Ricky Ponting believes Australia can continue its Ashes and world dominance despite the closing of an era at the SCG.

Ponting and his players joined their equivalents of 86 years ago by beating England 5-0, with victory by 10 wickets in the fifth Test at the SCG.

Warwick Armstrong's men of 1920-21 finally have their equals.

The result prompted deserved recognition of what a remarkable achievement it was in smashing the No.2 Test team, and also provided an outpouring of emotion for retiring stars Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Justin Langer.

The trio got the fairytales they were craving, as McGrath and Warne helped restrict England to 147 by bowling in tandem one last time, while Langer and opening partner Matthew Hayden were triumphant in their final, unbeaten stand of 46.

The three veterans and coach John Buchanan, also in his last Test, were farewelled before a packed SCG, during which even hard-nosed players like Ponting broke down in tears.

Later, as the retiring trio paraded before fans, Ponting sought out Michael Clarke - the only player in this side aged under 30 and who represents the new wave of Australian cricket - to remind him not to forget the moment.

"It's a moment we should all savour," Ponting said.

"That's what I was telling him, to soak it all up and the next time we play an Ashes series we'll give it our best shot to make sure it's a similar sort of result.

"For the next few years hopefully it will be him and I and (Mike) Hussey and those guys being the leaders, and being able to win games for our country.

"I'm looking forward to that next period. Although it's a little way away, I see it as a pretty exciting time."

Australia's 2007 will be dominated by one-day cricket, and it will be 10 months before the side next plays a Test match, where it will aim to build on its current winning sequence of 12.

It will be a vastly different team which takes on Sri Lanka and then India in 2007-08, minus the irreplaceable Warne, with a new opener to partner Hayden and with Stuart Clark and Brett Lee the pace spearheads.

Ponting admitted the element of the unknown excited him, but was confident Australia was much-better stocked with emerging talent than it was a generation ago, when the departures of Greg Chappell, Dennis Lillee and Rod Marsh left a gulf in experience and talent.

"It's not so much the unknown because I have a good feeling about the younger crop of players we've got in Australia at the moment," said Ponting, who nominated batsman Adam Voges and pacemen Shaun Tait, Mitchell Johnson and Ben Hilfenhaus as the future of the national side.

"When you get younger people in and around your squad there's generally a bit of energy and a bit of excitement around.

"It's a little way off before the next Test series but with the nucleus that we've got we'll still be together and I can see us being a very dominant team."

Warne believes now is the time for young players to be selected, and said the emphatic nature of this win showed how far Australia was ahead of the rest.

"We are a long way ahead of the next best side," he said.

"England were rated the second-best side and we won 5-0, it can't be any more comprehensive than that."

By the time Australia plays its next Test, it will be unbeaten in over two years, having won 16 of the 18 Tests (two draws) since it lost to England at Trent Bridge in August 2005.

Although Ponting stressed revenge was not his overriding emotion in the lead-up to this series, he said the series loss last time made this victory all the sweeter.

"Yeah, it is ... the cricket we played this time has been as good as I can ever remember the team playing," he said.

"You look at the results we've achieved against a team that, when they landed here, lots of so-called experts tipped to win the series.

"For us to white-wash, it goes to show just how well we've played."

England captain Andrew Flintoff looked a man clearly more relaxed after a harrowing series, but said the pain of watching Australia celebrate had been hard to take.

"At The Oval in 2005, the jubilation and the joy of winning the Ashes and then today and probably in Perth (where the series was decided) as well, I have experienced it on the other side and it's not very nice," Flintoff said.

"You hear the Australians speak about it and say they used it (the 2005 defeat) as a spur.

"And for 2009, I'm sure that's something the lads will remember."

England's shambolic performance, its now notorious bad selections, an inability to prolong the pressure on Australia and below-par efforts from its key players will all be reviewed.

Attention now turns to the one-day carnival which starts with a Twenty20 match at the SCG on Tuesday before the tri-series, also featuring New Zealand, begins in Melbourne next Friday.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP