'Amazing feeling' as Aussies keep title

MELBOURNE • Australia yesterday retained the Ashes with a thumping innings and 14-run win in the third Test in Melbourne, with debutant paceman Scott Boland laying waste to England's hapless batsmen with a devastating six-wicket haul.

Boland, only the second Indigenous Australian to play a men's Test match, came off the Melbourne Cricket Ground turf with a prize stump and astonishing innings figures of 6-7 as the visitors capitulated for 68 before lunch on day three, their 13th lowest total in Tests.

"I thought we had a pretty good chance of winning but I had no idea we would do it before lunch," said 32-year-old Boland, who won the Johnny Mullagh medal as the Player of the Match.

Plucked from obscurity when called up by selectors on Christmas Eve, Boland, whose past exploits have primarily been in the domestic Sheffield Shield competition, became an instant cult hero after also matching the 19-ball record for the fastest five-wicket haul in Tests.

He now shares the mark held by England's Stuart Broad at the 2015 Ashes and Ernie Toshack of Australia in 1947.

"I've never had a crowd behind me like that," said Boland, who seamlessly slotted into the side after injuries to regular pacemen Josh Hazlewood and Jhye Richardson.

"Hopefully, this can also be a springboard for young Aboriginals to get involved in the game of cricket."

Australia sealed the series 3-0 in front of a festive Boxing Day Test crowd of 42,000, with the tourists playing only for pride in the final two dead-rubber Tests in Sydney and Hobart, Tasmania.

With the hosts having won by 275 runs in Adelaide and nine wickets in the Brisbane opener, Australia captain Pat Cummins was left pinching himself as Boland and Mitchell Starc (3-29) wrapped up the series within 90 minutes .

"Just an awesome few weeks, so proud of the group here and just everything's clicked," said Cummins, who took over the armband at the last minute in place of Tim Paine, who stepped down due to a "sexting" scandal.

"So happy for Scottie in front of his home crowd today, just an amazing feeling."

While Australia revel in their dominance, England have been left to lick their wounds and analysts like former pace bowler Steve Harmison and former Test all-rounder Moeen Ali have called for an inquest over the team's dismal failure to wrest the urn back.

The suitability of Joe Root as skipper will also be under the microscope after the batsman suffered his seventh loss in eight Tests he has captained in Australia.

A shell-shocked Root, one of Boland's scalps at the MCG, admitted that questions would be asked about his future, saying: "We're bitterly disappointed to find ourselves in this position.

"We need to put some pride back into the badge and we need to give people back home something to celebrate and look fondly back on from this tour."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS