A team described as Australia’s worst Ashes outfit in 15 years has just won the series in only 11 days of cricket

When the contest resumed, the new ball soon fell due, and Smith had begun to accelerate, getting on a run of four consecutive boundaries. Just when England fans had started to hope, Smith tried to smear Starc for six, and succeeded only in looping a simple catch to Cummins. Many a head was shaken at that sequence.

Brydon Carse was easy prey for Boland in the first innings, but he can bat, and played sensibly alongside Jack for another pesky stand either side of the break. Australia were by this time reckoning with the fact that Lyon was out of the match and probably the series with a jagged hamstring, and Cummins resorted to Travis Head’s spin.

At the scoreboard end, Cummins tried a yorker and won an lbw verdict against Carse, but the striker’s review showed a delivery fading down the leg side: this has not been a good week for the umpires.

With Head unthreatening, Cummins brought back Starc, this time from the River End for the first time in the match. Finally Jacks was tempted into an edge, and Labuschagne flew in front of Carey for his second stunning one-hander of the innings. It was probably Carey’s catch, but amid the celebrations nobody cared.

In the next over a Carse edge flashed past Green at a wide slip. Number 10 Jofra Archer, a willing ally for Stokes in the first innings, also edged Boland, but with Carey up to the stumps, the deflection hit the wicketkeeper’s arm. It really now did feel like a matter of time.

Starc persisted, and he eventually got Archer in unconventional fashion – a booming cut shot sliced in the air all the way to a deep backward point position, where Jake Weatherald held it safely. Archer and England supporters were crestfallen, Starc exultant. Labuschagne’s last catch brought a tight team huddle and an acknowledgement of defeat from Ben Stokes.

“The dream we came here with is now over,” he said. “We’ve not been consistent or relentless enough.”

Australia may be missing Cummins on Boxing Day, but they are far from done. As Lisa Sthalekar related on SEN Radio, an overnight text message asking if he wanted to catch-up was met with a telling reply from Starc: “44 wickets to go”. Australia’ resolve, then, is not merely to retain the urn, but to get to 5-0. For motivation, they need only look as far as some of the English opinions trotted out in the months leading up to the series.

Here was one, from the former England batter Mark Ramprakash: “If Australia have ever been there for the taking, it is now. Looking at how the two sides are shaping up before the opening game I feel punchy about England’s chances: the team are strong, settled, and I think that if Ben Stokes plays all five Tests they will win the Ashes and win them comfortably. I can’t remember ever being so confident before an away Ashes.”

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And, of course, let’s not forget Stuart Broad: “You wouldn’t be outlandish in thinking – it’s actually not an opinion, it’s a fact – it’s probably the worst Australian team since 2010 when England last won, and it’s the best English team since 2010. England have a great chance of being very good and Australia have a decent chance of being bad. I don’t think anyone could argue that it’s their weakest team since 2010 … it’s just a fact.”

The only fact that matters now, of course, is that Australia will now have held the Ashes for over a decade by the time the next battle is fought in 2027. If that isn’t proof of a “vintage” era for Australian cricket, then nothing much can be.

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