AUS VS ENG TESTS

Right then! That is all we have from this exciting Test match! The Ashes is reaching the final Test now. The fifth Test will take place at Hobart on 14th January. The first ball is set to be bowled at 8 am IST (2:30 am GMT) but make sure that you join us for the buildup before that. Take care and cheers!

No second guesses here! Usman Khawaja is the PLAYER OF THE MATCH! He says that it was a great fight from England and this is what makes Test cricket great. Adds that Smith was batting really well in the first innings and they wanted to get a partnership there and not thinking too far ahead. Khawaja says that he is enjoying the game despite the ups and downs that he has faced in his career and he loves playing red-ball cricket. Mentions that there is a lot of cricket coming up and hopefully they can carry their current momentum moving forward.

Pat Cummins, Australia's captain, says that it was a great game of Test cricket and they got really close. Adds that a bit less weather would have produced a result for sure. He adds that the forecast was hopeless and it said that Day 4 was going to rain so that played on his mind while making decisions. Says that it was good fun to captain today and lead his bowlers. About giving the ball to Steven Smith over Marnus Labuschagne, he says that Smith talked his way to get the ball in his hand.

Joe Root, the England skipper, says that it was important to draw this game. He adds that it has been a tough tour but he is happy that they have shown grit and determination this time. He mentions that they needed to show character and still have a long way to go as a team but says that he is pleased to see the fight shown by the guys here. He applauds Zak Crawley and says that he has the quality to succeed at the international level and has good technique. He adds that Jos Buttler will be going home as his injury is bad but it is part of playing Test cricket and applauds his fighting spirit.

Stay tuned for the presentation.

The stage was set for Australia to take 10 wickets on the final day but England showed brilliant grit and patience to save the Test here. Looking back, Cummins' late declaration would be probably questioned. If they had given themselves a bit more time, then Australia would have probably won this game. But some things are just not meant to be.

Australia had a lead of 122 runs and they wanted to set a target for England which the visitors would not even attempt to chase. It was once again Usman Khawaja to lead them with the bat. He scored another ton to become the third batter after Doug Walters and Ricky Ponting to score twin tons at the SCG. Cameron Green also got a fifty and Australia had set a massive target of 388 for England.

The first innings for England was an interesting one. They were reeling at 36 for 4 and it looked like they would not be able to avoid the followon either. But a brilliant stand between Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes led the recovery. They both took their time but scored quickly once they had their eyes in. Ben Stokes got a fifty and Jonny Bairstow scored a brilliant ton to make sure that they avoid the followon. For Australia, it was a good performance by all their bowlers but it was Scott Boland with his 4 wickets who impressed the most.

In this century, this is the first time England have drawn a Test match on Australian soil batting in the fourth innings. The last time they managed a draw was at Brisbane in 1998.

The Test started under quite a bit of cloud cover and we had a frustrating Day 1. Players went on and off with almost half the day getting washed out. But still, it was a pretty good show by Australia. Led by a brilliant ton by Usman Khawaja in his comeback Test, the hosts declared at 416 for 8 towards the end of Day 2. Stuart Broad took a 5-wicket haul for England as the rest of the bowlers had a tough time.

Cummins had a decision to make. Who to bowl along with Lyon? Marnus Labuschagne or Steven Smith? Both are not frontline spinners but the former has been bowling quite a bit in the recent past. But the skipper decided to go with Steven Smith. He delivers so often with the bat but now he had the ball in his hand. The golden boy of Australian cricket got the wicket of Leach and Australia were just a wicket away from victory. James Anderson joined Stuart Broad in the middle. This pair has delivered with the ball for England on countless occasions but now they had the bat in their hand. It was all down to Anderson to face Steven Smith in the last over and the pacer delivered once more for his side. Not with the ball, but with the bat!

England have played 612 balls in this innings, the third most balls they have faced in the fourth innings to draw the game in Australia. 800 in Melbourne (1947) 662 in Brisbane (1962) 612 in Sydney (2022)

The second new ball was due and Cummins even had Smith bowl a few overs. But it was the bowling of Lyon that provided them with the wicket of Stokes. That opened up the lower order with the second new ball due. That proved to be a gamechanger as Cummins got two wickets in the same over and then Bairstow's resistance ended too. With two wickets remaining, the Aussies smelled victory especially with the new ball in hand and their pacers breathing fire. But Leach and Broad frustrated the bowlers and kept their time alive. The Aussies tried everything from bouncers, to yorkers, to length deliveries but couldn't break this stand. It got to a point where the umpires decided that pacers can't bowl due to bad light.

Plenty of fight was shown by England in this innings. First, it started with Crawley playing his natural game and scoring a sublime fifty. The rest of the batters did go in a bit of shell but the fight was there. The stand between Stokes and Root was particularly good as they played more than 150 deliveries in the middle. It was expected that the wicket of Root would trigger a collapse given that the three main batters after that were nursing injuries but England did not give up. Despite struggling with a side strain, Stokes carried out really well and got to his fifty. His stand with Bairstow took England to the last session of the game and there must have been a few nerves in the Aussie camp then.

Phew! What a game that was! Probably the last time that James Anderson will play at the SCG and he delivered for his team. A nail-biter and England will take heart from the fact that they showed plenty of fight in this match. This is why we love Test cricket. The series might be done but both teams gave it their all till the very last ball to get the desired result!

THE MATCH IS DRAWN! James Anderson delivers with the bat for England! Smith looks to land it in the rough, outside off. But he drops it too short. Anderson keeps it away and the match ends in a hard-fought draw!

DOWN TO THE FINAL BALL! Ben Stokes cannot watch it! Flatter, on off. Blocked out by Anderson after coming to the front foot!

A solid front-foot defence by James Anderson! 2 to go!