The Ashes 2015: Consolation for Australia, celebrations for England

FIFTH TEST: Australia 481 beat England 149 & 286 (f/o) by an innings and 46 runs Scorecard
Man of the match: Steve Smith

AUSTRALIA restored some pride with a dominant innings win in the fifth Test at the Oval - but England, of course, could already celebrate a fourth successive home Ashes triumph.

Steve Smith (143) scored his second big ton of the summer as the Aussies set up a platform on days one and two to control the final chapter of this bewildering campaign.

For this Ashes series can only accurately be described as having been bewildering. From the start, it has constantly confounded expectations.

It seems a long time ago now but Australia went into the series as favourites having completed a whitewash over England only 18 months previously.

England, though, won the first Test by the not insignificant margin of 169 runs before Australia dwarfed that with a massive 405-run victory at Lord's.

Perhaps, it was thought, it had just taken the Aussies a little time to wake up. Perhaps now they would pulverise England the rest of the series.

But no - it was the English bowlers who dominated at Edgbaston and Trent Bridge with Steven Finn and James Anderson spearheading the first of those efforts before Stuart Broad produced, in the absence of Anderson, his now legendary spell of 8-15.

Australia were blown away for 60 in their first innings in Nottingham, the shortest first innings in Test history - and, having only done slightly better second time around, had lost the Ashes and looked a shambles of a team.

Surely then England would cap a glorious summer at the Oval by grinding the Aussies' noses in the dust to emerge as 4-1 winners.

Alas, sadly not. Despite England winning the toss, any early Aussie vulnerability was steadied at the top of the order by Chris Rogers (43) and David Warner (85).

The openers guided the tourists to 82-0 at lunch on the first day - and their position at the end of day one, 287-3, was no less dominant with Smith at the crease alongside Adam Voges.

Voges had played himself into a bit of form at the back end of the fourth Test with an unbeaten half century there - but he will have enjoyed his 76 at the Oval far more.

There was, however, no last big satisfying score for outgoing skipper Michael Clarke. He made just 15 before being caught behind off Ben Stokes - and, by later enforcing the follow-on for the first time ever, did not get a second chance.

Australia eventually made 481 as Smith found another useful ally lower down the order in Mitchell Starc (58).

The big question at that point was whether England, facing similar first innings scoreboard pressure to that which affected them at Lord's, could do any better this time.

In short, they could not. On the stroke of tea on day two, the hosts lost skipper Alastair Cook (22) - castled by Nathan Lyon - and, after the interval, the rest of the team collapsed in a heap to 92-8.

Only a bit of counter-punching from Moeen Ali (30) and Mark Wood (24) pushed England onto three-figures. However, both were dismissed by Mitchell Johnson early on the third day.

Clarke then made his momentous decision to enforce the follow-on for the first time ever in his final Test match.

With one eye on the inclement British weather, and England trailing by a massive 332 runs, it was really the only sensible choice.

But, by denying himself the chance to improve on his own first innings score, Clarke admirably favoured the value of a crushing win over any valedictory vainglory.

Australia delivered for him. Peter Siddle may have been terribly under-employed on this tour but he was belatedly able to show his quality by taking 4-35 in the second innings for match figures of 6-67.

Notably, Siddle twice dismissed Adam Lyth cheaply - and, with the Yorkshireman having failed to make any sort of truly significant contribution in this series, it now seems certain he will be dropped for the winter tours.

Ian Bell, meanwhile, is rumoured to be on the verge of international retirement, satisfied with a career which has made him a five-times Ashes winner.

Bell, of course, will always have the 2013 series to cherish, his three centuries being the foundation stone to that England victory.

But it would not be unfair to suggest that this series has rather passed him by. He has averaged 26.87, and even that mark is boosted by a strong performance on his home ground which was not repeated elsewhere.

So, the wheel turns for England again - ahead of a completely different sort of challenge against Pakistan on the dry pitches of Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah in October.

Captain Cook, however, remains steadfastly at the head of the ship - and deservedly so after such an unexpected series victory.

Of course, there has still been some horror shows with the bat from England but a lot of the bowling has been genuinely thrilling.

Remember, it was this England attack which was the first Test side in history to have four different players take at least six wickets in four consecutive innings at Edgbaston and Trent Bridge.

And while Clarke and Australia can continue to moan all they like about the pitches favouring the hosts, they have no real argument unless they transform the Gabba in Brisbane or the Waca in Perth into a dry-turner for a visit of Pakistan or India.

English pitches in England should not really come as a surprise to Australia - there were, after all, few complaints from them about the surfaces in 1989 or 1993 or 1997. Or 2001 for that matter.

Yes, it is now 14 years since Australia last won a series in England - and it will be 18 years by the time they are scheduled to arrive on these shores for Tests again.

England, in the meantime, can bask in the glory of holding the urn for the next two-and-a-half years before the next contest Down Under in the winter of 2017-18.

For, although the series ended on the damp squib of a defeat at the Oval, the performance level overall from a developing side has restored some faith in the team around the country.

My preview suggested most supporters would be satisfied with a 2-2 draw and some entertaining cricket, even if that meant the Aussies retaining the urn.

In that case, a 3-2 victory - even when finishing on an innings defeat - is more than satisfactory. Now, if only the infuriating inconsistency could be sorted out.

