LONDON: England beat Australia by 49 runs in the fifth and final Ashes test at The Oval on Monday, securing a 2-2 series draw with an afternoon of brilliant bowling including taking wickets in four consecutive overs. Australia had already retained the coveted urn but narrowly missed out on claiming their first Ashes series win in England since 2001.

They won the first two tests but lost the third and had looked set to lose the fourth until two days of almost uninterrupted rain led to a draw. The fifth test was finely poised going into the final afternoon, with Australia batting their way steadily past 250 as they chased a huge target of 384.