Melbourne | Australia have consolidated at 2-103 and trail by 61 runs late in the second session on day four of the Ashes Test, with the covers on and David Warner and Steve Smith unbeaten at the crease. England were bowed out for 491 on Friday morning at the MCG, where Jimmy Anderson fell for a duck off the first ball and Alastair Cook carried his bat to finish 244 not out. The tourists relinquished the urn by losing at the Gabba, Adelaide Oval and WACA. But they will be perfectly placed to win the dead rubber in Melbourne should Australia’s two best batsman fold on Friday. Warner is 40 not out, while Smith is on 25. Showers forced umpires to stop play some 12 overs into the post-lunch session. Play resumed at 2.40pm local time but the covers came on again 20 minutes later. Cameron Bancroft and Usman Khawaja both started positively, but fell for 27 and 11 respectively. Bancroft and Khawaja will be desperate for a big score in the final Test in Sydney before selectors pick a squad for the ensuing tour of South Africa. Bancroft stroked four boundaries then played on to Chris Woakes. Khawaja lofted a six off Moeen Ali then edged a pinpoint delivery from Jimmy Anderson to keeper Jonny Bairstow.

Earlier, Cook became the first batsman ever to carry his bat in a completed innings at the MCG.

England, pressing for their first victory in the already-decided Ashes series, were all out on their overnight total of 491 on the first ball of the day.
Anderson was caught by Bancroft at bat-pad off Pat Cummins for a duck to end the innings. Cummins finished with four for 117.
It meant that Cook achieved the highest score of anyone carrying his bat — the rare feat of batting throughout the innings — in Test cricket, bettering New Zealand’s Glenn Turner’s 223 not out against the West Indies in Kingston in 1972.
The last Englishman to carry his bat through a Test innings was Mike Atherton’s 94 in New Zealand in 1997, while Geoff Boycott last carried his bat through an Ashes innings with an unbeaten 99 in Perth in 1979.
Cook set a number of records on Thursday’s third day, when he surpassed the highest score by a visiting batsman in a Melbourne Test, bettering the 208 by West Indian great Viv Richards in 1984.
Cook’s fifth double-century also catapulted him above West Indian Brian Lara to become the sixth highest run-getter in Test cricket with 11,956.
England have the two remaining days of the Melbourne Test to get a result and win their first Test of the series after relinquishing the Ashes in the first three losing Tests.