As England inches closer to keeping the Ashes for the third straight series, the mood at the Australian side of things turned gloomy and stormy, reflecting the weather that led umpires to suspend the matches going on at Old Trafford.

The English, who won the first two matches - the first rather handily, the second by the slimmest of margins - used a strategy that bogged down the match such that Australia captain Michael Clarke suggested that their opponents should face sanctions from the International Cricket Council.

Clarke singled out the umpires for ending the match prematurely at 4:26 PM due to poor lighting conditions, by which time the floodlights were shining at full brightness. An hour later, the sun came out again, as if to confirm the captain's suspicions.

The umpires apparently had trouble seeing the ball. "We started losing it from square leg," New Zealand umpire Tony Hill admitted to The Australian.

Warner's stormy relationship with the opposition

Also caught in the midst of the controversy is Australia's left-handed batsman David Warner, who accused England of wasting time even as Australia was leading by 331.

"We knew the bowlers were going to take their time... They walked in a circle and actually said, 'Let's just hold it back a bit," Warner told The Guardian, decrying the measly 12.2 per hour over rate of the English, far below the lower limit of 15.

"He'll miss a game if he's time-wasting or if the overs aren't bowled in the time allocated. That will come back to bite them in the bum," he added, referring to English captain Alastair Cook.

Warner has had previous brushes with the English off the field, with him punching English cricketer Joe Root in a bar after the latter's loss at the Champions Trophy in June, an action that led to his suspension from the warm-up matches. He has also argued with two Australian cricket writers on Twitter. None of these actions has made him a fan favorite in this year's Ashes series.

Weather expected to favor England

Monday's weather is expected to be more of the same, with the forecast being an 80 percent chance of rain. Nonetheless, England is still expected to show up at Old Trafford, even if it means they will watch the rain fall while playing cards in the clubhouse.

"We'd be more than happy if it did [rain all day] but it was meant to start at one today and it didn't so forecasts in England are pretty good at being wrong and it would be very dangerous for us to rely on forecasts going into tomorrow," English wicketkeeper Matt Prior told The Telegraph.

"We have to steel ourselves and prepare as though we are going into a full day's cricket and we know what is at the end of the line for us but it goes back to one ball at a time and keeping it simple. We have become tough to be beat," Prior added, acknowledging that the weather put England in a good position to retain the Ashes. They are expected to bat for 90 overs to save the match, but even if it ended now, England will still enjoy a 2-0 lead with only two Tests left in the series.

The English were not without their woes, though. The new Decision Review System came under fire when the English side felt short-changed after the third umpire did not overturn a catch behind off Warner. Both The Guardian and The Telegraph have quoted Prior as "frustrated" with the new system in place.