The Ashes: England's belated resistance ends as Australia retain the Ashes.

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It is representative variable, requires no minimum, and is earned on funds swept to program banks. Boost up to $150,000. Cash account offered by Wealthfront brokerage LLC. Member FINRA, SIPC, not a bank. Hugging each other and celebrating. Two-day game, four-day game. At least this one has gone comfortably into a fifth. But it's still a handsome victory for Australia by 82 runs. So at 2.11 on the fifth day of this third test match, Australia have retained the ashes. They've beaten England by 82 runs. England resisting, 352 all out. Actually marginally outscoring Australia in the second innings of the match. Australia making 3-4-9. But it was that first innings really that did so much damage to England. 286 all out. So they gave up that first innings lead of 85. And Australia gradually worked their way through the batting resistance from England today. Smith making 60, hit four consecutive boundaries before he tried to take Stark down again. Was it four? And hit it out towards mid-on. And Cummins took the catch. Jacks out for 47, nicking to Labashain at slip. Kars was 39 not out. Archer cut to Weatherall at deep backward point off Stark for three. And Tongue, last man out. Caught at slip off Boland for one. England resisting for 102.5 overs. But it was not quite enough. Yes indeed. Sorry. I thought it was at least three. Yeah it was four consecutive boundaries he hit. So he hit two in one over. Then he lost the strike. And then Jack's got a single back on strike. Hit two more. And then he went for the big shot again. So four consecutive boundaries before he holed out. And kind of it's that. I mean it's a fine innings. He played really well. But it's kind of that dismissal. It was replicated over the series wasn't it really? And that's one of the reasons. That's one of them. It's not the only reason. It's one of the reasons why England come undone in this series. Absolutely Nick. Robert it reminds me. I was batting with John Embry, my fellow spin twin. I don't know. We played against Hampshire or something. And their spinner was on. And he'd go. And I'd hit a couple of fours somehow like that. And he's come up to me and just gone right okay. Just block. Doesn't matter. And I was going no no. I want to keep going. I want to keep going. No no. You can't hit every ball for four. Even if you go in and the blood's up. And you know you've been told to go. And you know sometimes even if it was in the slot. You sort of just pat it back. Recalibrate and go again. So yeah that was disappointing. But I'm glad he got some runs. You know that will help him I think in the next couple of test matches. Because you could just see it in his body language with his keeping as well. That he was just feeling it a little bit. So he'll be delighted with that. And there's been some positives haven't there? There's been positives from this test match. I thought the way we bowled. Um yesterday. Yesterday morning. Yesterday morning. And got those what was it six for? Six for 38. Six for 38. So so you take that down to Melbourne. Good resistance and good fight. Good knock by Crawley. Who sort of seems to have got stuck in a bit hasn't he? Instead of just wafting around outside of Stump. So positives. But obviously very disappointing as well. I mean one of the really interesting aspects of this game. Is that England have played in a different way haven't they? It's been absolutely clear. Okay the old aggressive shot. Smith you know eventually went back into old mode. But he reined himself in. But England have played differently today. And in previous parts of the game as well. You think of Stokes in the first innings. You know five hours for his 80. And you think Jacks today 137 balls for his 47. Karst battled away as well for 39. So they brought this sort of strategy into the series. But by the third test they've flipped it. Well they've had to. And just adapt and change the tempo a bit. I thought the way Zach Crawley played yesterday was good. Kept the good ones out. And then the odd ball that was there in his zone. He put away. So yeah England went it was about three and a half and over. Which is a little bit unusual for them in the last sort of couple of years. But it showed that they've got fight left in them. And I'm looking forward to Melbourne. Yeah I think also is there a question that perhaps they don't trust there. Defensive technique enough. You know they almost think well hold on. I mean I don't know whether I've got that sort of game in me. Because I don't think I can just sort of like block block. And wear people down. So I may as well have a little bit of a dart. Well you can't just block block. Well no no. But you know what I mean. You know just sort of yeah. You've got to sort of you've got to have that foundation of. Well you've got to back yourself for a defense. It's fine to back yourself to take them on. Yeah. But yeah to keep the good ones out and build in innings. Yeah no absolutely. So perhaps that might be a little something to perhaps think about. You know work on work on your starting point. Is being able to hang around and survive. And then the shots will come. It's called positive defense. Yes and I think we've seen in this test match actually. You know players who've given themselves some time. Have you know been able to to flourish. And you can then see the bowlers getting a bit tired. And not to say frustrated. Because Australia they you know they've played lots of cricket. Where the kookaburra ball is being employed. And the pitches are flat. And they've had to be patient. But it just shows you what you you can achieve. If you keep if you just keep on going. And what they haven't been able to do is really just go the extra mile in this game. No you've got to give yourself time. As soon as you walk out there you're not sure how the ball's coming on. You know what the bounce what the carry's like. Give yourself a chance to get used to that. And when when you do then you can start playing some more positive shots. But to come out from ball one. And try to to play and play shots. You know Ducat I think's a great example. He doesn't want to leave any ball. And it's I think it's brought him undone here. Yeah I don't see actually I don't see that as positive. You know I don't necessarily see you know whack whack in a way as a positive thing sometimes. A positive thing is to get yourself in. That's the positive thing. And then to move through. To be there at the end of the session. Then be at the next session. They're positives. Yeah that's positive. Instead of like oh I scored a fantastic 40. And I was really positive. And oh but he got out. You know that so it's a different way of looking at sort of how to be positive in a game of cricket. Sometimes I bowl three or four or five maidens on the trot. That's positive. You know just because I haven't sort of tried to pitch one leg and hit off so to speak. That's not negative. But you know things things to build on. But we're sitting here again aren't we? Sort of kicking ourselves a bit. Because we just fancied that there might be an opportunity with this side. And and a few sort of chinks in the Australian armour. I don't think we will. I don't think we'll win until we get Mr Cummings-Stark flying all these boys retire. And then we'll have another go. I mean looking back though it's 3-0. Do you think England were right to have you know. Or I think the supporters were right to be positive about this series. Or was that really when you look back you see what Australia what didn't have. They weren't able to put on the field. But still able to win 3-0. That was actually really in hindsight. I know hindsight's a great word. But wishful thinking. Yeah you've got to come to this tour being positive. And I think the way England's the way they've played. And given a lot of entertainment to their fans. Coming here you've got to be positive. You've got to look forward to it. This is the ultimate for an England cricketer. This is the ultimate for an Australian cricketer. Playing in Nash's. And to go to Wingland as an Aussie. We love that and vice versa. So yeah. Right let's go to Jonathan. Thank you very much Simon. You're down here in the sunshine. I have Brendan McCullen with me. England's coach of course. Well I mean how do you feel about that game? We're obviously disappointed to have lost the opportunity to win the Ashes. But I thought today or the last couple of days has been much better. You know I think it's amazing what can be achieved when you just play. I think sometimes you put so much pressure on yourself. And there's so much. You just end up thinking about things other than just playing the game. And I think the last couple of days we've just got back to doing what we