Steve Smith credits Australia’s Ashes win to big moments, bowling depth, and fielding

Khawaja’s farewell ended in disappointment off his seventh delivery when he was bowled for six by Josh Tongue, ending a fine Test career that began at the same venue 15 years ago.

Labuschagne then hit 37 off 40 balls – later admitting he hoped there were no cameras in the dressing room to record his reaction – leaving Australia precariously at 5-121, still 39 runs short of victory.

Cameron Green (22) and Alex Carey (16) took Australia home despite a few tense final moments.

The result encapsulated Australia’s consistency and ability to remain calm under pressure despite numerous team changes between Tests.

Travis Head was named player of the match with scores of 163 and 29, taking his tally to 629 runs at 62.9, while Mitchell Starc received the player of the series award for his 31 wickets at 19.93.

“I thought we played very well as a team,” Smith said. “Obviously we had incredible individual performances.

“This man next to me [Starc]It was incredible. Him and Scotty [Boland] It was a huge effort to play all five games. Only Brydon Carse was playing in each match. Everyone went down. It’s a tough place to bowl fast. The amount of force these guys put into these wickets with their bodies is immense.

“Trav and Alex had incredible performances throughout the series. Everyone else stepped up at different moments. I think that’s what makes a really good team. We earned those big moments throughout the series. We had faith that the guys would come out and get us out of the situation.”

Smith also praised all-rounder Beau Webster, who made 71 not out and took three crucial wickets. But despite not picking a front-line spinner, Smith believes the decision was justified.

“Everyone that came in did a great job, even Beau Webster. The guys did their job when we needed it. I think our performance on the field was incredible as well,” Smith said.

“This [justified]. We’re standing here winning, right? If we hadn’t, maybe there’s potentially something to answer here. “We thought the cracks would open faster than they did and the roughness would not be as widespread.”

England arrived in Australia with genuine belief that they could topple the home team but were humiliated at almost every turn.

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Captain Ben Stokes, who finished the series with batting and bowling averages of 18.4 and 25.13 respectively, admitted that England fell well short of expectations.

He made no excuses and acknowledged finding ways to blunt the aggressive style of teams around the world, but stated that he wanted to continue as captain.

“I’m definitely keen to continue,” Stokes said. “I liked being challenged. The challenge is to get the team back to where we once were.”

“We are now playing against teams that respond to the style of cricket we have played for a long time.”

Players from both teams drank beer on the field and in the locker rooms afterwards. While one side was licking its wounds, the other side was enjoying another dominant campaign on its own territory.

“The excitement before this series was as great as I’ve ever seen,” Smith said. “I hope we managed to entertain and live up to that height.”