England just about managed to hold on for a draw as the last-wicket pair of Stuart Broad and James Anderson survived a nervy couple of overs to deny Australia a chance of winning the Ashes series 5-0. In a great advert for Test cricket, England were left hanging for dear life after Steve Smith, who took his first Test wicket since 2016, removed Jack Leach. That left Australia needing just one more wicket with two overs remaining for the Test to end. Broad and Anderson, though, were resolute in their defence and managed to keep the Australians at bay to help England battle to a well-deserved draw.
With fortunes of both teams swinging with every passing over, Twitter went into overdrive, many unable to hold back their excitement. After the match ended in a nail-biting draw, former and current cricketers, fans, journalists all thronged to social media to have their say.
England have been woeful in the Ashes series so far but finally displayed some fight. Having being drubbed in the previous three Tests that saw Australia claim the Ashes urn, England were playing for pride in Sydney.
It seemed for large periods that Australia will once again blow England away but some dogged batting displays from the likes of Zak Crawley, Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow, Leach and Broad helped the visitors win back some pride.
"Great game of Test cricket. We got close. Bit less weather might have got us there. Obviously would've loved 4-0, but good match," Australia skipper Pat Cummins said after the match.
"It was really important. Has been a difficult tour. Tough at times but one thing I am proud of is the determination and character of the team and find way to get a draw out of this game," said England captain Joe Root.