Just read through these series ratings in
The Herald SunI think they're quite accurate.
THEY say statistics tell lies. Not this time they don't.
EVERYWHERE you look the stats, you get the same story.
Australia has scored three centuries, England six. Australia has taken 46 wickets in four Tests, England 64.
Australia's spinners have taken just four wickets in four Tests. England's Graeme Swann has 12.
Fast bowling, slow bowling, batting, catching and general fielding.
Unlike last year in England, where Australia dominated most stats columns yet lost the series, this time there is no sense of hard luck.
Justice has been done. England were simply too good everywhere, as evidenced by our player rankings.
AUSTRALIA
SHANE WATSON (352 runs at 50.28, 2 wickets at 87): Gets a high pass mark for his four half centuries, including a 95 in difficult conditions in Perth. Tougher than given credit for, he was always up for the fight though his inability to post big three-figure scores must wrangle with him. His medium pacers were a surprisingly minor factor. Rating: 7.5.
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Australia v England - T1, D5 FoxSports, 15 Dec 2010
SIMON KATICH (97 runs at 24): Australia's Ashes demise should signal the end of his honourable Test career for it is time to move forward. Played just two Tests before being injured and leaves without an Ashes series win. Rating: 3
PHIL HUGHES (53 runs at 13.25): Has not convinced wise judges he has the technique to handle bowlers who test him with balls that expose his limited and unconventional footwork. A long, lean form slump this season suggests bowlers have found his soft spots including a restricted leg-side game and going too hard at the ball. Would probably handle the weak nations without a worry but Australia needs him for the big moments. Rating: 2.
RICKY PONTING (113 runs at 16.14): Having a sorrowful series and his numbers are even worse than they look, for his one half century - 51 not out - came in meaningless circumstances on the last afternoon in Brisbane. Apart from that he was dismissed seven times for a total of 62. Looks jumpy, unbalanced and too square at the crease. At 36 his days could be over. Rating: 3.
MICHAEL CLARKE (148 runs at 21.14): Barring his fighting second innings 80 in Adelaide, has never looked like making a major score. His confidence seems gone and his technique is faltering because of it. Needs runs urgently. Rating: 3.5.
MIKE HUSSEY (525 runs at 75): Applause please. Fabulous performance. From being the player who seemed destined not to get in the Australian team he became the player England could not get out - until Melbourne where exhaustion set in. Showed everyone how to bat in seam-friendly Perth, with canny judgment of which balls to play and leave and his early assault on Graeme Swann in Brisbane rocked the spinner’s confidence for the entire Test. His consistency became a black mark against his teammates because it proved England's attack, while classy, was manageable. Rating: 9.
STEVE SMITH (87 runs at 21, 0 wickets for 71 runs): Promising but unconventional. Has a strong mind but a loose technique. His batting seems more suited to No.7 when runs are a bonus rather than the top six where they are expected. His leg-spin looks sound but he does not spin the ball much and needs more variation. Worth persisting with. Rating: 3.5.
MARCUS NORTH (49 runs at 16.33): Australia were hoping he would become a respected team elder in a turbulent era but Graeme Swann tortured him and he was gone after two Tests, never to return. Rating: 2.
BRAD HADDIN (324 runs at 54): Let no one down and can be pleased with another robust effort. Rousing century in Brisbane and three other half centuries makes him Australia's third highest run scorer. While his glovework had some down moments, he was one of the few Australian players to shade their direct rival. Rating: 7.5.
RYAN HARRIS: (11 wickets at 25.54): His dramatic breakdown with stress fractures of the ankle was a severe setback for the team, which needs this type of unpretentious, hard-working character. Because he goes full pelt and has a bulky frame he will always be an injury risk. His future may be clouded but he can cherish the memory of his breakthrough Test in Perth when he took 6-47 in the second innings. Rating: 7.
BEN HILFENHAUS (4 wickets at 73.5): The problem with being a workhorse is that it can dull your attacking edge and it seems to have happened to him, for he was a surprise failure. Took a wicket with the third ball of the series but then endured an agonisingly barren period that featured no more wickets in Brisbane, one in Perth before two tailenders in Melbourne. Seems to have lost pace. Rating: 3.5.