do. Which is just immersing ourselves in the moment and playing. And we're much much better. Obviously we're disappointed to lose. We've been outplayed in all three test matches by a formidable Australian performance. Batting, bowling and fielding. And I think the last couple of days is better for us. But we're obviously standing here sitting 3-0 down. Yeah. There seems to have been a more measured tempo. Particularly about the batting in this match. Is that a conscience thing? Or is that just something that's happened? Look it's not so much about tempo. It's about being able to make good decisions in pressure moments. For us right from the get-go it's never been about scoring rates. It's about making sure that you respect what's coming at you. You're present in the moment. You're assessing the conditions. You're identifying what the levels of risk are. But also what the opportunities are. And work out how you try and counter that. And be able to apply pressure when you need to. And also absorb pressure when you have to as well. I don't think we've quite got that balance right in the previous encounters in this series. And it was probably the last two days where we were able to do it with both bat and ball. Which is a bit frustrating as well. Because you sit there and you go well if we had gotten onto that a bit earlier. If we were able to find that a little bit earlier then we'd be a lot more competitive. But I thought the boys were excellent today. They showed some great application. And they bounced off each other. And they were obviously trying to take the game as deep as what we possibly could. And try and see if the pressure would come on Australia. We didn't quite get there. But I thought it was a fine achievement. It must be frustrating to sit and watch a much better performance like that. Coming a little bit too late. Yeah but it's not just the batting either Agus. I think with the ball we took six for 70 on the morning of the fourth day. And I thought our accuracy with the ball. The fields that we had. The intensity that we had. And our precision with our lengths and our lines and our plans. Was much more polished than what it had been over the previous couple of Test matches. And I thought our energy in the field was brilliant too. And I thought across the board it was an improved performance. It's just frustrating that it's come at this time. Yeah. Joffre Arch, I've got to mention him. He had a terrific all-round game. He's had a terrific series to be honest. And I think he's bowled brilliantly for us. He's batted well. He's obviously, he's been in some big moments as well. And he's stepped up. He's a wonderful cricketer. And we know how much playing for England means to him as well. And you see that when he chases the ball to the boundary. And puts his body through some stuff. He's worked unbelievably hard over the last couple of years. Turned down some significant opportunities around the world. Short version cricket. To commit to playing for England in Test cricket. And he's left it all out there. And he's been immense for us. How do you plan ahead for these next two games? I mean, do you draw a line under what's happened? And take a deep breath and go forward? Or is it a case of winning these two matches and trying to get it 3-2? It's definitely about winning these next two matches. I think if we play like we did over the last two days. We give ourselves a much better opportunity. Of being able to salvage something out of the last two Test matches. It's not easy coming down here. We appreciated that when we arrived. We came with high expectations. High hopes and ambitions. And we haven't lived up to it so far. But there's still two more opportunities. And for us, we want to be able to show what we're capable of achieving. Down here in tough conditions. Against a very strong, formidable and precise Australian team. But that's what's in front of us. Obviously this one's going to hurt. It's disappointing when you lose. And I'm sure there'll be plenty of questions asked. And rightfully so, you know. We haven't got everything right. I haven't got everything right as a coach either. And I put my hand up for that. And you accept that. And you try and work out ways that you can try and, I guess, identify things. Which you need to make sure that you polish up on. To give yourselves more chance. What in particular do you think you haven't got right as coach? Oh look, I think I've been very strong about the conviction we've had in our preparation. And you know, obviously for us it was a matter of trying to replicate what we have done in previous series which have been successful for us away from home with our preparation. Maybe we didn't quite get that right. And I'll acknowledge that. And there's no exact science. But you know, obviously we haven't won. So therefore you point back to things you could have done or might have done differently. And say if you're in that same situation next time, would you make change? And that are the conversations you've got to mull over in your own head. And obviously around the squad as well. So you know, there's a couple of things like that. Obviously we haven't been as accurate or precise as what we need to with the ball. We haven't been able to score the volume of runs. And we've dropped a few catches as well. I think credit goes to Australia. They have been as precise a team as what I've seen in the last few years. And they've just put us under immense pressure throughout. And we've only really had probably fleeting moments throughout the last three test matches where we feel as if we were on top or in a position of strength. And even those were kind of ripped away from us at critical junctures. So you know, fair play to Australia. I guess you're talking about preparation. Is that sort of pre-first test preparation you would do differently again? Yeah, probably. I mean, not just that, but also the five intense training days leading into Brisbane when we knew it was going to be hot. And I think there's just a few things that you look at retrospectively. And you've got to be careful because you need conviction in what your methods are. But you're not too ignorant to admit that you haven't quite got something right. And I'll put my hand up on that. You know, that's your job as coaches to try and get performance on the field. And then when you don't get performance, you look back on some things which you might not have quite got right. And, you know, I was confident that we had it right. But obviously we didn't because we haven't played as well as we should have. Good luck in Melbourne, Brendan. Thank you for your honesty. We'll catch up with you. There we go. So that's Brendan McCullen talking to me down here. We'll get Ben Stokes in a moment. I guess you can hear me up there. Some interesting points there raised. Do we agree? Yes, definitely, Jonathan. That's the first time I think we've heard Brendan say the preparation wasn't right. I mean, it's more pointing, it seemed, towards the Gabber, but also pre-series as well. The other thing I thought was interesting as well was that word conviction he used. You know, that kind of the way England play. And obviously we've seen something different in this test match from them, haven't we? We haven't seen that sort of really ultra-attacking approach that perhaps undid them in Perth, which has set this all in train. Does that seem how you read it, Jonathan? Yes, absolutely. I thought that was... Yeah, I didn't expect Brendan to be quite so honest, if I may say so. That's the wrong word, to put his hands up like that. I mean, I think part of what we've been used to in these last three years or so is the England management, and I include Ben Stokes in that as well, as just kind of saying we do our own thing. We don't care what you say. This is what we're going to do. I'll go back to the old-timers comments and that sort of stuff, you know. That's generally been the way they've done it. But no, he looked me in the eye there, and that was really quite a surprise that this regime, to call it that sort of word, has actually put its hands up and said, we've got some things wrong. Because we haven't heard that, have we? No, but I mean, and now it is over. I think that was very honest. I thought he spoke really well there. You know, you're not going to come out after Perth and go, oh my God, we got it wrong, you know what I mean? Because you're still in the ashes. So you're going to have that wall around you and the courage of your convictions, and we've got it right. We just need to play a little bit better. The word that I think summed up Australia and England was precise. England haven't been precise enough. Shot selections, balls, bowl, catches and everything. So how you work on that, I'm afraid, is hard work, you know, as well as mental stuff and preparation and what