England demolish Australia to regain the Ashes

Hosts win fourth Test by an innings and 78 runs inside three days to take unassailable 3-1 lead.

England''s Mark Wood celebrates the wicket of Australia''s Nathan Lyon as England win the Ashes
The moment when England regained the Ashes [Reuters]

England have beaten Australia by an innings and 78 runs in the fourth Test at Trent Bridge to regain the Ashes.

Clarke to retire after the Ashes
Australia captain Michael Clarke will retire after the final Ashes Test this month.

 

“I want to play the last Test at The Oval and give it one more crack. The time is right,” the 34-year-old said.

 

“You never want to walk away. My performances over the past 12 months have not been acceptable to me.

 

Clarke has played 114 Tests and scored over 8,000 runs, including 28 centuries.

 

“I felt my performances weren’t as good as I wanted them to be. The decision is never easy. I started playing this great game at six years of age. I’m 34. I wish I could play for another 30 years.”

Stuart Broad took eight wickets in the first-innings as the tourists crubmled to 60 all out.

Ben Stokes returned with six wickets in the second-innings to complete the rout as Australia were dismissed for 253.

Mark Wood took the series-clinching wicket when Nathan Lyon played the ball on to his own stumps, sparking wild celebrations among England’s players.

“It’s unbelievable. I couldn’t be happier,” England captain Alastair Cook told reporters.

“For what we’ve been through over the last 18 months, to play like we did has been fantastic. I’m so proud of this young team and the way they’ve taken this opportunity.”

England won with two days and more than two sessions to spare, taking an insurmountable 3-1 lead ahead of the final Test at The Oval.

England have won five of the last seven Ashes series, and the last four at home.

On the final morning, it took 22 balls for Stokes to get a nick off Mitchell Starc (0), with Ian Bell taking the catch at second slip.

Josh Hazlewood (0) had his middle stump knocked out by Wood three overs later, before Voges reached his fifty with a single into the leg side.

Voges was left stranded on 51, though, when Lyon got an inside edge to seal England’s triumph.

“Our goal was to come here and try and have some success,” Australia captain Michael Clarke said.

“Alastair Cook and the England team deserve a lot of credit – they’ve shown us how to execute good swing and seam bowling.

“It’s not for want of trying but the boys have been beaten by a better side.”

Scorecard:

Australia 60 all out & 253 all out (Warner 64, Stokes 6-36)

England 391-9d (Root 130, Starc 6-111)

Dismissed. Australia had no answer to England's swing and seam in Nottingham [Reuters]
Dismissed. Australia had no answer to England’s swing and seam in Nottingham [Reuters]
Source: Al Jazeera, News Agencies