With England already one up in the series, the two teams headed west to Perth. England won the toss and decided to bat on a flat pitch.
Their opening pair of Chris Broad and Bill Athey put on 223 for the first wicket before Athey was dismissed for 96. Broad went on to make 162, while there were centuries also for David Gower and wicketkeeper Jack Richards, which enabled England to declare on 592/8.
In reply, Australia relied heavily on their captain Allan Border, who scored 125. He was well supported by Steve Waugh’s 71, as Australia got 401.
England then looked so score quick runs in order to try and force a winning position and were 199/8 in their second innings when they chose to declare. Waugh took 5-69 with the ball with his medium-pacers.
Set a notional 391 to win, Australia reached 197/4 when the two captains shook hand on the draw.
The third Test, at Adelaide, followed much the same pattern, except this time Australia amassed the big first-innings score after batting first.
David Boon led the way, with 103, and Dean Jones just lagged behind him with 93. Border, Greg Matthews and Waugh all crossed 70, and Australia declared at 514/5.
England responded in kind, with Broad making another century and captain Mike Gatting also reaching three figures. They were eventually all out for 455, with a deficit of 59 on first innings.
It was Australia’s turn to try and force a result. Border made an unbeaten century, enabling his side to declare at 201/3, giving England a target of 261. They reached 39/1 in their second innings when time ran out, with no prospect of a win for either side.
It meant that England still held the lead in the series, after two matches where bat had dominated ball.