Out-batted! Out-bowled! Out-fielded!
England will have to go back to square one. Sri Lanka and India will be visiting this summer, and it is expected that England will be going through one of the most difficult transitions under Flower's regime. That is, of course, if he remains in his current position and all indications seem to say that he will. Swann has retired. How long Trott will be out for, if indeed he comes back, remains a mystery. There are clouds of doubt starting to hover over Cook's captaincy. The future of some of England's old guard - Pietersen, Prior, Anderson, Panesar – are also in jeopardy.
Promising rays of hope do though exist, on which England can build their future. Ben Stokes has announced his arrival with some good displays with both bat and ball. Gary Ballance, the top-order batsman, Boyd Rankin and Borthwick have also made their bows in Test cricket. The key for the English cricket team, is to ensure they embrace the change to properly move forward and the seven Test summer coming up will be the perfect challenge to evaluate where England are.
As for Australia, they were totally dominant and fully deserving of their victory and whitewash. Simply put; better in every department. They will look to the future with renewed optimism and vigour. A three Test series away to South Africa may not haze them as much as it might have done before this series started. Under the head coach Darren Lehmann, appointed just before the start of the series in England, Australia has taken rapid strides forward. Australia's seam bowling is now delivering, after such a long period of simply not fulfilling their potential. And their batting, taking full advantage of the work that the Australian bowlers had done, were able to destroy England, both on the field and off it.
Just like an Australian team of old.
Australia 5-0 England - who'd have predicted that?
THE ASHES
BY NUMBERS:
Runs P/Wicket
41.41(Aus)
21.58 (Eng)
Run total last 5 wickets
1147 (Aus)
624 more than Eng
1
Centuries by Eng Batsmen
AUSTRALIA: 10
37
wickets taken by
Mitchell Johnson
PLAYERS USED
IN SERIES
11: AUSTRALIA
18: ENGLAND
TOTAL WICKETS:
AUS = 100
ENG = 77
5-0
SERIES SCORE