Australia retain the Ashes by belting England and taking 3-0 series lead, Scott Boland makes beautiful history
Australia has retained the Ashes, claiming an unassailable 3-0 series lead with two matches still to play.
The Aussies shocked England to win by an innings and 14 runs at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, ending it in less than two and a half days.
Scott Boland took six wickets in the second innings on Test debut.
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England began the day trailing by 51 runs, having put themselves in the match but then lost 4-22 by stumps on Day 2 in a disastrous final hour of play.
Joe Root and Ben Stokes started Day 3 looking promising, sending a number of classy drives to the boundary rope.
But Stokes fell with the score then 5-46, kickstarting an avalanche of wickets that saw England bowled out for 68 before the first drinks break, 14 runs short of making Australia bat again.
In some kind of beautiful sporting poetry, Boland then received the Mullagh Medal for man of the match honours in the Boxing Day Test.
The medal made its debut last year, with India's Ajinkya Rahane winning the inaugural offering.
The award is to commemorate trailblazing Aboriginal cricketer Johnny Mullagh, who toured England with an indigenous Australian team in 1868. Mullagh was inducted into the Australian cricket hall of fame last year.
Scott Boland of Australia poses with the Johnny Mullagh Medal after winning and retaining the Ashes. Getty
Boland is the fourth Aboriginal person to represent Australia in Test cricket, and only the second man to do so after Jason Gillespie.
"A few of us went away a couple of years ago to commemorate the tour from 1868. We got to learn so much about that tour and what went on," Boland said after taking 6-7 in his four overs of the second innings.
"My family would be very proud, and I'm very proud to win this award."
Boland was presented his baggy green by Josh Hazlewood on Boxing Day, having been named as a shock inclusion to make his Test debut at his home venue in Victoria.
"Obviously coming in today I thought we had a good chance of winning," he said.
"Obbiously I didn't think it was going to happen that quickly.
"I found out (I'd be playing) on Christmas eve, I got told about 5.30pm and told some family and friends. I've had heaps of support from friends and family, and teammates as well.
"I thought it was going to be really tough. It's a big step up from anything else I've played before. I was hoping to make a little bit of an impact."
The next Ashes Test is due to begin on January 5 in Sydney.
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