NewsEVENING STANDARD FRIDAY 7 JANUARY 2011 3

The party begins for our heroes Down Under

Chuck another Ponting on the barbieJonathan Prynn

We did it: the England players’ Wags salute their heroes as captain Andrew Strauss celebrates with son Luca and Paul Collingwood embraces the Barmy Army. But it’s all too much to bear for the Australian team, below, as they watch former England captain Michael Vaughan present the Ashes urn to the victorious visitors

to the Barmy Army was the 682nd Lord Mayor of London, Nick Anstee.

Mr Anstee, an investment banker who stood down from his role last year, went as far as penning a song for the fans to sing.

At the ground fewer than 100 Austral-ian fans turned up while thousands of England supporters enjoyed the final hours of the series in fancy dress. There was a gang of Craig Davids, the Flint-stones and one man dressed in a bear outfit — despite temperatures of 25 degrees centigrade. Now it’s back to reality in a wet, wintry Britain.

AUSTRALIA’S defeated team was attacked as a global embarrassment today as the country turned on its losing squad.

The Sydney Morning Herald billed the team “Our Worst XI” and accused the men of becoming “an embarrassment of historic proportions”.

Another headline said: “Can’t bat, can’t bowl, can’t even think straight” while the Sydney Daily

Telegraph screamed: “Aussie BBQ: Cooked in our own backyard.”

It added: “Ashes to Ashes, dust to dust, the Australian cricket team has been slowly grilled over the course of the five-Test series this summer and it’s been painful to watch.” The analysis was below an image of captain Ricky Ponting, acting capital Michael Clarke and fast bowler Mitchell Johnson skewered as human shrimps on a glowing barbie.

The Sydney Morning Herald’s

cricker commentator Greg Baum described the 3-1 series loss as “a capitulation as feeble and abject as can be imagined”.

The Australian newspaper’s main cricket writer Malcolm Conn said: “Australia is not good enough. Not enough depth of talent. Not enough in-form talent. Not enough talent full stop.”

Spinning legend Shane Warne said: “Australia are a pretty proud nation about their sport and they are hurting.”Skewered: the Sydney Daily TelegraphSkewered: the Sydney Daily TelegraphSport Pages 69-72