have you. You've got bowlers have got to get it in their legs. Batters have got to groove technique. Yeah, but I think the last few days, England have shown that they're good enough to compete and they can do it. And I like what's coming out of the England camp now. We saw a little bit of it in Brisbane. But just listening to McCollum then, just the honesty, rather than coming, oh, everything's great. It's this, everything, you know, exactly where we want to be. And it's just like, you know, we all can see that's not 100% true. But what he said there, all you want is just some, you know, honesty might be a little bit harsh, but just what's happening, just how it is, say how it is, don't try to sugarcoat it. Just to deliver it. And yeah, that's coming out. And so I'm, I think England team are slowly coming to actually a very good place. And the next two games, I think they're going to really compete. Yeah, no, but I mean, I can understand that. You know, you're coming over here, you feel confident and everything. You don't want to start saying, you know, we haven't got anything right or anything, even if you lose the odd game or two. You know, you want to be backing your players. You want to be, no, but this isn't. So I can understand that. But, you know, Ashes has gone and he's come out and he said, right, OK, you know, might have got a few things wrong. We need to look at it. We need to move forward. We need to improve. I suppose England supporters will say, no, there's a bit of hindsight here, of course, because I think there are a lot of people who were reasonably confident England could compete down here. Is England's approach right at the start of the series? Was it going to work against a disciplined Australian team in Australia? OK, let's hear from you, Jonathan. Hi, Ben. Yeah, nice to see. Well, how do you feel after that? It's a bit frustrating, I would imagine. That was a much improved performance. Yeah, it's full of mixed emotions, obviously. You know, what we came here to do, we can no longer do. But yeah, and then you sort of look at what we managed to do throughout the five days and in terms of, especially on the back of last week, you know, to take it as, it doesn't seem like it's close, but there were moments there where I thought we were going to pull off another heist that we've done on quite a few times. But again, I think it's just, it just goes back to our execution not being good enough for long enough. And yeah, when you come up against a team like Australia in their conditions who just execute over and over and over again, you know, you can look back on the first three games and know that's definitely where we've not been good enough. But this week, yeah, although we're on the end of the result that we didn't want, I honestly can take a lot out of what we've got to do over the next two games in terms of what I was asking for last week. The, you know, the character, the fight, the standing up to whatever Australia, you know, throws at us at whatever moment it may be. You know, we were starting off the day when we get put into a bowl, I think bowling them out for under par total. But then we just weren't able to respond in the way that we wanted to with the battle. We knew that we had a great opportunity to go and put a huge amount of runs on the board and put Australia on the back foot, but we just weren't able to do that. But we were able to fight ourselves back into the game and restrict that deficit to, you know, even 80. And then again, yesterday morning, coming out taking six for 40, you know, that doesn't happen by chance or by fluke. That happens by, you know, always staying in the game and not letting it drift. And again, with the bat, you know, three wins. as your moment for the team and if we can look to build on that and understand that you know moments in the game you know require a certain style of play and we've seen how when we were building partnerships how easy it was to be able to score freely or whatever it may be and turning up and yeah just showing as much fight as you possibly can you know and yeah we've had some very good moments but also you know on reflection on this game and just you've got to execute as often as you possibly can and when you're slightly off you pay for it out here and that's something that I think has just been a common theme throughout the series so far but yeah a lot of good to take out of a game but it's obviously your emotions are obviously a little bit deflated it's yeah it's hard to see that. It did seem from way up there miles away as if there's a bit more of a measured approach to the way particularly the batting actually I think it was Zach Crawley's innings for a start and one of the criticisms has been that it's been a kind of a one pace approach over this last couple of years or so I mean was that something that's conscious or is that just simply something he decided to do on the day? Oh I think again it's understanding the moment of where the game is at and how you feel like you need to apply yourself as an individual in that moment and you know we've seen Zach who I thought just played exceptionally well and you know even Jamie and Will last night having to go out and deal with that last half an hour of you could see that it was that was the most important thing that was required there for the team was to get through that night start again tomorrow because that's when you win the game you don't win that game in the last half an hour and they battled hard through that they battled hard again this morning and then when the moment came for them to feel like they were going to put the pressure back onto Australia it just didn't work out you know and that's that's the game of cricket you know it's you know fine margins of sport you've had your moments haven't you that's the frustrating thing and that's again we have had our moment we had our moments in this game here and um we were so so close this game but yeah it feels like three games have been so so close and you can't be so so close so consistently against a team like Australia but um yeah as I said before hey we've got so much more to play for um and yeah we'll be we'll be flying into these next two games look forward to seeing it thank you Ben thanks for talking to us right there we go there's um there's Ben Stokes uh again I think chatting with uh you know kind of a refreshing uh refreshing openness there about uh the frustrations of having been so close but yet yet so far and that uh that business that we talked about yesterday about you know the door would be open sometimes but then Australia would just just slam it shut again and that's really been the case I think during this series but definitely interesting there again there was when you do Stokes a lot you kind of throw those lines out there and you wonder what the response will be I thought the way that he actually praised Crawley's approach was quite significant as well because that was a I thought an acceptance that actually there was a more measured approach about that which has not always been the case as we know in these last three years yeah and you think back to Perth I mean you do wonder it's inevitable that you you wonder if England applied this approach that they've shown in this test match win the game to Perth how things might have been different win the game get over the line and I don't know whether that's by approach well it is a by about by approach but it's also just recognizing situations 100 for lead you know I can understand it a little bit you know I mean I was like that at Perth you know it's like a champagne bottle opening wasn't it it was just like wow everything was just sort of like flying along you know and it just needed just needed a cool calm head did it need this approach that we've seen in this game absolutely yeah absolutely it did okay different pitch and balance often in session the second day in Perth required this sort of approach didn't it nail it down yeah absolutely yeah absolutely yeah so it's it's good sort of hearing this come out of the England camp so it's about adapting to the conditions but also learning you know you're allowed to say yep we've well we've learned from the first test we've learned from the second test we're looking to put it into place here and then I think that gets it your message across to to the media to the fans a lot more so I think they've learned finally learned sort of midway through this test a couple of things put things into place executed better and the result the last two days they probably you know session on session probably played better than Australia in the last two days it was just the first three days that got away from them so yes so close John Stokes you were saying we felt we were so close is that realistic I mean but I feel it was you know two days in Perth lost my so-and-so