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Concussion substitute Marnus Labuschagne and vice-captain Travis Head have helped Australia salvage a draw on a dramatic final day of the second Ashes Test.

Super sub Marnus Labuschagne entered Lord's as trivia-night fodder but left as part of Ashes folklore as he helped Australia salvage a draw, which both camps claimed as a moral victory.

Concussion substitute Labuschagne, who replaced Smith in Australia's XI on the morning of day five, scored 59 from 100 balls as the tourists batted out 47.3 overs to draw the second Test.

Australia finished 6-154 after being set a target of 267, with Labuschagne and Travis Head doing most of the heavy lifting as Jofra Archer threatened to bounce England to victory on debut.

Vice-captains Head and Pat Cummins soaked up immense pressure, surviving almost half an hour in fading light to ensure Australia take a 1-0 series lead to Leeds.

Head's unbeaten 42 from 90 deliveries was a crucial piece of the stonewall, while England were left to lament a simple slips catch that out-of-form opener Jason Roy dropped when the South Australian was on 22.

The five-Test series continues on Thursday, when Smith is fully expected to be an enforced omission because of the frightening bouncer blow to the neck that Archer inflicted on Saturday.

Australia will retain the urn if they win the third Test.

"It's a great situation to be in. This Test was tight all the way ... I wouldn't say it was a great escape at all," Australia captain Tim Paine said.

"If you would have said (prior to the series that) we are 1-0 up after two Tests, we would have taken that every day."

England counterpart Joe Root was just as buoyant.

"We put them under huge amounts of pressure," he said.

"We might look back at the odd missed opportunity, but it was a fantastic effort."

There was no shortage of tension at the home of cricket, where Archer was denied two final overs because of bad light and Root claimed a contentious catch to dismiss Labuschagne.

Left-arm spinner Jack Leach removed Labuschagne and Matthew Wade with consecutive balls to give England a sniff; then Paine departed after Joe Denly plucked a one-handed screamer.

Archer made life tough for batsmen and Leach attacked the rough from the Nursery End but England ran out of time as the rivals battled to their first draw at Lord's since 1997.

The new concussion rule dictates the substitute must be a like-for-like replacement, prompting the obvious joke that Don Bradman would be the only viable option for the visitors.

But Labuschagne, on Ashes debut and clattered on the grille by a nasty bouncer from Archer early on, stood tall in Australia's hour of need.

"Marnus came in and batted as well as anyone did in the Test," Paine said.

The first delivery faced by Labuschagne, summoned to the middle after Archer blasted out David Warner and Usman Khawaja to reduce Australia to 2-19, was called wide as a bumper flew over his head.

The next ball reared up and struck him on the helmet, prompting Australia's team doctor Richard Saw to rush out and assess his jaw and cognitive state.

England had declared at 5-257, thanks largely to man of the match Ben Stokes's 115 not out.