Brilliant for much of this summer, Australia settled for simply being the lucky country on their national day, as a fortuitous moment at the pointy end of the final ODI effectively handed the hosts a fourth limited-overs victory out of five
Commentator: Brydon Coverdale
Shane Watson has done the job and with that wicket Australia have moved back up to No.1 on the ICC rankings with a 4-1 series win. England will wonder how they managed to lose that match. When the batting powerplay began with 15 overs left, England needed 70 runs only with seven wickets in hand. But those wickets tumbled, and losing the established Morgan and Root within three overs was especially costly. Clint McKay and James Faulkner did a really good job at the end there before Watson put the icing on the cake. There was a stroke of luck with the stumping of Bopara, but by then the pressure was already well on England.
"It was tough to watch at the end but the boys stuck at it, and it's great to have a win on Australia Day," the coach Darren Lehmann says. "The wicket was a bit slow but the boys bowled nice and straight and fielded really well."
The Man of the Match is James Faulkner for his two wickets and 27 runs. "It was an incredible game of cricket. For that to happen on Australia day was unbelievable," Faulkner says.
The Player of the Series is Aaron Finch, who made two centuries. "It was nice to start the series off really well with the bat and contribute," Finch says. "It gives you a lot of confidence and allows you to play with some freedom."
Alastair Cook: "We should have got over the line there... some poor shots were played under pressure. Australia have had a great summer against us and ... on the back end of three months of that it probably showed for us."
Michael Clarke: "A magnificent performance by the boys with the ball especially, I thought our batting was disappointing today. For me it was about finding a way to take 10 wickets and bowl England out ... to be able to find different ways to take wickets, the bowlers on both sides deserve a lot of credit."
Clarke says he has two days off now before the Test squad flies to South Africa on Wednesday. New challenges ahead for those guys. For now, Michael Clarke is being presented with the series trophy. So the Tests and ODIs combined didn't quite end in the 10-0 that looked possible, but 9-1 is still a very comprehensive effort from Australia. Some of the England players can now fly home, which will be a great relief. Others stay on for the three Twenty20s. Join us for the first of those from Hobart on Wednesday. Until then, from Brydon Coverdale, Andrew McGlashan and Alagappan Muthu, goodbye for now.
JC Tredwell c †Wade b Watson 0 (7m 4b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00
What a finish we have here - Shane Watson is being asked to bowl this last over. One wicket will win it for Australia. Eight runs will win it for England. Or could we be in for a tie? Australia will go back to No.1 on the ODI rankings if they can pull off this victory. Watson is around the wicket to the left-hander Tredwell.
Both Alastair Cook and Michael Clarke admitted to confusion about the pivotal stumping of Ravi Bopara during England's run chase
ESPNcricinfo presents the plays of the day from the fifth ODI in Adelaide
A slow Adelaide Oval pitch eventually set up a hectic chase and fascinating conclusion, with England's capitulation reminiscent of the Champions Trophy final
Brilliant for much of this summer, Australia settled for simply being the lucky country on their national day, as a fortuitous moment at the pointy end of the final ODI effectively handed the hosts a fourth limited-overs victory out of five
ESPNcricinfo previews the final one-day international between Australia and England at the Adelaide Oval