Brisbane you know beat and beaten here okay we've taken it five days you know I've watched a lot of cricket and I do I don't think we were a million miles away that's the frustration well there were there were three moments in the game in the in the series so far weren't they a hundred ahead at lunch on that second day in Perth yeah and then there were all the drop catches we could still come back in Brisbane yeah you know put England so far behind I mean this game was probably lost in the first innings wasn't it England's first innings and look fair play to Australia in in that first innings they bowled really well it's 40 degrees and they bowled really well the state of the game in on day four if Australia came out and battered and you know I thought they were going to get another 200 comfortably but they got knocked over England sort of knocked them over and all of a sudden chasing 435 rather than 535 which everyone thought it was going to be so yeah it's um like I said the first few days got away from them yeah also another thing that you said they're not good enough for long enough you know and that's with the ball and you take a leaf out of Australia's book all day long in that four degree heat you know that was good enough for long enough and the same with the bat I think that some people think that not good enough long enough means oh well it you know it wasn't whacking we weren't whacking it for long enough no good enough good enough just to hang around and then apply pressure in the natural sort of way so uh yeah there have been some really good points and really highlights as well but not good enough for long enough yeah Jonathan I think one of the interesting things there'll be people listening to this and saying well why couldn't they work it out earlier I'm just going to speak to Simon I think okay he's just wandering over I think I'm going to uh he's taking his shoes off which I don't think anyone's done oh I see he's handed them to a small boy there um Marnus come and have five five seconds that'd be great is he going to be delighted to pick up those smelly shoes do you think it's a very nice gift I think I'm Jonathan thank you we have we have met before um yeah so that's that's a nice gesture but I guess you're feeling uh charitable and happy about this that's it I mean you can't feel any other way um the position we're in now um after that you know a little bit of nerves there uh with a you know some really good batting from Jamie Smith and uh Will Jacks there and um we held firm you know as we have been all series just were patient um and you know it's a great feeling to be where we are yeah what's remarkable from an England perspective is actually we haven't played your first team yet uh yeah look what I will say is it just shows one the depth that we have but also you know the versatility and the conditions that we're playing in you know to play Michael Nesser at the Gabba because it suited those surfaces we didn't feel like Nathan would have played as big of a part and then for Nathan to come here and then straight away have impact in his first over I think it's just a credit to the selectors and Andrew McDonald and Pat and Steve for what they've created and you know that adaptability and being able to just you know whatever the team needs um being able to do that you're catching wow breathtaking yeah I mean I actually haven't felt it slip that much I feel it a little bit first slip I usually run around and use some of the athleticism I've got to try and have a bit of impact but you know um with Steve not being there this week and you know stepping in in that position uh it was an awesome it was awesome to to you know be able to do what I did. Can I ask you were you expecting this to be harder and I'm going back to Perth and and that that you know that second lunchtime lead of 100 nine wickets left did you think this Ashes contest would be tougher? Um I just think the Ashes is you know something that I've I've learned over time is it's just about moments it's about moments and winning moments you know you look back at the series you know how much different would that series look if England consolidated that lead they had dominated we had to chase 350 300 in that first game you know what what does that do to to their batters confidence what does that do to everything and and and the series can look so much different so I don't I don't you know I didn't feel like it was easy at any stage you know I felt like you know at times Joffre Archibald beautifully um you know they they built pressure um but at the end of the day you know to be three nil up you know is an amazing amazing feeling um but yeah I think it could look it could look so much differently for the few key moments that we took that's the last one I guess you're looking at five nil again are you minus? Honestly I'm just looking at celebrating tonight and um you know really enjoying it you know what we've achieved um is something really special um and uh and then it'll be um you know let's get the four nil first and and then we'll we'll think about each game as it comes and making sure once again that we just make sure we win those big moments enjoy Christmas thanks for talking to us thank you there we go Marnus Labuschagne without his boots uh which is now the property of some a very happy young man in fact he's he's holding them there uh they've been out in the out in the boiling sun for a while but now Marnus is going to sign them as well that's a that's a that's a nice gesture so there we go a bit a bit of a bonus a chat from Marnus Labuschagne as well yeah absolutely so Marnus is not thinking about five nil but I'm sure Glenn is thinking but I go just go back to that just go back to that question uh Jonathan that I was asking before Marnus Labuschagne came over and there'll be a lot of people listening to this and saying what how come it took them until the third test uh to work it out because you know there was a feeling was there last summer in England this idea of baseball with brains and actually in that first test match in Perth it was 100 miles an hour whether that was the the adrenaline of the first test and the pitch the crowd the whole occasion I don't know whether it's all kind of overtook the England team but if they you know what why were they not able to and do you think that you know that's the key actually is that one of the problems for them they weren't able to adapt early enough in the series to the demands of playing an Ashes series I think that's absolutely true so I mean I mean I said half jokingly after Brisbane well they'll be ready to go in Adelaide they've had two games now uh and I was you know I was kind of only semi-joking because as we've heard now from Brendan McCullum though they should have they they accept they should have played more more matches beforehand and it seems as if those first two tests were a kind of a I mean there weren't a warm-up but they were a warm-up they were they were sort of preparation that they'd lacked and so I'm not particularly surprised that they've come here and actually played a you know really good game of cricket or largely a good game of cricket they've obviously they've lost some key moments where they've lost the game but they they were just they just seem more prepared for for this for this match but I there still hasn't been the quite the full sort of row back about bass ball as such um I think that Brendan kind of redefined it there a bit um in in that in that chat just now uh I mean if you compare their comments about their approach when they first took over to how that sounded I think there's a significant difference isn't there I was just a bit surprised to hear that Zach Crawley kind of denied that in his press conference last night when he clearly played in a completely different way and it suited him frankly it suited him he played beautifully uh much more better shot selection and and so on and uh so I mean I don't I don't think there's any any any harm in them saying look we're learning how to play at the moment we're getting this right I think that's and that's more or less what McCullum said and Ben Stokes he also said you know and he knows all those supporters are coming out for the Melbourne Sydney test matches and he said we've okay we've lost a series but you know we've got to try our damnedest in the in the last two matches what do you think about the sort of construction of the England team for those two matches certainly for for Melbourne on Boxing Day are we looking at two three changes do they need to rotate the bowlers do they really actually have to seriously you know make a change in the batting simply because Ollie Pope just doesn't you know look on it at the moment and they just kind of have to say well Jacob Bethel you're the next cab you're the only one we've