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: Broad leads the way as England take back the Ashes

FOURTH TEST: England 391-9d beat Australia 60 & 253 by an innings and 78 runs Scorecard
Man of the match: Stuart Broad

ENGLAND regained the Ashes in style on Saturday after taking an unassailable 3-1 lead with an innings victory in the fourth Test at Trent Bridge.

In all honesty, the match was effectively over in just 94 minutes as Australia contrived to follow up their weak batting display at Edgbaston with an even worse one in Nottingham.

Notts man Stuart Broad was the architect of the Aussies' downfall, at one stage holding figures of 5-6 on his way to a remarkable 8-15 - so it is fair to say then that England coped pretty well in the absence of their all-time leading Test wicket-taker James Anderson.

With one wicket apiece for Steven Finn and the recalled Durham paceman Mark Wood in addition to Broad's magnificent haul, Australia were humiliatingly all out for just 60 in 18.3 overs, their lowest Ashes total since 1936.

The whole innings, in fact, was a statistician's delight, being the shortest ever completed first innings of a Test in terms of the number of balls bowled.

Broad's five-fer, meanwhile, came off just 19 balls, the joint-shortest spell for five wickets in a Test and the shortest when taken from the very start of a match.

Moreover, Broad's final analysis of 8-15 were the best ever figures in a Test at Trent Bridge - and the best ever return by an English seamer in Ashes cricket.

In fact, they were the third best figures by any Englishman in the Ashes - and, only Jim Laker twice, with 9-37 and 10-53 in his eponymous match at Old Trafford in 1956, has ever done better.

It was not only the bowling which was a bit special from England - much improved in their catching generally in this series, Ben Stokes produced an absolute ripper at fifth slip to dismiss Adam Voges.

But, while that perhaps was moment of the match, no one was going to deny Broad from being named man of the match.

For some years now, he has been a top frontline bowler - but he really stepped it up in front on his home ground.

It is not even a stretch to say he actually acquired legendary status with his spell on Thursday as he joined Fred Trueman in joint fourth-place on the all-time list of England Test wicket-takers, with 307 scalps. Only Anderson (413), Ian Botham (383) and Bob Willis (325) are still ahead.

Of course, in the context of the match and this Ashes series, Broad's bowling and the Aussies' collapse meant England had to bat only half-competently to take complete control.

Thanks to Joe Root's second glorious century of the campaign, the hosts fared rather better than that, eventually reaching 391-9 before a declaration of intent shortly before lunch on day two.

Alastair Cook's decision was the first time he had actually been able to declare a first innings closed in his three-year tenure as permanent captain.

And, as well as giving Australia a tricky spell before the interval, it also meant he denied the tourists the pleasure of having at least bowled England out.

As it happened, Australia survived unscathed before lunch - and, in the afternoon, progressed serenely past their first innings total without loss and onto 113-0.

Thankfully, England never panicked. Internally, they knew if they persisted with the correct lines and lengths, the rewards would eventually come - after all, David Warner, having been dropped twice, was hardly playing a chanceless innings.

Duly, the precious wickets began to arrive. Chris Rogers (52) was caught by Root - and Warner (64) by Broad - both off the excellent Stokes.

The breaking of the opening partnership sparked another collapse as Steve Smith (5) and Shaun Marsh (2) both continued their respective poor runs - and, at tea on day two, Australia were 138-4, still a hopeless 193 runs behind.

From that point onwards, it quickly became a case of whether England could win inside two days, just as they had threatened to do at Edgbaston.

First, though, a few words on the beleaguered Australia captain Michael Clarke who was out for unlucky 13. After all, though his swipe to Wood outside off-stump was injudicious, it was also juggled by his counterpart Cook and caught on the rebound by Ian Bell.

It was, however, the shot of a broken man who could sense his time was over, not only in this Test but in his career as a whole, something he went onto confirm immediately after the defeat.

Australia at least survived the night, though not before Stokes had recorded a second Ashes career five-fer, following on from the 6-99 taken in Sydney in the nightmare whitewash 18 months ago.

Peter Nevill and, to the delight of the crowd, Mitchell Johnson were Stokes' evening victims on a much happier occasion as Australia reached 241-7 and England settled off for coming back refreshed on the third day to regain the urn.

When they did resume, there was indeed little resistance from the broken Aussies as the unbeaten Voges (51*) understandably made no attempt to farm the strike for three days.

Mitchell Starc (0) was caught by Bell off Stokes who eventually recorded 6-36 as England became the first Test side in history to have four different players take at least six wickets in four consecutive innings.

Anderson, Finn, Broad and Stokes have proven to be a lethal combination and - having caused complete mental disintegration in the Australian batting line-up - they have ultimately been the difference between the two sides.

Wood, too, has more than played his part - and, with only him and Stokes bowling on the third morning, it was effectively Durham v Australia.

