It took just 10.1 overs on Sunday once play actually began. Like so many Australian victories over the past decade, a game that was neck-and-neck through the first innings ended up a decisive victory. Two bowlers with a combined age of 70 and a combined career haul of 1097 Test wickets finished off England, as they have done so many times before.
Pietermartizberg's very own Kevin Pietersen can be pleased with his Test debut for his new country of residence, and currently boasts a batting average of 121.00.
Seeing as only ten overs were bowled on Day Four, I am only awarding one point in my players of the day voting, which will go towards my Player of the Ashes award, the name of which I shall announce within the next 24 hours :-) 1 point to Glenn McGrath, who claimed four points for the match.
I'll link to just a few of the Australian viewpoints on the victory: Chloe Saltau for the Sydney Morning Herald, former England B captain PW Roebuck for the same Australian rag, and Gideon Haigh, in Tuesday's Guardian, invokes not just the names of Sun Tzu and M Scott Peck, but Spencer Johnson's book "Who Moved My Cheese?".
BBC Online has a good summary of reaction from both sides of the fence (although Jon Pierik writes for Sydney's Daily Telegraph, not the SMH).
For blog coverage of the final day's play, I direct you to the Corridor of Uncertainty, Ubersportingpundit (despite Scott seeing just as much live TV of Day Four as I did, ie, none), Nick Whittock's Ashes, and indeed the ABC's Jim Maxwell.
Finally, Tuesday's Guardian also has the viewpoint of celebrity columnist Wheelie bin Giles. He begins:
One Test has been lost against Australia and already we are reading that we are "a bunch of drips".
Can someone shut that lid properly so that the bin doesn't fill up with water?
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