got we'll have to give you a go yeah that's gonna be the really big call isn't it you know do you put somebody in there who's had precious little cricket has got precious little experience uh in in first class cricket let alone test cricket and then when the one match that he played uh at the Oval last year he looked all over the place you know he's still trying to work his game out I think but you know it's a decision do you put him out there in front of a hundred thousand people uh and he would play in Sydney as well of course you know a massive event the New Year's test match and so on I mean you know can he cope with that I think I think that's the question uh with someone as young as he is and with such little experience and such little practice behind him here is it fair to put him into that now they know him much better than we do and if they think well yep he can handle that then I think they'll probably do it but if there's any doubt that actually this could be a damaging experience for him and that if it goes wrong what does that do to his confidence and his career then I think they've got to tread very carefully I mean one option that was we heard at lunch is to put Joe Root to three and move Brook up to four and you can have Bethel at five or six there'll be a much kinder introduction to that sort of cauldron than shoving him in at number three because as we've said throughout when Ollie Pope has been out there batting the first over for much of his much of this series that would be tough on a 21 year old who's had such little first class experience as Bethel has but hey maybe they think he can handle it I mean they made him captain of the T20 team in Ireland didn't they again on the basis of nothing really apart from a bit of a hunch um so we just had to wait and see on that but I think that's that's the one change batting wise that they will seriously consider and likewise they think that that cast maybe needs a rest he comes he gives it everything doesn't he um and he batted nicely today but you know his jobs with the ball Atkinson's had uh 10 days with his feet up now it may be that they look at that swapping that around I think um you know Tong had a good game but I think that those those two changes for maybe what they're looking at the ashes have been lost we thought they were going to be lost but they have now have been lost what about the future of Brendan McCullum as coach well if I'm I I thought there that part of the uh sort of the clearing of the decks and saying I may I've made mistakes might be a way of softening what happens at the end of the series you know is he speaking to to his employers there to an extent and uh and he's not going to dig his heels in and say I'm right I'm right in which case you know if if just say Brendan McCullum were to be uh interviewed which he will be when he gets back but there were a question about whether or not they moved him on he's kind of set out there I think his like his plan for the future uh we will reassess you know when we come here in four years time he said uh was one comment uh you know we will reassess how we do it well that's the sort of thing that you'd probably say to your employer in January when he'd been called in uh to his office to find out whether they still want to give you the job or not isn't it so I thought part of part of what he said might have been for those years as well as for you know those of us who have been talking about this for now for for a couple of months and what does it mean for the others in the the hierarchy you know Rob Key and also Ben Stokes the captain well it's interesting at lunch again wasn't it talking to some of our colleagues in the press box just thought of it possibly being a bit of a domino and that the three did come in together didn't they they I mean key appointed Stokes key appointed McCullum um and so therefore they will feel some loyalty to him I suppose but you would think that it's Rob Key's job that would be in in the crosshairs uh you know you come out and lose a series like this um an admission that mistakes have been made with the preparation which we've been saying for ages it's not it's not hindsight that as everybody listening knows we've been talking about this for ages uh in fact we talked about it from the very first day that this schedule was announced in the middle of the summer it's been it's been a topic of conversation you're listening to the TMS podcast from BBC Radio 5 live hello it's Ray Winstone I'm here to tell you about my podcast on BBC Radio 4 history's toughest heroes I've got stories about the pioneers the rebels the outcasts who define tough and that was the first time that anybody ever ran a car up that fast with no tires on it almost feels like your eyeballs are going to come out of your head tough enough for you subscribe to history's toughest heroes wherever you get your podcast okay look there's two sides to every story there's the the gloom the introspection the speculation as far as England the concern but there's also the joy of winning so let's hear now from Australia's ashes winning captain Pat Cummins who's been giving his reaction to Ishiguro it was pretty awesome uh yeah amazing you know serious been thinking about for a long time um yeah it wasn't easy today but we got it done and yeah pretty pretty excited change room in there yeah I mean you really raced to fitness yourself to get yourself back playing in this test match what did it take for you to get back a fair bit of patience initially and then you know the last kind of two months been a bit of a grind just giving myself every chance but yeah it's all worth it when you get days like this packed crowd and retaining the ashes and it feels like patience has been the word for you anytime England brought a partnership together you think about Joe Root, Zach Crawley yesterday you came on got the breakthrough today when England were getting closer to that target it felt like there was a lot of calm out there was that the key for you when it came to taking those final wickets I think that's when we're at our best this career team um you can't really you know rush things here in Australia I think you you kind of will it to happen but it doesn't really work that way so um it's good old-fashioned grind a lot of the time and um yeah I love the toil from all the guys today and yeah got a little bit closer than I would like but pretty happy I know you weren't part of the first two test matches but just how much strategy did go into this series with with England coming over yeah a fair bit um you know I think first of all you need more than just 11 players in an actual series five tests um and even three tests in we've shown that we've used 14 or 15 players um so you know obviously Steve was great um but you know I think it's always focusing on what we do really well as bowlers not trying to get too carried away with the opposition and maybe throw out a couple of different fielders but most of the time we just focus on what we do well and you've been thrown a couple of uh different kind of situations throughout this series and the adaptability has been really important for for your guys I spoke to Mitch about experience and how important that is has that come into play for example Travis Head going to the top of the order Isman Khawaja having to come in at the last second no lathe line in the last innings here I think that's one of the things I'm most proud about this group um you know nothing ever really happens perfectly there's always something that gets thrown up over the last years these groups have shown a uh you know you just kind of crack on um you know even I missed the first couple games Steve's step right in it was smooth uh you know seamless and there's always things that crop up nath line you know doing his hemi with a couple hours left today but the boys just go okay that's happened let's crack on what's next and um I think that's one of our you know the big reasons why we've had our success over the last couple years we heard Ben Stokes talk about there that the relentlessness you just keep coming um not just with the ball and the bat but the fielding exceptional Marnus Labershain yeah incredible uh I think Steven he might have a fight on who gets second seat back um next week you know and this tough pitch here in Adelaide it wasn't too much on offer 20 wickets was always going to be pretty tough and uh yeah Marnus manufactured a couple more for us with some of that fielding and uh a lot of South Australians here to witness an series win but a couple of South Australians performing incredibly well that's right uh you know Travis Head and Alex Carey um don't know where both their statues are going to go soon but they deserve it uh yeah it's such a wonderful place to play test cricket packed crowds all five days so many people