England successfully battled to salvage a draw against Australia on the fifth day of the fourth Ashes Test and ended the hosts’ hopes of registering a clean sweep in the five-match series.
Aussie star Steve Smith was tasked with bowling two of the final three overs and he picked up his first Test wicket since 2016, getting Jack Leach caught at slip to leave England nine down with twelve balls to go.
Stuart Broad then defended Nathan Lyon’s penultimate over, leaving James Anderson to try and see out the final over from Smith. And the veteran number 11 managed just that, successfully defending all six balls to earn England a draw.
After the match, Broad took to Instagram to react to the thrilling finish at the SCG. In one of the pictures shared by him, the 35-year-old was captured heaving a sigh of relief after the nail bitting encounter.
“Test Cricket. Battle for 5 days & it comes down to the last ball. Loved playing at the S.C.G. Special place,” Broad captioned his post.
Meanwhile, Anderson’s comment caught the attention of many fans. The veteran pacer cheekily suggested that Broad was confident that his partner would survive the final six balls and save the Test for their team.
“Looks like you had a lot of faith in me,” replied Anderson.
The series now stands 3-0 in favour of Australia and the fifth game will begin on Friday in Hobart and it would be a day-night contest.
