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. 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.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.