Five most thrilling Test draws of the last decade

#1 England vs Australia: Cardiff, 2009

James Anderson and Monty Panesar secured a draw for England

England 435 & 252/9 drew with Australia 674/6 declared

At Cardiff, which became the hundredth Test venue, fans could not have asked for anything more dramatic. England batted first and decent contributions sprinkled throughout took them to a hefty 435. Mitchell Johnson and Nathan Hauritz shared six wickets as Kevin Pietersen top-scored with 69.

Then began the drama. Persistent rain stalled Australia’s innings multiple times but first Simon Katich and captain Ricky Ponting, who added 239 for the second wicket, and then Marcus North and Brad Haddin, who tallied 200 for the sixth, hit centuries to post a mammoth 674/6, at which point Ponting declared.

With England facing a huge 239-run deficit, the fourth day ended with the hosts jostling at 20/2. Come the fifth morning, Pietersen made a massive blunder by shouldering arms to a straight ball from Ben Hilfenhaus, which crashed into his stumps. Regular strikes by Hilfenhaus, Johnson and Hauritz kept England in check with the final moments looming.

With England supporters having one eye on the remaining arrears and another on the clock – a change of innings would have consumed ten minutes had Australia been forced to bat – Peter Siddle removed Paul Collingwood with England still six runs adrift.

The final pair of James Anderson and Monty Panesar called on their physio for a check-up and twelfth man for changing gloves to eat up time, which Ponting could not swallow, and in the end, the match finished with England not only having erased the lead, but also having secured a draw.