THE Australian cricket team has given travelling fans something to cheer about in the fifth and final Ashes test at the Oval, defeating England by an innings and 46 runs.
In a surprising move on the opening day England captain Alistair Cook won the toss and elected to send the Australians in to bat first.
The move proved costly with newly-appointed captain and vice-captain duo Steve Smith and David Warner combining for 228 – 79 runs more than the entire England first innings total.
For punters who backed Australia at the odds of $2.45 with Sportsbet, the celebrations would have begun early.
Smith’s 143 was the highest score for the match and earned the new Australian captain man-of-the-match honours and propelled him to the top of the Ashes overall runs scored for the series.
The Oval and Lord’s – both grounds in England’s capital city of London – proved happy hunting grounds for Smith, after scoring a double century in the second test and a century in the last.
“I like batting in London, it’s been good here,” Smith said.
“It was disappointing for us to play the way we did in the other Test matches, but credit to England.”
Aussie quick Peter Siddle breathed life into a test career that looked at the crossroads with a brilliant six-wicket haul across both innings at an economy rate of just under two runs per over.
Siddle’s brilliant display only highlights the ineptitude of the Australian selectors, who should have selected the 30-year old from the start given his experience and ability with the duke ball.
In the end it mattered little with the Ashes already sewn up by the home side, but it was a nice departing gift for outgoing captain Michael Clarke and test opener Chris Rogers.
The retiring Rogers was named Australia’s man of the series – as judged by England coach Trevor Bayliss – after holding down the fort with the bat throughout the Ashes for the visitors.
Rogers was flattered to win the award, but admitted the sting of defeat was hard to take.
“I’ve never been up here, so this is pretty special,” Rogers said.
“(It is) A bit bittersweet that we didn’t win the series, but it’s nice to win this last Test and be a part of Michael’s (Clarke) last Test as well.”
Joe Root named man of the series:
England batsman Joe Root was named man of the series after two decisive knocks and consistently good performances across the five tests.
Root scored two pivotal hundreds – in the opening test at Cardiff and again at Trent Bridge – to help the home nation regain the Ashes.
The impressive series also saw the England strokemaker jump to number one in the test batting rankings.
England captain Alistair Cook was full of praise for the 24-year old.
“He’s been outstanding and led out batting,” Cook said.
“He’s a fantastic player and he certainly deserve that.
“To win man of the series in an Ashes is an incredible achievement and we’re delighted for him.”
Root himself, while not thrilled with the result in the final test, but was elated with the home side’s tenacity throughout the series.
“They’ve outplayed us in this game. We’ve got to take that on the chin,” Root said.
“But we can celebrate.”
It is expected that Root will be rested for the upcoming one-day series against the reigning world champions Australia after suffering through a hectic schedule.
Australia favoured ahead of ODI series
After regaining the Ashes in style, England still have plenty more opportunities to dominate their conquered foes with the one-day international schedule due to kick off next week.
The first Twenty20 match kicks off in Cardiff on August 31, with the first one-day international match of the five-match series beginning on the September 3.
Despite being hammered in the test series, the visitors are overwhelming favourites going into the shorter form of the game.
The last time the two teams met in the ODI format was at the ICC World Cup at the MCG where the Australian’s comprehensively smashed the English.
Australia is the current world number one-ranked one-day international team while England is ranked sixth.
Series betting odds
Australia – $1.40
England- $2.90
