A win for Clarke

Siddle, playing his first match of the series, was far and away Australia’s best bowler at The Oval, taking four for 35 in England’s second innings as Australia won by an innings and 46 runs on Sunday.

“The boys did as I asked, it was a test of our character and we came through it”.

Five minutes after the re-start, Siddle bowled Broad (11) and then dismissed Ali to ensure Australia opener Chris Rogers, also retiring after this match, ended his Test career on a winning note as well.

“We are improving very quickly and we are very hard to beat when we are at our best”, said Root.

“We did say there’d be times where we won’t get it right, and the first two days here we didn’t”, he said.

Those were the big moments that decided the series, and while I do not think there is a big gap between the teams, you have to applaud Alastair Cook, after all the pressure he was under, and Trevor Bayliss, who has done a fantastic job as England coach already.

A five-match ODI series follows, however a handful of England’s brightest stars could be rested due to upcoming tours of the United Arab Emirates and South Africa. The focus and goal leading up to the test was to do everything in my power to prepare as well as I could and help the team win the test match.

It was a day of great change in Australian cricket as a win at The Oval ensured the next generation for the Baggy Green begins on a high note. The fewest number in a five-match, five-day Ashes series.

Michael Clarke believes Australia showed their true colours by thrashing England at The Oval in his final global appearance.

Although not as fast as other members of Australia’s pace attack, Siddle provided a much-needed element of control in the field.

“But this is not about me – what I want people to see is the fight inside this changeroom and how much they wanted to play really good cricket”. “We are still growing so there will be some dark days in the future but some really good days as well”.

Having joined the England cause only two weeks before the Ashes, the Australian can not be sure about the broader talent pool available and is calling on aspirants to make themselves known through performance.

“Peter was in our original squad and the chairman Rodney (Marsh) and I thought it was the best opportunity to give him that chance ahead of Patrick Cummins”, he said.

508 – runs by Steve Smith, top run-scorer in the series and the first Australian to pass the 500-mark in England since Matthew Elliott in 1997. “I hope Belly is around for the next few years”, Cook said.