travel in the state for this one test match each year and um yeah seeing two homegrown heroes is awesome are we going to see you for the rest of the series or is it just coming in for for the win here and then have a little break to rest up that back yeah take the credit here um oh we'll see we'll um yeah we'll see how I pull up over the next day or two and uh we'll make a decision but save this one for now okay well well done once again Pat great to see you back playing um contributing with the ball with the captaincy I'm sure Steve Smith would have been devastated to miss out And the adaptability has been really important for your guys. I spoke to Mitch about experience and how important that is. Has that come into play? For example, Travis Head going to the top of the order, Isman Khawaja having to come in at the last second, no late line in the last innings here? I think that's one of the things I'm most proud about this group. You know, nothing ever really happens perfectly. There's always something that gets thrown up. Over the last few years, these groups have shown a, you know, you just kind of crack on. You know, even I missed the first couple of games. Steve's set right in, it was smooth, you know, seamless. And there's always things that crop up. Nate Lyon, you know, doing his hemi with a couple of hours left today. But the boys just go, OK, that's happened. Let's crack on. What's next? And I think that's one of our, you know, the big reasons why we've had our success over the last couple of years. We heard Ben Stokes talk about there that the relentlessness, you just keep coming, not just with the ball and the bat, but the fielding, exceptional, minus Labashain. Yeah, incredible. I think Steve and he might have a fight on who gets second sit back. Next week, you know, in this tough pitch here in Adelaide, it wasn't too much on offer. 20 wickets was always going to be pretty tough. And yeah, Manus manufactured a couple more for us with some of that fielding. And a lot of South Australians here to witness an Ashes series win. But a couple of South Australians performing incredibly well. That's right. You know, Travis Head and Alex Carey. Don't know where both their satchels are going to go soon, but they deserve it. It's such a wonderful place to play test cricket. Packed crowds all five days. So many people travel in the state for this one test match each year. And yeah, seeing two homegrown heroes is awesome. Are we going to see you for the rest of the series or is it just coming in for the win here and then have a little break to rest up that back? Yeah, take the credit here. Oh, we'll see. Well, yeah, we'll see. I'll pull up over the next day or two and we'll make a decision. But save this one for now. OK, well, well done once again, Pat. Great to see you back playing, contributing with the ball, with the captaincy. I'm sure Steve Smith would have been devastated to miss out here. But enjoy your Christmas and we'll see you in Melbourne. Thanks, Asia. You too. Pat Cummins speaking to Isha Gur. So Pat Cummins, not certain to play in the Melbourne test match. He's just come back from a back injury into this game. It's a pretty quick turnaround and actually quite a lot of work today. It's quite it was quite a tough game to come back into. Glen was definitely a full five days hot at times and a pretty flat pitch. Yeah, yeah. I thought he was impressive the way he came back. He hasn't bowled a lot in games or he hasn't bowled in games for a long time. And to bowl the way he did from ball one was was exceptional. Yeah, he's left left the door open a little bit to, you know, kind of speculating of what's going to happen. So, yeah, Nathan Lyons, I think, going to struggle. So whether you want another one of your top bowlers out. So, yeah, but I like what he said. They just, you know, they're going out there. They executed well. And when you're bowling like that, you just have to keep hanging in there. You know, it's 11 against two. All it takes is one ball. Just don't get frustrated. And, you know, the Australians did well today, too. I know you always predict five nil because you can't countenance Australia going into test match and losing. But I mean, realistically, at the start of the series, when you look to the two sides, did you think that Australia would be three nil up after three? Yeah, I can't help myself. So I'm never going to say anything else, am I? So, yeah, I guess when you look at it and especially the way that first day went and then up until lunch, you know, you thought, you know, England are right on top here. So I thought the first game, England could have quite easily set themselves up and gone on to win that game. It took, you know, what happened after lunch, then an exceptional batting performance from Travis Head. I thought up in Brisbane, I think Australia were too strong. England showed that they hadn't played a lot of day night cricket. And I think that really was it was a big difference between the two. But here they've bounced back after that first half of this test match, where I think they're outplayed. They executed pretty poorly with the ball in the first innings, but they showed in the second that they can do it. So I guess, you know, it's always, you know, I talk it up and I said, I was I hoped every test was going to be close, go right down the wire with Australia, just getting across the line in each test. And in that respect, if that was how it was, both teams are very similar. But if Australia just got it, I can still have my five nil. So it's yeah, it's just one of those things. And, you know, three nil, I think, is a very true result of where this series has been today. The next two tests now that you're going to see what England has learned, how they can adapt if they continue to if they how long they can sustain it for. And yeah, these next two test matches, if they turn around, play well and take over two wins, what's going to happen with, you know, McCollum, you know, the management, the players, everything else. So there's still a lot riding on the line for for England, for the rest of this series. Yeah. To be decided on all those matters. Just this one final thing. I mean, how good is this Australian side? I mean, is it actually the situation where, you know, there's never a poor Australian side? They're always going to be competitive, especially in their own country. You can say, oh, this team is not as strong as the ones in the past, but actually come here, all Australians seem to be pretty strong here. Oh, without a doubt. And you hear, you know, Stuart Broad saying the weakest Australian team since since they won here in, you know, was it 2010? So it's yeah, you're never going to get an easy Australian team. I think there was moments back before that where they were a bit of a rebel. But, you know, you've got, you know, you look, you would have thought you had Pat Cummins, Mitchell Stark, Josh Hosewood, Nathan Lyne. You would have thought you had your four front up frontline bowlers for the for these three matches. That hasn't happened. You know, Steve Smith's not wasn't there. So and they brought Michael Nyser and Scotty Bolan in and Doggett in all played an important part. So they showed that they might be, you know, have the stats that, you know, a lot of the big boys have, but they can come in, play their part. They're adaptable. And yeah, like I think Pat Cummins said, it's not just 11 playing. They've used like 14 or 15. It's the squad of players that are going to get you through. And yeah, we'll we'll see how England bounce bounces back. We will indeed. One of the stars for Australia in the series and certainly in this match was Alex Carey. He was named player of the match, and he's been speaking to Isha Guha, and he said to Isha that retaining the Ashes is a magnificent accomplishment. Yeah, it certainly is. I guess we knew what was on the line coming into this match, and I thought the boys, yeah, stayed really present and played what was in front of us. And we know England are such a good cricket team and we're going to be challenged. And again, right to the end today, it was it was a real grind. But yeah, for the boys to to all chip in throughout the series so far has been a lot of fun. And this Adelaide crowd throughout the last five days has just been something special. Well, they certainly enjoyed your knock as well. The century, the 50 in partnership with Travis Head as well. I can see you. You're getting quite emotional there, but look, it must mean so much to be able to contribute in the way that you have. And, you know, a special moment to get that time. Yeah, absolutely. As you mentioned, Travis, again, you know, something special here. Four tests, hundreds of the same venue. I know how good he is and he's showing the world. You know, he's one of the best players. But yeah, I