The Ashes are back where they belong

Some YouTube videos to capture the moment as, in 3 out of the 5 tests, we already reclaim the Ashes at least 3-0.

First is the interview soon after England lost the Ashes (after only holding them for a record-short 15 months) with the deservingly despondent Andrew Flintoff, England captain:



And then the equally deserving upbeat Australia captain, Ricky Ponting:



I described England's capitulation in the Second Test in Adelaide as a discombobulation. It was even more so in the Third Test in Perth, epitomised by the Ponting run-out of Geraint Jones - who failed to leave his back foot in his crease.

In one of the funniest cricket footage moments I've seen, a confused Shane Warne - who was appealling for Jones to be out LBW - saw his team mates running off to celebrate and had to ask Umpire Rudi Coetzen what happened, because Warne had been too busy appealling to see the run-out. Coetzen is then shown hand-gesturing how Ponting had flicked the ball onto the stumps and Jones was out.

... and the Poms said our team was too old:



This old fella seems to have followed the Ashes all along, YouTubing his thoughts as the series went along. A classic shot is McGrath after taking 6-20 in the First Test in Brisbane, walking back to his fielding spot holding his back in mock imitation of old age pains!

Good on you, Dad's Army, for successfully repelling the British invaders.

The question now is: can we keep their booty? That is, will England invade us if we refuse to return the touring original Ashes urn, as the media seem to be urging Ponting to call for? Would England invade to regain the actual Ashes? Let's hang on to them, I say, to make things interesting.