England 644 beat Australia 280 & 281 by an innings and 83 runs
Scorecard - BBC, Cricinfo
ENGLAND won their first Ashes series in Australia for 24 years - and they did it in style, completing another crushing innings win for a hugely deserved 3-1 victory.
Chris Tremlett provided the magic moment, bowling last man Michael Beer for two to spark off wild celebrations on and off the pitch.
Entry to the SCG for the final day was free and every Briton in New South Wales appeared to have joined the Barmy Army in the stands.
The crowd were frustrated at first as Steve Smith and Peter Siddle provided some resistance before a rain delay of about 40 minutes.
Siddle went on to produce his Test best score of 43, narrowly improving on his previous best of 40 which he had set only a week ago in Melbourne.
But he walked to the crease in an impossible situation on both occasions and he was unable to stop Australia from suffering successive innings defeats.
On the very first day of the series, Siddle took a hat-trick to mark his 26th birthday but it was telling that he was the man keeping out the hat-trick ball from Tremlett last night.
For, over the past six weeks, England have gradually cast off the chains of failure Down Under which have haunted them for more than two decades.
England comfortably drew the first Test, despite losing Andrew Strauss third ball to Ben Hilfenhaus and Siddle's subsequent heroics.
Man of the series Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott shared a stand of 329 runs in an England total of 517-1.
In doing so, they broke the previous record for any partnership at the Gabba which had been set just two days earlier by Mike Hussey and Brad Haddin in Australia's 481.
Significantly, that innings was the last time in the series that the Aussies scored more than 400.
In the second Test in Adelaide, England roared out the blocks as James Anderson smashed the Aussie top-order to leave the hosts on 2-3.
Although Australia recovered to be 245 all out, Kevin Pietersen found his form at the perfect time, hitting 227 as England declared on 620-5.
The Aussies did a little better in the second innings but, when Pietersen unexpectedly took the wicket of Michael Clarke with the final ball of day four, England sensed victory.
And a 1-0 series lead arrived within 90 minutes of the start of the final day as Graeme Swann's spin encouraged another Aussie collapse.
If the remaining batsmen had held out for just one more hour, unrelenting heavy rain would have rescued a totally unjustified draw for them.
As it was, England had deservedly condemned Australia to their first home innings defeat in 18 years. Little did anyone know there would be two more just around the corner.
First, though, the Aussies gained a foothold in the series by easily winning the third Test in Perth.
But it wasn't all plain sailing for Ricky Ponting's men and England looked to have won a good toss when opting to field having reduced the Aussies to 69-5.
However, the efforts of Hussey, Haddin and Mitchell Johnson helped Australia recover to 268 all out before Johnson then bowled a brilliant spell as England crumbled to 187 all out.
Set 391 runs to go 2-0 up at retain the Ashes by Christmas, the tourists collapsed again in the second innings, closing day three on 81-5.
Within an hour of play on day four, the match was over, England having only managed 123 all out to lose by 267 runs.
Johnson and Ryan Harris had bowled beautifully to take 18 of England's 20 wickets as the pendulum shifted in the Aussies' favour.
However, the momentum did not last long back on the east coast in the fourth Test in Melbourne as Australia suffered their blackest day of Ashes cricket in many years.
England again won the toss and asked Australia to bat but, having let their hosts off the hook in Perth, Strauss' men made sure not to make the same mistake.
Anderson and Tremlett picked up four wickets apiece, and Bresnan took the other two, as Australia were torn apart.
By the end of the first day, Strauss and Cook had scored 157 without loss, surpassing the Aussies' embarrassing total of 98 all out.
Trott added his second century of the series and Prior scored 85 as England batted through day two to be eventually all out for 513 on day three.
Australia fell apart once more to be all out for 258 and, but for some positive carefree batting from Haddin and Siddle, their eventual defeat by an innings and 157 runs could have been much worse.
Despite retaining the Ashes with that victory, England were not finished yet as Australia, led by stand-in captain Clarke, succumbed to 280 all out in the first innings in this final Test in Sydney.
In the response, Cook scored 189 to record the second highest aggregate of any England player in any series, behind only Wally Hammond who scored 905 in the 1928-29 Ashes campaign.
