- Captain says battling display in Sydney was ‘small step forward’
- Buttler out of fifth Test with Stokes and Bairstow also a concern
Joe Root hailed a “small step forward” for his injury-hit England team after they clung on for a heart-stopping draw in Sydney, nine wickets down, and avoided the ignominy of an Ashes whitewash in Australia.
The rescue mission was not without casualties. Jos Buttler is set to fly home with a fractured finger while Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes are both doubts for Friday’s pink-ball fifth Test in Hobart due to respective thumb and side injuries picked up over the course of five gruelling days.
