Australia should soak up success - it might not last

Australia have dominated the Ashes but talk of a golden dawn may be premature. Geoff Lemon, blogging on the Guardian, identifies how Australia are a far more ageing side than some realise and that it is unlikely this current crop of players will remain together for long enough to created a period of success - further rebuilding isn't far away.

In England earlier this year, the inclination was to cast Australia as the puppy-pawed youngster and England as the wily old dog. This narrative could then be stretched into the current series, in which the scarred veteran finally yielded to the virile new alpha canine. Aside from being tedious, the metaphor is well off the mark. The average age of England's Perth XI was 29 and a half. Australia's was a tick over 31.