Australia Edge to 4 – 1 Ashes Victory

Australia survived a scare on the final day of the fifth Test to get over the line by five wickets at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) and claim a 4 – 1 series victory.

The hosts slipped to 121 – 5 in pursuit of England’s target of 160, before Alex Carey (16*) and Cameron Green (22*) calmly shepherded them home.

Australia were in cruise control at 92 – 2 and had looked like completing the win with a minimum of fuss, until Will Jacks found prodigious grip and ripped one back through Steve Smith’s usually tightly bolted gate (12).

After receiving a guard of honour from the England players and receiving a raucous ovation in his 88th and final Test, Usman Khawaja did not last too long either, chopping the impressive Josh Tongue (3 – 42) back onto his stumps.

English fans were starting to believe, when Marnus Labuschagne was run out for 37, as he took off for a quick single and was sent back by Carey, allowing Matt Potts to hurl the ball into Jamie Smith, who did the rest.

Green and Carey though guided the hosts home fairly comfortably and finally sealed a victory that had looked much more certain, when Travis Head (29) and Jake Weatherald (34) put on 62 for the first wicket, before both departing to Tongue.

The tourists were once more made to rue missed opportunities and Australia receiving the rub of the green, with Jacob Bethell dropping a diving chance off Labuschagne at gully and Khawaja edging Jacks past the ailing Ben Stokes at slip.

Snicko was also in the spotlight again, with third umpire Kumar Dharmasena opting not to give Weatherald out caught behind off the furious Carse, despite the technology showing a spike a couple of frames after the ball passed the bat.

England had earlier managed to get up to 342 and a target of 160 for Australia, before Man of the Series Mitchell Starc polished off their innings.

He had Bethell (154) caught beyond by Carey to end his magnificent innings, not long after a clip for two into the leg side off Starc brought up his maiden 150.

Potts (18*) and Tongue (6) were only able to add 14 for the last wicket, before the latter chipped Starc to Labuschagne.

Despite the late drama, Australia were always in control of the run chase and England always felt about 100 runs light.

Guerilla Match Moments:

Big Moment: Usman Khawaja bowed out from Test cricket, receiving a fitting guard of honour and emotional reception from the SCG crowd.

Star of the Day: Mitchell Starc cleaned up England’s tail this morning and was rightly named Man of the Series, after his stellar performances with both bat and ball.

Whoops, can I try that again?: The issues with the Snicko frame rate continued, meaning Jake Weatherald was not given out, despite there being a spike a couple of frames prior to the ball passing his bat.