England v Australia 5th Ashes Test review: Clarke, Rogers bid adieu as Australia secure consolation win

England v Australia 5th Ashes Test review: Clarke, Rogers bid adieu as Australia secure consolation win: Australia would lament why The Kia Oval was not given the third Test when itinerary for the Ashes was being finalized. But lament is all they can, for the urn is back to UK after just 17 months of the away journey. Even the most experienced of fortune tellers would have struggled to predict such a one sided contests in all five games. When one team was ahead the other looked waiting to be rolled over. The Australian dominance can be judged by the fact that even two innings of the hosts failed to match up to their 481 run first innings effort. Moeen Ali was the last to depart, nicking to Peter Nevill to give Peter Siddle his fourth wicket. Australia won by an innings and 46 runs while England clinched the Ashes 3-2.

What followed were emotional scenes as Clarke was hugged by his mates after which the Australian side gave him a guard of honour. One has seen Clarke cry lots of times recently and this wasn’t any different. The visitors had already surrendered the urn, but it was better late than never for Australia, who are closing in on a consolation victory when the 4^th day started at The Oval. England, reduced to 203/6 in their second innings, needed 126 more runs to make Australia bat again, which seemed unlikely.

Jos Buttler and Mark Wood were the batsmen at the crease with Moeen Ali, Stuart Broad and Steven Finn to follow. The onus was be on Buttler and Ali to spend as much time as possible and defy the Australian bowlers. There was also the rain threat but not of the proportion to bother the Aussies. Buttler and Wood scored a few boundaries to help England forward. However, their partnership came to an end in the 84th over when Siddle trapped Wood in front. Umpire Kumar Dharmasena initially ruled in favour of the batsman, but Australia captain Michael Clarke opted for the review and replays justified his decision.

Buttler was the eighth wicket to fall, getting out to Mitchell Marsh in the 87th over. Moeen Ali and Stuart Broad kept the Australian bowlers at bay before rain stopped play with England at 258/8, trailing by 74 runs. Alastair Cook was seen enjoying a coffee in the dressing room hoping the showers to increase in intensity as the players left the field. There was no respite from rain even after the lunch break as it continued to pour, keeping the Australian players anxious. But not for long, the rain eventually relented and it also got brighter at the ground. Stuart Broad fell in the second over after the rain break, bowled by Peter Siddle for 11 as England slipped to 263/9. Moeen Ali was the last man out as he went for the big drive but only managed to edge it to the keeper.

Earlier in the match, Steve Smith held Australia’s innings together with a supreme century while for England, Steven Finn and Moeen bowled well in patches to pick up three wickets apiece. Siddle bowled with excellent control and made the ball to move either way off the seam. Marsh, Johnson and Lyon also played pivotal roles. None of the English batsmen could make an impact.

So, England failed to win four Tests in a home Ashes series for the first time and Australia extended their run of failure in England that goes back to 2001. Both sides failed to compete, when behind in the game though they still served a enthralling series. The Australian camp would be pleased with the fact that they ended the series with a win. It also meant that Michael Clarke and Chris Rogers could end their international careers with a victory.

Brief Scores:

Australia 481 (Smith 143, Finn 3-90) beat England 149 (Moeen Ali 30, Johnson 3-21) and 286 following on (Cook 85, Siddle 4-35) by an innings and 46 runs

Man of the Match – Steve Smith

Australia’s man of the series (nominated by Trevor Bayliss) – Chris Rogers

England’s man of the series (nominated by Darren Lehmann) – Joe Root