However, Cook did secure the record for having batted the longest of any England player in any series in history at 2171 minutes.
Ian Bell and Prior also made tons as England recorded a first innings total of 644, their highest ever score in Australia before reducing the hosts to 213-7.
Staring a third innings defeat in the face, Smith and Siddle today swung the bat before the weather briefly intervened.
But, once the clouds cleared enough for play to recommence and Siddle found Anderson in the deep off Swann, the end was nigh for Australia.
Hilfenhaus scored seven off 14 balls before falling to Anderson's swing - setting up the scene for Tremlett to apply the coup de grace by castling Beer.
Of course, Tremlett - alongside Bresnan - represent England's excellent current squad strength after gaining their starting places during the course of the series.
In the top order, only retiree Paul Collingwood failed to make at least one truly significant contribution with the bat.
But the Durham man still managed to excel in the field and bowl out Hussey with his final ball in Test cricket.
By contrast, Australia are in a deep hole. At present, the team is rudderless, playing without a proper opener, a top-class spinner and a consistent strike bowler.
Despite the presence of Hussey, the Aussie middle order is vulnerable to a collapse while their supposed best bowler Johnson has taken his reputation as an enigma to new levels in the last six weeks.
Desperate on a flat pitch in the first Test, Johnson was dropped for the second match before regaining his hero status in Perth by taking nine wickets there.
In the final two matches, Johnson continued to take wickets but he also proved an expensive luxury who Australia could ill-afford given the struggles of the rest of their attack.
He also cut a fragile figure and suffered from repeated taunts from the Barmy Army in the stands.
However, it was hardly anything worse than what England players had been forced to put up with for years from the Aussie supporters.
The Barmy Army were rightly loving the strange feeling of superiority and this England team has given them plenty to cheer.
Indeed, too much of a focus on the Aussies' struggles fails to give England enough credit for their wonderful record-breaking performances in the series.
Cook found the form of his life to end up being spoken in the same breath as Hammond and Jack Hobbs while Anderson became the first English bowler to take 24 wickets in an away Ashes series since Frank Tyson in the 1950s.
As a unit, the England team recorded the highest-ever score of any England team in Australia in the final Test in Sydney.
And that was only a small part of England's efforts to hammer the Aussies with ruthless efficiency with a consistency which was rewarded by three innings victories.
Adelaide. Melbourne. Sydney. They will simply never be forgotten.
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EARLIER REPORTS
Day four: England's history men on the brink of glory
(Close) Australia 280 [Johnson 53] & 213-7 v England 644 [Cook 189, Prior 118, Bell 115, Strauss 60]
ENGLAND made their highest ever score in Australia before taking seven wickets to put themselves on the brink of a glorious 3-1 Ashes series victory in Sydney.
Graeme Swann prodded the first delivery after lunch into the on-side for a single which meant England's previous best score Down Under of 636 was surpassed.
That mark had also been set at Sydney in a timeless Test in 1928 during which Wally Hammond scored 251 of his 905 series runs.
Of course, Alastair Cook yesterday fell short of Hammond's achievement of two double centuries in a single Ashes series but the Essex left-hander had already done more than enough to put England in control of this Test.
Cook eventually compiled 189 runs to take his aggregate for the series to 766, scored at an average of 127.66. Only Hammond had ever enjoyed a more productive Ashes.
But, while Cook will surely get the man of the series award when the gongs are handed out tomorrow, the whole of the current England team deserves credit for their performances this winter.
The Australians went into this final Test still harbouring hopes of escaping a series in which they have been totally outplayed with a 2-2 draw.
After a tight first two days in which England allowed the Aussies' tail in the first innings to wag, the chances of a frankly unfathomable series tie increased.
But Cook kept his cool and by the time he and Ian Bell had departed with centuries, England had gained the sort of commanding position with which they had grown accustomed over the previous few weeks.
Having gained control on day three, England - resuming on 488-7 - rubbed salt in Aussie wounds on day four.
This was humiliation upon painful humiliation for the hosts as Matt Prior batted with Tim Bresnan and Swann to become the tourists' ninth centurion of the series, another Ashes record for England.
