Captain says battling display in
Sydney was ‘small step forward’Buttler out of fifth Test with Stokes and Bairstow also a concernJoe 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.
![‘Pride in the badge’: Root hails England’s resolve after dramatic Ashes draw](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/4a45f95a01945cc08a6b2dcd0ce76e0279cc8b46/0_118_2247_1348/master/2247.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctZGVmYXVsdC5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=2a5f0dd1286bfdff51a0a7f1e26943e3)
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.