think, you know, to have family and friends to be able to contribute to Australia's victories is always something I'm trying to do. And to do it here in Adelaide this week was pretty amazing. You're always going to talk about everyone else. But that century, what was the key for you on this surface? Yeah, I guess I'm lucky to play a lot of Sheffield Shield cricket here. And I guess it's a familiar surface against a really good bowling attack. We, you know, we're definitely challenged throughout the day and to be able to, I guess, put a partnership with Usman Khawaja who came back into this group and played really well at late notice was fantastic. Again, not surprising from such a great player. Yeah, I guess patience and, you know, trying to get through certain spells of really good bowling and then trying to pick up boundaries when the opportunities were there. It was a poignant moment as well. And your dad would be so proud of you and what you've achieved. I guess that's, you know, as a young lad to be able to dare to dream to play sport at the highest level. I know it wasn't your first choice, but you're still contributing quite a lot for Australia. Yeah, very special moment. I guess, you know, having the family, immediate family here, you know, to score 100 and to look up to the heavens was yeah, something very special. And you're keeping for all the kids watching out there. What is what is the key for you to be able to put out the performances that you have throughout this series? Oh, I guess, you know, keep to a really good bowling attack. It gives you lots of opportunities. That's one that's been unbelievable. And, you know, I've been lucky enough to come up to the stumps and keep to Bazaar and Nessa last week. And, you know, they're beating the bat and bowling fantastic. Nathan Lyon was, again, fingers crossed he's OK. But he was really, really special yesterday, late in the day. Yeah, it's been a lot of fun. And this bowling attack is, yeah, really, really good. Well, well done once again, Alex, and all the best in the remaining matches. Thank you. Cheers. Thanks, everyone. That's Isha with Alex Carey, the player of the match, making one hundred and seventy two and also keeping really well as well. Do you want to hear some more celebrating Australians? OK, here's Mitchell Stark with Isha as well. Nice work for it. Bit of a flat wicket, but they played pretty well. But I think they're the ones that sort of you cherish a bit more when you have to work a bit harder, isn't it? So, yeah, another Ashes win. It's it's been a great atmosphere all week, all series so far. And can't fault anyone today. It was awesome. How important was your effort with the second new ball here? Obviously, one hundred and twenty six to win after lunch. Yeah, we didn't do as much as we probably thought it would do with the newer ball. But, you know, a shame for Nathan to go down as well. And I thought he would have done a great job with the harder, harder newer ball out of that rough as well. But again, we just found a way, which I think is, you know, a feature of this group over a number of number of years now. So we even at times where it's not going our way, we can find a way to get ourselves out of line. Pretty blustery conditions as well for yourself. Yeah, it was a bit gusty, sort of coming from all directions. But it's part and parcel of playing cricket with the foot marks and whatnot. But yeah, another fantastic day. Have you enjoyed the responsibility of just really taking it on with that new ball, especially in the absence of Pat and Josh at the start there? And and then obviously not having Josh for the last couple of games? Yeah, obviously a massive shame for Josh. He was flying heading into the series. So a big loss for us there. I don't think I've changed anything. Obviously, it's been a lot made outside the group of, you know, Pat not being there the first two. This week, he was phenomenal. And it was the Pat Cummins we know and love. We had Nathan back this week until sort of later on today. He was fantastic again. Ness, Doggy, they played a massive part in these three tests. And Scotty, we know what Scotty does. So, yeah, it's been an all round performance with the ball. Certainly with the bat, the two guys playing at home this week who had a phenomenal week. So I'm really pleased for them as well. You've had your own great time with the bat as well. Has it been nice to contribute? Certainly up at the Gabba and here, of course. Always nice to contribute. A bit tiring, but yeah, I think it's sort of something where it's spoken a little bit about in the group is how important those lower order runs can be. Certainly the session that Scotty and I batted in Queensland to get us to the night session played a big part with sort of the rewards we got later in the day. So, yeah, any time we contribute with the bat is always important. Yeah, managed to get a bit of luck as well. And yeah, good fun. There's been some amazing moments right throughout this series. You talk about planning and strategy, but the execution has been exemplary. But but also, you know, we joke about the age. Experience must count for a lot. A hundred percent. We do laugh at some of the comments that get back to us about how old we are. And I think that plays a part in how calm this group is. Certainly it hasn't always been going our way or the rubber, the green. And I think that's certainly led by Pat and Andrew and how they've how they've gelled this group together over a number of years. I'm sure experience plays a part with going through your highs and lows. But I think the levelness of this group, being able to find a find a way from from most situations and probably forgetting about things if it hasn't gone our way. So, yeah, I think that that plays a big part in all this. Also, we've got a few younger guys, and I think that that probably rubs off on them a little bit as well. And I credit to certainly all the players, but definitely all the staff led by Andrew. But we've got a big, big contingent of staff members and they've played a huge role in certainly this series, but for a number of years. I'm just going to keep you there for a second. In you come, Trav. A special moment for for yourself here at Adelaide Oval. But I'm just going to get a word for it from Mitch. How good was that innings? Yeah, great. No, it's certainly if he wasn't before, he's the king of Adelaide. So I'm not sure he's going to pay for another. Oh, he's got a few sponsors anyway, but he's not going to have to pay for another beer. It's it's great to watch. But it's not just Trav, but I think the partnership with Alex, the two guys playing at home, how much this ground means to them, how much that that partnership meant to us as a group and to get us to that position. So now I don't know how he does it, but Jesus bloody good to watch. He really is set it up for series as well with that fabulous time over in Perth. Yes, you can go off now. Just a word from you before we get to your innings on Mitch Stark and what he's provided, not just with the ball, but with the back. He saved me at the end, not having to bowl too many overs. When Gus went down, I thought, geez, I might be able to take the winner and that'd be nice, nice touch. And then I got panned everywhere for the first three hours. I couldn't hit the rough. So huge. We've had a sort of next man in. I've talked about a couple of last couple of days about next man in mentality that we've used, what, 14 or 15, if that's right. No, we probably used 15 with a few bucks out of the squad and both coming in. And he's been huge. I'm not sure quite how many wickets he's got now for the series, but I probably couldn't think of three games in a series better than he's had so far with ball. And then he stepped up with the bat as well. He's been awesome. Yeah, he really has the whole bowling attack. Pat Cummins coming in and taking wickets. But let's talk about your knock. 