England’s sorry Ashes tour is finally over as they succumbed to defeat by an innings and 123 runs in the fifth Test.
This was the second time they have been thrashed by an innings this series - their heaviest defeat yet - and having finally shown some fight in Melbourne, Trevor Bayliss will be disappointed that his men reverted to old habits to capitulate in Sydney.
Once again, the match was lost when a toothless bowling attack failed to make any impact on Australia’s top order. Stuart Broad dismissed the easy target, Cameron Bancroft, for a duck as the 25-year-old finished a mixed series on a low note.
However, once the opener was gone, the scorecard made miserable reading for the visitors: David Warner, 56. Usman Khawaja, 171. Steve Smith, 83.
Shaun Marsh and Mitchell Marsh both hit centuries, with the hosts eventually declaring on 649-7. The brothers’ biggest worry was that Mitch stayed on strike for the final over of day four, leaving his sibling on 98 and having to wait until the morning.
In both of England’s innings, Joe Root top-scored with 83 and 58, retiring injured in the latter suffering from a severe bout of gastroenteritis.
There was plenty to make the skipper sick; from James Vince’s latest lacklustre knock of 18 – which will surely spell the end of his stint at number three – to his own failure to convert a single 50 into a hundred all series.
Ahead of the first Test, this tour was billed as a battle between the two captains, Smith and Root. The former was named Player of the Series for his three tons, whereas Root looked burdened by the armband.
The scoreline says little about his suitability for his new role, though, as there isn’t a Test captain who would have steered his side to victory given what he had at his disposal. Along with Dawid Malan, he was England’s best batsman and deserves credit for his perseverance in difficult circumstances.
Having spent the morning in hospital, he must have taken solace in the fact that he wouldn’t be missing anything spectacular. England’s dismissals were painfully familiar, as they were once again undone by the same mistakes that have haunted them all winter. Moeen Ali bowled lbw by Nathan Lyon for five – who’d have thought?
The obvious question, as far as the Test format is concerned, is where England go from here, at least in overseas matches.
What’s worrying is that perhaps there isn’t really anywhere for them to go. James Anderson’s 17 wickets over the series and Alastair Cook’s double-hundred at the MCG suggest they can still rely on their old boys to some extent, but looking at the County Championship, there aren’t exactly a plethora of names to choose from when it comes to bringing in new faces who will definitely make an impact.
And so, a horrible, horrible couple of months came to an end with Josh Hazlewood’s wicket of Jimmy Anderson.
There will now be six days of wound-licking before the ODIs begin.
