AUSTRALIA regained a sense of pride with a 6-1 thrashing of injury-hit England in the One Day International series.
But, outside of Australia, the truth is that no one really cares.
Ask an England cricket fan to reflect on the 2010-11 tour of Down Under and all he or she will recall is the comprehensive retention of the Ashes.
In fairness, it was always going to be difficult to get excited for a stupidly drawn out seven-match ODI series after three momentous innings wins in the Tests.
And so it proved - with even England coach Andy Flower and captain Andrew Strauss understandably bemoaning the length and structure of this tour.
Indeed, Flower has - again quite understandably - requested greater input into the schedule of future tours, presumably to ensure there are no further three-month long hauls.
After all, the quality of the cricket and the well-being of the players should be paramount.
Certainly, both factors should be put ahead of forcing another money-spinning limited overs match into the timetable.
Instead, England have struggled to provide much in the way of a contest amid an injury crisis which has ripped through the bowling attack.
Having already lost Stuart Broad in the second Test, the tourists have since lost Tim Bresnan, Ajmal Shahzad, Chris Tremlett and Paul Collingwood during this series.
But, while England's injury problems have undoubtedly had an effect on the team's form, it would be unfair not to credit Australia from bouncing back from a devastating first home Ashes series defeat in 24 years.
After one tight Twenty20 International victory each, during which time England set a record for eight successive wins in the format, the Aussie comeback began in Melbourne.
England actually opened the 50-over series well with the bat as Andrew Strauss struck 63 and Kevin Pietersen 78 in a score of 294, their then-highest ever total in ODIs in Australia.
But Shane Watson, who has become famed for failing to convert half-centuries to three figures in Tests, hit a magnificent 161 off 150 balls as the Aussies won with five balls to spare.
The second ODI in Hobart looked to be going England's way after they won the toss and reduced Australia to 33-4 and 142-8.
Shaun Marsh had other ideas, though, and he scored 110 runs, assisted by Doug Bollinger's 30 as the Aussies reached 230.
England, perhaps losing heart after failing to bowl Australia out more cheaply, then collapsed themselves to 184 all out. Jonathan Trott and Ian Bell shared the top individual score of 32.
Two days later, Australia went 3-0 up in Sydney with a more straightforward win. England won the toss but could only make 214 and that was largely thanks to Trott's unbeaten 84.
The Aussies got over the line with four wickets and four overs to spare after Brad Haddin's 54 and David Hussey's 68 not out.
In the fourth ODI, England finally returned to form to reset the record for their highest score in Australia again, hitting 299-8 after Trott excelled again, scoring 102.
The Aussies always looked like coming up short despite an unbeaten last stand between Steve Smith (46) and Brett Lee (39) which added 77 runs to take the hosts to 278-7.
But Australia then won the series in the fifth match at Brisbane, beating England by 51 runs to go 4-1 up.
Despite the hosts wrapping up the series prematurely, Chris Woakes became only the second Englishman to take six wickets in an ODI, ending with figures of 6-46.
However, the England batsmen could not match Woakes' heroics as they collapsed to 22-3 and eventually 198 all out in reply to the Aussies' 249.
There were still two dead rubbers to play and Australia won both - though the victories were contrasting, to say the least.
To England's great credit, they made their third score of more than 290 as Trott scored his second century of the series with 137 from 126 balls.
Indeed, the tourists' total of 333-6 is England's highest ever 50-over innings score against Australia at any venue.
But the Aussies stunned England by chasing down the total with two wickets and four balls to spare despite not having a centurion in their innings.
Captain Michael Clarke hit the top score of 82 but Australia batted right down the order with opener Watson scoring 51, Mitchell Johnson 57 and further support from Callum Ferguson (46) and Hussey (38).
Already 5-1 down, it came as no surprise when what was left of the England team fell well short in the final match in Perth.
Adam Voges hit an unbeaten 80 in Australia's 279 and, after losing both their openers Strauss and Steven Davies for ducks, England eventually made just 222.
Despite the heavy defeat in the One-Dayers, Strauss and his men can still be proud of their achievements on this tour: a thumping Ashes series win, a record for successive Twenty20 wins and three big scores in the ODIs.
Nevertheless, the ODI series was still comprehensively lost and England now face a race against time to get their players back fit and in form for the World Cup.
That limited overs tournament begins in less than two weeks with England pitted against India, South Africa, West Indies, Bangladesh, Ireland and Netherlands in Group B.
Looking for a fourth successive win, Australia are in Group A alongside Sri Lanka, Pakistan, New Zealand, Kenya, Canada and Zimbabwe.
And having been down in the dumps in early January after their Ashes defeat, the Aussies could not have wished for more momentum going into the World Cup.
Their Test line-up may still be full of holes but, in limited overs cricket, Australia under Clarke have looked near to being back to their ominous best.
IN FULL: ENGLAND TOUR OF AUSTRALIA
The Ashes
England won the series 3-1
Brisbane England 260 & 517-1dec drew with Australia 481 & 107-1 Scorecard Match Report
Adelaide England 620-5dec beat Australia 245 & 304 by an innings and 71 runs Scorecard Match Report
Perth Australia 268 & 309 beat England 187 & 123 by 267 runs Scorecard Match Report
Melbourne England 513 beat Australia 98 & 258 by an innings and 157 runs Scorecard Match Report
Sydney England 644 beat Australia 280 & 281 by an innings and 83 runs Scorecard Match Report
Twenty20 series
Series drawn 1-1
Adelaide (12 Jan) England 158-9 beat Australia 157-4 by one wicket Scorecard
Melbourne (14 Jan) Australia 147-7 beat England 143-6 by four runs Scorecard
One-Day Internationals
Australia won the series 6-1
1 Melbourne (16 Jan) Australia 297-4 beat England 294 by six wickets Scorecard
2 Hobart (21 Jan) Australia 230 beat England 184 by 46 runs Scorecard
3 Sydney (23 Jan) Australia 215-6 beat England 214 by four wickets Scorecard
4 Adelaide (26 Jan) England 299-8 beat Australia 278-7 by 21 runs Scorecard
5 Brisbane (30 Jan) Australia 249 beat England 198 by 51 runs Scorecard
6 Sydney (2 Feb) Australia 334-8 beat England 333-6 by two wickets Scorecard
7 Perth (6 Feb) Australia 279-7 beat England 222 by 57 runs Scorecard
Other tour matches
5-7 Nov England 223-8dec & 243-4dec beat Western Australia 242-8dec & 223 by six wickets Scorecard
11-13 Nov England 288-8dec & 240-1dec drew with South Australia 221 & 48-2 Scorecard
17-20 Nov England 523 & 11-0 beat Australia A 230 & 301 by 10 wickets Scorecard
10-12 Dec Victoria 216-2dec & 278-6dec drew with England 184-2dec & 211-6 Scorecard
10 Jan England 225-3 beat Prime Minister's XI 254-9 by seven wickets (D/L method) Scorecard
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