England survive tense finish to draw fourth Ashes Test with Australia in Sydney

England’s tailenders stood tall as they scrambled to a nerve-shredding draw in the fourth Ashes Test, finishing nine down in Sydney to block Australia’s hopes of a whitewash.

After thumping defeats in Brisbane, Adelaide and Melbourne, the tourists stopped the rot in the tensest possible fashion at the SCG as number 11 James Anderson fended off the last six balls of the match.

Anderson, 39, had come to the crease in scenes of agonising drama when an accomplished rearguard action by Jack Leach came to an end with just three overs left. He had bravely defied Australia’s high-class attack for 34 balls only to become Steve Smith’s first Test scalp since 2016, the part-time leg-spinner striking at the end of his first over after the umpires decided bad light meant it was not safe to face seam.

Stuart Broad saw off 35 balls for a vital eight not out and was there to embrace his long-time bowling partner when Anderson held his nerve to smother Smith’s final over – the 91st of an engrossing day and the 102nd of the innings.

England were 270 for nine at the close, nowhere near a theoretical winning target of 388 but with a measure of pride successfully restored in the penultimate act of a demoralising tour.

Despite losing the urn in just 12 days England now know they will not suffer the ignominy of a 5-0 series sweep, the same fate that befell the classes of 2006/07 and 2013/14.

The pendulum swung on multiple occasions throughout the day, but never more decisively than when Australia charged in hard during the final hour, extracting a walking wounded middle-order consisting of three players who were being propped up by painkillers.

Ben Stokes (side), Jonny Bairstow (thumb) and Jos Buttler (finger) were all playing through serious discomfort and while the latter is already out of the series finale in Hobart next week, there are no guarantees that either of his team-mates will be fit.

England knew they would need to battle long and hard to prevent defeat and they had several players to thank for laying the foundation that the bottom order held.

Zak Crawley (77), Stokes (60) and Bairstow (41) all soaked up at least 100 balls, showing the kind of dedication and determination that this series has so often lacked.

But even so, their work would have been in vain had the uncelebrated colleagues at the other end of the order not displayed enormous character at the business end.

For Anderson, in particular, there must have been memories of the Ashes draw he helped deliver alongside Monty Panesar in Cardiff all the way back in 2009.