THE ASHES 2015: ENGLAND WON 3-2

8-11 July	1ST England 430 & 289 beat Australia 308 & 242 by 169 runs	Cardiff
16-19 July	2ND Australia 566-8d & 254-2d beat England 312 & 103 by 405 runs	Lord's
29-31 July	3RD England 281 & 124-2 beat Australia 136 & 265 by eight wickets	Edgbaston
6-8 August	4TH England 391-9d beat Australia 60 & 253 by an innings and 78 runs	Trent Bridge
20-23 August	5TH Australia 481 beat England 149 & 286 by an innings and 46 runs	The Oval

Man of the series: Joe Root (England)

TEAM AGGREGATES
Runs scored England 2365, Australia 2565
Wickets taken England 80, Australia 81 

CENTURIES
Australia 3-2 England
215 Steve Smith (Australia) in the second Test, Lord's
173 Chris Rogers (Australia) in the second Test, Lord's
143 Steve Smith (Australia) in the fifth Test, The Oval
134 Joe Root (England) in the first Test, Cardiff
130 Joe Root (England) in the fourth Test, Trent Bridge

TOP RUN SCORERS
508 Steve Smith (Australia)
480 Chris Rogers (Australia)
460 Joe Root (England)
418 David Warner (Australia)
330 Alastair Cook (England)
293 Moeen Ali (England)
215 Ian Bell (England)
201 Ben Stokes (England), Adam Voges (Australia) 

BEST BATTING AVERAGES
60.00 Chris Rogers (Australia)
57.50 Joe Root (England)
56.44 Steve Smith (Australia)
46.44 David Warner (Australia)
36.66 Alastair Cook (England)
36.62 Moeen Ali (England)
29.50 Jonny Bairstow (England)
28.71 Adam Voges (Australia)
26.87 Ian Bell (England)
25.75 Mark Wood (England)

FIVE-WICKET HAULS
England 4-2 Australia
8-15 Stuart Broad (England) in the fourth Test, Trent Bridge
6-36 Ben Stokes (England) in the fourth Test, Trent Bridge 
6-47 James Anderson (England) in the third Test, Edgbaston
6-79 Steven Finn (England) in the third Test, Edgbaston 
6-111 Mitchell Starc (Australia) in the fourth Test, Trent Bridge 
5-114 Mitchell Starc (Australia) in the first Test, Cardiff

TOP WICKET TAKERS 
21 Stuart Broad (England)
18 Mitchell Starc (Australia)
16 Josh Hazlewood (Australia), Nathan Lyon (Australia)
15 Mitchell Johnson (Australia)
12 Steven Finn (England), Moeen Ali (England)
11 Ben Stokes (England)
10 James Anderson (England), Mark Wood (England) 

BOWLING AVERAGES minimum 10 wickets
20.90 Stuart Broad (England)
22.50 Steven Finn (England)
25.75 Josh Hazlewood (Australia)
27.50 James Anderson (England)
28.25 Nathan Lyon (Australia)
30.50 Mitchell Starc (Australia)
33.45 Ben Stokes (England)
34.93 Mitchell Johnson (Australia)
39.10 Mark Wood (England)
45.50 Moeen Ali (England)

The Ashes 2015 preview: Play without fear

ASHES 2015 SCHEDULE

8-12 July	FIRST TEST	Sophia Gardens, Cardiff
16-20 July	SECOND TEST	Lord's, London
29-2 August	THIRD TEST	Edgbaston, Birmingham
6-10 August	FOURTH TEST	Trent Bridge, Nottingham
20-24 August	FIFTH TEST	The Oval, London

ENGLAND must play without fear to stand any chance of recovering the Ashes from Australia this summer, according to former skipper Michael Vaughan.

Vaughan, who led England to a first series win over the Aussies in 18 years back in 2005, said: "They have to take Australia on with the mentality of 'we don't care about losing' because that will make the Aussies fear them more.

"If they have any kind of worries or concerns, then they will get walloped."

Now - exactly a decade on from the famous victory - England must indeed replicate the sort of nerve which saw Vaughan's men put on over 400 runs on the first day of the second Test at Edgbaston, having been put in by Ricky Ponting.

Still today, Vaughan has said he wonders what would have become of his talented side if Australia had batted first at Birmingham, and racked up a big score of their own.

England, having lost the first Test at Lord's, would have most likely faced a 2-0 deficit - and it would have been another missed opportunity.

Instead, Vaughan's team would eventually prevail by just two runs in the narrowest margin of victory by runs in Ashes history. And they then went on to take the series.

Ever since, England have been unbeaten in home series against the Baggy Greens, a record which culminated in a 3-0 win two years ago.

Moreover, in the winter of 2010-11, England also won 3-1 Down Under - with three innings victories ending a 24-year wait for success on Australian soil in comprehensive fashion.

But, of course, not all of the series since 2005 have been like that. As a matter of fact, the other two tours to Australia - in 2006-07 and 2013-14 - both resulted in shambolic whitewashes.

Remarkably, those two 5-0 thrashings mean Australia have actually won more individual Ashes Tests than England in the past 10 years, despite the latter winning four of the last six series.

So, rather than 2005 then, England would perhaps be better served by igniting the spirit of a far less heralded home series win - 2009 - which came, like now, just 18 months after a battering.

Then again, maybe not - that 2009 victory came against one of Australia's poorest ever sides.

Therefore, another even better alternative perspective would be to emulate the way in which the Baggy Greens in 2013 went from losing 3-0 in England to beating the same opponents 5-0 less than six months later.

After all, England appear to be in a similar position right now to one in which the Aussies found themselves a couple of years ago.

Back then, Cricket Australia replaced unpopular coach Mickey Arthur with the attack-minded former batsman Darren Lehmann.

And, although Lehmann was unable to prevent a third successive Ashes series defeat in England, the 5-0 whitewash at home vindicated his philosophy and more than made amends.

Since then, Australia have barely looked back. Further Test series successes have followed in South Africa, West Indies and at home to India, all capped by a record fifth World Cup, won on home soil in March.

At the same tournament, England stank the place out in heavy defeats to New Zealand, Australia and Sri Lanka before eventual elimination in the group stages after one final loss to Bangladesh.

So began the end of Peter Moores' second brief stint as England head coach. Dumped on the first occasion in 2009 after just 22 months in charge, this time Moores had an even shorter tenure, lasting less than 14 months.

The decision of former skipper Andrew Strauss, now the Director of Cricket at the ECB, to make the change came following a drawn series against the West Indies only a few weeks after the World Cup debacle.

England had taken the lead in the Caribbean with a confident nine-wicket win in Grenada but then meekly surrendered their advantage in the third Test in Barbados.

At the start of the series, in the drawn first Test in Antigua, James Anderson had become England's highest Test wicket-taker in history with the scalp of Denesh Ramdin.

