Clarke criticises Test pitches

England captain Alastair Cook cautioned against taking Bell’s comments at full face value, and was clear that he would encourage his colleague to stay on for the challenges ahead.

Outgoing Australia captain Michael Clarke waves to the crowd at The Oval after success in his final test match.

This match saw Australia captain Michael Clarke and opening batsman Chris Rogers, who will now both retire from global cricket, bow out of the Test arena as winners.

This Ashes equalled in length the shortest five-Test series of modern times of 18 days that took place when England played the West Indies in 2000.

This had stood at 19, a mark set way back in 1884-85, an era when Tests were “timeless” and played to a finish.

“We’re nowhere near the finished article but we’ve got a very exciting team and I genuinely believe there will be some really good times”, he said.

“We’ve won the Ashes and whether you score 0 or 100, that’s a pretty good feeling”.

He had announced his retirement after Australia’s defeat in the fourth test which helped England retain the Ashes.

The reality is that the famous urn, or at least a modern-day replica of it, has been returned to England after a 3-2 series victory, built largely around stunning victories in the third and fourth Tests at Edgbaston and Trent Bridge.

“It was an unbelievable series”.

“I am really proud that he got Australian man of the series, that’s a great achievement for him”.

For England to reach such a pinnacle they will have to win overseas and on pitches that do not offer the swing and seam assistance as those in the Midlands that settled this series.

“The wickets are the same for both sides – in three out of the five test matches we played better than Australia“, said Cook.

“I’d like to see groundsmen around the world – not just here – have the courage to go with what they think is a good cricket wicket”, Clarke was quoted as saying by the Sydney Moring Herald on Sunday.

After starting the summer as underdogs, England proved many doubters wrong with a 3-2 victory in the longest format but regulars such as Joe Root and Stuart Broad will sit out the white-ball matches. To play that way was a lot better. “That’s why we’ve won the Ashes“.

“There’s lot of pressure and an Ashes series is one of those where you’re either a hero or a zero”, he added.