A thrilling draw stops Australia from the consecutive win

Battle-weary In the fourth Ashes Test in Sydney on Sunday, England dug deep for a thrilling draw with just one wicket remaining to deny dominant Australia a 4-0 series lead. England finished on 270 for nine, chasing a 388-run mark, as number 11 batsman James Anderson fought through a tight 102nd and final over from leg-spinner Steve Smith in fading dusk light. At the Sydney Cricket Ground, it came down to the last six balls, with eight fielders crammed around the bat as Anderson fended off Smith's part-time leg-spin.

The ninth wicket of Jack Leach was caught in the slips by David Warner off Smith for 26. Australia appeared to be on track to win the day-long fight and pull off a stunning victory.

After losing the Ashes series 3-0 in 12 days, Anderson and long-time pace partner Stuart Broad bowled the final two nail-bitingly anxious overs to give the forlorn tourists a morale-boosting battling draw.

The Australian victory surge was held up by Ben Stokes' brave 60, his second half-century of the match, and first-innings centurion Jonny Bairstow's 41.

However, once both teams had left after tea, the Australians were unstoppable in their pursuit of a victory in the final over.

England skipper Joe Root said to the press that it was quite crucial to restore pride in the badge and offer something back to the people back home. He added that it has been a difficult tour, and they have struggled, but he is glad of the team's perseverance and spirit in coming up with a solution.

With the fifth and final Test, which will be played as a day-night match in Hobart on Friday, Australia will no longer have the chance to complete a 5-0 series clear victory with this draw.

Australia captain Pat Cummins said that they were desperate for a 4-0 victory, but it was a fantastic Test match.

Jonny Bairstow, who was batting with an injured thumb, followed up his first-innings century with tenacious 105-ball innings.

With the wicket of Stokes, who defied the Australians for 123 balls, Nathan Lyon made a crucial breakthrough. Lyon now has 16 wickets in the series, the most of any Australian bowler.

Lyon received additional bounce, while Stokes, who was suffering from a side strain, was undecided and was caught at slip by Smith.

As the overs counted down, Cummins delivered a powerful inswinger to trap injured Jos Buttler lbw for 11, which was confirmed on review.

Mark Wood just lasted two balls before being caught lbw for a duck by Cummins, who slammed the inswinger into his front foot.

Boland had earlier dismissed Root for 24 after catching him behind off a tempting outswinger, ending his dogged 60-run partnership with Stokes.

With the wicket of Zak Crawley, who had reached 77, Cameron Green produced the biggest breakthrough of the morning, just as the English opener was looking like he would score a century in a fluid effort.

After another failure from Haseeb Hameed, Crawley impressed with his 100-ball innings with 13 fours. Crawley batted with positive intent and did more than enough to keep his opening slot, with Rory Burns expected to return to partner him for the final Test.

Dawid Malan was tricked by Lyon and bowled off-stump for four, while Hameed was caught by Alex Carey off Boland for nine.