Broken England head into One Day series after Ashes whitewash

An Australian whitewash of England in this Ashes series was completed in emphatic fashion at 4.25 pm local time in Sydney.

Ryan Harris – one of several stars of the five-match series for the hosts – had England newcomer Boyd Rankin caught by captain Michael Clarke to seal a 281 win in less than three days.

The 5-0 scoreline, unconsidered at 66/1 before the first ball was bowled on Australian soil, is an accurate reflection of how the home side have dominated since day one of the First Test at Brisbane.

Australia won the Fifth Test by 281 runs

Alongside the excellent Harris was Peter Siddle, whose bowling has been transformed by extensive work from bowling coach Craig McDermott.

The former Aussie quick, who took 291 Test wickets himself, encouraged Siddle to completely change the length of his bowling, and, with the support of Clarke, the move has paid dividends; the 29-year-old has taken 16 wickets in this series at an average of 24.12.

But the real star has been Mitchell Johnson.

It wasn’t long ago that the “Barmy Army” cheered when he came on to bowl.

Not any more.

Fitter than ever – and just as fiery – the left-arm quick has demolished England in this series, taking 37 wickets at an average of 13.97, including 7 for 40 at Adelaide.

Mitchell Johnson took 37 wickets in this Ashes series

There is no doubt that England’s bowlers have underperformed, although Stuart Broad must be exempt from that list having taken 21 scalps at less than 28 runs apiece.

But Jimmy Anderson, Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar have all disappointed, so much so that Swann announced his own retirement after the third test; if you can’t motivate yourself for the Ashes, then what hope is there?

Credit goes to debutante Ben Stokes who only scored 15 runs less than top-scorer Kevin Pietersen, despite playing one match less, as well as Michael Carberry who showed battling qualities, albeit in low scores.