One-way traffic all through

Stats highlights of the 2006-07 Ashes series

05-Jan-2007

The sequel to the Ashes thriller of 2005 turned out to be a hopelessly one-sided damp squib. Cricinfo looks at the numbers in the aftermath of the fifth and final Test.

The 5-0 whitewash is only the second whitewash in Ashes history, the first being inflicted by Warwick Armstrong's Australians in 1920-21. England have the dubious distinction of being on the receiving end of four 5-0 whitewashes in Test history, the most suffered by any team. The table below lists the nine 5-0 whitewashes in Test history.

5-0 whitewashes in Test history
Season	Series	Winner
1920-21	Australia v England	Australia
1931-32	Australia v South Africa	Australia
1959	England v India	England
1961-62	West Indies v India	West Indies
1984	England v West Indies	West Indies
1985-86	West Indies v England	West Indies
1998-99	South Africa v West Indies	South Africa
2000-01	Australia v West Indies	Australia
2006-07	Australia v England	Australia

The dominance of the Australian batsmen against their English counterparts exposed the gulf between the two sides. Five Australian batsmen averaged over 50 while the corresponding number for England was just one. Michael Hussey leads the way with a Bradmanesque-average of 91.66, followed by Ricky Ponting (82.28), Michael Clarke (77.80), Andrew Symonds (58 in three Tests) and Matthew Hayden (51.62). Shane Warne wasn't too far behind this pack either, averaging 49. For England, only Kevin Pietersen managed an average of over 50 (54.44), while Paul Collingwood averaged 48.11.

The Australian batsmen piled on the runs and the agony against England © Getty Images

Ponting topped the series run aggregate with 576 runs, including two centuries and two half-centuries, followed by Pietersen's 490. There were nine centuries in total by the Australians; England managed just three. Click here for the series averages.

Australia's biggest gain has been the emergence of Stuart Clark as a strike bowler in the last few months, especially with the retirement of Glenn McGrath. England were clearly caught off guard by Clark's nagging line and accuracy, as he finished the highest wicket-taker in the series with 26 wickets at an impressive 17.03 apiece. Clark's rise has been meteoric since his debut series in South Africa last year, bagging 47 wickets in just nine Tests. That puts him on par with Dennis Lillee, one of greatest fast bowlers, and Bill Whitty, all of whom are tied in the fifth spot for the most wickets by an Australian seamer at the end of nine Tests. Charlie Turner heads the list with a whopping 63 wickets.

Brett Lee's rise was similar, as he picked up 46 wickets at the same stage in his career but what is most surprising are the numbers for McGrath and Warne. McGrath had just 25 wickets at 38.32 apiece while Warne's figures were comparatively worse, with 21 scalps at 37.38 apiece.

Warne's torment of England has finally come to an end, finishing with a massive 195 wickets against them in 36 Tests since 1993. Warne has struck once every 55 balls, with 11 five-wicket hauls and four ten-wicket hauls. His wicket tally is the most by any bowler against a single Test opposition. He also has the most wickets by any bowler against New Zealand (103) and South Africa (130). McGrath finished with 157 England scalps in 30 Tests, striking once every 46 balls. He has the highest number of wickets by any bowler against West Indies, with 110 scalps.

Justin Langer, the last of the three Australians waving goodbye to the Test arena, too finished with mean figures against England. In 21 Tests since 1998, Langer finishes with an average of 50.24 with five centuries, including a career-best 250 in the 2002-03 series.

Australia England Australia vs England England tour of Australia

Kanishkaa Balachandran is editorial assistant of Cricinfo. For some stats he was helped by Satish Kumar