With the Ashes series now over, with a crushing win over the demoralised Aussies, it's time to record some thoughts.

Before the series there seemed to be a general agreement that the series would be close, between a good English side on the up and a once great Aussie side on the decline. I was perhaps a little more optimistic than many when I emailed a friend with a prescient "on current form a 3-1 result looks quite possible, but I'd happily settle for a 1-0 and bragging rights over the Aussies!". Questions were asked about how Alistair Cook would fare after his poor showing previously, or how Jimmy Anderson would handle the Kookaburra(as opposed to the Dukes ball used in English cricket). There were also concerns that the Aussies would ensure that the pitches didn't favour spin as they had no-one to compare to Graeme Swann, who'd had a spectacular year or two.

The final 3-1 victory is actually flattering to the Aussies. They were outplayed in every department of the game, and all 3 English victories were by an innings plus. The single Aussie win could be regarded as an anomaly, a couple of excellent bowling spells and good innings and an inexplicable collapse of the otherwise hugely dominant English batting. The man of the series, Alistair Cook, scored an incredible 766 runs at an average of over 127, but Jimmy Anderson with 24 wickets wasn't far behind.

It's interesting to note that Paul Collingwood was the weakest link in the English team. He himself noted in his retirement interviews that in the last Ashes series in Australia he'd batted well and yet the team lost 5-0, so he much preferred the situation where despite his less than stellar contributions the English side had thrashed the Aussies! He's been a stalwart member of the team over the years, often being one of the few to show real backbone when the team was under pressure, his fielding has been outstanding, and even his bowling has made significant contributions on occasions. He finished his test career with an average of over 40, generally agreed to be the benchmark for a good test batsman, and 3 Ashes victories - not many can say that!

The gulf between the two sides has been so great that most pundits when selecting a team of the series have largely opted for the England team, with only Mike Hussey replacing Paul Collingwood - a few Aussie commentators made a slight case for Haddin and Siddle but with little conviction.

It was interesting to read the Aussie press and blogs during the series, as from quite early on it became apparent that they probably wouldn't win the Ashes and they turned on their team with the venom usually associated with the tabloid press here in the UK.

Ricky Ponting's been a class batsman for many years, but his lack of real captaincy skills were hidden by the quality of the team he inherited, and with the retirement of most of those senior players he's been found wanting when Australia have struggled. Unfortunately for Australia they have no obvious replacement for Ponting and the only other batsmen who is an automatic name on the team-sheet, Hussey, is in the twilight of his career, suggesting that things may get worse for them before they get better.

Looking at the Aussie bowling is probably even more depressing than their batting. Apart from Siddle showing the right attitude, and a couple of excellent spells from the generally awful Johnson, they have no attack worth the name. No-one seems able to bowl a sustained line and/or length, no-one seemed capable of swinging the ball or working a batsman out, and they've been unable to find a spinner worthy of the name. With the glaringly obvious technical problems of their batting and bowling line-ups, you have to ask what the hell the coaches were doing to earn their money?! Perhaps the time has come for a complete clear out of their selectors, coaches and management as they seem to have been coasting on past glories, earned by a generation of exceptional cricketers, and neglected to plan for their succession.

The picture is so much brighter for English cricket. We have a young(ish) team that's strong in all departments, they have great team spirit, strong replacement options, and a management that seems to be well focused on the future as well as the present. It's not looked this good for years, but we should always be cautious, and have only to look at Australia to see what complacency can do. This coming summer should be exciting, and the upcoming tests against the Sri Lankans and Indians should provide a sterner test of this squad, and we'll see if they can achieve their stated aim to become the no.1 side in the world.

I'll end by say CONGRATULATIONS and THANK YOU to all in the England team(including the back-room boys and management) for giving so many of us so many reasons to smile in an otherwise cold bleak winter.