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Australia sealed an emphatic 4-0 victory in the 2017-18 Ashes as they blew away England by an innings and 123 runs in the final Test at the SCG in Sydney. Australia have now won seven of their last eight Ashes series at home, finishing without a loss in three of their last four.
After restricting England for just 346 in the first innings, Australia ended up scoring a mammoth 649/7, thanks to centuries from Usman Khawaja (171), Shaun Marsh (156) and Mitchell Marsh (101).
Facing a huge deficit of 303 runs, England were never in a position of saving the Test as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals and ended up getting dismissed for 180, 123 runs short to make the hosts bat again.
After some fantastic performances over the last month and a half, the Aussies have regained the urn that they lost to the Poms in 2015. Let us take a look at how the Cricket fraternity reacted to Australia's Ashes victory.
Usman Khawaja: Awesome. Ashes win 4-0. Great coming through. Close. The first game was in balance a little bit. All the first three games were in the balance, but we had someone putting their hand up. Really happy to contribute to the win. All of them shared the wickets, they had 20-odd wickets each. They bowled outstandingly. We did the basics well and we also have Steven Smith in the side. We bowled well, batted well and fielded well.
Mitch Marsh: No (didn't think I would be standing here). I would probably be out on a fishing trip at this time of the summer. Funny how things can change quickly. You do not sleep well in a Test match, especially when you are batting overnight. Just won the Ashes 4-0 and to contribute to the win is a special feeling. Hopefully, they (the four bowlers) can stay on the park for a longer period of time. It was amazing. To be out there for Shaun, I was more nervous than him. It was a great day for our family.
Nathan Lyon: Yes, it is a great feeling. Steve Smith led from the front. To be part of this bowling attack, it is a special feeling. We have all bases covered. We spoke about bowling in partnerships and it helped. Pretty good. Can't wait to sing that (the team song). The batters got the runs on the board for us bowlers and then the three quicks bowling in tandem. The selectors got it right. Very happy moment.
Man of the match Pat Cummins: Couldn't have asked for much more. To get through the five (Tests) and win the series here at home, couldn't have asked for much more. It's been a lot of fun. We are all really close and have played a lot of cricket together. Especially, Gaz, what he has done in this series, we three could run in and attack; not thinking too much. It's been great. Pretty much, everything I could have asked for. As a kid you grow up, and there's a lot of hype around each game. Excellent to see how much it means to everyone. Loved every minute.
England vice-captain James Anderson: He's (Root) asleep. He has a gastro issue. He has not been too well throughout in the night. He is sleeping in the dressing room trying to recover. We have been outplayed in the key moments in each game. We were in the games to an extent, but couldn't capitalize. Credit to Smith and team. They played fantastically well in the series. They have got a fantastic bowling attack and all the batsmen have come to the party when the team needed them. We haven't scored enough in a series like this and we couldn't create enough pressure. Lucky to have such great support, not just the Barmy Army, but a lot of English supporters. We are grateful for them even though we have been beaten in this series, we can hear them. That's fantastic.
Australia captain and Man of the Series Steve Smith: It's been a great couple of months. The cricket we have played has been outstanding. We were able to take 80 wickets in four Test matches and I saw all the bowlers have taken more than 20 wickets. We haven't relied on one person. Scoring big in the first innings has helped out. The batters have stood up through difficult periods and just won those key moments which has been crucial in this series. England had their foot in the door in all matches. They have played some exceptional cricket and we were just able to get on top by winning the key moments. Belief, playing here at home, knowing our roles and getting the job done. It's nice to have these five Test matches without any injuries. So much work went in before the series. It's tough here in Australia to get 20 wickets, but these guys did the job outstandingly well. The effort that they put has been amazing. I can't thank them enough and I am proud of everyone. That's part of batting, I love batting out in the middle and try to lead from the front. I worked really hard in the nets. I'm making good decisions consistently. I am really proud of the way I batted and have contributed from the front.
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