NOTTINGHAM, Aug 8: England regained the Ashes in convincing style today beating Australia by an innings and 78 runs in the fourth Test, taking an insurmountable 3-1 lead in the series.
England needed 10.2 overs on Day 3 to take the three remaining wickets in Australia�s second innings, dismissing the tourists for 253 and sparking wild celebrations on the Trent Bridge field.
With minutes of the result, Australia captain Michael Clarke announced he would be retiring from Test cricket at the end of the series.
It completed a remarkable transformation by England, which was beaten 5-0 Down Under 18 months ago to relinquish the urn and spark a change in coach and personnel.
�I said I wouldn�t cry but maybe I might at some stage,� England captain Alastair Cook said, welling up in an interview on the field.
�Someone told us to watch the Ashes from behind the sofa.
�From where we�ve been as a side over the last 18 months, we�ve stuck to what we believe was the right thing to do. The way the lads stepped up has been unbelievable.�
Mark Wood took the series-clinching wicket when Nathan Lyon chopped the ball on to his own stumps. England�s players gathered in a huddle and jumped up and down. England won with two days and more than two sessions to spare, for a third big win of the series.
SCORECARD
Australia 1st innings: 60 all out
England 1st innings: 391/9 decl
Australia 2nd innings (overnight 241 for seven): Chris Rogers c Root b Stokes 52, David Warner c Broad b Stokes 64, Steve Smith c Stokes b Broad 5, Shaun Marsh c Root b Stokes 2, Michael Clarke c Bell b Wood 13, Adam Voges not out 51, Peter Nevill lbw b Stokes 17, Mitchell Johnson c Cook b Stokes 5, Mitchell Starc c Bell b Stokes 0, Josh Hazlewood b Wood 0, Nathan Lyon b Wood 4. Extras: (B-20, LB-16, W-1, NB-3) 40. TOTAL: (all out; 72.4 overs) 253. Fall of wickets: 1-113, 2-130, 3-136, 4-136, 5-174, 6-224, 7-236, 8-242, 9-243. Bowling: Stuart Broad 16-5-36-1, Mark Wood 17.4-3-69-3, Steven Finn 12-4-42-0, Ben Stokes 21-8-36-6, Moeen Ali 6-0-34-0. � AP
