Tenth-wicket partnership saves a Test match for the SEVENTH time
TOP SPIN AT THE TEST: England’s tenth-wicket partnership saves a Test match for the SEVENTH time in history… while new Aussie hero Scott Boland takes his bowling average to an incredible 8.64
- England avoided the possibility of a whitewash after a gutsy last-day rearguard
- It’s the seventh time they’ve saved a Test match with nine down in final innings
- Australia’s Scott Boland has taken his bowling average to an incredible 8.64
The 102 overs England survived was the most they had faced in the fourth innings of an Ashes Test to secure a draw for 50 years. At Trent Bridge in 1972, they closed on 290 for four from 148 overs, with opener Brian Luckhurst seeing off 268 balls for his 96.
Only twice before have England made more runs in the fourth innings to secure a draw with nine wickets down. At Auckland in 2012-13, they closed on 315 for nine, thanks to an unbeaten century from Matt Prior. Three winters earlier, they had made 296 for nine to hold off South Africa at Cape Town.
In all, it was the seventh time they have saved a Test match with nine down in the final innings.
Jimmy Anderson (left) and Stuart Broad (right) of England walk off after the match at the Sydney Cricket Ground ended in a draw on day five of the fourth Test match at the Ashes
Joe Root’s second-innings dismissal for 24 meant he had failed to score a half-century in a Test in Australia for the first time since Perth 2017-18, six matches ago.
Nathan Lyon has now dismissed Ben Stokes nine times in Test cricket. Only his fellow off-spinner, Indian’s Ravichandran Ashwin, has dismissed Stokes more often, on 11 occasions.
England’s Ben Stokes has now been been dismissed by Nathan Lyon nine times in Test cricket
Zak Crawley’s 77 was his highest Test score in 18 Test innings since he appeared to announce himself with 267 against Pakistan at the Ageas Bowl in August 2020. Since then, he had averaged 11.
When Steve Smith dismissed Jack Leach, it was his first Test wicket against England since removing Alastair Cook for 85 at The Oval in 2015.
Scott Boland has a Test bowling average of 8.64 after adding match figures of seven for 63 to his heroics at Melbourne.
Australia’s Scott Boland has now taken his bowling average to an incredible 8.64
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