Michael Peschardt: England always needed a solid start, but they didn't get it

The home side won by 98 runs as leg spinner Stuart MacGill again overshadowed the returning Shane Warne to take seven second innings wickets.

BBC Cricket correspondent Jonathon Agnew reports (BBC News 24)

And MacGill fittingly took the final wicket to ensure the Australians added a series win to their retention of the Ashes secured in the third Test.

England's faint hopes of winning the match and completing a marvellous comeback to draw the series had all but disappeared in the morning session.

The home side took five wickets before lunch as the tourists struggled to get anywhere near the unlikely victory target of 287.

Nasser Hussain provided the only real resistance and he was out 15 minutes before the interval.

BBC Test Match Special: An extraordinary end to the series

England were still 112 short when Alex Tudor became the eighth man to go two balls after the break.

The Surrey fast bowler was bowled around his legs by MacGill - an almost identical dismissal to that of Graeme Hick.

Alec Stewart: It was realistic that we could have won this match

He was soon followed by Dean Headley, caught behind off the same bowler.

That was at 180 for nine, and although Peter Such and Darren Gough managed to survive a few overs of the Australian leg spin duo, it was purely stubborn resistance.

Nasser Hussain: Stubborn resistance

MacGill ended it all, with a second caught-and-bowled of the innings as Such cut the ball hard into Mark Waugh at silly point.

The ball struck Waugh's foot and MacGill took a smart catch to end England's resistance.

MacGill's performance confirmed his emergence as a genuine rival to Warne, who returned to Test cricket in this match with two wickets following his shoulder operation.

The younger leg spinner's second innings figures of seven for 50 represented a career best performance, and even Warne has never claimed as many as 12 wickets in one Test.

The dismissals also made him Australia's leading bowler in the series, with 27 wickets from just four matches, three clear of Glenn McGrath's 24 victims in five Tests.

He was given the Sydney Man of the Match award, despite Michael Slater's superb second innings century and Gough's day one hat-trick.

Steve Waugh: Named Man of the Series

Slater's three hundreds in the five Tests were also overlooked as the Man of the Series award was handed to Steve Waugh.

He hit two centuries but his 498 runs came as he was only dismissed six times in ten innings.

The Australian win also prevented England from making history twice over - they would have become only the second side in Ashes history to come from two down to draw a series.

And a win would have been the highest final innings winning total in the history of the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Hussain (407 runs) and Gough (21 wickets) were the tourists' leading players in a difficult series.

Morning collapse

The morning session had begun with English optimism after day three's fine performance, but the day was just five overs old when the first breakthrough was made.

McGrath was the bowler as Mark Ramprakash was caught in the slips by Mark Taylor without adding to his overnight total of 14.

Mark Ramprakash is out (BBC Test Match Special)

In taking the low chance at first slip, the Australian skipper claimed the world record for Test catches, ahead of predecessor Allan Border.

Next to go was Graeme Hick, MacGill's first victim of the day as he unwisely tried to sweep the leg spinner.

Graeme Hick tries to sweep MacGill..... (BBC Test Match Special)

He was bowled around his legs after an hour of play, with the score 131 for four.

John Crawley then became Colin Miller's only victim of the day, given out leg before although the rising ball struck him on the thigh.

John Crawley's lbw decision

The dismissal crucially exposed the frail English tail and Warren Hegg did not last long, before edging a wide delivery from MacGill to Ian Healy.

Hussain reached his half-century before becoming the fifth victim of a demoralising session for England.

Crucial wicket: Nasser Hussain falls with lunch on the horizon

He was caught-and-bowled by MacGill as he tried to drive, after an innings which contained a 1,000th Ashes run for the Essex batsman.

Although Dean Headley and Alex Tudor saw England to lunch the tourist dined knowing that their fate was sealed.

And so it proved as MacGill proved his class by polishing off the tail after lunch.

Scorecard

England second innings

M Butcher st Healy b Warne 27
A Stewart st Healy b MacGill 42
N Hussain c and b MacGill 53
M Ramprakash c Taylor b McGrath 14
G Hick b MacGill 7
J Crawley lbw b Miller 5
W Hegg c Healy b MacGill 3
A Tudor b MacGill 3
D Headley c Healy b MacGill 16
D Gough not out 7
PM Such c and b MacGill 2
Extras 9

Total 188 all out (66.1 overs)

Fall: 1-57, 2-77, 3-110, 4-131, 5-150, 6-157, 7-162, 8-175, 9-180

Bowling: McGrath 10-1-40-1 Miller 17-1-50-1, MacGill 20.1-4-50-7, Warne 19-3-43-1

Australia second innings:

M Slater c Hegg b Headley 123
M Taylor c Stewat b Gough 2
J Langer lbw b Headley 1
M Waugh not out 24
D Lehmann c Crawley b Such 0
I Healy c Crawley b Such 5
S Waugh b Headley 8
S Warne c Ramprakash b Such 8
S MacGill c Butcher b Such 7
C Miller not out 2
G McGrath c Stewart b Such 0
Extras 3

Total (for all out, 64.5 overs) 184

Fall: 1-16, 2-25, 3-64, 4-73, 5-91, 6-110, 7-141, 8-180, 9-184

Bowling: Headley 19-7-40-4, Gough 15-3-51-1, Such 25.5-5-81-5, Tudor 5-2-8-0

England first innings:

M Butcher lbw b Warne 36
A Stewart c Warne b McGrath 3
N Hussain c M Waugh b Miller 42
M Ramprakash c MacGill b McGrath 14
G Hick c Warne b MacGill 23
J Crawley not out 44
W Hegg b Miller 15
A Tudor b MacGill 14
D Headley c McGrath b MacGill 8
D Gough lbw b MacGill 0
P Such not out 0
Extras 21

Total (80.1 overs) 220

Fall: 1-18, 2-56, 3-88, 4-137, 5-139, 6-171, 7-204, 8-213, 9-213

Bowling: McGrath 17-7-35-2, Miller 23-6-45-2, MacGill 20.1-2-57-5, Warne 20-4-67-1

Australia first innings:

M Taylor c Hick b Headley 2
M Slater c Hegg b Headley 18
J Langer c Ramprakash b Tudor 26
M Waugh c Hegg b Headley 121
S Waugh b Such 96
D Lehmann c Hussain b Tudor 32
I Healy c Hegg b Gough 14
S Warne not out 2
S MacGill b Gough 0
C Miller b Gough 0
G McGrath c Hick b Headley 0
Extras 11

Total (all out, 87.3 overs) 322

Fall: 1-4, 2-52, 3-52, 4-242, 5-284, 6-319, 7-321, 8-321, 9-321

Bowling: Gough 17-3-61-3, Headley 19.3-3-62-4, Tudor 12-1-64-2, Such 24-6-77-1, Ramprakash 15-0-56-0