Australia finally made a belated breakthrough shortly after Prior had reached his landmark as Bresnan nicked Mitchell Johnson behind to Michael Clarke for 35.
But, by then, Bresnan and Prior had put on 102 for England's highest ever eighth-wicket stand at the SCG.
More impressively still, England became the first ever team in Test history to have century partnerships for the sixth, seventh and eighth wickets in a single innings.
Even when Prior top-edged a poor Ben Hilfenhaus ball behind to Brad Haddin for 118, having 'only' added 20 runs for the ninth wicket with Swann, there was no sign of a declaration.
It seemed that, four years on from the devastating whitewash in the 2006-07 series, England were having too much fun grinding the Aussie noses into the dust.
Certainly, the last pair of Swann and Chris Tremlett would have taken great pleasure in scoring 20 off a single Johnson over, immediately after Prior had departed.
Indeed, Swann and Tremlett batted England beyond lunch but once Swann had scored the historic run, it seemed unlikely many more would follow.
That was in fact the case as - to the relief of the home crowd - Tremlett finally brought an end to the mammoth innings after 178 overs by edging Hilfenhaus behind to Haddin for 12. Swann was left unbeaten on 36.
Now the onus shifted back to Australia. With the Ashes lost in Melbourne, and the series lost on days three and four in this match, the Aussies really were playing just for pride.
Could Michael Clarke and his men bat out the best part of five sessions in an attempt to claim some sort of heroic draw?
It seems not, despite an encouraging start from opener Shane Watson who took out his frustration on the England bowlers, hitting 38 from 40 balls, including seven fours.
However, England had the last laugh once again after Watson caused one of the most comical run outs in international cricket history.
Fellow opener Philip Hughes stroked a shot into the leg-side off his pads and the Aussies looked set to pick up a comfortable single.
Then, despite a clearly audible wail of 'No' from Hughes, the oblivious Watson set off on a second run, meaning both batsmen wound up at the same end of the pitch.
It was amateurish tripe from the Aussies and the whole farce reinforced the notion that Watson, while a competent batsmen, is not worthy of being a Test opener.
As well as his inability to convert 50s into hundreds, Watson has a terrible reputation for running between the wickets - this was his seventh involvement in a run out in just 49 innings, although he has only been the victim twice.
Watson's wicket also left two relative youngsters at the crease for Australia, 22-year-old Hughes and 24-year-old debutant Usman Khawaja.
It was no surprise that neither coped particularly well. Hughes was out first for 13, edging Bresnan behind to Prior to leave Australia on 52-2.
And Khawaja fell shortly after tea for 21 as Prior picked up another catch, this time off James Anderson's bowling.
The innings then seemed to settle down for a while as Aussie stand-in skipper Clarke, desperate for a score, played in an almost competent fashion to contribute 41.
But there was to be a final twist in England's favour on day four as reverse swing began to take effect to the delight of Anderson, Bresnan and Tremlett.
Anderson sensed his chance and having earlier bowled a spell of 0-22 off four overs, he returned to the party with virtually unplayable figures of 1-4 off four overs.
Clarke was his sole victim as Prior took another catch behind the stumps. When the usually reliable Mike Hussey followed to Bresnan soon after, Australia were in tatters.
Even Hussey seemed utterly demoralised when he was out for 12, offering a simple catch to Kevin Pietersen at gully, and looking nothing like the player who compiled a stand of 309 in the first Test with Haddin.
Haddin has also suffered from spending hours behind the wickets with the gloves on and, not for the first time, the short ball caused him to lose his wicket as he nicked Tremlett behind to Prior for 30.
Tremlett then caused a real buzz around the SCG, putting himself on a hat-trick by bowling the fragile Johnson out first ball to leave Australia on 171-7.
England sensed another wave of momentum pushing them towards the finishing line and claimed the extra half hour in an attempt to take the final three wickets.
But Peter Siddle blocked the hat-trick ball and then made some attempt to defend the Aussies' honour by batting until the close with Steve Smith.
The players will return on day five to complete the formality of what looks like being yet another innings victory for England.
