Ashes 2021-22: 4th Test Review – England secure a thrilling draw in Sydney
While the SCG Test was almost in hands of hosts and they were all set to go 4-0 up in the series, England pulled off a pride salvaging draw. England were nine wickets down but Stuart Broad showed courage on the closing day to save the visitors from embarrassment.
Talking of the second fourth Test in Sydney, the Pat Cummins-led side went on to dominate the proceedings from day one and declared in both the innings while putting a massive total, 416/8 and 265/6 respectively. Usman Khawaja bagged back-to-back ton at SCG which turned out be the cherry on the cake for the leading Australian side.
Though Zak Crawley (77) and Ben Stokes (60) shined with fifties in final innings, it was never enough in front of the huge target. Scott Boland maintained his rhythm in this game as well by picking seven wickets, while Stuart Broad marked his perfect return with a five-for in the first innings and saved his wickets towards the final day to help his side eke out a draw.
Top Performers at SCG
Usman Khawaja
Usman Khawaja is Player of the Match for his century in each innings #Ashes pic.twitter.com/vnA0wjPzxJ
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 9, 2022
Though Khawaja waited for long in the sidelines, he displayed extraordinary courage while he got his chances with the side. As Travis Head got ruled out of the match due to COVID-19, Khawaja marked his way and smashed a ton in both innings to steal the show. In the first innings, he played a terrific knock of 137 runs and he backed it with another solid century (101*) in the 2nd innings.
Jonny Bairstow
Bairstow remained perfect with his contributions in the game but his team again couldn’t clinch a victory as the Test ended in a draw. Bairstow smashed a century (113) in the first innings but didn’t get a lot of support from other teammates. He flaunted flair in the 2nd innings by scoring vital 41 runs before being trapped by Scott Boland again.
Milestones and stats
- Nathan Lyon completed 100 wickets against England in Tests (101*)
- Usman Khawaja scored hundreds in both innings of the Test. The last batter to do so was Rohit Sharma against South Africa in 2019
- Jonny Bairstow scored a century after 37 Test innings
- Steve Smith completed 3000 Ashes runs
What next for both the teams?
The final Test will be played in Hobart from January 14, with Australia leading the series 3-0.
