Bit tired this morning due to being out in the pub watching the fight for the urn.

Here it is:

And here’s who has it now:

For the first time in 18 years.

What a series. I think Her Majesty put it best:

This has been a truly memorable series and both sides can take credit for giving us all such a wonderfully exciting and entertaining summer of cricket at its best. My warmest congratulations to you, the England cricket team and all in the squad for the magnificent achievement of regaining the Ashes.

Caspar The Aussie is most gracious in defeat:

Congratulations to all you English boys. You have all Aussies eating humble cricket pie for the first time in years, and although we can still hold our heads high we know we were outplayed in every aspect of the series. Your batting and bowling were far better than ours, and you played like a team united and destined for a cause.

The best team won. Now make the most of the celebrations, because we’ll be chasing you down in two years on our turf. Here’s to a great series.

Check out this Wiki page for Ashes info.

Some better pics:

Oh I hope so. We are so close.

From the Sporting Life:

It is difficult to imagine a fitting climax to this special sporting contest, which has eclipsed anything seen in this country for decades.

Multiply Italia ’90 by Euro ’96 by the’93 Ryder Cup by Redgrave’s fifth gold in Sydney. Cube it and you’re not even close.

So, as much as it would be tempting for a partial Ashes correspondent to implore the heavens to open so Michael Vaughan can take the urn away on a speedboat with the other 10 players forming a pyramid on water-skies behind, we are hoping for one last exhibition of pure competition.

This is one of those days when productivity in the UK hits an all-new trough as the nation’s workers spend the day praying and anxiously eyeing a discreetly minimised browser window.