ESPNcricinfo
Less than three months later, the teams were at it again. And the feeling the momentum had started to shift by the end of the series in England soon had supporting evidence. England competed during - and even shaded - the opening day at the Gabba as Broad, seemingly the most hated man in Australia, responded with five wickets on the first day of the series. From there, however, it was one-way traffic. Mitchell Johnson, who did not play the preceding series, began one of the most emphatic resurrections in the history of the game and ended with an eye-watering 37 wickets. Blistering spells in both innings in Brisbane earned him nine in the match and England would never recover. Following the first Test, Jonathan Trott left the tour with a stress-related illness and the England side would continue to fragment. In Adelaide, hundreds from Clarke and Brad Haddin set up Australia before Johnson bowled the speed of light to claimed 7 for 40 - the contrast with four years previous was absolute. At the WACA, it was another surgical performance to regain the Ashes although England did have a glimmer for the future as Ben Stokes defied Australia with a magnificent maiden hundred in the most demanding of conditions. Still, the hold Australia had was so strong that even when they were under pressure they would find a way out. A trend of the series was how often England managed to remove Australia's top five in reasonably swift fashion only to be thwarted by the lower order. Melbourne was a prime example, with England having built a lead of 116 with all ten second-innings remaining only in the blink-of-an-eye to be on the end of an eight-wicket mauling. Sydney was a three-day party for Australia and a final white-flag surrender from England who did not have a single batsman pass fifty. A second whitewash in seven years.
Australia 5, England 0
Less than three months later, the teams were at it again. And the feeling the momentum had started to shift by the end of the series in England soon had supporting evidence. England competed during - and even shaded - the opening day at the Gabba as Broad, seemingly the most hated man in Australia, responded with five wickets on the first day of the series. From there, however, it was one-way traffic. Mitchell Johnson, who did not play the preceding series, began one of the most emphatic resurrections in the history of the game and ended with an eye-watering 37 wickets. Blistering spells in both innings in Brisbane earned him nine in the match and England would never recover. Following the first Test, Jonathan Trott left the tour with a stress-related illness and the England side would continue to fragment. In Adelaide, hundreds from Clarke and Brad Haddin set up Australia before Johnson bowled the speed of light to claimed 7 for 40 - the contrast with four years previous was absolute. At the WACA, it was another surgical performance to regain the Ashes although England did have a glimmer for the future as Ben Stokes defied Australia with a magnificent maiden hundred in the most demanding of conditions. Still, the hold Australia had was so strong that even when they were under pressure they would find a way out. A trend of the series was how often England managed to remove Australia's top five in reasonably swift fashion only to be thwarted by the lower order. Melbourne was a prime example, with England having built a lead of 116 with all ten second-innings remaining only in the blink-of-an-eye to be on the end of an eight-wicket mauling. Sydney was a three-day party for Australia and a final white-flag surrender from England who did not have a single batsman pass fifty. A second whitewash in seven years.
Australia 5, England 0