Australia won by 146 runs
PLAYER OF THE MATCH : Travis Head
Batter
Bowler
Pat Cummins just said he feels his team is onto something big. Cameron Green, boy! What a series he had with the ball mainly giving breakthroughs and even controlling phases. And he made tough runs with the bat too. Scott Boland had a dream of a series. The penetration he had on the batters every time he bowled was special to watch, so much so that the crowd literally knew he would get a wicket when he came on. Travis Head made a statement to demand the No. 5 spot in this Aussie team with his positive style of play. Khawaja may have failed in this game, but he will be a key member on that tour to Pakistan after that stunning comeback at the SCG and Cummins would be happy to have him in a good space right now. So the Aussies first go to New Zealand and then host Sri Lanka for some white-ball cricket before they travel to Pakistan to play them in March. We hope you enjoyed our coverage. Lots of cricket on the plate across the globe. See you again in no time!
England's agony started with a Rory Burns mess at the Gabba, it ended with a Robinson mess at the Blundstone Arena. Joe Root hasn't had the kind of Ashes expected out of him. The hundred in Australia still eludes him. Stokes hit form with the bat a bit late. The openers didn't click till the very end and the middle-order just did not fight as frequently as they should have. Sure the pandemic life hasn't been easy on the touring team. Mark Wood was a massive star with his intensity and commitment. Zak Crawley impressed in Sydney and seems to have given England a solution for one of the opening slots. Bairstow's hundred was refreshing. England now have some serious planning to do. Hope the players refresh and get back to their potential mentally more than anything else. Leadership and management will be discussed. They will hope they can hit the ground with a clear mind in the Caribbean in March.
Cam Green: Probably not in my wildest dreams I thought this could happen today. It is pretty special and I will look back when it starts to sink in, in the next couple of days. It was good fun out there, good to help the team out and so good to get the job done. You've watched Ashes cricket your whole life, you are overwhelmed initially, as you get to the back end, you get used to it. He's been unreal, he's so calm in the middle even when the openers were going well [on Pat Cummins' captaincy]. It is always nice to spend some time in the middle and hopefully it continues [talking about his batting]. I might that leave that to a few of the older boys, let them do the mischief but will be good fun later on tonight [on the celebrations later].
Scott Boland: Super excited. So happy (to win the Ashes) and for me personally too. In Melbourne it was surreal. Every time I got to the boundary I had so much support. It's been great. Debuting after 10 years of first-class cricket, all my teammates messaged me and congratulated. The difference from first-class cricket is this is mentally draining a bit more post game. So the next few days I need to refresh. I am not sure (of the plans). I have never been in this situation before (smiles).
Pat Cummins comes on the stage. Picks up the Ashes Urn and his teammates join him on the dias. The confetti goes up in the background as the Aussies pose and celebrate with the trophy. Justin Langer is so happy. Good to see Cummins handing the trophy to Marcus Harris too. The Aussies take time out to thank the crowd. And now they go back on the dias to pose with the replica Urn. The support staff join the team too. A couple of the Aussies are happy to talk to the broadcasters and here is Boland first up.
Travis Head | Player of the Match as well as the Series: Great to have an impact, I probably look at this one as better [when asked which was the better 100 in the series]. With the conditions and the team position, pretty special. I have worked on a lot of things over the last couple of years and did not take my opportunities earlier on in my career. After 19 Tests I had a reasonable idea of what the expectation was and was so eager to get back. Helps batting above two guys who average 60. The bench is also fantastic to have, nice to see the way Ussie [Khawaja] came and scored runs. Everyone's been in form, just showed our class, our squad is really strong at the moment. It is a nice Australian team to be in at the moment. It is tough [on the bubble life] and I can't wait for tonight and I'm going to absolutely enjoy it.