170 here. How special was it? Fourth consecutive century here in Adelaide Oval. And you get the job done. Day five of the Adelaide test in 11 days. You've won the Ashes. Yeah, huge. A few weeks ago, I sort of tempted the idea of finishing here. So my work's cut out for the next day. I got my work cut out for tonight, tomorrow and organizing a few things in Adelaide, which are already done. So I'm looking forward to the next 48 hours. How long did it take you to organize? Three minutes. OK, you know all the great spots to go here. We've seen you on a night out on a few occasions after a few wins here in Adelaide. But that knock, just how big was it for you? And how do you rate it amongst your other knocks here, especially when you're thinking about the context of the series? Yeah, I guess everyone's nice. You probably think it's right up there. Winning a series and getting runs in the second innings, obviously. Yeah, we would have loved a few. I would have loved a few more today. I don't know how long I could have taken that for another couple of hours. But yeah, obviously to set the game up in the third innings on a good wicket, I felt like it was there. And obviously opening batting being a bit new to me. So nice to spend all day out there. Huge with Alex at the end. But yeah, to set a game up, to win a game. Game three of a series to wrap the Ashes up is a huge moment. We're just playing 100 moment now. Jess was in the crowd, your family here as well. I imagine it's a goosebumps feeling and quite an addictive one as well. I'm looking forward to not doing tickets every morning. It's been hard work, but it's been awesome. I think the back's been pumping as it should be. I think we got what? I don't know how many we had in today, but record crowd. It's been a huge week. And yeah, as expected. And you had to think of a different celebration this time. Yeah, a bit of a rise from the boys. I got a bit of a rev up from the lads. I said, I've seen David Warner bow here. So I thought I'm in the fourth time. I might as well kiss the wicket. It's been pretty good to me. So, yeah, nice touch. Probably a little bit out of the comfort zone doing it. But yeah, you've got the rise out. I always forget that we're playing on a national stage and everyone's watching. And all I'm trying to do is make 15 votes in there and a few staff members laugh and have a good time. So part of the time again, not sure. But nice one to put on the wall, isn't it? Yeah. Just a couple more for you before we let you go and celebrate. Seem to be enjoying opening the batting, averaging 70. Well, yeah, I'm happy to bat anywhere in the team. I feel like I'm batting really well. And, you know, I was disappointed with a couple of starts I've got in the series already. So when you're batting well and you feel like it's working and last summer, it worked well for me as well. And trying to back innings up is really important. And, yeah, new role, I like the new ball. I think I got opportunities to score. It's a little bit different. Obviously, I can get off to a bit of a quicker start with filters behind the bat, et cetera, and navigate my way through that. And Ron's always talking about problem solving. And I feel like that's what I can do for the team. And I'm happy. And I feel like I've problem solved well so far in the series. And we go to two different venues now, Melbourne and Sydney, that the last few years have been pretty tough with the new ball. So I'm looking forward to that challenge. Just lastly, how good is it to be part of this team? Yeah, it's bloody amazing. Travis Head, and then before that, Mitchell Start speaking to Isha Gur. So Australia have won the Ashes. They are three nil up in the series, beaten England by 82 runs in this third test match at the Adelaide Oval. Now, I can still see in my mind's eye England celebrating at the SCG in January 2011. So that's nearly 15 years ago. Andy Zaltzman alongside me with all the the stats. So how many games is it that England have not won in Australia? Zaltz, and what sort of record is that in terms of, you know, comparing with other losing streaks or failure to win matches? Well, that's now 18 tests since that game at the SCG 15 years ago. England have lost 16 and drawn two, going back to 1990. So the last 35 years of Ashes tours, England's total record now reached played 48-1-6, drawn four, lost 38. Looking at just the first three tests of the series, so that the key phase of the series in those 10 tours, England have won one test out of 30, drawn four and lost 25. It has been a remarkably one-sided rivalry. It didn't used to be that way. Australia generally held the upper hand here, but England would win series reasonably often and win matches quite often. So they've been 3-0 down after three in six of the last seven tours, the exception being Strauss' victorious tour in 2010-11. So six of the last seven, 3-0 down after three. There'd only been three such series out of the previous 27 in Australia for England. So these have been uniquely poor times. England's previous longest run without a win in Australia was 12 tests. That was either side of the Second World War. So, yes, it's not gone well, I think, in summary. What other stats do you have for us? What else have you picked out? Well, I guess if we're looking for crumbs of comfort, one would be that England are being thrashed by a narrower margin than on most of those recent tours. So looking back to 1998-99, if you exclude the series that England won, the difference between the two teams in terms of runs per wicket is about 11.4 in this series. That's the narrowest out of the last, well, the last seven thrashings England's had. So, and I guess... It's quite stale crumbs of comfort, those holes. Pretty stale. So there's... Yeah, there's that. And I think that sort of highlights why people thought this was going to be a more competitive series than it has been. I don't think people were expecting it to be 3-0 after three. In terms of runs per over, though England have conceded over four runs and over in each of the three tests so far, 4.09 here, and they scored at 3.35 in the last test. They scored at 3.8 and conceded at 4.5. The first time since Stokes and McCollum took over, England have been the slowest scoring team in consecutive tests. They'd only been the slowest scoring team in three of their first 42 tests, and never by a significant margin as the 0.6, 0.7 and over that we've seen in these last two games. So, yeah, sort of baseball has been, well, fully deflated when you look at it from that point of view. In the last series in England, England scored over a run and over faster than Australia across the series. So looking at the catches, I make it that Australia have dropped one relatively simple catch in the whole series, and England's seven or eight. So that's been another big difference. And perhaps the biggest difference between the two sides, and there's a number of factors that go into this, is the inability of England to turn their good starts into significant innings. So I've looked at the amount of times each side has reached 25. England have had 24 scores of 25 or more, Australia 17. Australia haven't batted as much because they won those first two tests easily, but actually there's a proportion of total innings, England's reaching 25, slightly more than Australia, but then they're failing to go on. England only have eight 50-plus scores out of those 24 scores of 25. Australia has converted 12 of their 17 25s into 50s and three 100s. So England's average runs added after 25 is just 29 more. for them top four players including Joe Root twice for just eight runs and Nathan Law in five wickets all top six players so they come in and had a huge impact on this game to clinch the Ashes so it's now for England five Ashes series without a win. It's eight since the last away win in Ashes history there's only been one away win in the last 13 and previous to that sequence which began 2001 Australia won in England since then just one away win in 13 series prior to that there'd never been a sequence of more than three Ashes series without the away team winning so this away dominance that we've seen Australia winning comfortably at home generally the series in England have been generally close but Australia's failed to get over the line in them we've not seen that before in Ashes so that you know it used to be a lot more competitive in terms of away teams challenging for victory and also what yet again the Ashes has decided way before that the end of the series the ninth time in England's last 10 tours that the Ashes have gone after three out of five tests and only two of the last 21 Ashes series either in England or Australia have seen the Ashes on the line in the final test so that's another disappointment to add to the list. Thanks very much Zoltz comprehensive as ever now you can watch the highlights on the BBC Sport website and that with our full highlight show on BBC iPlayer available every day of the series from 5 p.m. the TMS Ashes debrief with Alex Hartley is also on the iPlayer every day look out for our BBL coverage over the next few days on BBC sounds as well and we'll be back on Christmas night on 5 sports extra and also on 5 live for a night of Ashes programs before the first ball at 1130 p.m. the TMS podcast from BBC Radio 5 live hello it's Ray Winstone I'm here to tell you about my podcast on BBC Radio 4 history's toughest heroes I've got stories about the pioneers the rebels the outcasts who define tough and that was the first time that anybody ever ran a car up that fast with no tires on it almost feels like your eyeballs are gonna come out of your head tough enough for you subscribe to history's toughest heroes wherever you get your podcast