It all went down to the wire in the fourth Ashes Test between hosts Australia and England as Joe Root's side was successful in pulling off a draw. Australia captain Pat Cummins though shared a funny incident as Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne had a mini tug-of-war towards the end as umpires directed the Australians to use only spinners to close Day 5 due to bad light.
“Bit of a running joke in the team about a bowl-off (between Smith and Marnus) to see who the No.1 leggie is in the team,” Cummins said during the post-match interview.
The Aussies were determined to clinch the fourth Test as they aimed for a whitewash but Jack Leach and Stuart Broad made sure they escaped the encounter without any further damage take a draw. Smith and Labuschagne were the probable options that Cummins had in his arsenal as he searches for the final wicket. England somehow managed to see off the Aussies attack to end Day 5 on 270/9, their only non-negative result on their tour Down Under.
Both Smith and Labuschagne have 18 and 12 wickets respectively in Test cricket. However, Smith's first wicket in six years to dismiss Leach almost sparked a ray of hope for Australia before the Test match came to a close. Both Smith and Labuschagne have had stellar Ashes so far with the bat, with the latter even earning the ‘Man of the Match’ award in the Pink-ball Test in Adelaide.
The two teams will next meet on January 14 at Bellerive Oval in Hobart. The Test match was originally scheduled to take place in Perth, but Covid-19 protocols meant that the venue was changed for the final Ashes Test match. Australia leads the Ashes 3-0 and will try to get the better of England, who have had a disappointing Australian summer. They already have players on the casualty list with Jos Butler returning home with a finger injury, while Sam Billings has been drafted as a replacement.