Five talking points from Australia vs England, fifth and final Ashes Test

That, folks, is all she wrote. Australia have wrapped up a 4-0 Ashes series win with a commanding win in the fifth Test by an innings and 123 runs.

Of course, with plenty more short-form cricket between the two nations coming up, and Australia’s Test tour of South Africa on the horizon, there are plenty of talking points to emerge from this final Test.

Here are five of them.

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1. The Marshes are here to stay

Before the series, you wouldn’t have thought the Marshes would prove nigh-on impossible to remove from the crease for England. But now, four hundreds later, the brothers have well and truly locked down their spots in the Australian XI for the foreseeable future.

Shaun Marsh has added some impressive patience to go with his textbook-perfect strokeplay, while Mitchell has made some much-needed tweaks to his technique, particularly his front-foot defence.

The results have been impressive throughout the series, but none more so than at the SCG, when the pair became the third brotherly duo to both make a century in the same innings for Australia. Keeping company with Ian and Greg Chappell and Steve and Mark Waugh is no mean feat.

The Marshes have been as maligned a pair of Australian cricketers in recent times – and rightly so, for the most part. But one has to admire the changes they’ve made to their games, and the results that have followed.

They’ll be around the Test team for a while now, and this time, their selections will be absolutely justified.

(Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

2. Cameron Bancroft, however, isn’t

The Australian scorecord was damning for Cameron Bancroft. While every other member of the top six scored at least a half-century, and three of them scored a ton, Bancroft couldn’t manage a single run.

With plenty made of his front-foot technique heading into the fifth Test, Bancroft played all around a full, straight ball which cannoned into off-stump. Initial impressions that the ball had hooped or seamed considerably after leaving Stuart Broad’s hand were off the mark; the delivery had done little but angle in slightly.

The duck brought Bancroft’s series average down to 25, with just the one half-century for the summer. It’s not good enough, and that record is likely to worsen should he tour South Africa.

If an out-of-sorts Stuart Broad is capable of exposing Bancroft’s weakness to full balls around the off-stump, one shudders to think what the likes of Kagiso Rabada, Vernon Philander, Morne Morkel and (maybe) Dale Steyn will do on South Africa’s seaming decks.

The best thing for Bancroft would be for him to go back to Shield cricket and work on his technique, readying himself for another shot in the Australian team. He clearly has the makings of a Test player, but his career could be derailed by an ill-fated tour of South Africa.

With Joe Burns in fine first-class form so far this summer, the Australian selectors have an obvious replacement in waiting. There’s no point taking Bancroft across the Indian Ocean.

Speaking of players who are facing the chop…

(AAP Image/Dave Hunt)

3. Clean-out time for England

This side may go down in history as one of the worst English ones to tour Australia, certainly in recent times. The squad has a dearth of quality top-order batsmen, a complete absence of Test-quality spinners, and a paucity of fast bowlers.

Changes, clearly, are needed.

Mark Stoneman looked alright in the first three Tests, but is facing omission from the squad to tour New Zealand given his form has dropped drastically since Perth. Alastair Cook proved his class is permanent in Melbourne, but outside his tremendous 244* his form was poor. Were there any openers in England really knocking down the door, the former captain’s place would be in serious doubt.

The man in most danger of losing his place, though, is James Vince. England’s first drop is a stylish player, but has shown a complete inability to convert starts into big scores, averaging 27 for the series.

If he had a good first-class record, Vince’s technique would be enough to justify persevering with him in the side. But a sub-40 first-class average, coupled with a Test average of 23 after 11 matches, isn’t good enough for international cricket. For England’s sake, Vince must go.

A few bowlers will also be looking over their shoulders. Stuart Broad has been lacklustre all series bar Melbourne. Tom Curran looks a good limited-overs player, but he’s not a Test cricketer. Moeen Ali’s offies were as ineffective as his batting. All three could quite justifiably be dropped.

Not all of them will, of course, as there’s no first-class cricket in England at the moment for the players who are next in line to demand selection. But it’s clear this side does need revitalising.

(AAP Image/Dave Hunt)

4. An absurdly early look at the 2019 Ashes has Australia as favourites

Winning Ashes series away from home has become a downright rarity recently; only twice has a side done so this century.

If Australia are to break their run of series losses in England when they fly to Britain in 2019, they will need to overcome their obvious weakness against the swinging ball – the upcoming series against South Africa will be a good early litmus test of where the side stands on that front.

However, if this bowling unit can stay together, there’s every chance Australia will be able to retain the Ashes on opposition soil even if the side is vulnerable in the batting department.

Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon make up the most complete bowling unit in world cricket at the moment, and, with 18 months’ more experience under their belts by the time the next Ashes series comes around, they’ll be a truly formidable proposition for England.

They won’t be able to stop the ball swinging against their own batsmen, but they should be able to inflict just as much damage as England’s quicks will.

It’s clearly far too early to be making predictions about a Test series well over a year away, but the early signs bode well for Australia.

(AAP Image/Richard Wainwright)

5. A sterner Test awaits in South Africa, and the ODIs

A few tough days notwithstanding, that was as easy a Test series as Australia will have. England were ill-prepared, hit by injuries and without their influential, game-breaking vice-captain.

The summer is about to get much harder for Australia, though. England are a better side in the ODI arena than in Tests, although Ben Stokes’ absence will be felt keenly once again. Their limited-overs bowling unit looks better than their five-day counterparts, with the leg-spin of Adil Rashid a particularly valuable asset.

The additions of Jos Buttler, Alex Hales and captain Eoin Morgan provide some explosivity with the bat, although the poor Big Bash form of Jason Roy and Sam Billings is of concern. Still, the upcoming ODI and T20 series will provide a far sterner challenge than the Tests for Australia.

Not as much of a challenge, however, as the upcoming Test tour to South Africa. Never mind that Australia’s away record in recent times is shoddy, this series will see them go up against one of the finest sides in world cricket.

While Australia’s quicks will be looking forward to bowling on the lively pitches overseas, and Nathan Lyon offers the side a clear advantage in the spin department over the Proteas, the hosts’ bowling attack is outstanding.

Regardless of whether Dale Steyn is fit enough to join Kagiso Rabada, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander, Australia will be unable to produce the kind of first innings totals they’ve posted with regularity against England. If Steyn is fit to play, the Proteas will be incredibly difficult to beat.

The series will show us where Australia really sit as a Test side. So let’s enjoy the Ashes victory for the time being, but remember that things are about to get far tougher for the side, and soon.