Sydney
\nAustralia clinched the final Ashes Test against England Thursday by five wickets to complete a dominant 4-1 victory after a gruelling series, sending the retiring Usman Khawaja out on a high. The nervy hosts saw wickets tumble as they chased their 160 target, which they reached after lunch on day five with Cameron Green not out 22 and Alex Carey on 16. \u201cThat\u2019s Ashes cricket. Everyone got tense,\u201d said Carey who hit the winning runs. \u201cUsman is going to be missed. A great career and a great way to finish.\u201d Australia lost openers Travis Head (29) and Jake Weatherald (34), along with captain Steve Smith (12) and Khawaja who made six in his final knock before retirement.
\n\u201cIt means a lot. So much has gone into it. The only thing I wanted was a win, as much as I wanted to hit the winning runs,\u201d said Khawaja, who was almost in tears as he walked off to a standing ovation after being bowled by Josh Tongue.
\n\u201cThe whole Test match I found it hard to control my emotions,\u201d Khawaja added after his 88th and final appearance on the Test stage.
\n\u201cI\u2019m grateful I\u2019ve had the career I\u2019ve had. I have full gratitude,\u201d he said, adding that Australia were relieved to have got over the winning line.
\n\u201cIt definitely got a bit too tight. You never count your chickens. We got the job done though.\u201d
\nMarnus Labuschagne, dropped on 20, compiled 37 before needlessly running himself out to give Ben Stokes\u2019s men a flicker of hope as they reduced Australia to 121-5.
\nBut victory was never seriously in doubt after England were dismissed for 342 on the back of Jacob Bethell\u2019s stylish 154.<\/p>\n
England horror show
\nDefeat ended a long tour for the visitors that quickly turned into a horror show when they lost the opening two Tests in Perth and Brisbane by eight wickets and the third at Adelaide by 82 runs.
\nStokes\u2019s side had arrived confident they could win their first series in Australia since 2010-11 amid taunts about the hosts having their worst side in 15 years.
\nFacing heavy criticism over their preparations, discipline and ultra-aggressive \u201cBazball\u201d style of cricket, they rallied to pull off a stunning four-wicket comeback win in the fourth Test in Melbourne.
\nIt was their first victory in 18 Tests on Australian soil and restored some pride, but another loss in Sydney, albeit close, will see them face a tough inquisition on their return home with coach Brendon McCullum\u2019s job on the line.
\nAustralia achieved their success despite being without pace spearhead Josh Hazlewood for the series and Pat Cummins for all but one Test, while veteran spin king Nathan Lyon played a limited role.
\nNearly 860,000 fans watched the series with a record 211,032 through the turnstiles in Sydney.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sydney Australia clinched the final Ashes Test against England Thursday by five wickets to complete a dominant 4-1 victory after a gruelling series, sending the retiring Usman Khawaja out on a high. The nervy hosts saw wickets tumble as they chased their 160 target, which they reached after lunch on day five with Cameron Green […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":524581,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-524571","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n