England survived the Sydney Test with the last pair of their experienced fast bowlers Stuart Broad and James Anderson playing out the final two overs to avoid what might been another whitewash going into the last Test at Hobart.
Australia had to get ten England wickets on the final day (Sunday) with a minimum of 98 overs to be bowled, however they bowled 100 overs but could not get the final wicket in the fading light, which took the Australian fast bowlers out of the equation and captain Pat Cummins had to go to Nathan Lyon and Steven Smith to bowl the final four overs.
England were eight down with ten overs to go but Jack Leach (34 balls) and Stuart Broad (35 balls) batted stubbornly to save the Test and avoid another loss at the hand of the Aussies. In the last 14 Tests, England have drawn just two and lost 12 of them against their rivals in Australia. Joe Root must be breathing much easier as the start for this year has been not as bad as the last and will hope that his team can sign off with a win in Hobart in the last Test to salvage some pride.
For Australia, this is the second time in two years they could not pull off a win in Sydney. Last year Ashwin and Vihari showed lot of character and pulled off a draw and this time the English tail managed to save the game. But even though Australia lead the World Test Championship table, one will wonder if they had declared too late.
