Ruthless England thrash Australia to regain Ashes, Clarke retires after series

Ben Stokes had Mitchell Starc caught by Ian Bell at second slip for nought and Mark Wood bowled Josh Hazlewood for a duck.

Wood produced another ferocious full-pitched delivery to shatter Nathan Lyon’s stumps and complete the rout, sparking wild celebrations on the pitch and all around the ground.

“It’s unbelievable. I couldn’t be happier,” England captain Alastair Cook told reporters.

“For what we’ve been through over the last 18 months, to play like we did has been fantastic. I’m so proud of this young team and the way they’ve taken this opportunity.”

Adam Voges was unbeaten on 51 in Australia’s total of 253.

England lead the series 3-1 with one match to play.

Clarke to hang his boots after series:

Australia captain Michael Clarke will retire after the final Ashes test against England this month, he told Australian television on Saturday.

Clarke was speaking after England won the fourth test at Trent Bridge by an innings and 78 runs to regain the Ashes.

“I want to play the last test at The Oval and give it one more crack. The time is right,” the 34-year-old said.

“You never want to walk away. My performances over the past 12 months have not been acceptable to me.

“Test cricket is about the Ashes. We tried our best, I certainly tried my best but we got outplayed.”

Clarke has played 114 tests and scored over 8,000 runs, including 28 centuries.