Meanwhile, in the second Test, Gary Ballance became the third-fastest England batsman to reach 1,000 Test runs

But, by the end of the tour, the feel-good factor had completely dissipated - and Moores was rather unceremoniously fired while England were being washed out in a one-off One-Day International in Ireland.

Paul Farbrace took temporary charge for the New Zealand home series - and, freed from the shackles of the data-obsessed Moores, there was an immediate, if not entirely successful, change.

First, England won a spectacular first Test of the summer at Lord's despite conceding a 134-run deficit on first innings.

And, although the Black Caps fought back at Headingley in Leeds for a deserved share of the spoils in the Test series, England went on to win 3-2 against the World Cup finalists in the One-Dayers.

Better still, they achieved their victories in style - hitting more than 400 in an ODI for the first time in the first match and completing their highest-ever successful run-chase in the fourth before holding their nerve in a decider at Durham.

New permanent England coach, Australian Trevor Bayliss, nevertheless finds himself in a similar situation to Lehmann two years ago in taking up his role on the eve of an Ashes series.

But, unlike Lehmann, Bayliss begins with the pressure and expectation of a home series - and neither does he benefit from being able to work out his opponent's weaknesses in back-to-back campaigns.

At the same time, there is still an easy comparison to be made - and it should be noted that Australia only fully recovered from their nadir by playing positive, no-fear cricket.

Now, England - under Bayliss - must pick up where they left off against New Zealand and do the same, regardless of the Australians' favourites status.

For, undoubtedly, Australia are favourites. The Baggy Greens have an embarrassment of riches in a fast bowlers department spearheaded by a dual Mitchell menace.

Relative youngster Mitchell Starc joins a man who needs no introduction after his exploits in the 2013-14 whitewash, left-armer Johnson - while they can also call upon Josh Hazlewood, Peter Siddle and Ryan Harris' replacement Pat Cummins.

Nathan Lyon has really come on over the past few years as the spinner while number three batsman Steve Smith is currently statistically the best in the world.

By contrast, England are still scratching around a bit and may be a side whose confidence remains a bit fragile.

True, the likes of Joe Root and Ben Stokes have provided much in recent times to be optimistic about - and skipper Alastair Cook rediscovered his best form with the bat against New Zealand.

But doubts continue to plague Cook's captaincy - can he really be as aggressive as his counterpart Michael Clarke if push came to shove?

There are also questions to be answered by England's bowlers.

Behind Anderson and the sometimes erratic Stuart Broad, there is no definitive third seamer - though Durham's Mark Wood has showed encouraging signs. Meanwhile, Moeen Ali looks uncomfortable in the role of a front-line Test spinner.

Yes, Australia are definitely favourites then, especially as a first series draw since 1972 would allow them to retain the urn.

This will sound rather defeatist - and, in isolation, a rare drawn Ashes series would admittedly be a frustrating outcome.

However, an attacking - though obviously fallible - 2-2 result against the Aussies would most likely still be enough to keep English cricket spirits on its recently rediscovered relative high.

Find out if Bayliss and Cook can achieve at least this, starting tomorrow at 10am on SkySports 2, currently re-branded SkySports Ashes.

Alternatively, as ever, radio coverage throughout the summer will be provided by the excellent Test Match Special team on BBC Radio 4 LW and BBC Radio 5Live Sports Xtra.

ASHES HISTORY

	OVERALL			IN ENGLAND
	SERIES	TESTS		SERIES	TESTS
ENGLAND	31	103		17	47
AUSTRALIA	32	128		14	46
Drawn	5	89		3	65

Since 2000

2001	(H)	AUSTRALIA won 4-1
2002-03	(A)	AUSTRALIA won 4-1
2005	(H)	ENGLAND won 2-1
2006-07	(A)	AUSTRALIA won 5-0
2009	(H)	ENGLAND won 2-1
2010-11	(A)	ENGLAND won 3-1
2013	(H)	ENGLAND won 3-0
2013-14	(A)	AUSTRALIA won 5-0

ASHES 2015 SQUADS
ENGLAND Alastair Cook (c), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Gary Ballance, Ian Bell, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Steven Finn, Adam Lyth, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Mark Wood

AUSTRALIA Michael Clarke (c), Steve Smith (vc), Brad Haddin (wk), Fawad Ahmed, Josh Hazlewood, Ryan Harris*, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Peter Nevill (wk), Chris Rogers, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc, Adam Voges, David Warner, Shane Watson

*retired due to knee injury and has been replaced by Pat Cummins

The Ashes 2013/14 stats: Complete Aussie dominance from just 11 men

THE ASHES 2013/14: AUSTRALIA WON 5-0                                                           Preview

21-24 Nov	FIRST: Australia 295 & 401-7d beat England 136 & 179 by 381 runs	Brisbane
5-9 Dec	SECOND: Australia 570-9d & 132-3d bt England 172 & 312 by 218 runs	Adelaide
13-17 Dec	THIRD: Australia 385 & 369-6d beat England 251 & 353 by 150 runs	Perth
26-29 Dec	FOURTH: Australia 204 & 231-2 beat England 255 & 179 by eight wkts	Melbourne
3-5 Jan	FIFTH: Australia 326 & 276 beat England 155 & 166 by 281 runs	Sydney

Man of the series: Mitchell Johnson (37 wickets at 13.97)

ENGLAND arrived in Australia in November seeking a fourth successive Ashes series win but ended it having to face up to a shameful whitewash.

In between, Alastair Cook's team were out-thought, out-fought and simply out-classed in every facet of the game. It was a pathetic, humiliating surrender of the urn.

Even the great Aussie era of Steve Waugh, Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne surely did not find their Ashes series this easy. Even the dreadful whitewash seven years ago resembled more of a contest.

For a start, not one of the matches in this series was close. The margins of victory - 381 runs, 281 runs, 218 runs, 150 runs and eight wickets - were all absolutely massive and a complete embarrassment for England.

Now, reflecting on the campaign as a whole, it is obvious that, of all their issues, the tourists' biggest problem came with the bat.

