Five things that worked for the Aussies:
Darren Lehmann: When the former batsman took over as coach, the team was in shambles. The Aussies were mauled 4-0 in India and looked like a divided house. Lehmann gave the team confidence, lightened the dressing room, put his money on players like little-known Chris Rogers and "trouble-makers" David Warner and Shane Watson. Under Lehmann, these players metamorphosed into match-winners.
Mitchell Johnson: The single-biggest factor that enabled Australia to dominate the contest completely. He scarred the Englishmen with his pace and bounce and re-invented the 'bodyline' era. He also swung the ball at pace.
Brad Haddin: On the first day of the series at Brisbane, Australia had slumped to 132 for six. They needed a hero, and found one in Brad Haddin. The old pro slammed 93 to swing the Test around, setting a trend for the series. Time and again, he pulled the hosts out of a hole to thwart English bids to come back into the contest.
Michael Clarke: Going into the series, Michael Clarke was under severe pressure. Another Ashes defeat, and he would have lost his captaincy. In this backdrop, while Clarke the batsman was only a modest success, by his standards, as the skipper, he made the boys rediscover their aggression. Clarke ensured his 'boys' were at England's throat all the time.
Perfect support cast: While Johnson and Haddin played the lead roles in the Aussie triumph, many others chipped in with critical contributions at different times. The likes of Chris Rogers, David Warner, Steve Smith, Ryan Harris, Nathan Lyon put their hands up to make sure there was no respite for England.
Five things that didn't work for England:
Trott & Swann's exit: This nightmarish tour started on a horrible note for England when leading bat Jonathan Trott left the squad citing 'psychological illness' after the first Test itself. It was clear that Johnson's bouncers had scarred him mentally. After the third Test in Perth, off-spinner Swann announced his sudden retirement. It was the straw that broke the camel's back.
Big guns firing blanks: Kevin Pietersen arrived in Australia on the cusp of his 100th Test. By the end of the series, there was talk of his retirement too. The 'best swing bowler in the world,' James Anderson, managed only 14 wickets at 43.92. Other seniors like Ian Bell and Matt Prior too failed abjectly.
Captain Cook a disaster: Shane Warne had predicted before the Ashes that if England retained Cook as the captain, they were certain to lose. The forecast proved to be bang on. Cook flopped on every front. A man, who had amassed 766 runs during the last tour Down Under, had just 246 to show this time. His captaincy was uninspiring and too defensive.
Poor fielding: England had the reputation of being one of the better fielding units, but they were at their worst in this series, spilling catches galore through the series.
The No.3 blunder: After Trott left the party, England blundered by playing Joe Root at No. 3 and not Ian Bell. While Root was found lacking against quality pace, Bell, at No.5, was left to do damage control all the time.
Facts, figures and trivia
- Australia are the first team to record 5-0 series whitewash five times while England are the first to lose five series by 5-0 margin, three of them to Aussies. In all, there have been 10 5-0 whitewashes in Test history.
- Brad Haddin, with 493 runs and 22 dismissals (all caught) is the first Aussie stumper to complete the double of 400 runs and 20 dismissals in a Test series. His series total is a record by an Aussie wicket-keeper.
- The 40 sixes hit by Australia In this Ashes is a record in a Test series, bettering the 37 hit by Pak vs India in a 3-Test series in 2005-06.
- With 37 wickets, Mitchell Johnson has equalled the record for most wickets by a left-arm fast bowler in a Test series - Bill Whitty (Aus) had taken 37 vs South Africa in Australia in 1910-11.
- The total playing days in this series were 21, one less than the number during Australia's 5-0 win under Ricky Ponting in 2006-07.
- Australia became only the fourth side in history to go through a five-match series unchanged. England, on the other hand, tried out 18 men.
- England bowlers could not win a single LBW decision in the first four Tests of the series.
- Aussies off-spinner Nathan Lyon was not dismissed even once in the entire series. He batted six times and scored 60 runs in the series.
-Rajesh Kumar
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