Pakistan

England win fourth Test to regain Ashes

Cook's team win the fourth Test by an innings and 78 runs, takeback the Ashes

Afp August 08, 2015

england 039 s captain alastair cook l and england 039 s ian bell 2nd r react as england 039 s mark wood r bowls australia 039 s josh hazlewood 2nd l during play on the third day of the fourth ashes cricket test photo afp

England's captain Alastair Cook (L) and England's Ian Bell (2nd R) react as England's Mark Wood (R) bowls Australia's Josh Hazlewood (2nd L) during play on the third day of the fourth Ashes cricket Test. PHOTO: AFP

NOTTINGHAM: England defeated Australia by an innings and 78 runs on the third day of the fourth Ashes Test at Trent Bridge on Saturday to take an unbeatable 3-1 lead in the five-match series.

Read: Cook urges his team to write their own Ashes history

Victory saw England regain the Ashes after they were whitewashed 5-0 in Australia in 2013/14.

It also gave them a fourth successive Ashes series win on home soil, with Australia's last Ashes triumph in Britain in 2001.

Australia were in trouble right from the start of this match as they collapsed to 60 all out in 111 balls -- the shortest completed first innings in Test history -- on Thursday's first day.

Fast-medium bowler Stuart Broad, who took two wickets in the first over of the match, including his 300th at this level, finished with a Test-best return of eight for 15.

England in reply made 391 for nine declared, Joe Root top-scoring with 130, on Friday.

All-rounder Ben Stokes took a Test-best six for 36 before Durham team-mate Wood, a fast bowler, completed the win when last man Nathan Lyon played on to leave Australia 253 all out.

Read: Australia's Clarke set to retire

Adam Voges was 51 not out, with Australia losing their last three wickets in 40 minutes' play on Saturday.

This victory gave England their second successive win inside three days after they beat Australia by eight wickets to win the third Test at Edgbaston last week.

Saturday's result also saw England end a seven-match sequence of alternating wins and losses as they achieved back-to-back wins in Test cricket for the first time in 2015.

The series concludes at The Oval in south London where the fifth Test begins on August 20.

Brief scores

Australia 60 (S Broad 8-15) and 253 (D Warner 64, C Rogers 52, A Voges 51 no; B Stokes 6-36, M Wood 3-69)

England 391-9 dec (J Root 130, J Bairstow 74; M Starc 6-111)

Result: England won by an innings and 78 runs.

Series: England lead five-match series 3-1.