To put that into context - Australia had only suffered one home defeat by an innings in the past 18 years before this series. This could be their third in just over a month!
Finally, what are the odds Paul Collingwood will wrap the contest up with another spectacular catch after he announced his retirement from Test cricket today?
It would be no less than the Durham man deserves after a fine England career - and, along with the 12 other players for England in this series, he is a history man.
EARLIER REPORTS
Day three: Cook and Bell confirm England's superiority
(Close) Australia 280 [Johnson 53] v England 488-7 [Cook 189, Bell 115, Strauss 60, Prior 54*]
ENGLAND took control of the fifth Ashes Test as centuries from Alastair Cook and Ian Bell enabled the tourists to bat through the whole of the third day in Sydney.
Cook ended up falling just short of his second double-hundred of the series but, by the time he was out after tea, he had already picked up all sorts of records.
The Essex left-hander is guaranteed to average more than 100 this series having scored 766 runs in seven innings over the five Tests.
Only Wally Hammond, with 905 runs in the 1928-29 Ashes series, has scored more runs for England in a series - but Cook has batted for longer.
Indeed, the opener has been at the crease for 36 hours and 11 minutes or 2171 minutes, more than any England player in any series in history.
And such is the wonderment expressed at Cook's statistics that it is easy to forget England had another centurion on day three in Sydney.
Too often in this series, Ian Bell has had to scratch around for runs with the tail but here he staked a serious claim to bat higher up the order with a stylish ton.
With Cook, Bell put on 154 runs for the sixth wicket as England took the game away from their hosts in the afternoon session.
He then added a further 107 runs in a seventh-wicket stand with Matt Prior before the close.
England had started the day on 167-3 with Cook and nightwatchman James Anderson at the crease after the late wicket of Kevin Pietersen on day two.
Unsurprisingly, Anderson - who had already done his job just by being there this morning - put up little resistance, and Peter Siddle bowled him on middle- and off-stump for seven.
Anderson's exit hastened the appearance of Paul Collingwood to the crease but, while the Durham man has been a fine servant to English cricket, he may not be seen in Tests again after another failure.
Averaging just 15 from his previous 10 Test matches, perhaps it should come as that Collingwood was out for 13, lofting spinner Michael Beer high to Ben Hilfenhaus at mid-on.
It was a wasteful shot full of frustration at an innings in which he never looked at all comfortable in contrast to Cook at the other end, and it belatedly gave Beer his first Test wicket.
Beer thought he had made his own personal breakthrough on day two when Cook gave a catch to mid-on on 46.
But umpire Billy Bowden ruled that Beer had just over-stepped the popping crease and that it was a no-ball to which Cook could not be out.
If that was slightly unfortunate for the debutant Beer, then the Aussies' attempts to remove Cook on 99 on day three were just disgraceful.
Cook had played a rare false shot to a Beer delivery and the ball appeared to have given a catch to Philip Hughes at short leg.
Egged on by team mates, Hughes shamefully claimed the catch even though replays showed a clear bounce in front of him.
The replays rightly reprieved Cook and the whole situation made Hughes look more than a little bit desperate, and actually rather stupid that he thought he would get away with it.
Wicketkeeper Brad Haddin at least emerges with some credit by refusing to celebrate with the others having seen the clear bounce.
But the Aussie team then seemed to snub Cook collectively by refusing to offer congratulations for his third century of the series.
That would not have bothered Cook so much - in fact, I am sure he was pleased to have got so far under the Aussies' skin having been identified as a supposed weak link before the series.
However, the lack of sportsmanship on display, for which Ashes series are famed, left a bitter aftertaste to the whole incident.
Of course, England fans would soon be drinking in the sweet success of their team as Cook and Bell confirmed the tourists' clear superiority.
It is strange to think that, just a day earlier, this match had been a close contest and England fans genuinely worried that the Aussies might escape from the series with a 2-2 draw.
Such a result would have been an injustice considering the respective displays of both sides throughout the contest and the fears are all irrelevant now anyway.
By the time Cook was caught by Mike Hussey off Shane Watson for 189 and Bell was caught by Aussie stand-in skipper Michael Clarke off Mitchell Johnson for 115, England were 487-7.
