Australia claimed six England wickets before lunch on the third day of the third Ashes Test at Melbourne on Tuesday to win the match and the series. Australia now lead the five match series 3-0.
Australia have now retained the Ashes twice in succession for the first time since Steve Waugh's men did so in 2002/03.
England began day three at 31 for 4, still trailing Australia by 51 runs. And Joe Root's men could add little more to the score, folding up for 68 and handing over Australia victory by an innings and 14 runs.
The overnight batsmen, Joe Root (28) and Ben Stokes (11), were the sole English players to cross double figures in the second innings, highlighting the side's batting woes. It was England's 13th lowest total in Tests.
Debutant Scott Boland was the wrecker in chief for Australia, claiming six wickets for just seven runs. Boland was adjudged man of the match for his haul of seven wickets for 55 runs in both innings.
Australian captain Pat Cummins commended his bowlers. “Everything's gone to plan... I think our bowlers have been fantastic. I haven't even felt like there's been one session where it's really got away from us. It's what dreams are made of, the way we've played,” Cummins was quoted as saying by Reuters.
Cummins referred to the significance of his achievement. “I grew up watching Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting, those guys winning Ashes series. It felt a million miles away from me playing cricket in the backyard and here I am a decade later in this position. It's madness ... No way near what I could imagine my life would become as a young kid,” Cummins was quoted as saying by Reuters.
Joe Root conceded Australia had overwhelmed England. “We've been playing in these times for a while now, all you can do is try and front up. Credit to Australia they blew us away. A lot of hard work to do,” Root was quoted as saying by ANI.
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Root argued England had fought hard in the match. “I thought the way we went about our cricket on the field was excellent. We put them under pressure and were very much in the Test match. We've got to do things for longer, been small pockets but nowhere near long enough. We know the areas we need to improve on. We have to stay strong and look at the next two games to take something from the tour,” Root was quoted as saying by ANI.
