Former England skipper Nasser Hussain hailed England’s rearguard after the visitors were able to squeeze out the draw in the fourth Ashes Test match against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
The match went down to the wire as England’s old horses – James Anderson and Stuart Broad – safely negated the final two overs.
England was put on the backfoot after Pat Cummins bowled a two-wicket maiden as he removed Jos Buttler and Mark Wood. Thus, Australia needed another three wickets to take a 4-0 lead in the series but Jonny Bairstow, Jack Leach, Stuart Broad and James Anderson did their job.
Bairstow, who scored a fine hundred in the first innings, scored 41 runs after facing 105 balls. Jack Leach also did a good job as he faced 34 balls while Jos Buttler batted for 38 balls to keep Australia at bay. Broad also showed all the resistance as he batted for 35 balls and England was able to get a much-needed draw.
England has already lost the Ashes as Australia had taken an impregnable lead of 3-0 in the series but the visitors showed fight and character in the fourth Test match.
Nasser Hussain wrote for Daily Mail, “They have been through a lot and have been getting hammered because of their performances in this Ashes. So to have the strength to put on that performance at 3-0 down, without half their coaching staff and with injuries to key players, is commendable. It did look like the whitewash was inevitable when England was 36 for four in their first innings, the true low point of this tour, and England had to dig very deep to pull that escape off. Yes, it’s only a draw and, yes, England was nine down at the close but it was very pleasing for all England fans to finally have something to be happy about.”
Meanwhile, Hussain heaped praise on Zak Crawley, who scored a blistering knock of 77 runs off just 100 balls and batted at the top of his game. Hussain added that Crawley’s batting was the highlight of the final day.
“For me, the highlight on Sunday was the performance of Zak Crawley. Crawley was putting away anything loose with grace, style, and timing in his 77 and that fluency was great to see after all England’s, and his own, problems at the top of the order. And it showed you cannot have a top three that are purely looking to survive. You have to counter-punch, look to be aggressive, and attack these Aussies.”
The fifth Ashes Test will be played at Hobart from January 14.
