Moeen Ali faces the prospect of being dropped for the first time in his Test career after Joe Root, the England captain, could offer only long-term optimism regarding the all-rounder.

Speaking after a turgid fifth day in Melbourne in which Steve Smith’s 23rd century and third of an incredible personal series saw the fourth Ashes Test play out to a draw, Root appeared to chose his words carefully when appraising Moeen’s prospects for the finale in Sydney on Thursday.

“Moeen has struggled this week but is a fine player,” Root said. “Like other guys he has proven before when it is not going his way he is able to wrestle it back in his favour. He will have a big future for England. It is important that everyone knows that.”

Root ultimately benefitted from being taken out of the firing line for the corresponding fixture on the last Ashes tour but how England shape up at the Sydney for the New Year Test could well depend on the pitch prepared.

Australia have called up Ashton Agar as a second spinner to their squad in case the venue’s first match of the current season offers some turn.

There is a strong case for Mason Crane, the uncapped leg-spinner, to play regardless – even if the balance of the team is affected – given a series in which Moeen has taken three wickets at 135 runs and was trusted to bowl just 13.2 overs out of the 124.2 sent down in the home side’s second innings in Melbourne.

Moeen’s poor form with the ball has a knock-on effect, too. Jimmy Anderson, for example, has only twice sent down more than his 59 overs in this Test and that was back in 2010 and 2012 when part of four-man attack that saw the seamers usually offered relief by Graeme Swann.

The batting that has brought the all-rounder five Test centuries from his 48 caps to date – a run that has seen just one match missed because of injury since his debut in 2014 – has also failed to fire. A frazzled 14-ball 20 in England’s first innings made it seven knocks without a fifty, of which six have been ended by Nathan Lyon.

Root otherwise praised his players for finally giving a true reflection of their abilities during this failed Ashes campaign after they halted Australia’s march towards a second successive whitewash, albeit thanks to a Test that saw both attacks beaten by the surface.

The England captain had previously lamented their inability to string together performances over five days during the slump to a 3-0 scoreline but their domination of the match for the first four days and the rot ultimately being stopped offered some solace.

Alastair Cook’s return to form with an unbeaten 244 in England’s first innings and Stuart Broad’s five wickets across the Test meant two of Root’s out-of-sorts senior players also provided some cheer, with the target now to go one better next week.

“I’m very proud of the way we went about it,” said Root after England ended a run of seven straight away defeats stretching back to India last winter. “To come off three very difficult games and put in a performance like that is very pleasing. That’s what we are about as a side and a fair reflection of what we are capable of.

“Of course we didn’t want it to be a whitewash. You could see the way they went about training to prove a lot of people wrong and make sure that we got something good out of this tour.”

Cook was named man of the match for his fifth double-century in England’s first innings, a feat that saw him record the highest score by an opener carrying his bat and thus ensured he spent all five days on the field. As Root’s predecessor, and the captain in charge during the 5-0 implosion four years ago, the 33-year-old has been impressed with how the team has stuck together on this trip.

Cook said: “We have trained really well but we just haven’t quite done ourselves justice on the cricket field. Too many people have been out of form to put Australia under pressure for longer periods of time in the first three games. We just couldn’t quite get over the line. We have one more chance to get that win in Sydney.”

Smith was happy to criticise the MCG pitch for a lack of pace or bounce and Melbourne Cricket Club issued a statement that said a review would take place. Asked if he would like to roll this pitch up and take it with him around the world, Smith told BT Sport: “I don’t know if I would like to, I don’t think it was a great cricket wicket.

“It was flat, it was hard to get out, but it was also hard to score runs. It’s a bit of a pity really. Hopefully they can find something to do with this wicket, Boxing Day is a huge occasion and I don’t know if many people want to come and see one of those flat tracks every year. So maybe if they put some grass on it or try and get it to spin somehow it will give something to the bowlers.”

However, Root remained more diplomatic and praised his opposite number for batting throughout the final day, noting that immense focus was still required when only a draw was possible.

Cook, speaking about Smith’s phenomenal form that sees him going into Sydney knowing even a pair would have him averaging more than 100 for the series, added: “When we first saw him we didn’t think he’d turn out to be the player he’s turned out to be.

“You have got to give him a lot of credit, the way he has worked out his game. He sticks to it for an incredibly long period of time and is setting a new benchmark for what is possible.”