Australia close in on 4-0 after Marsh hundreds
There will be no 5-0 clean sweep, but Australia have a good chance of mopping up a 4-0 result at the SCG after dominating the fourth day against England
There will be no 5-0 clean sweep, but Australia have a good chance of mopping up a 4-0 result at the SCG after dominating the fourth day against England
Scorer: Ranjith P | Commentator: @andymcg_cricket
Australia win by an innings and 123 runs and take the Ashes 4-0. Another very impressive performance from them here. They've bowled as a unit, with Cummins and Lyon outstanding, and batted powerfully to put England's 346 into context. Handshakes between teams in the middle, not sure if Root has made it to the middle. Australia have been too good throughout the series, in what has been another one-sided Ashes.
Shravan: "Apparently the Aussies were waiting for Gnasher to come in before finishing it off!" I will stay with you for the post-match
sri: "@Gnasher Is this the Shortest commentary stint (single session) in cricinfo history? Must be equal among the shortest if not the shortest" I'll need to check statsguru!
Time for the presentations, on a rather interesting stage! An Aussie hand holding up four fingers and an England hand holding none. Does that class as banter?
Man of the match is Pat Cummins. "I couldn't have asked for much more. To get through the five, win the series. It's been a lot of fun, we are all really close and have played a lot of cricket together. Nathan as held up an end which means the rest of us can attack."
Joe Root not well enough to come out, so James Anderson steps up. "He's asleep at the minute, it's taken the toll on him, he's trying to recover. We've been outplayed at key moments, congratulations to Steve they've been the better team. They have a fantastic bowling attack and all the batsmen have come to the party. As a bowling group we haven't created pressure enough of the time. We have a lot of support who travel to watch us and we are very grateful to them."
Man of the series and Compton-Miller medalist is Steven Smith. "The cricket we've played has been outstanding. All the bowlers have taken over 20 wickets so we haven't relied on one person. Scoring big runs has been key for us. The batters got through tricky periods. England had their foot in the door in all the Tests but we've been able to win key moments. It's been a really exciting series and have played good cricket. It's been nice to have these Tests without any injuries, a lot of work went into it. Can be tough to take 20 wickets and the guys were outstanding. Can't thank them enough for that, proud of everyone. I just love being in the middle, doing a job for my team. I work very hard, my mind is in as good as space as it's ever been. I'm really proud of being able to lead from the front."
We'll have plenty of the ground over the next few hours but that's that for another Ashes series. Well played, Australia. Led superbly by Steven Smith. England have a lot to ponder in their Test game. They have two matches in New Zealand at the end of March then a home season against Pakistan and India. The squad for New Zealand will be named in two days. Australia's next Test challenge is the mouthwatering prospect of South Africa in their backyard. That should be a ripper. Before all that, though, there is a one-day series which begins on Sunday followed by T20s. We'll be back to bring you all the action from those matches but, for now, from Miller, Gnasher, Alan and everyone else who has been a part of the coverage, it's goodbye and thanks for joining us!
JM Anderson c †Paine b Hazlewood 2 (35m 23b 0x4 0x6) SR: 8.69
Thanks Alan...for a final time?
Well, England have somehow made it to drinks. Only another session and a half and they can walk away with a pride-saving draw(!)... Rofl, here's Gnasher to finish things off. Cheerio!
Stoicism is an admirable trait that serves the country well, but it's time to get really rather cross about the state of English cricket
Joe Root started the Ashes with boyish optimism but finished it asleep in the dressing-room, ill and exhausted after a tour of perpetual scrutiny and failure
Steven Smith also spoke about the importance of keeping Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins together when the Ashes were up for grabs
England's vice-captain said it "doesn't feel like a completely disastrous series" but conceded the team had not responded well in pressure situations
This was the second-highest attended Ashes of all time, viewing figures have been strong and Steven Smith has moved towards greatness. But much of the action was far from memorable