Actually, as coach Andy Flower has since acknowledged, this was not just something new. Throughout their double success last summer - a 2-0 win over New Zealand and a 3-0 Ashes triumph - England had failed to make 400 once.

Down Under, there were few thoughts of anything like 400, given that the team failed to make even half that in six out of their 10 innings.

Most damagingly, England's best first innings total was 255 and their average knock was 193.8. This compares badly against the Aussies' best of 570-9 declared and team average of 356.

Overall, Australia scored over 1,000 more runs than England, and the biggest difference often came in how the tail approached their task.

Aided by wicket-keeper Brad Haddin, who boasted the best batting average at 61.62 and whose aggregate of 493 was beaten only by David Warner, the Aussie tail wagged throughout the series.

By contrast, England's last few men were regularly blown away by man of the series Mitchell Johnson.

The Queenslander's terrifying pace earned him 37 wickets at the brilliant average of 13.97, including three five-fers, each of which won him a Man of the Match award.

Johnson was ably assisted in the attack by workhorse Ryan Harris (22 wickets at 19.31), Peter Siddle (16 at 24.12), and the off-spin of Nathan Lyon who took 19 wickets at an average under 30.

And, out of the England players who played more than one Test, only Stuart Broad from the England ranks got anywhere near that standard.

James Anderson was a shadow of his former self and Tim Bresnan - who took just five scalps - was down on pace throughout.

Meanwhile, things got so bad for off-spinner Graeme Swann that he retired once the Ashes had been lost in Perth, having taken seven wickets at the monstrous average of 80.

But, even in the face of some unavoidable changes, England's line-up rapidly became a confused mess.

In all, 18 of the 19 players originally taken on tour featured at some point with Steven Finn the only man to miss out.

Fellow giant bowlers Chris Tremlett and debutant Boyd Rankin played just one Test apiece, and the trio became labelled the Tallest Drinks Waiters in the world.

There were debuts also in the series for Ben Stokes, England only centurion who also took a six-fer in the fifth Test, Scott Borthwick who impressed with ball more than bat, and Gary Ballance.

Ballance arrived at the crease at 17-4, only a marginally better position than his Yorkshire predecessor Michael Vaughan who made his debut at 2-4 against South Africa in 1999.

England, who were in transition then just as they clearly are now, lost that match in Johannesburg badly.

But Vaughan learned a lot from his baptism of fire and he became a hugely successful captain with a positive mindset like Aussie skipper Michael Clarke rather than the negative run-saving approach favoured by Cook.

Can Cook change his ways and revitalise England? Will he even get the chance and, that said, does he deserve it?

Certainly, at this stage, a change of at the top would favour England whose defensive nature actually seems to stem directly from Flower.

As successful as he has been in the past, the Zimbabwean's meticulous approach to matches now appears to be getting less and less attention from his players who are perhaps tired of hearing what they are going to do to stop the opposition.

Since his appointment last year, Australia coach Darren Lehmann has restored the self-belief of his squad, and Johnson in particular, by concentrating on their own strengths instead.

It has worked better than Lehmann could ever imagined and, indeed, easily the most remarkable statistic of all is that the hosts used the same 11 players all the way through the series.

Several of them had been derided and written off in the fairly recent past.

But now 'the Unchangeables', as they have been dubbed, are part of a truly legendary moment in Australian cricket history as only the third team to complete an Ashes whitewash.

Through slightly embittered English teeth then, I must congratulate skipper Clarke and his men for a phenomenal campaign, and just hope that it will surely be closer next time... won't it?

THE ASHES 2013/14: A STATISTICAL PERSPECTIVE

TEAM SCORES
570-9dec Australia in the second Test, Adelaide  
401-7dec Australia in the first Test, Brisbane
385 Australia in the third Test, Perth
369-6dec Australia in the third Test, Perth
353 England in the third Test, Perth
326 Australia in the fifth Test, Sydney
312 England in the second Test, Adelaide
295 Australia in the first Test, Brisbame
276 Australia in the fifth Test, Sydney
255 England in the fourth Test, Melbourne
251 England in the third Test, Perth
231-2dec Australia in fourth Test, Melbourne
204 Australia in the fourth Test, Melbourne
179 England in the first Test, Brisbane
179 England in the fourth Test, Melbourne
172 England in the second Test, Adelaide
166 England in the fifth Test, Sydney
155 England in the fifth Test, Sydney
136 England in the first Test, Brisbane
132-3dec Australia in the second Test, Adelaide 

TEAM AGGREGATES
Runs scored Australia 3189, England 2158
Wickets taken Australia 100, England 77

BATTING
BEST AVERAGES
61.62 Brad Haddin (Australia)
58.11 David Warner (Australia)
46.30 Chris Rogers (Australia)
40.87 Steve Smith (Australia)
40.33 Michael Clarke (Australia)
38.33 Shane Watson (Australia)
34.87 Ben Stokes (England)
29.40 Kevin Pietersen (England)
28.10 Michael Carberry (England)
27.50 Mitchell Johnson (Australia) 
27.42 Joe Root (England)
26.14 George Bailey (Australia)
26.11 Ian Bell (England)
24.60 Alastair Cook (England) 
23.40 Ryan Harris (Australia)
19.37 Stuart Broad (England)

HIGHEST RUN SCORERS (minimum 200 runs)
523 David Warner (Australia)
493 Brad Haddin (Australia)
463 Chris Rogers (Australia)
363 Michael Clarke (Australia)
345 Shane Watson (Australia)
327 Steve Smith (Australia)
294 Kevin Pietersen (England)
281 Michael Carberry (England)
279 Ben Stokes (England)
246 Alastair Cook (England)
235 Ian Bell (England)

CENTURIES
Australia 10-1 England
148 Michael Clarke (Australia), second Test
124 David Warner (Australia), first Test
120 Ben Stokes (England), third Test
119 Chris Rogers (Australia), fifth Test
118 Brad Haddin (Australia), second Test
116 Chris Rogers (Australia), fourth Test
115 Steve Smith (Australia), fifth Test
113 Michael Clarke (Australia), first Test
112 David Warner (Australia), third Test
111 Steve Smith (Australia), third Test
103 Shane Watson (Australia), third Test

