The Ashes: As it happened, England vs Australia - 5th Test ends in a thrilling draw

Australia will be looking for a victory and need to take 16 wickets on the last day. To do that, they need to battle the weather as much as they need to beat England. Catch all the updates here (Scorecentre | Commentary):

 

Compton-Miller Man of the Series is also Ian Bell! "Right up there in terms of Ashes wins. Nice to contribute. Going into the series was getting starts and not converting. I felt better and better as the series went on. We have had to fight for every win. Looking forward to a nice break from Test cricket. It has been tough." (Match report)

 

Australia's player of the series is Ryan Harris! 'A twinge in the right hamstring', he says. 'Hard to break in to the side. Had a good time with Australia A. Enjoying now. Came here thinking to play 5. We'll see what happens in Australia. Am getting the games together and confident. Been challenging but hard battles. Hope for pace and bounce Down Under. Will be fun' (England now 2nd in ICC rankings after displacing India, Australia drop to 5th)

 

Ian Bell is the Man of the Series! (Day in pics)

 

Shane Watson is the Man of the Match! 'For once we have been saved by the light', he says.

 

That is it! The match ends in a draw with bad light interfering and umpires Aleem Dar and Kumar Dharmasena calling it a day there. England were 206/5 and required 21 to win in 4 overs. England win series 3-0.

 

WICKET! Jonathan Trott trapped lbw by James Faulkner for 59, reviewed it but hitting. Good decision by Kumar Dharmasena. England 170/4, require another 57 to win.

 

WICKET! Kevin Pietersen departs for 62, holes out at long-on to David Warner off Ryan Harris. England 163/3.

 

Fifty for Jonathan Trott! Another important innings on the day, although has been a bit of disappointing Ashes personally for him. He reached there in 79 balls. England 159/2 now, require 68 to win in 11 overs.

 

Fifty for Kevin Pietersen! What a knock, brings it up off 36 balls to scores the fastest fifty by an Englishman in the Ashes. Earlier was by Matt Prior. This is his 33rd Test half-century. England on 145/2, require another 82 in 14 overs with 8 wickets in hand.

 

23:00(IST): Total carnage at The Oval. Kevin Pietersen comes to the fore and hurts Australia badly. Last over by Mitchell Starc costs them 15 runs, Pietersen on 46 off 30 balls. England 139/2, need 88 in 16 overs.

 

22:45(IST): Kevin Pietersen going berserk at The Oval. He is on 23 off 17, Trott on 43 off 64. England going strong at 112/2, require another 115 in 19 overs.

 

WICKET! Alastair Cook gone. James Faulkner gets him trapped lbw, now review as Trott appears to shake his head. Cook walks off for 34. England 86/2, require another 141 to win, Australia need 8 wickets.

22:10(IST): England 73/1 in 17 overs. Hardly a sweat dropped by Cook and Trott but 154 required in 27 overs looks like England cannot lose.

 

21:51(IST): England 47/1 after 11 overs - a four each by Trott(15) and Cook(20) - off Siddle and Lyon respectively. Home side require another 180 to win in 33 overs.

 

21:41(IST): England 37/1 in 8 overs, run-rate of 4/62. Required run-rate is above five now with 190 runs to win in 36 overs. Australia introduce spin, Nathan Lyon comes in to bowl.

 

WICKET! Ryan Harris gets his man as Joe Root flashes hard and gets an edge to Brad Haddin, who goes past Rod Marsh's 28 dismissals in a series to now 29 of his. Haddin thus holds the record now, for a wicket-keeper in a Test series.

 

21:06(IST): A couple of boundaries off Ryan Harris by skipper Alastair Cook to start off the second innings. England 8/0 after 1 over.

 

Australia declare on their score at tea, 111/6! England require 227 to win in 44 overs at The Oval.

 

20:45 (IST): Australia are 111/6 in 23 overs at tea on Day 5, lead England by 226 runs at The Oval. So it remains to be seen if they will declare at the interval. 44 overs remain in the day.

 

20:26 (IST): Ryan Harris (1) clean bowled by Broad. Australia 85/6 in 18.5 overs, lead by 200 runs. England look set to wrap things up.

 

20:24 (IST): Steven Smith goes hitting Broad to Swann at long on. Australia 83/5 in 18.2 overs, lead by 198 runs. Australia falling apart and Ryan Harris comes in at number 7.

 

20:20 (IST): Michael Clarke trying to keep the scoring rate up despite the loss of 4 wickets.

 

20:08 (IST): James Faulkner (22) caught behind off Broad. Australia 67/4 in 14.5 overs, lead by 182 runs. Prior takes a good catch and England continue to take wickets.

