Ashes 2021-22: Australia seal 4-0 series victory following England's latest batting collapse

By Sports Desk January 16, 2022

Australia won the fifth Ashes Test by 146 runs to seal a 4-0 series victory against England, who endured a woeful batting collapse in Hobart.

England dismissed Australia for just 155 in their second innings at Bellerive Oval and took control when Rory Burns and Zak Crawley combined to reach 68-0 in reply.

But the tourists fell apart from that point and finished 124 all out, meaning it will be 14 years since their last away win in an Ashes Test by the time they return in 2025.

The tourists trailed by 152 runs at the start of play on Sunday, but Mark Wood got his side off to a strong start by taking a career-best 6-37 to skittle Australia.

The hosts dug in from 63-6 to reach 155 all out and England gave themselves hope of chasing down an improbable 271 through Burns and Crawley.

The pair mounted the highest opening partnership of any side in the series, reaching 36 and 26 respectively but, not for the first time this series, a batting collapse followed.

Cameron Green picked up 3-21, with Dawid Malan (10) his other victim, and England added just 36 more runs from their final eight wickets.

Ben Stokes, who averaged 23.60 with the bat this series, went for five runs, as did Ollie Pope, with Joe Root (11) and Sam Billings (1) doing little to hold off Australia either side.

Chris Woakes (5) fell for single figures the first time this series as he edged Scott Boland behind on the drive, before Mark Wood (11) dragged Pat Cummins onto his stumps.

Australia did not have to wait long to take England's final wicket, with Ollie Robinson bowled for a duck by a Cummins full toss to end the tourists' misery.

England undone by Green

Burns and Crawley tried their best to turn the fifth Test into a contest that could potentially go to the wire, but then up stepped Green to completely kill England's momentum.

England were 60-0 when Green, who is the youngest player to score a half-century for Australia at Bellerive Oval, took over and they were 88-3 when he bowled his final ball.

Incredibly, the tourists were all out for 124 just 22.4 overs later.

Tourists' woes epitomised by Woakes

England have now won only one of their 14 Tests in the past 11 months, but Root must surely be left to wonder what might have been in Hobart.

A turning point arrived when Woakes appeared to have dismissed Alex Carey for 19 earlier in the day, which would have left Australia 91-7, but he was judged to have overstepped.

Carey went on to make a crucial 49 as Australia comfortably claimed another win and matched the margin of their victory from four years ago.

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