How sweet the taste of success. After three months of desperate, despondent defeat at the hands of one of the great teams, England finally succeeded where no other country has this past four years and won a Test in Australia. Dead rubber it may have been, but Australia were gagging for the whitewash. It was the sweeter for that.
To Andy Caddick went yesterday's spoils, with seven second-innings wickets for 94, his figures dented by late-order, do-or-die hitting from Brett Lee. But shortly after two o'clock Caddick rattled the stumps of the last man, Stuart MacGill, and the win was complete.
Chasing 452, a figure unachievable on a fifth-day surface that at times exploded like a minefield, Australia were bowled out for 226, leaving England winners by 225 runs.
Only twice since the second World War - in 1970-1 on this ground, by 299, and at the Oval 20 years earlier, by 226 - have an England side beaten Australia by more runs. John Howard, Donald Bradman, Banjo Patterson, Rolf Harris, Richie Benaud, Dawn Fraser, Malcolm Conn, Kerry Packer, Dame Edna Everidge: your boys took one hell of a beating.
Caddick was superb. He surged in from the Paddington end, maintained discipline, tried nothing too fancy and utilised an off-cutter in the way that Fred Trueman did in his dotage. Until Lee's bombast, only Damien Martyn and Adam Gilchrist resisted.
But Martyn got a turning ball from Richard Dawson (rarity value there), and Gilchrist, having hammered Steve Harmison, got something evil from a length when Caddick returned and the job was almost done.
Even Caddick, who is rarely without a reason or excuse, is at a loss to explain some of his insipid bowling earlier in the series, and the air was full of if-onlys yesterday afternoon. But, if predictable, this was no typical Andy-come-lately second innings cash-in from Caddick.
This was not England's strongest attack and, to win, someone had to come to the fore; the man with the experience did it. His figures have been bettered only by his seven for 46 against South Africa three winters ago.
The plaudits at the end, though, went exclusively to Michael Vaughan, man of the match for his brilliant 183 which set up the win, and whose three centuries and 633 in total brought him the man of the series award as well.
The captain, Nasser Hussain, deserves his moment in the sun, too. Through thin and more thin he has remained upbeat, candid, courteous and competitive. Never once has he done anything but strive to drag the maximum from a group who have been put through the mill. He, and they, will be stronger for the experience.
Still, an Ashes series has been lost and lost badly, something for which yesterday's win can compensate but not atone. Australia, demonstrably, are the best side in the world, whatever the ludicrous ICC Championship tries to suggest ("If they are not," said Hussain, "then we've got real problems against South Africa next summer"); but fundamentally, in attempting to match them at their own outrageous game, Hussain's side gave themselves no more chance than they had in the previous series in England.
The last two Tests have been revealing on that score. So fast do the Australians play, scoring consistently nearly four runs an over, that they leave themselves much time to win. But there is something more. In completing games inside three or four days they avoid the potential trauma of chasing targets on wearing fifth-day pitches, knowing they possess the world's best attack to bowl sides out in pristine conditions.
Melbourne and Sydney have shown that the fifth day can be a great leveller and, without diluting a genuine aggressive instinct, England's imperative should have been to take games that far, even bringing the draw into the equation.
As it is, this match is the first in which Australia have been bowled out twice in their homeland since England did so in the equivalent match four years ago, since when five countries have visited.
The euphoria should not mask the fact that England have to move on now. This match has heralded so many potential retirements that the Last Chance Saloon must be a franchise and, as far as England are concerned, doubts remain about continuing with Alec Stewart, whose keeping has fallen from the standards he has set himself and, despite his bowling here, Caddick as well.
Zimbabwe are scheduled to come first up and there is a chance now to give Harmison, Matthew Hoggard, James Anderson and Simon Jones, once fit again, good experience.
Replacing Stewart's dual skills is no easy task but it has to be faced and, if James Foster - improved certainly in the past 12 months - is not the candidate, then Chris Read has come out of the academy well. Nothing, as Stewart surely realises, is forever.
As for the batting, there is real reason for hope with Vaughan's emergence as a world-class player. Marcus Trescothick needs serious work if he is to avoid the same fate against the South Africans as here, but Hussain has shown real determination, Crawley stickability and Robert Key a temperament to be encouraged. Youngsters such as Ian Bell must be allowed to come through.
A dismal winter has, at the last chance, budded into spring and there may be better things ahead.
Guardian Service
Sydney scoreboard:
FIFTH TEST - Australia v England
Overnight: England 362 (M A Butcher 124, N Hussain 75, A J Stewart 71) and 452-9 dec (M P Vaughan 183, N Hussain 72). Australia 363 (A C Gilchrist 133, S R Waugh 102; M J Hoggard 4-92) and 91-3.
AUSTRALIA - Second Innings
A J Bichel lbw b Caddick 49
D R Martyn c Stewart b Dawson 21
S R Waugh b Caddick 6
M L Love b Harmison 27
A C Gilchrist c Butcher b Caddick 37
Fifth Test - Day five
B Lee c Stewart b Caddick 46
J N Gillespie not out 3
S C G MacGill b Caddick 1
Extras (b6, lb8, w3, nb3) 20
Total (54 overs) ... 226
Fall: 1-5 2-5 3-25 4-93 5-99 6-109 7-139 8-181 9-224
Bowling: Hoggard 13-3-35-1, Caddick 22-5-94-7, Harmison 9-1-42-1, Dawson 10-2-41-1.
England beat Australia by 225 runs.
Australia win series 4-1.
