In a series without many highlights, the England team finally managed to earn the respect of both the opposition and spectators alike. In a spontaneous gesture, they formed an honour guard to greet Justin Langer when he came out to bat for his final innings in Test cricket. It was yet one more emotional landmark on a momentous day for Australian and world cricket.

Langer’s retirement has tended to be overshadowed by the final games of his two more illustrious team-mates. Maybe that is the way Langer wanted it, but the English gesture ensured that 'Alfie' received some well deserved recognition distinct  from that bestowed on Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath.

Throughout his career, Langer has been a no-fuss player, quietly getting on with the game and doing the job required of him. He is tough as nails and although he may miss Test cricket, he certainly won’t miss being hit in every part of his body by missile-like cricket balls. Even today, he took a short one in the ribs from Steve Harmison, ensuring that he will have a nice purple souvenir from the game.

Langer has made a habit of being hit very hard. In his very first game he took a very nasty ball on the helmet from Ian Bishop. In the last Ashes series he wore another Harmison short ball on the elbow, which impeded his batting for the match. Early last year, in his 100th Test, he was concussed by a Makhaya Ntini thunderbolt that nearly forced him to leave the game altogether. Apparently, he wanted amnesia as a reminder of his 100th Test.

Langer aside, the rest of the day went as scripted. Kevin Pietersen was removed by the third ball of the day and with him gone, all hope of a rearguard action evaporated. The remaining wickets fell, yet again, in very quick time.

Fittingly, it was McGrath who took the last English wicket and then he and Warne led the side off to rapturous applause. It was a sight to bring a lump to the throat and tear to the eye of even the hardest and most cynical sports fans. Two remarkable careers ending on the highest of highs, with Langer to follow less than an hour later.

The 5-0 whitewash belied the theoretical closeness of the sides and illuminated a huge gulf between the number one team in the world and the rest. In many ways it has been almost a mirror image of the last Ashes series. The highly-fancied visitors tuning up, cocky and arrogant, only to be put in their place by a well-prepared and defiant home side.

Again, the games were played with tremendous sportsmanship, despite the by-play between Paul Collingwood and Warne yesterday. And like in the last series, the visitors seemed happy to stand back and applaud the superior performance of the opposition. It is an attitude that Australia regretted greatly and no-doubt the English will, too, in time to come. It is now time for some serious navel gazing for the English side. Fortunately they’ve got until 2009 to work things out. I can hardly wait.


What did you think of the 2006-07 Ashes series? What will Justin Langer's legacy be? Can Australia find an adequate opening replacement? Let us have us your comments.