BOWLING
BEST AVERAGES
13.97 Mitchell Johnson (Australia)
19.31 Ryan Harris (Australia)
20.50 Scott Borthwick (England)
24.12 Peter Siddle (Australia)
27.52 Stuart Broad (England)
29.36 Nathan Lyon (Australia) 
30.00 Chris Tremlett (England)
30.50 Shane Watson (Australia)
32.80 Ben Stokes (England)
41.20 Tim Bresnan (England)
43.92 James Anderson (England)

WICKET TAKERS
37 Mitchell Johnson (Australia)
22 Ryan Harris (Australia)
21 Stuart Broad (England)
19 Nathan Lyon (Australia)
16 Peter Siddle (Australia)
15 Ben Stokes (England)
14 James Anderson (England)
7 Graeme Swann (England)
5 Tim Bresnan (England)
4 Scott Borthwick (England), Chris Tremlett (England), Shane Watson (Australia)
3 Monty Panesar (England)
1 Steve Smith (Australia), Boyd Rankin (England)

FIVE-WICKET HAULS
Australia 5-2 England
7-40 Mitchell Johnson (Australia), second Test
6-81 Stuart Broad (England), first Test
6-99 Ben Stokes (England), fifth Test
5-25 Ryan Harris (Australia), fifth Test
5-42 Mitchell Johnson (Australia), first Test
5-50 Nathan Lyon (Australia), fourth Test
5-63 Mitchell Johnson (Australia), fourth Test

The Ashes 2013/14: Australia complete the whitewash

Australia 326 & 276 beat England 155 & 166 by 281 runs Scorecard
Man of the match: Ryan Harris (5-25)

AUSTRALIA completed a 5-0 whitewash of pitiful England with a 281-run thumping inside three days at the SCG in Sydney.

Michael Clarke's men thus repeated the feat achieved by previous Australian captains Warwick Armstrong in 1920-21 and Ricky Ponting in 2006-07.

But the last six weeks have been particularly difficult to take for England with them having come into the contest with the upper hand after winning four of the past five series.

That it was going to be different this time was not immediately apparent.

England reduced the Aussies to 132-6 on the first day of the first Test in Brisbane but Brad Haddin then staged a recovery to get the hosts 295.

Haddin's batting with the lower order was something which would become a feature of the entire campaign with England, at times, actually getting themselves into good positions with the ball.

However, the other decisive recurrence would be England's inability to cope with the ferocity of Mitchell Johnson fast bowling.

The tail struggled in particular but all too often they were left trying to pick up the pieces of the failures of England's ever-changing and broken top order.

And it is why the results show England getting bowled out for less than 200 on six out of the 10 innings having last made 400 in a Test against New Zealand in March.

Indeed, in Adelaide in the second Test, Alastair Cook's men finished the first innings a massive 398 behind on the way to a 218-run defeat while the performance in Perth was only a smidgen better.

Nevertheless, defeat at the WACA meant that the Ashes had been lost and it was not even Christmas.

Still, though, surely England could restore some pride in Melbourne, as an unbeaten opening partnership between Cook and Michael Carberry took them to 65-0 for a lead of 116.

Alas, no. England then lost three men for one run and also their last five wickets for six runs to collapse to 179 all out on the most humiliating day of the series of all. Australia then knocked off the 231 runs required without breaking sweat.

That, it seemed, was England's best chance gone.

Even then, though, there was even some hope going into this last match with three players on debut - Gary Ballance, Scott Borthwick, and Boyd Rankin - for the first time since Nagpur in India in 2006.

Back then, current captain Cook was one of the starlings, and he helped his new charges here by winning his first toss of the series and electing to bowl on a green-top surface.

England subsequently made early inroads as the Aussies felt the heat at 97-5.

But back again came Haddin, his 75 assisting a Steve Smith's century as Australia made 326 and took the early wicket of Carberry to leave England 8-1 at the close of day one.

Cook (7) resumed on day two but lasted just two balls before padding up to a plumb lbw, and Bell should have then been out first ball but for a badly dropped catch by Shane Watson in the slips.

No matter. Chances were coming along with such frequency for Australia, it was hardly as if there was going to be much of a wait for another one.

Nightwatchman James Anderson made a brave seven runs before edging to Clarke in the slips off Johnson.

And, by the time Peter Siddle accounted for Bell (2) and Ryan Harris for Kevin Pietersen (3), England were 23-5. This humiliating series had produced another chapter.

Thankfully, England went on to scramble past their lowest total (45) against Australia, mainly down to the efforts of Ben Stokes (47) who, as the tourists' only centurion in this campaign, can still hold his head up high.

Ballance also did well to support Stokes for a while, considering he came in at 17-4, while Stuart Broad - England's best bowler Down Under - belatedly showed some form with the bat, hitting 30 not out.

Last man Rankin made 13, still more than Cook, Carberry, Bell and Pietersen combined, as England were bowled out for 155 on the stroke of tea.

By stumps on day two, the Aussie lead was up to 311 despite four successes for the England bowlers - and by lunch on the third day, Chris Rogers was celebrating his second ton of the series to make it an incredible 10-1 in centuries to Australia.

In a moment of high farce in the field, Rogers tickled the ball to third man for three and - thanks to a wild throw from wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow - ended up with seven, a score off one ball equivalent to anything the England top five could muster in their entire innings.

It was just a small, relatively insignificant occurrence in the grand scheme of things - but that moment perfectly summed up exactly where these two teams are right now. 

To their credit, the England's bowlers nibbled away at the other end, and even Haddin could only make a relatively paltry 28 before being bowled by debutant Borthwick.

The Durham leg-spinner also ended Rogers' assault with an excellent caught and bowled, and took his third wicket when Harris picked out Carberry at deep midwicket.

Siddle was the last man out, caught behind by Bairstow off Rankin for the Irishman's first Test wicket, and England had a nominal target of 448 runs to win.

