Horror for Aussies as England wins Ashes in 24 years

England won the fourth Test in Melbourne by an innings and 157 runs to retain the Ashes on Australian soil for the first time in 24 years.

The victory, sealed before lunch on the fourth day, gave holders England a 2-1 lead in the series, which will be completed with the fifth and final Test in Sydney next week.

The England players embraced and pumped their fists in the air upon the final wicket as thunderous cheers rang out from England’s ‘Barmy Army’ of supporters who had sung joyously throughout the morning at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Australia had resumed on 169-6, still facing a 246-run deficit to make England bat again but lost their remaining wickets shortly before lunch to be all out for 258.

Chris Tremlett removed Mitchell Johnson for six in the second over of the morning, the Australian paceman pushing half-heartedly at a fuller delivery that took an inside edge before crashing into off-stump.

Peter Siddle defiantly slogged his way to 40 before belting a lofted drive off Graeme Swann straight to Kevin Pietersen at long on.

The injured Ryan Harris did not take his place leaving Ben Hilfenhaus to take the crease. The paceman was out to Tim Bresnan for a fourth-ball duck, caught behind to wicketkeeper Matt Prior to complete the innings.

Brad Haddin enjoyed a swashbuckling partnership with Siddle, striking four boundaries and a six off Graeme Swann, but was left stranded on 55 not out.

Andrew Strauss’s team became the first to retain the Ashes in Australia since Mike Gatting led the tourists to a 2-1 series win in 1986/87, the decisive victory also sealed at the MCG.

Tim Bresnan, called into the side for Steve Finn, was the pick of England’s bowlers in the second innings, finishing with 4-50 after ripping through Australia’s top order after tea on day three to quash the hosts’ slim hopes of salvaging the Test.

The win was a stunning turnaround from the third Test in Perth, where England slumped to a 267-run defeat that levelled the series 1-1.

Australia’s resurgence on the fast WACA wicket proved little more than a mirage when their batsmen, brittle throughout the series, were skittled for a first innings total of 98, a record low against the tourists at the MCG.

England pressed the advantage by romping to 157 for no loss on the first day and anchored by a sublime unbeaten century by Jonathan Trott, who was named man of the match, posted a first innings total of 513 on day three.

That gave the hosts a 415-run deficit to make England bat again and any hope of a fightback was quashed after tea when Australia’s top order were blown away by Bresnan.

They limped to 169 for six at stumps and the victory early on day four for England was all but a formality.

Chappell: Ponting’s time up

Former Australian captain Ian Chappell believes Ricky Ponting has reached his ‘used-by date’ as Test skipper and selectors should look to the next generation to help resurrect Australia.

England ensured they would retain the Ashes after completing a thumping innings and 157-run victory at the MCG on Wednesday, giving the tourists a 2-1 series lead with one Test remaining.

The crushing defeat has heaped further pressure on Ponting, who has now skippered three unsuccessful Ashes campaigns in the past five years.

The 36-year-old has struggled with the bat throughout this series, amassing just 113 runs at paltry 16.14.

Despite constant speculation over his future, Ponting has stuck firm throughout the summer that he still has something to offer the Australian side both as captain and with the bat.

But Chappell believes following next week’s Sydney Test Ponting should make way for a new leader to take the side into the future.

“The thing is if you start going a new direction there’s no point going in that new direction with an old captain,” Chappell said on Channel 9’s _Today Show_ on Wednesday.



“It’s got to be a new captain and a new team and it’s got to be his team.”

“I always thought before the series started that this was the right time for Ponting to finish as a Test captain.”

“You do have a used-by date as a captain and Ricky has reached that point.”

“He captains the World Cup and whether or not after that he decides to stay on as a player is totally up to him.”

“But as far as I’m concerned come August when you’re looking at a Test series, you start looking at anew captain and a new team.”

Asked what has gone wrong with Australian cricket over the last few years, Chappell said: “When things go badly wrong it’s never just one thing.”

“The headache for Cricket Australia is they can do all the right things immediately and set it off in the right direction but that’s going to take a few years for it to bear fruit.”

“For me, you look back to the mid 80s when Australia was last in a trough like this.”

“That’s when the seclectors drew a line in the sand and said ‘we’ve got to go for young guys with talent and character’.”

“Guys like Steve Waugh, Mark Taylor, Ian Healy, Mark Waugh, these guys came into the side and Australia had a terrific period after that.”

“What bothers me is I’m not sure if the talent that is available now that the Australian selectors are in the same position. But they need to start looking to the future.”

Strauss’s greatest moment

England captain Andrew Strauss has described retaining the Ashes in Australia for the first time in 24 years among his greatest highlights as a skipper.

What he says would make it the ultimate highlight is winning a series Down Under, something England is poised to achieve after taking a decisive 2-1 lead thanks to a devastating innings and 157-run win over Australia at the MCG.

“Winning the Ashes has been something of a holy grail for England sides through the years, it’s immensely satisfying because a lot of hard work goes into preparing for an Ashes tour,” Strauss said.

“Retaining the urn was one of our primary goals. But absolutely our number one objective right from the start of the tour was to come here and win the series. It would leave a sour taste in our mouths if we lost in Sydney.”

“The reality is the job’s a long way from being done we still have goals to achieve, but right now we’ll enjoy this the guys deserve everything they get. You turn up in Australia knowing there’s going to be hard work, the boys dug deep and stood up when it mattered most.”

“It’s not my victory, it’s a team victory from the players through to our backroom staff who have done a superb job for us.”

England took just 83 minutes into day four to wrap up a Test they dominated from the very first over after skittling Australia for a meagre 98, their lowest-ever MCG total.

The success means that Strauss becomes the first captain since Mike Gatting in 1986-87 to retain the Ashes in Australia.

“It’s got to be up there (with my greatest wins) especially with the huge Boxing Day atmosphere and the Ashes on the line,” Strauss said.

Strauss, who was a member of the England side thumped 5-0 by Australia on their 2005-06 tour, admitted his side had used some lessons from that demolition to great effect this time around.

“It was the lowest point in my career,” Strauss said.

“There were some important lessons learnt that feeling of being suffocated at both ends as a batsman by (Shane) Warne, (Glenn) McGrath, Brett Lee and Stuart Clark.”

“Our strategy was not to allow Australia to ever get away from us Andy Flower as team director gave us that strategy to go forward and the 11 guys on the pitch delivered it consistently with the exception of Perth.”

Three other survivors of that tour, Ian Bell, Jimmy Anderson and Alastair Cook, played instrumental roles in England retaining the Ashes, with Strauss agreeing they returned to Australia with something to prove.

“They got a lot out of that experience, they are certainly more mature cricketers this time around,” Strauss said.

For man of the match Jonathan Trott, losing an Ashes series is something he hasn’t gone through and the South African-born right-hander paid tribute to both his captain and coach’s role in retaining the urn.

“He’s (Strauss) level-headed, cool under pressure and you never see his emotions fluctuate,” Trott said.

“He works really well with Andy Flower and obviously that helps the team. When you come to Australia as captain it’s a make or break tour. He makes the team all have confidence in each other.”