that they had progressively emptied throughout the past few hours. He was one of the last spectators to brave the constant downpour, sheltering under an umbrella amid rows of empty seats and reflected: “It’s a shame there wasn’t a contest, it could have been really exciting, if there was some play it could have been a thriller.’’

The umpires delayed making a call until nearly 5.30pm when the captains shook hands and a core group of beer-fuelled Australian fans who had been at the back of the stands yelled in celebration as the big screen proclaimed “match abandoned”.

Mr Garsden had bought his fifth day ticket hoping to see Australia defend England’s bowling win the Ashes in fine style.

“It is a shame it was not a contest. It would have been better for Australia to win outright,’’ he said.

Mr Garsden took time off from his research for the University of Manchester’s worldwide Hydrogen Epoch of Reionisation Array (Hera) project to attend Old Trafford and was instead able to turn his attention to the inaccuracies of the weather forecast.