England have avoided the ignominy of a third Ashes series whitewash in the last 15 years, holding firm on the final day to escape the SCG with a draw.
From Jonny Bairstow’s double of a century and a stonewalling day-five 41, to Ben Stokes’ twin half-centuries, to Stuart Broad and Jack Leach’s stoic rearguard just when all hope appeared lost, there were no shortage of heroes for the visitors as they provided a high note on what has been a wretched tour.
For Australia, Usman Khawaja was the standout with twin centuries, while Scott Boland continued his outrageous start to his Test career with seven more wickets.
Who shone and who let their side down? It’s your chance to decide now. Here’s what every number usually corresponds to:
1. An utter nightmare. Their team would genuinely have been better off with 10. Shane Warne will be calling for their head all summer long.
2. Anonymous. Was he even there?
3. Did some things that you expect of an international player, but did a whole bunch of other things that sucked.
4. Was passable in patches, but not up to standard in a match of such importance.
5. Did his job without anything really noticeable happening.
6. Good.
7. Pretty good, actually.
8. Very good.
9. Excellent.
10. Magnificent. Calling them the player of the match would be an insult. Just give him the Allan Border Medal already.
If you need any more help, here’s how we rated every player from the SCG.
For the record, it’s not possible to give Khawaja an 11. We checked.
Were Jonny Bairstow’s batting heroics the equal of Khawaja’s? Does Pat Cummins lose points for a poorly timed declaration which ultimately left the Aussies short? And will Haseeb Hameed finally get an average score of more than 1 after yet more single-figure scores? These questions, and many more, are yours to answer.
When you’re ready, simply head to the link below and cast your votes!
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