Durham won, Wood flattening Josh Hazlewood's middle stump for a fifth Aussie duck of the match, before he also comprehensively defeated Nathan Lyon (4).

England had done it - regaining the Ashes in just 14 days of play, and only 18 months after being whitewashed.

This disparity in results has already prompted a slightly unnecessarily spirit-dampening article about the dominance of home sides in recent series.

Meanwhile, England selector Angus Fraser has used the victory to turn his fire on the detractors of Cook and others, acting as if any previous criticisms of the set-up had no validity.

Instead of that, England should be enjoying this moment in the sun. After all, this unexpected triumph has come from a still developing team which, as even Cook admits, has perhaps not been properly battle-hardened.

In terms of the team itself, Cook remains without a reliable opening partner after Adam Lyth (14) was out cheaply again - while Moeen Ali currently contributes far more with bat than ball for a frontline spinner.

For the rest of the side, an Ashes win will do wonders to strengthen the sometimes fragile confidence of some of its members.

Undoubtedly, though, England will face far tougher examinations than that eventually posed by this set of touring Australians, not least on the tours this winter against Pakistan in the UAE and in South Africa.

Nevertheless, in favourable conditions, England have shown they are back to their invincible best, reaching a performance level that has matched anything produced by the team which enjoyed world number one status for a year in 2011-12.

Naturally, this young side will not always have such bountiful matches - and, as the Lord's Test in this very series demonstrated, there will still be a few dark days ahead.

If this team achieves its potential, however, those dark days will be far outshone by countless days and matches of brilliance. These are exciting times for English cricket.

THE ASHES 2015

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
20-24 August	FIFTH TEST	The Oval

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

FIVE-WICKET HAULS
8-15 Stuart Broad (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 
6-36 Ben Stokes (England) in the fourth Test, Trent Bridge 
6-111 Mitchell Starc (Australia) in the fourth Test, Trent Bridge
5-114 Mitchell Starc (Australia) in the first Test, Cardiff

The Ashes 2015: England demolish abject Aussies

THIRD TEST: England 281 & 124-2 v Australia 136 & 265 by eight wickets Scorecard
Man of the match: Steven Finn

ENGLAND roared back into the Ashes lead after an extraordinary eight-wicket win which was completed before tea on the third day in the third Test at Edgbaston.

Comeback kid Steven Finn took 6-79 in the second innings for match figures of 8-117 - while birthday boy James Anderson enjoyed his best ever Ashes return of 6-47 in the first innings.

In between, half centuries from Joe Root (63), Ian Bell (53) at three, and Moeen Ali (59) down the order were enough to help England reach 281 on the first time around.

And Bell (65 not out) and Root (38 not out) then knocked off most of the required 121 runs to complete yet another turnaround in this bewildering series.

England, after all, had arrived in Birmingham on the back of their fourth worst ever Test defeat in terms of runs at Lord's - and that had come following a dominant 169-run win in the first Test at Cardiff.

Predicting exactly what will happen next week at Trent Bridge has thus become a mug's game - though England can at least go there certain that victory will ensure the Ashes urn returns home.

It has already been confirmed, however, that Alastair Cook will have to cope without England's all-time leading Test wicket-taker Anderson after the Lancastrian pulled a side muscle late on day two.

That really is a shame for Anderson who has looked in good form in this Test - and, regardless even of that, has consistently bowled well in Nottingham in the past.

Nevertheless, his injury was pretty much the only black mark on a delightful few days for England.

Aussie captain Michael Clarke may have won the toss - but his decision to bat first on a pitch which offered seam and movement under leaden skies was one which he was soon to regret.

Pumped-up England came out firing with Finn immediately in form, swinging one away from Steve Smith (7) and castling Clarke (10).

With Anderson having already accounted for David Warner (2), Australia were a very English-looking 38-3.

A recovery of sorts followed as Chris Rogers and Adam Voges compiled a partnership worth 43 which would ultimately be the best of the innings.

But Voges (16) then edged Anderson behind to Jos Buttler early in the afternoon to spark an epic collapse.

Mitch Marsh departed for a duck, again caught behind, in Anderson's next over - before he struck twice again in his next two overs to remove Peter Nevill (2) and Mitchell Johnson (3).

Stuart Broad joined the party with the key wicket of Rogers (52), trapped plumb lbw, before Mitchell Starc (11) sent one behind off the toe-end of the bat.

Anderson, having already achieved his five-fer with Johnson's wicket, celebrated with a sixth after Nathan Lyon (11) played onto his stumps. Almost in a blur, Australia had been bowled out for 136.

Advantage England - but poor Adam Lyth has struggled to impress in this series and he was out early again, for 10 to Josh Hazlewood, even if it took a juggling Voges three attempts to catch it.

Voges got even luckier later in the evening after Cook (34) smashed a pull off a short ball from Lyon straight into him, only for it somehow to lodge in his jumper.

