REDEMPTION IS COMPLETE

There we have it, Australia has reclaimed the holy Ashes and won the series 4-0 in very convincing fashion at the SCG.

England came on day 5 of the final test match at the MCG in complete survival mode in an attempt to draw the game and restore some sort of faith in the team. But things were not going to go the way of the tourists as Joe Root was forced to retire ill after suffering from dehydration and gastro.

With the loss of the skipper, it was only a matter of time before England could no longer hold onto the match.  And Australia did exactly that as Pat Cummins ripped England lower order to claim another 4-wicket-haul to claim the man of the match with his incredible 8 wickets in the match to ultimately create the difference between the two sides. The batting of the whole top order except Camron Bancroft ultimately contributed the massive innings and 123 run victory at the SCG.

Overall, whilst I do not believe that this series will be as idealised as the 2013/2014 series in which Mitchell Johnson left the tourists 'black and blue' and the 5-0 thrashing that England received. But, I believe that this series will be remembered for the quality of cricket that was demonstrated by both sides in the first 3 tests and the 'Bradman' form that Steve Smith was in.

It is fair to say that the first 3 tests of the series witnessed some really hard-fought cricket between the two teams where it was in the balance for most of the game. But with Australia being able to cope with the pressure and utilise their skills better, they were able to take the game by the throat and not allow England back into the games. This I believe, refers back to the level of preparation that both teams had leading up to this series. Specifically, England not playing their best XI in the practice games and not employing more flat wickets in England to get used to Australian pitches. Australia with no doubt was more prepared for England and the attack that they were going to be bringing, hence the greater differences in the teams on paper.

There were few key differences between the two sides that ultimately gave Australia the upper hand for all the games. One of which is the tough home conditions that the opposition have to face. Whilst I view Australia as one of worst touring teams in the world, their dominance in home conditions is certainly secondary to none.

Another key difference was the bowling attack that Australia possessed. Whilst I believe that Stuart Broad and James Anderson are far better-skilled bowlers than Starc, Hazelwood and Cummins, their lack of pace was an aspect that was to some extent very ineffective on flat Australian pitches.

Looking at the batting side, there is no doubt that the Australian batsmen were in form and were not put on the back foot by the England bowlers. But also I believe that the Aussie batsmen made fewer mistakes than the English. Almost every batsman in this series had been getting starts but almost every one of them failing to convert them on a regular basis. It is not that they were outdone by the Australian bowling, it was just that they had made errors in their approach and at times could not handle the pressure.

But overall, this series was a great joy to watch and analyse on as each match consisted of something different and the quality of cricket was at a very high level and certainly kept the spirit of test cricket alive.

Below are the results of the 5 test matches played in this Ashes series:

1st Test, GABBA, Brisbane: Australia win by 10 wickets
2nd Test, Adelaide Oval, Adelaide: Australia win by 120 runs
3rd Test, WACA, Perth: Australia win by an innings and 41 runs 
4th Test, MCG, Melbourne: Drawn 
5th Test, SCG, Sydney: Australia win by an innings and 123 runs 

To finally recap the brilliant Ashes series that has been, I have decided to rate all the players and construct my final Ashes XI of this series.

AUSTRALIAN TEAM                                                        

Steve Smith: 9.5/10                

David Warner: 8/10

Usman Khawaja: 6/10

Shaun Marsh: 9/10

Mitchell Marsh: 8.5/10

Camron Bancroft: 4/10

Peter Handscomb: 3.5/10

Tim Paine: 7/10

Mitchell Starc: 7/10

Pat Cummins: 8.5/10

Josh Hazelwood: 8.5/10

Nathan Lyon: 8.5/10

Jackson Bird: 5/10

ENGLAND TEAM

Joe Root: 8/10

Alistair Cook: 7/10

Mark Stoneman: 5/10

James Vince: 5/10

Dawid Malan: 7.5/10

Johnny Bairstow: 7/10

Moeen Ali: 3.5/10

James Anderson: 6.5/10

Stuart Broad: 5.5/10

Jake Ball: 2.5/10

Chris Woakes: 5/10

Tom Curran: 6/10

Craig Overton: 6/10

Mason Crane: 4/10

ASHES XI OF 2017/2018 (Team that is to play in Australia and only based on their statistics and performances in this series)

David Warner (AUS), Alistair Cook (ENG), Joe Root (ENG), Steve Smith (AUS) (c) , Shaun Marsh (AUS), Mitchell Marsh (AUS), Johnny Bairstow (ENG) (wk), Mitchell Starc (AUS), Pat Cummins (AUS), Josh Hazelwood (AUS), Nathan Lyon (AUS), James Anderson (ENG) (12th man)