Pat Cummins: Really is (stuff of dreams). Pretty crazy. To be at the end of a 5-match series with so many positives and 4-0, yeah really pumped. I am really happy as a captain, not sure if he is (smiles, on not having to bowl Lyon in the entire game). We have had some 15 players used in this series, some tough calls. Certainly feels like we are on to something big. Cam Green with bat and ball has been outstanding. Scotty Boland was fantastic. And hope the old pros continue their good work. I am super excited for overseas Test cricket. One thing in the pandemic we haven't done is not play too much of Test cricket. So looking forward to adapt. Special thanks to ECB and Cricket Australia for putting this together in these times. Thanks for your (support) despite these tough times. We had an absolute ball. Nobody is going to take the urn off me tonight. Did not expect the game to get over today, now have a week off, will enjoy with a couple of beers and listen to Head talking about his tons [smiles]. He calls himself the wheelie bin as he reckons when he's close-in, he is like a keeper [on Head's celebrations after a catch].
Joe Root: It's been a frustrating tour, tough tour for us. We have to keep learning to get better. Not go away from here and keep making the same mistakes. Not long before we play Test cricket again and an opportunity to turn things around. It's pretty obvious we need to be putting more runs on the board. Too often we have not given our bowlers enough. We have been outplayed by Australia. Sometimes you have to put your hand up and say a team outplayed us. Who knows where we will be in four years' time! It is a nice reward for Woody, he is someone who throws his every bit on every ball, every performance. Massive thank you for having us on this tour. It is a huge occasion, huge series, credit to the hospitality and congrats Australia.
Elated Australia congratulate each other. Cummins is all smiles and he's won the Ashes 4-0 in his first stint as captain. Glum faces in the England camp.
Cameron Green, the gamechanger! Starc, Cummins, Boland weren't effective and they just couldn't stem the flow of runs. Cummins turned to Green and the golden arm delivered in the final over before tea with Burns unfortunately chopping on after an excellent vigil. Then Green came back after tea to get Malan and Crawley quickly. 68/0 to 83/3 in about 5 overs and the Aussies were back bossing the game. Starc came on and bounced Stokes out, caught very well in the deep. Root could do nothing about a Boland back of a length ball that kept low and sneaked under the bat. And then it was all just soft from Billings, Pope, Woakes, Wood and Robinson. Australia only took 38.5 overs to seal the deal. Hobart can be proud for rolling out a sportive pitch on its Ashes debut.
21:56 Local Time, 10:56 GMT, 16:26 IST: From 68/0 to 124 all-out. Gee! If England's batting was scrutinized all series, the way they have thrown wickets away and collapsed in under two hours is just unacceptable. You lose, fine! But you fight. The last hour especially was just awful and seemed like they didn't want to take this agony any longer themselves and literally threw their towels in. They gained respect in Sydney with that classic draw. When Burns and Crawley attacked the Aussies and raced off to 68/0, people thought England could end the series on a high. But they have shocked everyone.
Cummins to Robinson, out Bowled!! He exposes the sticks and misses a full toss after backing away too far, ball hits middle and off. Pat Cummins roars. It's 4-0 to Australia. Robinson b Cummins 0(1)
Cummins to Robinson, THATS OUT!! Bowled!!
Cummins to Broad, 1 run, shortish delivery outside off stump, Broad stays leg-side and guides high over backward point
Stuart Broad, left handed bat, comes to the crease
Cummins to Mark Wood, out Bowled!! Oh ho ho! This is epic from Mark Wood. So he walked a long way across the stumps to a short ball, tries to pull despite being cramped for room and gets an under edge that rams into the stumps. He's dragged a ball that was never going to hit the stumps. Sums up England's collapse. Just one wicket now. Mark Wood b Cummins 11(7) [4s-2]
Cummins to Mark Wood, THATS OUT!! Bowled!!
Second slip removed
Cummins to Mark Wood, FOUR, Wood is only going to throw his bat around now. Full and in the slot, Wood stays leg-side and smashes over the top over mid-off
Cummins to Mark Wood, FOUR, Wood exposes the sticks, Cummins tries the yorker and bowls a low full toss, sliced awya through cover-point