England survived a late scare to secure a Draw in the fourth Ashes Test. Going into Day 5, with uncertain weather around, draw was the most likely result, especially considering that England had all 10 wickets in hand. However, as has been the case throughout the series, Australian bowlers came out all guns blazing. Two early wickets of Haseeb Hameed and Dawid Malan set things up nicely. Zak Crawley was looking in ominous form and stroked some crisp shots. However, he was dismissed for 77, leaving Australia reeling at 96-3. Joe Root and Ben Stokes then stabilised the innings.
Root though cannot stretch his innings beyond 26 and fell to Scott Boland. Stokes too departed soon. Buttler and Jonny Bairstow then decided to blunt everything and it seemed that they'll secure a draw for the team. However, Cummins removed Buttler to spook life in the match. He then dismissed Mark Wood for 0 to raise hopes of a win. The wicket of Bairstow almost sealed the game for Australia.
With almost 10 overs to go, Australia were hopeful of a win. However, Stuart Broad and Jack Leach blunted the deliveries. The light was fading and the umpires asked Cummins to bowl only spinners. Steve Smith was brought into the attack and he picked up the wicket of Leach in his first over, with 12 balls still remaining in the game. However, Broad and Anderson played those deliveries to save the match.
England though won't be pleased with their performance. Their batters have shown no spine in the series so far. They tried changing the combinations but that has not worked either.
Meanwhile, Australia dominated England for the majority of the game and had the weather not played its part, they would have won the game. Nevertheless, they'll be very happy with how things are going for them. The final Test will be played in Hobart from January 14th.
Here how Twitter reacted to the Draw.
Brilliant fight from @englandcricket. This squad has had everything thrown at them and to fight out a day like that with that bat shows huge character and resilience. Well done the golden oldies @StuartBroad8 and @jimmy9 at the end!! #Ashes https://t.co/QrJMp7VTEn
— Matt Prior (@MattPrior13) January 9, 2022
What a performance of true grit and determination. To get a draw with all the injuries and the disappointment in performance so far it was fantastic to watch the inner strength of the players, many congratulations, you really deserved it #Ashes #TrueGrit #ThreeLions #ENGLAND https://t.co/YMEHEqDci3
— Sarah (@SMullers007) January 9, 2022
Phew ! #Ashes pic.twitter.com/rhmRGVVBsg
— Sarah Taylor (@Sarah_Taylor30) January 9, 2022
How blessed are those who 'get' Test Cricket. #Ashes pic.twitter.com/mM7LFVJ8Oy
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) January 9, 2022
Australians always say the same thing whenever Australia loses or drawn the match
— Ujjwal Pandey 🇮🇳 (@UjjwalPandey03) January 9, 2022
What a Day For Test Cricket #Ashes
@patcummins30 is in my top 3.
— Mitchell McClenaghan (@Mitch_Savage) January 9, 2022
Surely there are so many people in Sydney regretting not watching that days cricket?!
— Ben Duckett (@BenDuckett1) January 9, 2022
Who said a dead rubber draw had to be dull!? #Ashes
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) January 9, 2022
What an amazing finish at Sydney! Test cricket at its best! On to Hobart with 🇦🇺 up 3-0. #Ashes https://t.co/jACg29BCMw
— Sandeep S. Joshi (@sandjosh) January 9, 2022
Honestly. The absolute fucking stress I was feeling at the end like holy shit.
— Ash (@LetUsRolll) January 9, 2022
Well done to the England tail for sticking in there 👏🏽#ASHES #Ashes2021 #AUSvENG #CricketTwitter #SCG #FourthTest #Day5