Realistically, the only doubtful outcome was whether England still had enough about them to take the match into a fourth day.

Quite appropriately perhaps, the answer was no.

Instead, England were bundled out for 166 in just 31 overs, by far their fastest scoring rate of the series, a team clearly desperate for it all to end.

Harris took the final wicket to spark wild celebrations on Pink Day in Sydney, designated in support of Jane McGrath, the late wife of the legendary Aussie fast-bowler Glenn.

And so, with Harris's efforts, Australia also outscored England in terms of five-wicket hauls - not in as clear-cut a fashion as with the centuries - but still by five to two.

Of course, the most important score is the one overall: 5-0 - a completely deserved triumph for Australia who have now won more individual Ashes Tests since the start of the 2005 series than England.

That is, of course, largely down to the two whitewashes in seven years - and, just as heads rolled in 2007 so should they this time as well.

Incredibly, it might not happen with ECB chief executive David Collier giving his backing to coach Andy Flower even before the series was over.

Yes, the Zimbabwean still has an excellent record with England but it is one which should be cherished and kept, not further besmirched.

All eras come to an end and this one has been sounding the death knell for weeks now. It is time to move on and hopefully away from the cycle of boom and bust.

Just as previous coach Duncan Fletcher enjoyed the boom-times of an unbeaten 2004 followed by a first Ashes win in 2005, Flower can be proud to have overseen three Ashes victories and a historic triumph in India during his tenure.

But Fletcher's bubble burst with the previous Ashes whitewash being followed up by an under-par World Cup performance in which he appeared throughout to be a lame duck - and compatriot Flower now, too, is a busted flush.

The final word, though, must go to the Australians who arrived in England at the start of last summer in a crisis, having changed their coach just two weeks before the series.

Consequently, they lost 3-0 after a terrible start but, even then, they gradually improved.

Back Down Under, with that new coach Darren Lehmann, they have been a totally different beast, and man of the series Johnson has been completely reinvigorated.

Previously a joke figure, Johnson now holds the Ashes record for the most wickets by a left-arm bowler in a series.

So mighty congratulations to Johnson and Australia - what a turnaround! We shall, of course, meet again in 2015 with hopefully a different set-up and a much-changed team.

THE ASHES 2013/14: AUSTRALIA WON 5-0

21-24 Nov	FIRST: Australia 295 & 401-7d beat England 136 & 179 by 381 runs	Brisbane
5-9 Dec	SECOND: Australia 570-9d & 132-3d bt England 172 & 312 by 218 runs	Adelaide
13-17 Dec	THIRD: Australia 385 & 369-6d beat England 251 & 353 by 150 runs	Perth
26-29 Dec	FOURTH: Australia 204 & 231-2 beat England 255 & 179 by eight wkts	Melbourne
3-5 Jan	FIFTH: Australia 326 & 276 beat England 155 & 166 by 281 runs	Sydney

Man of the series: Mitchell Johnson (37 wickets at 13.97)

CENTURIES
148 Michael Clarke (Australia), second Test
124 David Warner (Australia), first Test
120 Ben Stokes (England), third Test
119 Chris Rogers (Australia), fifth Test
118 Brad Haddin (Australia), second Test
116 Chris Rogers (Australia), fourth Test
115 Steve Smith (Australia), fifth Test
113 Michael Clarke (Australia), first Test
112 David Warner (Australia), third Test
111 Steve Smith (Australia), third Test
103 Shane Watson (Australia), third Test

FIVE-WICKET HAULS
7-40 Mitchell Johnson (Australia), second Test
6-81 Stuart Broad (England), first Test
6-99 Ben Stokes (England), fifth Test
5-25 Ryan Harris (Australia), fifth Test
5-42 Mitchell Johnson (Australia), first Test
5-50 Nathan Lyon (Australia), fourth Test
5-63 Mitchell Johnson (Australia), fourth Test

The Ashes 2013/14: Australia beat "broken" England again

Australia 204 & 231-2 beat England 255 & 179 by eight wickets Scorecard
Man of the match: Mitchell Johnson (5-63 & 3-25)

AUSTRALIA dismantled the very last vestiges of England's confidence after completing a eight-wicket victory in Melbourne to go 4-0 up in the series.

Shane Watson (83 not out) hit the winning runs as the Aussies set up an odds-on chance of a whitewash which would have been seen as a laughable impossibility just four month ago.

Undoubtedly, though, that says more about England than it ever will about Australia in this ongoing nightmare tour. Now the joke is well and truly on England.

Indeed, the sad decline of Alastair Cook's team has been swift and brutal in this bleak midwinter.

Yes, it cannot be denied that problems had been identified in the summer, namely England's continued inability to pass 400, but the team at least still knew how to win matches back then.

In Melbourne, as Cook candidly admitted afterwards, England proved in no uncertain terms that this is the case no longer - even when put in a favourable position.

Consider the fact that, at the close on day two at the MCG, Australia were 164-9, still 91 runs behind on England's first innings effort.

And that Michael Clarke's decision to field on winning a fourth straight toss appeared to have backfired as the Aussies, and David Warner in particular, batted with a certain hubris which looked set to be their downfall.

But then came day three, surely up there when considering the darkest recent days of English cricket history.

First, Brad Haddin was once again able to reduce the Aussie arrears by compiling a last-wicket stand with Nathan Lyon which was worth 40 runs.

In doing so, Haddin broke the Ashes record for the highest aggregate by a wicket-keeper. His current total of 390 - at 65, no less - beats Alec Stewart's 378 from 1993 with a match to spare.

Those extra runs with Lyon seemed to matter little, though, when captain Cook and fellow opener Michael Carberry neutralised those gains by making it to lunch unbeaten on 54-0 for a lead of 105.

Instead, the real nightmare came in the afternoon session as England collapsed not just once but twice.

With Cook (51) having already departed, lbw to Mitchell Johnson, the first collapse was triggered by Carberry being trapped in front by Peter Siddle with a ball from round the wicket having made 12 painstaking runs in two hours.

