How the 'worst' Australian team in 15 years just retained the Ashes against England

Apparently, the worst Australian cricket team in 15 years just won the Ashes with two matches to spare against the best England squad assembled since 2011.

Long-time protagonist Stuart Broad lit the fuse ahead of a volatile contest for the longest-running rivalry in test cricket when he described the host squad as the worst to contest the Ashes in Australia since England won the 2010-11 series Down Under.

The 167-test veteran played two matches for England in that winning series.

Since then, a drought has extended to 16 losses, two draws and no wins for England on Australian soil.

Marnus Labuschagne, who produced a spectacular catch to help hasten the end of England's dogged last-day comeback in the third test on Sunday, reflected on the pre-series pronouncements by Broad and others.

''Have to say, being called the worst Australian team in 15 years… like it's nice to be sitting where we are, 3-0 up,'' he told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. ''The job's not done yet. We want to make sure it's 5-0 and really take that urn.''

It took all of 11 days — two in Perth, four in Brisbane and almost a full five in Adelaide — not quite a record for clinching an Ashes series but not too far off.

The Barmy Army of traveling England supporters was in full voice as England took the record-chasing fourth innings into the penultimate session at the Adelaide Oval, but ultimately it was the Aussies crowing about yet another dramatic win.

It's true, Australia had a patched-up squad, with skipper Pat Cummins missing the first two tests while he continued recovery from a back injury. Josh Hazlewood was ruled out for the series. That left Mitchell Starc as the only member of the regular pace triumvirate available for the first two tests. When offspinner Nathan Lyon was dropped for the second test, Starc was the only member of Australia's longtime bowling quartet in the lineup.

He led from the front, with two man-of-the-match performances. With three of the last four wickets in Adelaide, he has 22 for the series and 51 for the calendar year.

''We just found a way, which I think is a feature of this group over a number of years now,'' Starc said. ''Even at times where it's not going our way, we can find a way to get ourselves over the line.''

In the batting lineup, there were questions over who would open and who would bat at No. 3. Steve Smith led the team in the absence of Cummins in Perth and Brisbane but was ruled out of the third test because of vertigo. Usman Khawaja was rushed back into the lineup to replace him and helped hold things together in the first innings.

''You just kind of crack on,'' he said. ''Even though I missed the first couple of games, Steve stepped right in. It was smooth, seamless.

''And there's always things that crop up … but the boys go, ‘OK, that's happened, let's crack on, what's next?' That's one of the big reasons why we've had success over the last couple of years.''

That attitude will really be tested again in Melbourne starting Boxing Day, with Cummins and Lyon unlikely to play the fourth test.

Khawaja's back injury in the first test forced Travis Head up from No. 5 to open the innings, and he responded with a match-winning century in that game. He made the opening slot his own, posting 170 on his home ground in Adelaide in the second innings.

In a post-match TV interview Head was asked what it's like to be part of the Australian team. His answer was simple: ''Yeah, it's bloody amazing.''