Records tumble and history created as England enjoy Ashes domination

English hearts sank as Strauss failed at Brisbane amid the nagging suspicion that "here we go again".

But rarely has a moment proved to be such a red herring.

Last Friday, Strauss became the first England captain since Mike Gatting 24 years ago to win a Test series in Australia on the back of a famous 3-1 victory.

If England's quest to retain the urn began inauspiciously, what followed was beyond their wildest dreams.

Pre-series predictions of a close-fought series were blown to smithereens as England outplayed their oldest rivals.

Following a draw in Brisbane, England won at Adelaide, lost in Perth, before winning the last two matches at Melbourne and Sydney.

That all three English victories were achieved by an innings emphasised the gulf in class between the sides.

No one – not even the most ardent English follower – could have foreseen how one-sided the series would be.

By common consent, there was little to choose between the teams before the first Test in Brisbane got under way.

In 2009, England had beaten Australia 2-1 but that series could easily have gone to the tourists.

Indeed, had it not been for some last-day heroics with the bat from Paul Collingwood, James Anderson and Monty Panesar during the first Test in Cardiff, Australia might well have gone on to retain the urn.

However, this winter never quite matched such drama.

Put simply, there were two reasons the 2010-11 series proved such a mis-match.

First, no one quite realised how good England are. Second, no one quite realised how poor Australia are.

That combination of England exceeding expectations and Australia failing to live up to them explained, in a nutshell, why England prevailed.

Cricket, perhaps more than any sport, is awash with statistics and it was statistics which highlighted the tourists' dominance.

To pick out some highlights:

It was the first time Australia had lost three games in a series by an innings.

Alastair Cook's total of 766 runs at 127.66 was the second-highest by an Englishman in a Test series after Walter Hammond's 905 against Australia in 1928-29 – albeit Hammond had nine innings as opposed to Cook's seven.

England's total of 644 during the Sydney Test was their highest in Australia.

The tourists four times totalled over 500 in the rubber – only the fourth team in history to acheive that feat.

England scored nine centuries in the series as opposed to Australia's three.

And so on...

Far from setting the tone for what was to come, Strauss's first-innings failure at Brisbane was not the main pointer to emerge from that match.

Instead, it was the second-innings stand of 188 between Strauss and Cook which all-but erased a first-innings deficit of 221 and laid the foundation for a remarkable total of 517-1 declared.

Having made 67 in the first innings, Cook followed up with an unbeaten 235, and Jonathan Trott added an undefeated 135.

England's second-innings response was positively emphatic – a clear indication they had the talent and temperament to go all the way.

The momentum generated by their Brisbane fightback was carried forward into the second Test in Adelaide.

James Anderson ripped through the Australian top-order as the hosts slumped to 2-3 after winning the toss.

Only Mike Hussey (93) prospered in a first-innings score of 245, which Kevin Pietersen almost scratched out on his own.

England's No 4 made 227 out of 620 – his highest Test score – before five wickets from Graeme Swann put England 1-0 up.

At that point, the series was clearly England's for the taking.

Hussey excepted, Australia's top-order was weak and vulnerable, while England appeared solid in every department.

So what happened next was quite unexpected.

England were blown away for less than 200 in both innings at Perth, the capricious Mitchell Johnson suddenly finding form as Australia won by 267 runs to level the series.

Not even that result could temper English optimism, and the feeling England's failure at the WACA was no more than a blip was quickly confirmed in the fourth Test in Melbourne.

Australia were routed for 98 on the opening day as Anderson and Chris Tremlett each took four wickets.

Tremlett's performance was particularly impressive, the Surrey man emphasising England's strength in depth after replacing injury-victim Stuart Broad.

England responded with 513 all-out before sealing victory by an innings and 57 runs.

Yorkshire's Tim Bresnan took 4-50 and claimed the historic final wicket which clinched the Ashes. The job, however, was far from done.

England's stated aim was not just to retain the Ashes but to win the series outright.

That goal was achieved when Australia were embarrassed for one final time.

After dismissing the hosts for 280, England followed-up with their record-breaking total before sealing victory by an innings and 83 runs.

Anderson's three second-innings wickets gave him 24 for the series at 26.04 – a return that confirmed him as one of the world's best bowlers.

A riveting spectacle from first to last, the 2010-11 Ashes brought a smile to our faces in a bleak English winter of frost and snow.

For Australia – left in dissarray and reduced to a laughing stock – it is back to the drawing board; for England – up to No 3 in the world rankings and with the potential to get better – it is onwards and upwards in pursuit of the summit.