UNSTOPPABLE KANGAROOS: Shane Warne is hugged by teammates after dismissing Monty Panesar on Monday. — PHOTO: AFP

PERTH: Australia won back the Ashes after only 462 days — the shortest period one side has held the trophy in 124 years — when it won the third Test at the WACA by 206 runs on Monday.

By the time the next series comes around in 2009 in England, Australia would have been the holder for 18 and three quarter of the last 20 years. It is a damning indictment of cricket in England, the country that not only gave the game to the world but still ranks second even after this defeat.

Australia held the Ashes for 16 years from September 1989. The little urn that is said to contain them is currently on exhibition at the West Australian Museum only half a mile from the WACA ground.

Tradition has it that the urn's permanent home is in the MCC Museum at Lord's and that is unlikely to change although Ricky Ponting, the Australian captain, joked after the match that it was in such a fragile condition that it might be unwise to fly it home!

Urn's home at MCG?

It is surely time that MCC, no longer a great power in cricket but still respected by everyone who plays, reads or thinks about the game, gave up its hold on this great trophy and allowed it to be exhibited at the MCG, the headquarters of the Melbourne Cricket Club.

Australia has dominated the contest since the mythical award first made its appearance in print after the defeat at the Oval in 1881. Surely the gentlemanly act is to hand over the trophy and acknowledge that the Aussies lead the cricket world; and take it back if England wins it again.

You only had to listen to the self-confident Ponting describe how his team met soon after the defeat in England and planned revenge.

It adopted a motto: "I'll Be a Better Player Every Day."

It asked for more coaches and Cricket Australia found the money. It knew England no longer wanted Troy Cooley, the bowling coach, and he was employed to improve the performances of the bowlers who had failed in 2005.

I have been following England closely for the last 25 years and I cannot imagine a bunch of its players sitting down after a series defeat, vowing vengeance, asking for extra facilities and setting out a personal way forward. I wish I could.

Instead the best I can offer is the thought that England ought to learn a lesson from the single-minded Australian approach, although I suspect that the answer will be to drop one or two players, wonder if a new coach may be the answer and probably do very little.

Michael Vaughan, a man of different stature from his players, may be ready to step up for the one-day series although calm voices are urging him to wait until the World Cup when he will be fully fit and could take over as captain again.

He is the sort of player who might instigate radical change but I doubt if Andrew Flintoff will try to shake up the system that is basically unchanged since 1881.

Flintoff decided that an attacking approach was the only possible way to attempt to reach England's target score of 557 but once he had driven and bludgeoned his way to 51 he became Shane Warne's 697th victim.

Second duck for Jones

Geraint Jones, who once went 51 Test innings without a zero, made his second duck of the match, Steve Harmison was Warne's victim No. 698 and two balls after lunch Monty Panesar became No. 699.

Kevin Pietersen who thought taking a single off the first ball of every over he batted with the tail was the right way to go finished undefeated on 60.

There will be further celebrations at the MCG, Warne's home pitch, where he also needs one more for 50 in all Tests and where, on average, he takes a wicket every ten overs. Not even the most passionate England supporter will deny him that bit of glory a couple of miles from home.

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