| 4th Ash Test, Sydney (May 5) |
| Australia December 416-8 & 265-6 December (Khawaja 101*, Green 74; Leach 4-84) |
| England 294 & 270-9 (Crawley 77, Stokes 60, Boland 3-30) |
| The match is drawn; Australia leads the series 3-0 |
| Transcript |
England won a tense draw on the final day of Wednesday’s test in Sydney to end hopes of wiping out Australia’s Ashes.
The holidaymakers lost 13 balls from safety when Jack Leach passed Steve Smith in the back, leaving it to Stuart Broad and eventual hitter James Anderson to lead England home.
As the light dimmed and every Australian player surrounded the bat, Broad and Anderson blocked Smith and Nathan Lyon to secure a tough draw, which ended 270-9.
Zak Crawley had previously mastered 77 and Ben Stokes hit 60 despite still struggling with his hip injury as England moved towards safety.
Boland continued his unusual start to the Cricket Challenge with a score of 3-30, while captain Pat Cummins took two rackets in three balls to beat England.
It was a thrilling end to an entertaining game, with England players barely able to watch in the dressing room as Anderson played the finale.
Australia could be left behind after their late claim on Wednesday, with rain meaning they lost seven times trying to win on Sunday.
The series’ final test – the match between day and night in Hobart – begins on January 14.
Exciting final hour battle of Britain
England may have lost to the Ashes but here they showed real bravery and bravery throughout the match.
Jonny Bairstow has shown guts with her first century and that energy and determination filtered back into the dressing room as the visitors battled to push back Australia on a fascinating final day.
The small crowd at the Sydney Cricket Ground was at its loudest in the final hour, as Australia tore the net with a new ball.
Cummins, who had been subdued with the ball throughout the day, made Jos Buttler lbw reconsider before doing the same to Mark Wood two balls later with a serve that sent the pitcher away his feet.
That leaves Bairstow, the nurse with a thumb injury that could have kept him out of the Next Test, and Leach, one of the heroes of Headingley 2019, to see off 15 presentations.
Australia felt the pressure, as Smith let Bairstow beat Mitchell Starc, but they would feel victory was within reach when the same hitter caught a goal from short distance.
Leach and Broad endured a number of short, fast, hostile bowling shots, all accompanied by chants from players around the stick, before Leach frustratedly pulled Smith out.
That was left to Broad and Anderson, the veterans, to see the England team home and give them something to smile about after a tough tour.
Crawley stands tall
Positives were few for England, but Crawley’s performance in the morning trade hinted at what could happen in the years to come.
Having started off strong the night before, Crawley refused to let the bowlers deal. He towed and drove the lost Starc before ousting Lyon to deliver half a century of 69 balls.
Just as Bairstow and Stokes did on Tuesday, Crawley kicked Australia out of their plans, dominating bowling with his elegant batting.
By the time he fell, trapped by an excellent yorker from Cameron Green, he had scored 77. The other three British smashers had scored 19 runs between them.
Crawley also shares the 43rd run with opener Hameed. The fact that this is England’s third-highest opening partnership in the last four Ashes series underscores how long their Test polish has gone.
Hameed fights admirably but struggles with the fluidity that Crawley is displaying at the other end.
He was dropped from Cummins by Alex Carey but was unable to get ahead, instead, Scott Boland overtook Scott Boland in ninth to score his sixth straight single-digit score. It seems very unlikely that he will feature in the Final Test at Hobart.
Dawid Malan played a poor shot against Lyon and was shot, Root panicked when he led Boland in the back and Stokes, fought so bravely, almost punched his stick when he hit a simple catch from Lyon to Smith.
England still have to get past 300 on this tour, and while a draw in Sydney will lift their spirits, they will know that the same batting problems still linger in the background.
‘Weather forecasts are hopeless’ – what they say
England captain, Joe Root, speaking during Test Match Special: “The feeling of relief is an overwhelming emotion and I’m pretty proud too. We threw a lot at us in this match and the boys really stood up and showed a lot of bravery and pride. moat.
“Today shows how much it means to them. When you find yourself out of the series, it’s really important that you prepare in advance and time and again show it means something. like for you. I think everyone made it this week.”
Australia captain Pat Cummins: “It was a great match of Test cricket. We’re almost there. The weather forecast is hopeless. I got to know it this week.
“I think we’ve given ourselves enough time. Today was fun.”
Player of the match Usman Khawaja: “It could have gone both ways. We couldn’t ask for more.
“I’m enjoying this game. I love it. There are ups and downs. I know next time I play I can earn two ducks.”
BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew: “It was just a draw, there was a goal in it, but for the morale of the players and the fans, it meant a lot.”
