England can draw inspiration from India's SCG heroics: Mike Hussey

Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes will have to play through injuries during England's second innings in Sydney.

England were 30/0 at Stumps today, needing 358 more runs to win on Day 5 of the fourth Ashes Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

England's batting has been in tatters throughout the series. Injuries to Jonny Bairstow, who scored their only century of the tour in their first innings in Sydney, Jos Buttler and a potential niggle for Ben Stokes have only made matters worse. Australia look set to bowl them out on the final day to take a 4-0 lead in the series.

Application from our openers tonight and a big final day ahead.

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However, former Australia batter Mike Hussey believes England can draw inspiration from India's heroic efforts at the same venue around this time last year, when the injured pair of Hanuma Vihari and Ravichandran Ashwin famously batted the visitors to an unlikely draw.

India faced several injuries in that series, and that match in particular, yet were able to save the Test in Sydney and then beat Australia at the Gabba to win the series 2-1.

Speaking to Cricbuzz, Mike Hussey said:

"This is what we love about Test cricket, you never know. Everyone had written India off last year. They were on their last leg, they were injured, but they found their spirit inside and I think England can draw from that."

Stung by India's obstinance at the SCG last summer, Australia have the chance to put any lingering ghosts to rest on day five against England, writes @ARamseyCricket #Ashes

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Openers Zak Crawley (22) and Haseeb Hameed (8) took England through to Stumps unscathed on Saturday. The two will be looking to put in an impressive performance to try and keep their spots in the England team.

Hussey believes the batsmen's determination to fight for their place in the team, along with other factors, could serve as inspiration for England to try and avoid defeat.

"There are some other great stories in there as well – Zak Crawley and Hameed possibly playing for their careers. So there’s plenty of motivation for the English to show that spirit and fight," Hussey said.

He believes Australia are still heavy favorites but has backed England to give them a good fight.

"I’m not going to write them off yet, but it’s going to be very difficult. There are going to be big challenges along the way. The pitch is certainly not as good as it was last year and the Australian bowlers are probably a bit fresher than they were this time last year. So it’s in Australia’s favour without a doubt, but England I’m sure will not go down without a fight," Hussey said.

Speaking about talk of Pat Cummins' declaration coming too late, Hussey disagreed and said Australia now have enough time to bowl England out.

"I think it’s about right. I know some people are thinking it’s a little bit conservative, but you don’t want to give England any chance. I guess the only thing that came into my mind was a look at the weather forecast. There’s a threat of a bit of rain on the fifth day and that might have made Pat Cummins think about declaring a bit earlier," Hussey said.

He went on to add:

"But I think there’s plenty of time to bowl England out, weather permitting, and there’s certainly enough in this pitch – we can see some variable bounce, there’s some rough there for Nathan Lyon to work into. So you’d expect the Aussies have got enough there in their favour to create 10 chances tomorrow."

Jack Leach bowled beatifully for England, deserved his rewards: Mike Hussey

Jack Leach has not had the best of times during the Ashes, but he was in fine form on Saturday, picking up four wickets in Australia's second innings.

Mike Hussey noted that the left-arm spinner bowled with more attacking intent, which reflected in his returns of 4/84.

Jack Leach picked four wickets in Australia's 2nd innings.

Leach was, in fact, on a hat-trick when Pat Cummins declared, which also robbed the spinner of the chance at getting a five-wicket haul, but Hussey was happy with his performance.

"I was happy for Jack Leach. I thought he bowled well today. He didn’t have that defensive, negative frame of mind by bowling around the wicket and looking to just keep things tight. He looked to attack. He looked to bowl wider of the off stump to the left-hander and try to hit the rough and things were a little more in his favour today," Hussey said.

He went on to add:

"You could see, it’s a little more fun for him when he’s attacking and bowling with a little more confidence and looking for wickets. I thought he bowled beautifully and deserved the rewards that he got today."