The first match in the series was played in Brisbane and was clearly destined to be a draw after the first round of innings. In a match that saw no less than 14 knocks of 50 or more, there was very little between the two teams to allow a result. In the 14 half centuries, only one player made it to three figures in the whole match, Brian Booth who scored 112.

England under the captaincy of Ted Dexter won the second match in Melbourne by 7 wickets. After both teams had batted, England had a narrow lead of 15, thanks mainly to a 175 run partnership by Dexter (93) and Colin Cowdrey (113) for the third wicket. Once again Brian Booth scored a century (103) in what turned out to be a disappointing second innings total for Australia of 248. Fred Trueman was the pick of the England bowlers taking 5 wickets at a cost of 62 runs (8 wickets in the match), leaving England to score 234 to win. Sheppard who had scored a duck in the first innings scored a fine 113 to guide England to the win, he was run out while running for the winning run!

Australia fought back in Sydney and were well in control as the visitors were dismissed for 279, Bobby Simpson taking 5 wickets for 57 runs. Titmus then kept Australia within reach with a fine spell of bowling taking 7 wickets for 79. Things were looking desperate for England at one stage when Harvey and Simpson put on 160 runs for the 2nd wicket but thanks to some great bowling they kept their deficit to 40 runs. England in their second innings never recovered from loosing quick wickets and were dismissed for only 104 runs, leaving Australia needing only 67 runs. With the loss of only two wickets, Australia won the match and levelled the series at 1 rubber each. Australia's Davidson who took 9 wickets in the match gave a notable bowling performance.

The 4th and 5th match of the series held at Adelaide and Sydney ended in a draw as both sides were doing everything but going for a win. In Adelaide, Harvey and O'Neill both scored centuries, Harvey top scoring with 154 which turned out to be the last of his 21 centuries. Statham during the match passed Alec Bedser's Test record of 236 wickets. Barrington scored his second century in two matches at Sydney and was the highlight of the match. Australia were set 240 runs to win at a run a minute, but Lawry decided to play for the draw, despite some strong opposition from the locals.