How symbolic that the removal of the bails officially decides the Ashes...

symbolic indeed. so glad that i jumped on the cricket bandwagon in time for the greatest ashes of all time. love that many of the matches (including the final) were decided by draws and that the final game was also called due to light. no lights? what the f is that? anyway i'm not finished with cricket at all. can't wait until the west indies (fredeeky's squad) gets cracking again. observe and respect sir garfield sobers.



Kevin Pietersen smashed his first ever Test century to earn the draw that gave England a 2-1 series win and the Ashes for the first time since 1987.

Pietersen, who was dropped twice, hit 158 and Ashley Giles 59 before England were bowled out for 335 at The Oval, to snuff out Australian hopes of victory.

Australia batted for just four balls before bad light intervened, and a draw was eventually declared by the umpires.

The result brings to an end a series many have dubbed the "best ever". The Queen and Prime Minister Tony Blair led the tributes to captain Michael Vaughan and his victorious team after the match.

London will stage a victory parade for them on Tuesday, but the champagne flowed as soon as Vaughan lifted the tiny brown Ashes urn aloft and they were showered in ticker tape and streamers.

The players then completed a victory lap of the Oval pitch to salute the 23,000-strong crowd that had roared them on all day.

Fans had spread onto the roofs and balconies of houses around the south London ground, and also celebrated in style, as did the country at large.

Yet England had been in trouble early on the final day of the fifth Test, losing four wickets before lunch, and leading by just 133 with five hours left.

But Pietersen's super knock, which saw him named man of the match, guided them home.