 

19:57 (IST): Brad Haddin (0) caught behind off Broad. Australia 50/3 in 12.2 overs, lead by 165 runs. The gamble fails as Australia lose 3 quick wickets and skipper Michael Clarke comes out to bat.

 

19:49 (IST): Shane Watson (26) falls to Swann, caught at long on. Australia 44/2 in 11.1 overs, lead by 159 runs. Both openers gone and a chance for England to apply some pressure. Brad Haddin is the new batsman, so Australia tinkering with their batting order.

 

19:37 (IST): David Warner (12) caught and bowled by James Anderson. Australia 34/1 in 8.3 overs, lead by 149 runs. Good reflex catch by the bowler and England have their first wicket. The interesting thing is that James Faulkner is out in the middle so this shows Australia mean business.

 

19:31 (IST): Shane Watson showing some intent as he strikes a few lusty blows. Australia on course for a big total but the important factor is time.

 

19:22 (IST): The sun is shining brightly now and there should be a full day's play.

 

19:15 (IST): Australia not in a hurry to score runs as the openers look keen to spend some time in the middle.

 

19:00 (IST): Warner and Watson opening, Australia clearly going for quick runs.

 

18:57 (IST): The course of the game now depends on how Australia will go about their second innings.

 

18:48 (IST): Australia bowl England out 377 for in 144.4 overs on Day 5, lead by 115 runs at The Oval.

 

18:36 (IST): As Anderson falls to Faulkner, Haddin equals most dismissals in a series at 28, sharing it with Rodney Marsh.

 

18:24 (IST): Matt Prior falls for 47 and England are 8 down for 363, trail by 129 runs.

 

18:21 (IST): Matt Prior and Graeme Swann putting together a good partnership at a brisk pace.

 

18:10 (IST): The last time Australia went winless in an Ashes series was in 1977 when they lost 3-0 in England.

 

17:51 (IST): England certainly taking the game away from the Australians and it will take something special for either team to produce a result.

 

17:36 (IST): England are 350/7 in 137 overs at lunch on Day 5, trail Australia by 142 runs at The Oval. Australia picking up 3 wickets but conceding over 100 runs in the session.

 

17:28 (IST): Graeme Swann and Matt Prior going for some quick runs and playing big shots.

 

17:21 (IST): Stuart Broad (9) is clean bowled by Mitchell Starc, England 315/7 in 134.1 overs, trail by 177 runs. Australia in a hurry to finish off the tail.

 

17:18 (IST): A cloud cover over the ground though it is still good conditions to play cricket. Australia trying to make things happen as England are happy to play out more time.

 

17:09 (IST): Matt Prior playing a nice little innings as England look to get close to Australia's total.

 

16:57 (IST): Ian Bell (45) caught behind thanks to a good catch by Haddin off Faulkner. Does not get his fourth hundred of the series. England 299/6 in 128.5 overs, trail by 193 runs.

 

16:51 (IST): England reach 293 which means that Australia will have to bat again. The hopes of a result are surely over.

 

16:35 (IST): Matt Prior is looking to play himself in as Australia look for more wickets.

 

16:26 (IST): Chris Woakes (25) edges Harris to Clarke and England are 269/5 in 122 overs, trailing Australia by 223 runs. Australia have their first wicket of the day.

 

16:24 (IST): England slowly but steadily approaching their first target of 293 to avoiding the follow-on.

 

16:16 (IST): Ryan Harris working up some good pace. A clear indication that the Aussies are going for the kill in the first hour.

 

16:04 (IST): Australia maintaining an attacking line and length as England look to play the waiting game.

 

15:48 (IST): It is partly cloudy which does not rule out the possibility of rain later on but for the moment it is perfect for Test cricket.

 

15:38 (IST): The start has been delayed but play is to get underway at 16:00 IST.

 

15:23 (IST): Michael Clarke is expected to try and set up a game, but England in all probability will avoid the follow-on.

 

15:18 (IST): Overnight rain means that The Oval wicket will be very damp.  The covers are off, though, some of the players are warming up on the outfield.

 

14:58 (IST): Ian bell needs 71 runs to get his fourth century in the series. He has been is sublime form.

 

14:43 (IST): James Faulkner was critical of England's slow run-rate on Day 3 and promised that the return Ashes would be on Australia's terms. Read

 

14:34 (IST): England have not lost a Test series since losing to South Africa in August last year. Australia on the other hand have not even won a Test match since January this year.

 

14:22 (IST): This is England's third consecutive Test series win over Australia. Australia last defeated England in a Test series back in 2006-07 when they won 5-0.

 

14:15 (IST): England already have the series in the bag, leading 3-0.

 

With a day already lost in this match, it's all in favour of England to manage a draw as Australia need to take 16 wickets on the final day to win. Read Day 4 washed out.