Excellent England thrash the Aussies to retain the Ashes

GRIP: Andrew Strauss continues to hold the urn tightly

ENGLAND’s cricketers completed a historic Ashes series victory in Australia in the early hours of Friday morning.  Andrew Strauss’s side won the fifth and final test by an innings and 83 runs in Sydney, to complete a crushing 3-1 series triumph and a first win Down Under since 1986-87.

2005 Ashes winning Captain Michael Vaughan handed the Ashes over to Strauss, as England completed their utter domination of the entire series in special fashion.  “All credit to the guys again, they have been outstanding, we’re delighted with the victory and we are certainly going to enjoy this evening;” Strauss told Australia’s Channel 9 in the post-match interviews.

The Barmy Army packed into the Sydney cricket ground and with only three Australian wickets remaining, it was expected that England would finish them off fairly quickly, which they did.  Alistair Cook was voted man of the series for scoring 700+ runs, whilst James Anderson took the most wickets.  Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott built on their reputations and even the mercurial Kevin Pietersen chipped in with some priceless runs and the odd wicket, despite not looking at his best.  

DOWNCAST: Australia's cricketers hang their heads in shame

The Australian press have ripped into the team, calling it their worst ever XI.  Ricky Ponting has now become the first Australian captain to lose three Ashes series in history, a sobering statistic.  The Herald Sun newspaper was especially damming; “It was such slow, painful torture that you wondered whether this is what it must be like to be squeezed to death by a boa constrictor.”

Australian cricket is in crisis, as the side has slipped from invincible to easily beatable in a few short years.  The dominant days of Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden now are only a distant memory.  Just four years ago, England were crushed 5-0 in Oz, how quickly can things change, this was such a convincing victory, it made Australia look like Bangladesh in terms to test cricket level! 

PERFECT: The best way to finish Paul Collingwood's test career

Whatever happens in the coming months in the test game, Paul Collingwood won’t be part of the arena again.  The middle-order batsman, who by his standards had a dismal series, announced his retirement from this form of the game the day before the series victory.  He will continue to represent England at 20:20 and one-day level.  This is a great way to finish his distinguished career.  He told Sky Sports; “I’ve been involved in some tough times in Australia before, so to go out on this note is really sweet.” 

The Aussies can try and salvage some pride by winning the upcoming one-day and 20:20 series, but for England, they have the main prize and in some fashion.  Summer challenges at home to India and Sri Lanka are bound to prove stiffer examinations.  England has a winning habit in cricket and will not want to lose it anytime soon.