2017 Ashes, Steve Smith, Mitchell Marsh
Cricket - Australia v England - Ashes test match - WACA Ground, Perth, Australia, December 16, 2017 - Australia's captain Steve Smith celebrates with team mate Mitchell Marsh as they walk off the field at the end of the third day of the third Ashes cricket test match. Reuters / David Gray

Australia captain Steve Smith slammed the curators at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Saturday for killing his team's hopes of a potential 5-0 series sweep after the fourth Ashes Test ended in a draw. Smith's Australians marched into the MCG with a 3-0 lead after comprehensive wins at Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.

The Boxing Day Test ended in a draw after Smith steered Australia to safety on the fifth and final day's play. Smith (102 not out) batted for more than seven hours and faced 275 balls as the Aussies finished at 263/4 in their second-innings, in response to England's first-innings total of 491. After the game, Smith dubbed the MCG pitch the flattest he had ever encountered.

“It just needs to do something. It (the pitch) hasn’t changed over five days and I’d say if we were playing for the next couple of days it probably wouldn’t change at all, either. It’s got to find a way to have some pace and bounce, or take some spin, or do something. I don’t mind if they’re flat, as such. It just needs to have some pace and carry. This wicket just has none of that. I just don’t think it’s good for anyone," the Australian captain told reporters, via The Daily Telegraph.

Steve Smith chasing Sir Don’s record

Smith, 28, has now scored 604 runs in the 2017 Ashes at an astonishing batting average of 151. He has faced 1,258 balls in the series and batted for more than 30 hours. Smith now has a chance to equal Sir Donald Bradman's record of four centuries in an Ashes series during the fifth and final Test match at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).

When asked if he was exhausted going into the Sydney Test, Smith said, “Nope, I’m enjoying it. It’s a shame we had to call it off in the last hour. I could have had another hour out there. It’s good fun. I’m enjoying it at the moment. I feel like I’m hitting the ball really well and hopefully I can end the series really well in Sydney."

Earlier in the Test match, England claimed a 164-run first-innings lead courtesy a double-century from veteran opener Alastair Cook (244 not). Cook carried his bat and essentially shut Australia's hopes of sweeping England. Australia collapsed from 260/3 to 327 all out in their first-innings courtesy a four-wicket haul by Stuart Broad.

Steve Smith and England captain Joe Root agreed to call it a draw with 17 overs left on Saturday. The 2017 Ashes will now move to the SCG for the fifth and final Test starting Thursday.