Lawry declared in the Fifth Test with Rod Marsh within eight runs of a maiden Test century after the hosts batted first and reached 9/493, the captain making 56 himself. Australia continued to play defensively, and after making 42 in the second innings, the skipper declared and set the tourists 271 in less than a day, and the matched petered into a draw with Australia still behind in the series. Another draw in the Sixth Test meant that Australia needed a win to draw the series and retain the Ashes. After taking a 235-run first innings lead, England did not need to take a risk with their series lead with a bold declaration and set Australia a world-record 469 runs for victory. The hosts were 3/328 when time ran out, and Lawry made only 10 and 21. Lawry had batted for more than 24 hours in the series, averaging around 13 runs an hour.