Australia crushed England by 146 runs in the fifth and final Test match in Hobart on Sunday to complete a 4-0 series victory. England managed to save their worst for last as they signed off a calamitous series with their most disastrous collapse of a tour littered with numerous contenders. Asked to chase down 271 in the day/night clash, England produced a horror show on the third evening, slumping from 68 without loss to 124 all out. The tourists lost all 10 wickets for just 56 runs as the batters queued up to throw away their wickets in a series of hapless dismissals in the space of 22.4 overs. It was an embarrassment that will take some getting over. England captain Joe Root admitted England had been second best throughout the series and it was crucial his players learned from their experience. “It’s been frustrating throughout, it’s been a really tough tour for us,” he told BT Sport. “We’ve played good cricket in parts, we’ve just not managed to string a whole game together. “It’s something we have to learn from as a group. We have to keep moving and get better and learn from these experiences, not go away from here and keep making the same mistakes. “That’s the challenge for the group moving forward. It won’t be long before we’re back playing Test cricket again, so there will be opportunities to turn that round.” The closing chapter was as grim as anything that came in the first three Tests, when the urn was surrendered in 12 demoralising days, as the outside chance of a face-saving win gave way to yet another catastrophic collapse and batting performance. England actually started their second innings well after Zak Crawley (36) and Rory Burns (26) combined in a solid opening stand. But fast bowlers Scott Boland (3-18) and Cameron Green (3-21) shared six wickets on a lively greenish wicket as England crumbled against pace for the second time in the match after being dismissed for 188 in the first innings. Australia captain Pat Cummins also returned well in his second spell to finish with 3-42 on an eventful day that saw 17 wickets tumble. Earlier, Australia were bowled out for 155 just after the dinner break for an overall lead of 270 runs. England paceman Mark Wood took career-best figures of 6-37 in an impressive display of hostile fast bowling to at least give his side some hope of winning their first match of the tour. Alex Carey top scored for Australia with 49. The inevitable England batting woes, though, soon put paid to any uplifting end to the series. "It's obvious - we need to put more runs on the board," added Root. "Too often we've not given our bowlers enough to work with. "We've been outplayed and credit to Australia. They deserve to win this series. Sometimes you have to hold your hands up and say a team outplayed us." As for Australia, the hosts won the Tests in Brisbane, Adelaide and Melbourne to retain the urn, while the fourth match in Sydney was drawn. "It's pretty crazy, to be at the end of a five-Test series with so many positives, winning 4-0, it's just huge, really pumped," Cummins said. "It feels like we are really building to something big. To have Cam Green in his second year grow as a batter and a bowler and as well as some younger players - Travis Head, Marcus Harris and Jhye Richardson - and some of the stalwarts and old pros is just brilliant." Travis Head was named Man of the Match in Hobart and Man of the Series after scoring two centuries, including 101 in the first innings of the fifth Test, and 357 runs, despite missing the Sydney match after contracting Covid. "It's great to have an impact. This century was better than the first. The conditions, the situation we're in," Head said. "I worked on a lot of things over last couple of years and didn't take opportunities earlier in my career. I was so eager to get back and have another opportunity."