Carberry thus proved that England have still not found an opener to replace ex-captain Andrew Strauss who is now happily nestled in the SkySports commentary team.

Nick Compton was dropped for a similar scoring rate - and, while there is much to be said for occupying the crease, by refusing to rotate the strike, Carberry simply puts pressure on himself and the team.

It showed as 86-2 became 86-3 when Joe Root (15) went for a run that was never on, before Ian Bell equally brainlessly lofted Lyon straight to Johnson at mid-off with his first ball.

Kevin Pietersen, who had come under pressure between Tests for his carefree batting approach, then tried to take on the responsibility of repairing the innings.

Briefly, he found a sensible ally in Ben Stokes. Having scored just 19, though, the Durham all-rounder rather tossed his wicket away to become Lyon's second victim on what would be a momentous day for the off-spinner.

Jonny Bairstow - in for discarded vice-captain Matt Prior - also began with good intent, hitting two sixes to extend a record broken earlier by Haddin for the most hit in a single Ashes series.

However, the Yorkshireman also could not build on his start, and he needlessly clipped a wide Johnson delivery behind to Haddin on 21.

England were beginning to struggle on 173-6 but what then followed almost defied belief, even accounting for what has gone on over the past six weeks.

Tim Bresnan added to Bell's duck, swiping at Lyon but succeeding only in dragging the ball onto his own bails.

And then Stuart Broad departed without scoring to Lyon too, allowing the Aussie to celebrate a 100th Test wicket.

173-5 had become 174-8 in the blinking of an eye but England did not stop there.

Seemingly unable to trust James Anderson or Monty Panesar with blocking at the other end, Pietersen (49) felt obliged to charge down the pitch in a bid for some quick runs off Lyon.

Instead, he could only find Ryan Harris stalking the boundary at long-off as Lyon (5-50) celebrated the most unlikely of five-fers on a pitch that had offered barely any turn whatsoever.

Man of the match Johnson inevitably wound up proceedings by trapping Panesar lbw for a fourth duck in the innings as the tourists were bowled out for 179.

In all, England's last five wickets had fallen for six runs - and, combined with the earlier collapse of three wickets for one run, England lost eight for seven. Frankly, it was a complete disgrace.

With eight overs left in the day, Australia made serene progress towards their target of 231, finishing a remarkable third day on 30-0, leaving them with 201 to get.
 
But, such was the strength of England's earlier position, the statistics still gave them some hope.

Until today, the highest fourth innings Test run chase since the introduction of a drop-in pitch to the MCG had been 183.

Nevertheless, within an hour of play on this fourth and final day, England had effectively surrendered the match.

First, Warner got a second life when Bairstow froze to the spot and Cook grassed at first slip - then, shortly afterwards, Chris Rogers was reprieved following a quite unbelievable drop by Cook.

The England captain has much on his mind at present, clearly. It is just a shame that one of them is not catching the ball.

Cook subsequently baffled viewers by setting bizarrely negative fields which did nothing to stop the Aussies from scoring at more than four an over.

And his rotation of the bowlers left much to be desired. Broad - England's best bowler on the tour - took on just 10 overs while Root was twice preferred to Panesar in the absence of the retired Graeme Swann.

This was scrambled thinking at its very worst from Cook who is still an inexperienced captain.

He is also an unduly negative one, however - and, if heads somehow do not roll after this, he and head coach Andy Flower need a complete change of mindset to rebuild England's shattered confidence.

England are a "broken" team at present according to BBC Test Match Special summariser Jonathan Agnew, who noticed there was "no conversation between anyone" on the field.

Sidekick Geoffrey Boycott also went through the varying stages of the Kuebler-Ross model on grief.

He was at depression with his first comment: "The hardest decision Australia have had to make this morning is what to have for lunch" - before finally moving to acceptance.

"This is so disappointing and hurtful as a lover of English cricket.I don't mind losing but this is just a massacre," he added.

By contrast, the Aussies were understandably cock-a-hoop as Rogers recovered from a streaky start to record his second Test century, the eighth by the home side in this series. England have had still just one centurion, that being Stokes in Perth.

Even when Panesar found success to the most muted England celebrations ever, the joy continued for Australia when skipper Clarke, in his 101st match, became only the 27th player to reach 8,000 Test runs.

Oddly, it is a record which he shares exactly with his opposite number Cook - though, at 29 years and three days, the Englishman yesterday became the youngest ever to reach the milestone, younger even than Sachin Tendulkar.

Pietersen also passed the 8,000 runs mark within this match but, for the England pair, these individual achievements will feel utterly worthless, considering the mess which surrounds them.

Onto Sydney, this shambolic tour rolls then - with the singular aim of avoiding the whitewash.

The pack may be given another shuffle - will we see Garry Ballance at the expense of Carberry or one of the three giant seamers in place of Panesar or Bresnan?

Regardless of the selection, though, a second 5-0 whitewash in just seven years is surely on the cards.

After all, just shuffling a pack of 52 jokers will still not make a winning hand.

THE ASHES 2013/14

21-24 Nov	FIRST: Australia 295 & 401-7d beat England 136 & 179 by 381 runs	Brisbane
5-9 Dec	SECOND: Australia 570-9d & 132-3d bt England 172 & 312 by 218 runs	Adelaide
13-17 Dec	THIRD: Australia 385 & 369-6d beat England 251 & 353 by 150 runs	Perth
26-29 Dec	FOURTH: Australia 204 & 231-2 beat England 255 & 179 by eight wkts	Melbourne
3-7 Jan	FIFTH TEST	Sydney

CENTURIES
148 Michael Clarke (Australia)
124 David Warner (Australia)
120 Ben Stokes (England)
118 Brad Haddin (Australia)
116 Chris Rogers (Australia)
113 Michael Clarke (Australia)
112 David Warner (Australia)
111 Steve Smith (Australia)
103 Shane Watson (Australia)

FIVE-WICKET HAULS
7-40 Mitchell Johnson (Australia)
6-81 Stuart Broad (England)
5-42 Mitchell Johnson (Australia)
5-50 Nathan Lyon (Australia)
5-63 Mitchell Johnson (Australia)

The Ashes 2013/14: Battle rejoined

SQUADS
Australia Michael Clarke (c) Brad Haddin (wk) George Bailey, James Faulkner, Ryan Harris, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Lyon, Chris Rogers, Peter Siddle, Steve Smith, David Warner, Shane Watson
England Alastair Cook (c) James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow (wk) Ian Bell, Gary Ballance, Stuart Broad, Michael Carberry, Steven Finn, Monty Panesar, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior (wk) Boyd Rankin, Joe Root, Graeme Swann, Ben Stokes, Chris Tremlett, Jonathan Trott

ASHES foes England and Australia recommence their rivalry late tonight as the first Test of a five-match series begins at the Gabba in Brisbane.

