And now I've seen everything

I have just witnessed what can only be described as Test cricket's equivalent of the lowering of the Olympic flag, folding it up and carrying it away. After players left the field for bad light with Australia requiring 337 to win from 18.2 overs, umpires Rudi Koertzen and Billy Bowden returned to the field, marched down the pitch, turned around, looked at the sky, looked at each other, marched down to each wicket and lifted the bails.

England have won the Ashes. Congratulations to a team that fully deserved it. I'll do a post-mortem in the morning (or more likely afternoon). My Midwinter-Midwinter votes for Day Five were: 3 pts - Kevin Pietersen; 2 pts - Shane Warne; 1 pt - Ashley Giles. That makes Shane Warne my player of the series, and I expect to hear in the morning that he will have the inaugural Compton-Miller Award as well.

I love that impromptu finish to the game, a masterful achievement from the umpires in turning farce into slapstick. I bid you goodnight with the news that Phil Jaques has carried his bat for Australia A against Pakistan A.