Nonetheless, Bell and Root seemed to be guiding England to the close without any further worries until the former injudiciously skied Lyon to Warner.

Following that late wicket, the hosts' plan on the second morning obviously would have been to rebuild - but Johnson did not give them the chance with two short-pitched snorters accounting for Jonny Bairstow (5) and Ben Stokes (0).

At that stage, England were only just six runs into the lead and so really needed a partnership to secure a genuine stranglehold.

But, still, the wickets continued to fall. First, Root chased a dreadful wide ball off Starc to be caught by Voges at slip, and then Buttler (9) was trapped lbw by Lyon who, at that stage, had 3-3 off three overs.

Nowadays, though, England - at their best - bat way down the order, and Moeen with Broad produced a dazzling stand of 87 to put a much clearer margin between the two teams.

The pair both departed to Hazlewood in quick succession and, thereafter, England were never going to last much longer - although again Nevill's catch from Anderson (3), into the webbing of his glove, had more than a touch of fortune about it.

So, England - despite the lack of a centurion - had cobbled together a lead of 145. Ashes history, however, suggested the Australians would bat much better second time around...

It therefore came as a hell of a shock when they were reduced to 111-6, still 34 behind.

Fantastic Finn did the most damage, inducing a top-edge off Smith (8), before putting himself on a hat-trick by accounting for Clarke (3) and Voges.

Marsh (6) watched the hat-trick attempt drift harmlessly wide - but he lasted only a little longer before failing to get a bat to a much straighter, fuller ball from Middlesex quick.

Then the sixth wicket of the innings fell to Anderson. It was the key scalp, too - that of Warner after the opener had moved to 77 off just 62 balls.

But, before close of play, Finn made sure he had the final word by inducing another top-edge, this time from Johnson (14), caught safely at backward point by Stokes.

Australia thus resumed today on a ridiculous-looking 168-7, leading by just 23 - but aware that even perhaps another 120 runs or so would send nerves jangling in the England dressing room.

For the Baggy Greens also have an occasionally handy bottom order - and Nevill, literally in Brad Haddin mode, set about building a dangerous partnership with Starc.

Indeed, the stand had reached 64 when England, shorn of the injured Anderson, finally made the breakthrough.

Inevitably, it came through Finn after Nevill, on 59, sent an inside edge behind - and, suddenly, the onus had passed to Starc.

He was left helpless, however, when Root - at third slip - dived brilliantly to make a one-handed catch to dismiss Hazlewood (11) off Stokes.

And Starc (58) himself was soon gone after miscuing a shot over cover off Moeen to sub fielder Josh Poysden.

Australia had managed to set a target of 121. Surely, it wasn't enough.

But then small chases will always play all sorts of mind games with batsmen - and England only had more reason to be tentative when Cook was castled early on by Starc for seven.

Bell, enjoying the comforts of his home ground, attempted to settle down the other opener, Lyth.

However, the Yorkshireman, though hardly alone in recent times in struggling in his position right at the top of the order, continued to look uneasy - and it was no surprise when Hazlewood had him trapped lbw for 12.

England, nevertheless, were 51-2 off just 11 overs - and the progress became only sweeter still after Root joined Bell in the middle.

The pair were not faultless, of course, especially against the probing Lyon. As the victory target neared, though, England's self-assurance soared - and Root lofted the spinner over deep midwicket for six.

By the end of that heady over, England had made it to three figures and required just 21 more with tea delayed in anticipation of victory.

Appropriately enough for Edgbaston, it was Bell who duly delivered the final blow, tucking Marsh’s first ball of the over away to the legside boundary.

England, in the end, won it with a frightening degree of comfort. Not that the ease of this victory will assist in forecasting the next Test in Nottingham, which begins this coming Thursday.

For, while the home side may have rediscovered Finn, the loss of Anderson can only be seen to have weakened them.

Australia, meanwhile, always seemingly find a way to come back strongly - and skipper Clarke, in a terrible rut, now has a massive point to prove.

Remember, the Aussies only need to tie the series to retain the Ashes - and, coincidentally, 2-2 was a prediction of mine and many others.

This rollercoaster Ashes series, now heading into the last two matches, is still therefore very much up for grabs.

THE ASHES 2015

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
6-10 August	FOURTH TEST	Trent Bridge
20-24 August	FIFTH TEST	The Oval

CENTURIES
215 Steve Smith (Australia) in the second Test, Lord's
173 Chris Rogers (Australia) in the second Test, Lord's
134 Joe Root (England) in the first Test, Cardiff

FIVE-WICKET HAULS
6-47 James Anderson (England) in the third Test, Edgbaston
6-79 Steven Finn (England) in the third Test, Edgbaston 
5-114 Mitchell Starc (Australia) in the first Test, Cardiff