SYDNEY: Battle-weary England dug in for a gripping draw with just one wicket left to deny dominant Australia a 4-0 series lead in the fourth Ashes Test in Sydney on Sunday.
Number 11 batsman James Anderson safely played out a tense final over from leg-spinner Steve Smith as England ended on 270 for nine in a heart-pumping finish.
With the fading light meaning spin had to be bowled from both ends, Steve Smith dismissed Jack Leach – who had battled hard for 34 balls – with 12 balls remaining. It was Smith’s first Test wicket in more than five years.
That brought Anderson to the crease to join Stuart Broad. Broad took Nathan Lyon’s, leaving Anderson to negotiate Smith’s final over of the match. It all came down to the last over of the Test with eight fielders crowding around the bat as Anderson fended off Smith’s spin.
It was a brave fight for a team with little more than pride to play for, as England became just the third visiting outfit in 140 years of Tests at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) to survive more than 600 balls in the fourth innings to save a match.
Australia had dominated the majority of the match, declaring twice and turning every apparent setback they faced into an advantage.
Man of the Match Usman Khawaja came into the side for his first Test in more than two years and scored centuries in both innings as a middle order replacement for Travis Head, who had tested positive for Covid-19.
Ben Stokes with a gutsy 60, his second half-century of the match, and first-innings centurion Jonny Bairstow’s 41 held up the Australian victory charge. But once both departed after tea, the Australians were relentless in taking the struggle down to the final over.
The draw means that Australia no longer have the chance of a 5-0 series clean sweep with the fifth and final Test to be played in Hobart as a day-night match getting under way on Friday.
