Stuart Broad took the last two wickets of the Australia innings in a perfect farewell to international cricket as England won the final Ashes Test by 49 runs at The Oval on Monday.

Ben Stokes’ men thus secured a 2-2 series draw with an afternoon of brilliant bowling, including wickets in four consecutive overs.

Australia had already retained the coveted Urn but 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.

But after a lengthy rain delay England’s bowlers came out and took the remaining seven wickets for 70 runs to claim the win.

Chris Woakes was the most successful bowler with 4/50 while Moeen Ali, who played his last Test, took 3/76. The Wizard, as Woakes is called, was England’s Player of the Series. Mitchell Starc was Australia’s Player of the Series.

England dismissed four Australian batters within 11 runs to reduce the visitors to 275/7 after tea to dramatically turn the tables. Steve Smith and Travis Head were going great guns then and had forged a 95-run partnership for the fourth wicket in their chase of 384.

While Moeen accounted for Head (43) and Mitchell Marsh (6), Woakes dismissed Smith (54) and Mitchell Starc (0).

Australia went to lunch on 238/3 but rain stopped play at the interval. When play resumed only another 52 overs were possible.

Australia recovered from losing three quick wickets early on Day V as Smith and Head staged the recovery.

The English thought they had got Smith in the final over of the session but captain Ben Stokes, who took a fine, leaping, one-handed catch off the batter’s glove, lost control of the ball as he brought his arm down and brushed his thigh. He was adjudged to have dropped the ball before having complete control.

Australia resumed on 135/0 and England finally found some seam movement and swing with a ‘new’ ball, accounting for David Warner, Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne in an 11- over spell.

Written with inputs from AP/PTI