6 Times The Ashes was retained by virtue of a series draw

Test cricket is the purest form of the game and several great rivalries exist in the longest format. Yet, none on par with The Ashes. England and Australia contest in a high-voltage series to determine the fate of the historic urn -- the ultimate prize at stake.

Since its inception, a total of of 71 Ashes series have been contested between the two nations. Australia lead the overall count with 33 series victories in comparison to England's 32. The remaining six ended in a draw.

The beauty of the Ashes is that even when a series concludes in a draw, the rules of the competition state that the reigning winners retain the Ashes.

From Bob Cowper's majestic 307 at MCG to Sir Leonard Hutton's 364 at The Oval, every tied Ashes series has come with its share of stunning performances. Here is a list of the six series in which the Ashes was retained courtesy of a series draw

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#6 2019

England v Australia - 5th Specsavers Ashes Test: Day Four

The most recent Ashes series saw England and Australia play five nerve-wracking Test matches. Joe Root and his men had surrendered the urn to Australia in 2017 when they lost 4-0 Down Under and all eyes were on the World Champions.

Steve Smith was the chief tormentor for England as he scored heaps of runs to help the Aussies retain the Ashes. Amid all the drama, Tim Paine became the first Australian skipper since 2001 to draw an Ashes series in England. A 2-2 draw ensured that Tim Paine's name entered the history books.

From Ben Stokes' heroics at Headingley to Steve Smith's gritty knock in Manchester, the series had all the moments that make Tests so exciting. It all started in Birmingham, where England were easily defeated by their arch-rivals by a 251-run margin.

The second match was affected by rain but the drama still kept people interested as the sides battled till the very last over, until a draw was announced by the umpires. And then came the monumental Headingley Test, when Ben Stokes reminded the world of how good a cricketer he is with a sensational knock of 135 not out to help England get back in the series.

Australia secured the Ashes at Old Trafford, where they humbled the hosts to win the match by 185 runs. Although the urn was retained by the Aussies, Root and co. had the last laugh as they levelled the series at The Oval to make sure that England remain the last side to win an Ashes series away from home, courtesy of their historic triumph in 2011.

Also see – World Test Championship points table

#5 1972

Ian Chappell in action

Australia, under the leadership of Ian Chappell boasted of a dynamic squad in the early 70s with the likes of the Chappell brothers, Dennis Lillee and more in their ranks. England weren't far behind as they had the dashing Sir Geoffrey Boycott in their side. Both sides comprised of world-class players, which made the 1972 edition of the Ashes all the more special.

Australia had surrendered the urn in the Ashes series before the 1972 edition as England defeated their arch-rivals away from home to bring the urn back to England after 12 long years. England authoritatively commenced their Ashes defence at Old Trafford as they defeated the visitors by 89 runs.

The Aussies made their intent quite clear in the following match at Lord's as they defeated the hosts in London to level the series. The two sides played out a draw in Birmingham which meant that all eyes were on the 4th test at Headingley.

England defeated their opponents by nine wickets, courtesy of a brilliant performance by the legendary Derek Underwood, who scalped 10 wickets in the match. The win ensured that the Ashes were retained.

Ian Chappell made sure that the Aussies went home with something to show for as he led from the front and scored a brilliant century at The Oval to help Australia beat England by five wickets and level the series.

#4 1968

Australian cricket team in England in 1968

In 1968, an Australian side led by William Lorry travelled to England in a bid to retain the urn, which had been in their possession since 1959. Australia's dominance over their opponents was pretty evident as they had been the proud holders of the urn for the past 10 years before this series.

The visitors made an emphatic statement early on in the series as they comfortably defeated England by 159 runs in Manchester to embark on their Ashes defence in style. The hosts did come close to levelling the series in the subsequent matches but the visitors did well to evade a loss until the last game, which England won in the end.

Michael Cowdrey's men had to be content with a draw but the English fans were disappointed by the scoreline as they had to witness yet another disappointing Ashes campaign for England.

#3 1966

Bob Cowper

The 1966 Ashes is famously remembered for the whole lot of runs scored by both the sides in the five-match Test series. William Lorry, Ken Barrington, Bob Cowper and a number of other high profile players impressed with the bat as bowlers on either side failed to make breakthroughs.

The first two matches were evenly matched as nothing could separate the sides, until England stepped up a notch in the third encounter as they inflicted a devastating loss on the Aussies. The visitors defeated the reigning champions by an innings and 93 runs to take a lead in the series.

Their lead turned out to be a short-lived one as the hosts bounced back in Adelaide to level the series with a victory by an innings and 9 runs. With the series tied 1-1, the deciding match at MCG was in focus.

England did put on a remarkable show in the first innings as they scored a humongous total of 485/9 and looked like on course to winning the series, but a certain Bob Cowper had other plans.

The Australian notched up a career-best score of 307 to help Australia put up 543/8 in response to England's 485/9 in the first innings that effectively led to the game finishing on a draw as Australia later celebrated their retention of the Ashes.

#2 1963

England Team

Ashes 1962-63 marked the first occasion when the historic Test series between England and Australia ended in a draw on Australian soil. Not much was going in favour of the Englishmen, who had lost the previous two series and were not given much of a hope in this edition either. However, England pulled off a major surprise by taking a 1-0 lead at the end of the second Test.

Both sides played out a draw in the opening Test at the Brisbane Cricket Ground before England took the lead in Melbourne with an impressive 7 wicket win, courtesy of a batting masterclass by Colin Cowdrey. However, Australia bounced back in the second match to win the game by 8 wickets and tie the series, bringing England's ambitions of winning the Urn to a grinding halt.

With the last two matches of the five-match series ending in draws, Australia retained the Urn.

#1 1938

Donald Bradman

The very first time an Ashes series ended in a draw was back in 1938 when a Don Bradman-led side traveled to England as the winners of the past two editions of the competition.

It's no secret that Bradman relished playing against England, as he notched up a whopping 5028 runs in 37 Tests against the Englishmen. His legendary exploits with the bat are well known by the ardent followers of the sport and his numbers against England are nothing short of spectacular.

The 1938 edition of the Ashes turned out to be closely contested as both the teams failed to pick up a single win from the first three matches, as the fourth match at Headingley was in focus. Bradman was at his prolific best yet again as he scored his third century of the series to help Australia win the match, as a result of which they were one draw away from winning the Ashes.

The English side, however, dealt the decisive blow as a sensational knock from Sir Leonard Hutton helped the home side register a mind-boggling total of 903/7. Hutton scored 364 runs at The Oval as England defeated Australia by an innings and 579 runs to level the series but in the end, Australia retained the Ashes courtesy of their title triumph from the 1936-37 series.