MITCHELL JOHNSON (11 wickets at 35.09): Having a Jeckyll and Hyde series. Was truly world class in Perth with 9-82 but cattle class at the other venues, reaping just 2-304. That hurt Australia. They wanted him to be their anchor man but the anchor bounced along the bottom everywhere bar Perth. Rating: 5.5.
PETER SIDDLE (13 wickets at 28.69): Having a sound - if strangely two-toned - series. Took six wicket hauls on his first and last days in the series but just one wicket in between. Is no superstar but is a robust performer whose strong character and commanding body language are just what a needy, insecure Australian side needs. Can have a nice career if he stays fit. Rating: 7.
XAVIER DOHERTY (3 wickets at 102): Tried hard but really was a boy sent on a man's errand when he was pitchforked from outside all sorts of pecking orders into the first Test. Bowls too quickly to deceive batsmen with flight or turn. Might be a useful World Cup option but his Test days are done. Rating: 2.5.
DOUG BOLLINGER (1 wicket at 130): Team management had feared since the Indian tour he would run out of puff in this series and so it proved in his sole Test in Adelaide when, in the words of his captain, he “hit the wall”. He should be embarrassed by his performance. Rating: 1.
ENGLAND
ALASTAIR COOK (577 runs at 115.4): Epic performance and he deserves to challenge Jamie Oliver as England's most popular Cook. Was supposed to be England's weak link but instead became their iron man, whose magnificent 235 not out in Brisbane set the tone for the win. Has redefined himself. Rating: 9.5.
ANDREW STRAUSS (247 at 41.17): Stayed impressively calm, assured and measured as the winds of a volatile series swirled around him. With everything on the line in Brisbane he conjured a crucial second innings century and though his run total is not great his first innings half-centuries in Perth and Melbourne changed the flow of both games. Rating: 8.
JONATHAN TROTT (445 runs at 111.25): An old-fashioned blood-and-guts performer, the type of which Australia is missing in its top three. Not pretty to watch but now has a batting average second only to Bradman. Seems to have a predictable game but Australia has never got to the bottom of him. Rating: 9.
KEVIN PIETERSEN (324 runs at 64): He's back. He may have failed twice in Perth but he murdered Australia in Adelaide with a double century and his 51 in Melbourne came at a crucial time. Rating: 8.5.
PAUL COLLINGWOOD (70 runs at 14): When rugged scrappers decline they decline fast. His serviceable career looks over. Did nothing with the bat, though took seven catches. Rating: 2.
IAN BELL (214 runs at 53): Scored first innings half-centuries everywhere bar Melbourne and charmed everyone with his textbook purity without landing a killer blow. Still to score a century against Australia from 17 Tests but the moment's coming. Rating: 7.5.
MATT PRIOR (134 at 33.5, 15 catches): Never threatened with the bat until the last Test, which was a surprise, but kept soundly. Rating: 6.
GRAEME SWANN (13 wickets at 37.3): Paid his way for the series by spearing through Australia in Adelaide but found, like so many of his trade before him, that Australian decks sentence him to starvation rations. Should tidy up his figures in Sydney. Caught splendidly in the slips and his perky demeanour helped his team. Rating: 7.5.
JAMES ANDERSON (17 wickets at 28): Wonderful performance. The player who used to drop his shoulder under pressure became an indomitable powerhouse who was the only quick to last the series. He mesmerised Australia with his subtle swing bowling skills and was chiefly responsible for Ponting's decline. Rating: 9.
STEVE FINN (14 wickets at 33): For a 21-year-old English quick to take more wickets in Australia than any Australian bowler says enough of his efforts. Exhaustion took its toll on his fading line and length but his potential for the short and long term looks immense. Rating: 7.5.
CHRIS TREMLETT (13 wickets at 19): The man who shocked everybody, English supporters included. Almost missed selection in the Perth Test because of the feeling he was too timid to be promoted for the big stage but completely dominated Australia in the last two games of the series with his steepling bounce. Rating: 8.
TIM BRESNAN (6 wickets at 12.5): Could have been excused for looking new and nervous when he was hauled into the Boxing Day Test but bowled like an old pro. Rating: 7.
STUART BROAD (2 wickets at 80): Broke down in Adelaide but applied constant pressure whenever
