The Sunday News
England regained the Ashes after wrapping up a spectacular victory over Australia on the third morning of the fourth Test at Trent Bridge yesterday.
The hosts took Australia’s three remaining second-innings wickets in 39 minutes to win by an innings and 78 runs.
Ben Stokes took the day’s first wicket to finish with 6-36 before Mark Wood clinched the victory by bowling Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon.
England’s second successive three-day triumph gives them an unassailable 3-1 lead in the series with one match to play.
The winning margin is all the more remarkable given it is only 19 months since England were on the receiving end of a 5-0 thrashing by the Australians down under.
England have now beaten Australia in four consecutive home series – their best sequence since 1896.
After skittling Australia for 60 runs on day one, England made 391-9 declared before reducing the tourists to 241-7 at the end of day two.
Stokes, whose five-wicket haul on Friday afternoon had taken England to the brink of glory, picked up where he left off with a wicket in his second over of the day as Mitchell Starc nicked a ball shaping away from him to Ian Bell at second slip.
Hazlewood survived nine balls, but barely saw his 10th as Wood yorker uprooted his middle stump.
And Wood delivered the final blow as he shot one through Lyon’s defences to shatter the stumps and bring Australia’s last remaining batsman to his knees.
The Durham bowler was mobbed by his ecstatic team-mates, who celebrated in a huddle before embarking on a lap of honour with the sounds of “Rule, Britannia” and “Land of Hope and Glory” ringing in their ears.
Australia captain Michael Clarke, meanwhile, announced he would be retiring from international cricket at the end of the series. England came into the series as underdogs after winning just one of their previous five Test series.
But under the stewardship of Australian coach Trevor Bayliss and his assistant Paul Farbrace, they stunned the Australians with their new-found aggression and vigour.
After suffering a humiliating 405-run defeat as Australia squared the series at Lord’s, England exploited seam-friendly conditions to maximum effect in successive three-day victories.
The victory gives Alastair Cook his second Ashes success a captain, while Ian Bell becomes the first England player since Sir Ian Botham to be part of five Ashes-winning teams.
The final Test at the Oval starts on Thursday, 20 August. — BBC Sport