It is only 85 days since the two teams finished the last Ashes series with a draw at the Oval which gave England a comfortable 3-0 win, their biggest over the Aussies since 1978-79.

However, both boards agreed back in 2011 to restructure the competition so that, from now on, the demands of the Ashes series in Australia are kept in separate years to the six-week Cricket World Cup, which is next held Down Under in 2015.

But, rather than a much larger gap between 2013 and, for example, a 2015-16 campaign in Australia, the boards also agreed to squeeze in the first back-to-back contests since the 1970s.

Additionally, the next England home series has been brought forward from 2017 to 2015 to prevent a lengthy gap between meetings.

It all means that, by the time that the English summer of 2015 is finished, England will have faced Australia in 15 Tests over three series in just slightly more than two years.

And, despite fears of "Ashes overkill", the timing actually looks to have worked pretty well for England who have emerged as the dominant force between the two teams.

The current urn-holders have indeed won four of the last five contests, a streak which includes a brilliant 3-1 win over Australia two years ago.

That campaign featured three crushing innings victories at Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney - though no one should expect it to be so easy this time around.

For a start, England's smooth preparation for the 2010-11 series has not exactly been replicated this time.

The fitness of wicket keeper Matt Prior following a calf tear has remained in doubt right up until the last minute while it is also unclear who, out of Steven Finn, Chris Tremlett and Boyd Rankin, will fill the tourists' third seamer spot.

None of them really impressed in the three warm-up games, a frustrating set of matches blighted by poor weather.

At least, the likely identity of England's opener alongside Alastair Cook became clearer with Hampshire batsman Michael Carberry hitting 153 in the draw with Australia A.

Joe Root will drop back down the order to bat at six, though there is hope that he can thrive there given that he will be protected from the new ball.

Meanwhile, Australia's own preparations have hardly been ideal either with their bowling attack suffering a spate of injuries, ruling out Mitchell Starc, James Pattinson and Jackson Bird.

Ryan Harris will be fit, though, after concerns over his hamstring, and he will be joined by the mercurial Mitchell Johnson whose inconsistency has already become written in Ashes folklore.

Skipper Michael Clarke has also had injury worries but bounced back from a six-week layoff with a stylish 88 for New South Wales against Tasmania. 

His Test record as captain, though, makes for less welcome reading - so far, it is played six, won none, drawn two, lost four. 

Nevertheless, it is widely accepted that Australia will field a much more settled side this time, and Clarke will be expecting his men can take advantage of that with a quick start in Brisbane.

After all, it is at a ground which England have found difficult over the years and, though he would be foolish to admit it, captain Cook would probably settle for a draw.

Next comes Adelaide where England wiped away their horror show on the final day in 2006 with that stunning victory three years ago.

And, of course, the key to this game is likely to be determined by whether either side has carried any momentum from the opener.

For the third Test, Cook's men travel west to the Waca in Perth, the scene of England's only defeat in the 2010-11 series, a heavy one, and a ground at which they have only won once ever.

Then, it is back to the east coast for the final two matches, in Melbourne and Sydney, where the tourists have had rather more success over the years, winning 20 and 22 times respectively.

Remember, as holders, England need only draw the series to retain the Ashes - and, even against an improved Aussie side, it would disappointing if they were unable to grind out a 2-2.

Coverage of the first Test begins at 11pm tonight on SkySports 2 with an hour-long highlights programme at 10am tomorrow, before being repeated at midday, 2pm, 4pm, 6pm and 8pm.

The Verdict show, with former England captain Bob Willis, is at 9pm tomorrow and, due to its time-slot, will feature a preview of the coming day's play as well as a review of the previous day.

Alternatively, radio listeners can tune into the always-reliable Test Match Special on Radio 4 LW and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra from 11.30pm tonight. The whole commentary is then repeated the following day from 11am.

THE ASHES 2013/14

31 Oct-2 Nov	England 391 drew with Western Australia 451-5dec & 168-5	Perth
6-9 Nov	England 430-7dec drew with Australia A 119-3	Hobart
13-16 Nov	England 418 & 151-3 beat Australia Invitational XI 304 & 261 by seven wickets	Sydney
21-25 Nov	FIRST TEST	Brisbane
29-30 Nov	Tour match v Chairman's XI	Alice Springs
5-9 Dec	SECOND TEST	Adelaide
13-17 Dec	THIRD TEST	Perth
26-30 Dec	FOURTH TEST	Melbourne
3-7 Jan	FIFTH TEST	Sydney

• Five ODI matches on 12 Jan (Melbourne), 17 Jan (Brisbane), 19 Jan (Sydney), 24 Jan (Perth), 26 Jan (Adelaide)
• Three T20 matches on 29 Jan (Hobart), 31 Jan (Melbourne), 2 Feb (Sydney)

21st CENTURY ASHES SERIES

2001	(H)	Australia won 4-1
2002-03	(A)	Australia won 4-1
2005	(H)	England won 2-1
2006-07	(A)	Australia won 5-0
2009	(H)	England won 2-1
2010-11	(A)	England won 3-1
2013	(H)	England won 3-0

OVERALL RECORD

TESTS	All-time	In Australia
Played	315	157
England	103	56
Australia	123	77
Drawn	89	24

SERIES	All-time	In Australia
Played	67	33
England	31	14
Australia	31	17
Draw	5	2