adminENGLAND and Australia drew the fifth Test as the Ashes series ended in a dramatic draw on the final day at The Oval yesterday. England, set a target of 227 to win after Australia captain Michael Clarke’s bold declaration, needed 21 more to win off 24 balls with five wickets left when the umpires decided the light, even with the floodlights on, was too dark to continue and ended the match at 7.35pm.
The draw meant England, who had already retained the Ashes, finished the five-match contest as 3-0 winners having triumphed in three successive Test series against Australia for the first time since the 1950s.
Jonathan Trott (59) and Kevin Pietersen (62), who both scored their maiden Test hundreds in Ashes matches at The Oval in 2009 and 2005 respectively, kept England in sight of an improbable win, in a match where they had largely been outplayed, after Clarke closed Australia’s second innings at 111 for six.
This result saw Australia fail to win a single Test in an Ashes series for the first time since their 3-0 loss in England in 1977 and meant they had failed to win a Test for the ninth match in a row following a 4-0 loss in India earlier this year.
England captain Alastair Cook responded to Clarke’s challenge by taking two fours in the first over of the chase off Ryan Harris.
But Harris removed Joe Root for 11 when he flat-footedly edged an intended cut to wicketkeeper Brad Haddin.
It was a record-breaking catch for Haddin, with his 29th victim of this Ashes seeing him surpass the previous world record for most dismissals by a wicket-keeper in a Test series of 28 set by Australia great Rodney Marsh against England in 1982/83.
England, whose run-rate on Friday had barely risen above two an over, scored 22 runs in two overs, 10 off spinner Nathan Lyon and 12 off debutant seamer James Faulkner, with Trott piercing the legside field for a couple of excellent boundaries. — AFP.
Online Reporter