AUS VS ENG - 4th Test, The Ashes, 2017-18

So one double-century eclipsed by a marathon of blocks. Oh the English dictionary is massively short of synonyms for 'defend', quite what Smith exposed today. Add all his unorthodoxy to it. That wraps it for us from Melbourne. We'll see you in Sydney, with the hope that the pitch is made by curators and not road contractors. This is Vineet Anantharaman signing off on behalf of Abhinand Raghavendran and our scorer Venkatesh. Ta ta!!

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Stats round-up - courtesy Deepu Narayanan:

First draw in 11 Tests at the helm for Root

Most successive Ashes Tests without a draw:
19 1994-1892
16 1998-2005
13 1894-1898
13 2013-2017 - streak ended today

Most hundreds among Test captains:
25 Graeme Smith
19 Ricky Ponting
15 Allan Border/ Steve Waugh/ Steve Smith

Most runs in Tests in 2017:
1305 Steve Smith; 1140 Cheteshwar Pujara; 1128 Dean Elgar; 1059 Virat Kohli; 1031 Dimuth Karunaratne; 1003 Dinesh Chandimal

Most wickets in Tests in 2017:
63 Nathan Lyon; 57 Kagiso Rabada; 56 R Ashwin; 55 James Anderson; 54 Ravindra Jadeja; 52 Rangana Herath

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Steve Smith, Australian skipper: Nice to have finished off well and get the boys a draw at the end. I thought Mitch played really well, eating up 160 balls for his 30-odd and did a good job to get us to a draw. Yesterday afternoon when it started raining, and the pitch was really slow was when we thought of going for the draw. The pitch was really slow and though there was a bit of reverse, it was difficult to get people out. It was a nice wicket to bat on and not get out; but was difficult to score. (On Cook) Every time you get to 200 means you've played well. He cut and pulled really well and put anything off his pads to the boundary. He stuck to the basics and when you get in, it is difficult to get out on a surface like this if you bat long. (Starc for Sydney) Not very sure at the moment, we'll have to see how he goes with his fitness. Sydney is a great place to play, can't wait to play on my home ground. The SCG Test is a magnificent one.

Joe Root, English skipper: We did have a great chance at lunch and we did everything we could to take things forward. Credit to Steve his team, they played superbly. Not a very responsive pitch and that makes things harder. We exhausted every option and the pitch didn't help us at all. Throughout the five days we had tremendous support from the Barmy Army. We have the best fans in the world. He's (Smith) certainly playing well and it is very difficult to get him out on a wicket like this. Hopefully we can get in different plans for him for Sydney. It is frustrating that it has taken this long to get a performance such as this one. It could've been a lot easier coming in 3-0 and looking lost. But I am proud of the boys and the performance they have put in.

Alastair Cook, Man of the Match: On a personal note it does feel terrific. But disappointed that we couldn't quite push for the result. Obviously a good pitch to bat on, as we could see. It has been a disappointing tour for me but I suppose when you haven't scored runs you can play freely. I didn't change too much in practice, I have a constant technique and that is what I focused on in the nets. We need to do well in Sydney and I hope we can score big out there.

Apart from that excitement that we saw on either side of the lunch break, there was hardly anything for the bowlers to boast of. It doesn't help matters when a part-timer is trusted before the 'lead' spinner is. But it's a match the English had the better grip of over the first four days. And they walk around the G, thanking the entertainment the Barmy Army have given all through the five days. And handshakes with the Aussie squad. Stay on, the presentations are lined up for you.

16:48 local: We had another five minutes of this blockage to deal with, but Steve Smith has decided to pull the plug, stop the carnage, spare the sore English shoulders, and declare. It's a draw. England have just about managed to stop the slide, but they haven't yet been able to stop Smith. It's taken 42 years and 12 Ashes Tests for us to have a draw at the MCG. It also ends a 13-Ashes-match result streak. And the statesmen have the curator to thank. A dull drop in track, one which has refused to deteriorate one bit and as Ian Chappell aptly summed up - MCG curator: 1, Players: 0. Steve Smith could be given a 0.5.

Moeen Ali to Mitchell Marsh, no run, behind the line, tucking it away to leg. And handshakes

Moeen Ali to Mitchell Marsh, no run, a squeeze out, off the front foot, rolling back very meekly

Most hundreds among Test captains:
25 Graeme Smith
19 Ricky Ponting
15 Allan Border/ Steve Waugh/ Steve Smith

Root to Smith, no run, behind the line, in the safe defence

Root to Smith, no run, keeps out with the defence counts exceeding the realms of human calculations

Root to Smith, no run, a wafty flick, all around this one. This has to be the most happening over of the session

Root to Smith, no run, forward, knocking it with the turn covered to short mid-wicket

Root to Smith, byes, FOUR, spits up off the footmarks. And Smith has a wild swing. Nothing connects, nobody gathers. Spins away and through the keeper and leg-slip

Root to Smith, no run, slipping down leg. Too much so for an attempted sweep

Joe Root [2.0-1-1-1] is back into the attack

Now Root wants to have his share of fun. From round the wicket, and he has three men around the bat. Wow