AUSTRALIA VS ENGLAND THIRD AND FOURTH TESTS HIGHLIGHTS

THIRD TEST - PERTH

Australia's 259-run lead on first innings is the sixth highest in all Tests after replying to an opponent's total of 400 or more in the first innings of a Test. The most remains 415 by Sri Lanka during their world-record 952 for 6 over India.
Steve Smith's 239 is the highest score by a captain at Perth surpassing Bob Simpson's 176 for Australia against India in 1977-78.
Australia's 662 for 9 is the second-highest total at Perth. The highest is Australia's 735 for 6 against Zimbabwe in 2003/04.
The Australian innings saw only the eighth occasion Tests of five bowlers conceding 100 or more runs.
Dawid Malan's maiden Test century (140) is the second-highest score at Perth by an England batsman. Chris Broad's 162 in 1986-87 heads the list.
Jonny Bairstow became the fourth England wicket-keeper to record a century against Australia in Australia joining Jack Richards (in 1986-87), Matt Prior (in 2010-11) and Alan Knott (in 1974-75). Bairstow's 119 is second-highest only to Richards's 133.
The partnership of 301 between Steve Smith and Mitchell Marsh is the ninth over 300 for Australia against England.
The partnership of 237 between Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow is England's highest for the fifth wicket against Australia. The previous best was 206 between Eddie Paynter and Denis Compton at Trent Bridge in 1938.
For Australia, Steve Smith's 239 and Mitchell Marsh's 181 are the second highest scores by a number 4 and 6 batsman at Perth. Ross Taylor's 290 for New Zealand in 2015-16 and Ricky Ponting's 197 against Pakistan in 1999-00 are the only higher ones.
Smith's 578-minute innings is significantly the longest innings (in terms of time) by a captain at Perth. Bob Simpson's 176 in 1977-78 lasted 388 minutes.
Smith's 399-ball innings is also the longest by balls faced surpassing Simpson's 355-ball innings above.
Alastair Cook became the first England cricketer to appear in 150 Tests.
With Australia regaining the Ashes after their Perth victory, they also won their thirty-eighth series against England. At the end of the Perth Test, the sides had played 344 times with Australia winning 143 to England's 108.
The match saw the fourth occasion of an England defeat by an innings after batting first and scoring 400 or more in the first innings. Three of these occasions have been in the last two years.

FOURTH TEST - MELBOURNE

Alastair Cook's unbeaten 244 is the fifth-longest innings (by time) in a Test in Australia. Cook's 634-minute innings is only his third-longest whilst the longest in an Australian Test is Bob Cowper's 307 in 727 minutes at Melbourne against England in 1965-66.
Cook's innings is the highest in any Test by a player carrying his bat. Cook surpassed Glenn Turner's unbeaten 223 for New Zealand against West Indies at Kingston in 1971-72.
In scoring his third century of the series, Steve Smith became only the fourth captain to achieve this feat in an Ashes series. Don Bradman (twice), David Gower and Warwick Armstrong are the only other players to do so.
In taking his aggregate for the year to 1309 runs (including six centuries at an average of 77), Smith became the highest run-getter in Test cricket for 2017. Cheteshwar Pujara (1140 average 67.06) was second and in total six players achieved the 1000-run feat.
David Warner (997 runs with four centuries and an average of 49.85) just failed to make the above list.
Nathan Lyon became the most successful wicket-taker in 2017 with 63 wickets at an average of 23.56. In total, six bowlers took fifty or more wickets during 2017.
Stuart Broad became only the second No. 10 batsman to score a fifty against Australia at Melbourne. The only other player to achieve the feat is Dale Steyn who made 76 in 2008-09.
In achieving a draw, England avoided the possibility of a record ninth-consecutive defeat against Australia in Australia.
The Test saw the first instance of two Australian players batting for over 500 minutes in a Test against England in Australia. Smith (649 minutes) and Warner (521) achieved the feat. Smith and Chris Rogers also accomplished the feat at Lord's in 2015.
Only the performances of Don Bradman (810 runs in 1936-37 and 680 runs in 1946-47) stand ahead of Steve Smith's current 608 runs in the series by an Australian captain against England.