Australia have underlined their utter Ashes supremacy by crushing England's hopes of a consolation victory, winning the day-night fifth test by 146 runs with two days to spare at Hobart to seal a 4-0 series triumph.
Brittle English batting has been commonplace in the 11 years since the tourists last won a test on Australian soil and the collapse under the Blundstone Arena lights was remarkable only because it came with victory a possibility.
On top for the first time in the series, they were 68/0, chasing 271 towards the end of the second session, but lost 10 wickets for 56 runs in little more than an hour-and-a-half to crumble to 124 all out.
Australia's pace bowling was as good as it had been throughout the five matches, but some of the shots offered by the batters indicated England had given up on any hope of even extending the contest into a fourth day.
Thumping victories at Brisbane, Adelaide and Melbourne had secured the urn for Australia before the turn of the year, and only by batting out the final day did England secure a draw at Sydney.
Australia captain Pat Cummins was quick to thank Joe Root and his squad for touring, despite the COVID-19 health protocols in place, but naturally his main thoughts were for his own side.
"It's incredible," captain Pat Cummins says. "Everything's gone to plan.
"There's just so many positives to take out of it and for this team to be part of Ashes history, it's just been phenomenal."
One of the few highlights of the series for the tourists has been the bowling of paceman Mark Wood and his career best 6/37 helped dismiss the hosts for 155 early in the second session to set England up for a shot at victory.
Rory Burns and Zak Crawley made a decent start to the chase with England's highest opening partnership of the series, but the match soon reverted to a more familiar script.
Cameron Green (3/21) began the rout, when he dismissed Burns for 26 to bring up tea, returning after the break to remove Dawid Malan for 10 in similar style, with the batsman chopping on.
Crawley made 36, when he became the 22-year-old all-rounder's third victim, and England were in serious strife, when Ben Stokes holed out for five to Nathan Lyon at deep square leg, off Mitchell Starc.
Root got his side over the 100 mark, but fell for 11, when a Scott Boland delivery skidded low along the surface and into his off-stump, sending the England captain home still without a test century in Australia.
Playing only his third test, Boland took 3/18 and Cummins 3/42, as they shared the last five wickets, leaving veteran England seamer Stuart Broad unbeaten on one in probably his last test match in Australia.
Reuters