That gave England a lead of 207 runs, more than enough to negate the disadvantage of batting last on a turning Sydney pitch - if indeed they have to bat again at all.
For, with Prior at the crease alongside Tim Bresnan and then Graeme Swann, both of whom can wield a bat, more swift runs for England can be expected in the morning session.
Indeed, one further run was added before the close to give England an overnight lead of 208 and that leaves a demoralised Australia team fewer than six sessions to overhaul it and set their own target.
An Aussie comeback is hardly on the cards and the fat lady has already arrived at the SCG, simply awaiting her introduction to the crowd.
Perhaps, the only debate left in this Ashes series is whether England will win it 2-1 or, by gaining victory in this Test, 3-1.
And, given the classy performances of Cook et al, the latter would surely be a more deserving outcome.
Play on day four is again pushed forward to 11pm GMT to compensate for the rain on the opening day. Tune in to SkySports1 to see if England can make strides towards a 3-1 win.
Day two: Cook silences the echoes of Perth
(Close) Australia 280 [Johnson 53] v England 167-3 [Cook 61*, Strauss 60]
ALASTAIR COOK hit an unbeaten 61 to steady England's nerves as the tourists reached 167-3 in reply to Australia's 280 on an absorbing second day of fifth Ashes Test in Sydney.
The series had been missing a close contest after an inevitable draw in Brisbane, two thumping England wins in Adelaide and Melbourne, and a comfortable Aussie victory in Perth.
But this final match is now set up to provide that hitherto unseen genuine nail-biter though only after England let Australia back into the game by allowing their tail to wag.
Andrew Strauss' men had reduced the Aussies to 189-8 but then Mitchell Johnson and Ben Hilfenhaus added 76 runs for the ninth wicket and Hilfenhaus and Michael Beer added a further 15 for the tenth.
In the Perth defeat, England had similarly allowed Australia to recover from 69-5 to 268 all out before collapsing from 78-0 to 187 all out themselves.
And, having repeated the first part by allowing the tail to add 91 for the final two wickets, the tourists threatened to reprise the collapse after the loss of Strauss and Jonathan Trott in quick succession.
But Cook is not the leading run scorer in this series for nothing, and his fifth half century from seven outings this series gives England a chance of a much-needed innings lead.
Having won the toss and elected to bat, Australia resumed on 134-4 after a rain-affected first day.
There was still plenty of cloud cover for England to exploit and they soon had the Aussies in trouble when Brad Haddin wafted a ball outside off stump behind to Matt Prior off James Anderson for just six.
England then seemed content to wait for the new ball to become available when they received an entirely unexpected bonus as Mike Hussey was bowled by Paul Collingwood for 33.
Collingwood had only just fallen short of taking Hussey's wicket in his previous over when a return catch off an inside edge failed to carry.
But Hussey then played another more costly inside edge onto the stumps via his pads to leave Australia on 171-6 and the tail facing the new ball.
This should be over quickly, most observers agreed, and it seemed everything was indeed going to plan as the wickets of Steve Smith and Peter Siddle followed shortly afterwards.
Smith was out for 18 edging Anderson to Collingwood in the slips and when Siddle departed for two by edging the same bowler to Strauss, Australia were 189-8.
It seemed only a matter of time before Strauss and Cook would be opening the batting for England but Johnson and Hilfenhaus had failed to read the script and took the hosts beyond lunch.
In contrast to the rest of Australia's innings, which had been compiled at a snail's pace, the pair began to throw the bat around and rack up a respectable score.
Johnson was eventually out for the Aussies' top score of 53 when, lining up another big shot, he lost his off-stump to Tim Bresnan.
And then, just as Hilfenhaus and Beer threatened to frustrate England further, the former nicked Anderson behind to Prior on 34, leaving debutant Beer on two not out.
Despite the wonderfully positive display by Johnson and the tail, Australia had failed to reach 300 for the fourth consecutive innings, the first time in 27 years that this had happened on home soil.
Their run rate also had been poor at just 2.64 an over whereas England, by contrast, began like an express train.
Aided by some generous bowling by Johnson and Hilfenhaus, the tourists scored 50 runs from the first 10 overs. At tea, England were 73-0 off 16 overs with Strauss dominating the strike on 49 and Cook on 19.
But, shortly after the interval, it all started to go a bit wrong. First, Strauss received an unplayable swinging delivery from Hilfenhaus to be clean-bowled for 61.
Then, in the next over bowled by Johnson, Trott dragged his shot onto his own stumps to depart for a duck.
England had gone from 98-0 to 99-2 but Cook and Kevin Pietersen ensured this was a blip rather than a fully-blown collapse by building a handy partnership of 66.
Cook was nearly out on 46 when he almost gave Beer his first Test wicket by heaving him straight to mid-on but replays showed that Beer had bowled a no-ball and the Essex left-hander was reprieved.
However, the Aussies did not have to wait much longer for their next breakthrough as Pietersen inadvisably hooked a bouncer from Johnson behind to Beer at fine leg to be out for 33.
Nightwatchman Anderson survived more short stuff before the close but his presence suggests the Aussies will take an early wicket on day three.
It will then be important for England's recognised batsmen - Ian Bell, Prior and out-of-form Collingwood - to repay Anderson for his protection by all joining Cook in scoring runs.
After all, the tourists still need plenty of them. No more than parity with the Australians after the first innings would give the hosts an advantage with England having to bat last when the Sydney pitch is at its most dangerous.
Indeed, only with a lead of 100-150 runs could Strauss feel comfortable - and a score of 400 or more still sounds a long way off at 167-3.
Play resumes tonight again at the earlier time of 11pm GMT due to rain on the first day.
Day one: Swann strikes before rain stops play in Sydney
(Close) Australia 134-4 v England
GRAEME SWANN took the wicket of debutant Usman Khawaja just before heavy rain caused play on the first day of the fifth Test in Sydney to be abandoned.
Khawaja's dismissal left England on top with Australia on 134-4 after the hosts had chosen to bat having won the toss.
The Aussies are playing for pride without injured captain Ricky Ponting as the Ashes have already been secured by England in a thumping fourth Test victory.
Of course, England are still looking to draw or even win this match to complete a 2-1 or 3-1 series victory, their first on Australian soil since Mike Gatting's men won 2-1 in 1986/87.
But it was Australia who started the fifth Test better as steady Shane Watson and an unusually watchful Philip Hughes looked to be guiding to Australia to lunch without loss.
However, Hughes failed in this objective, falling in the over before the interval after nicking Chris Tremlett behind to Paul Collingwood in the slips for 31.
After lunch, Watson was joined at the crease by Khawaja, the first ever Muslim to play for Australia, and the pair picked up from where Watson and Hughes had left off.
The scoring rate was painfully slow at times but at least Australia were making England work for their wickets in this innings and 100 was brought up for the loss of just one man.
But, shortly afterwards, Tim Bresnan picked up his first scalp of the match as Watson was caught at first slip by England captain Andrew Strauss.
Watson has been much-criticised for failing to convert half-centuries into centuries but he fell just short of the first target in this effort, falling on 45.
Rain then stopped play for about 90 minutes, which included an early tea break, but the Aussies probably wished they never had resumed.
For, in the third full over after the delay, stand-in skipper Michael Clarke continued his woeful run of form by slashing a wide ball from Bresnan straight to James Anderson at gully.
Clarke's score of four left his series average at 19.00 and his wild shot will have done nothing to improve his approval ratings in the Aussies' choice for captain - they are currently at just 15%.
Swann then struck to remove Khawaja who top-edged a catch to Jonathan Trott at square leg for 37 on the ball before the rain arrived again.
This time, the weather proved terminal and play was abandoned for the day with the start time of day two pushed forward to 11pm GMT.
However, a similarly unsettled forecast is expected and, at this stage, the weather and the Aussies' slow scoring is damaging their chances of squaring the series.
By contrast, England - with the little urn secured - will be more content with the fragmented nature of the play.
But Andrew Strauss' men need to be wary because, if or when the match makes progress, they will be faced with the prospect of batting last on a turning Sydney pitch.
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