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Brisbane: Many Australians woke up Monday with another reason to dread a new work week: overnight news from England that the Ashes series was well and truly lost.
For those who weren't sleeping, the end happened at 2:48 a.m. local time on the east coast Down Under when Michael Hussey was finally out to complete a 197-run defeat for Australia in the fifth Test at The Oval in London, giving England a 2-1 series win.
Within minutes of the loss, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Web site headlined "Australia surrenders the Ashes."
"England has repeated the euphoric scenes of four years ago, reclaiming the Ashes after comprehensively defeating Australia," said the ABC, referring to England's shocking series win in 2005 before Australia regained the urn in 2006-07 in Australia.
Morning newscasts, ticker updates and newspaper headlines quickly told the story. The word "tragedy," is not one underused when referring to sporting losses in Australia, and it was sure to feature throughout the day when referring to any capitulation to the dreaded "Old Enemy."
In fact, headline writers warmed up for the task at hand a day early, with dire predictions in Sunday's papers, when Australia was still 466 runs behind, albeit with 10 second-innings wickets remaining.
"Australians hypnotized, Ashes hopes turn to dust," wrote the Sun-Herald in Sydney.
Tony Kam, writing in a Comment box in the Sunday Telegraph, didn't buy into the suspect state of the crumbling pitch at The Oval, saying it was the same for both teams.
"So where are all the conspiracy theories now?" wrote Kam. "If this pitch was getting worse then logically England's 2nd innings should have (been) disastrous and worse than Australia's."
Ricky Ponting now has the distinction of being only the second Australian captain, and the first since Billy Murdoch more than a century ago (1884 and 1890), to lose the Ashes twice in England.
It didn't help that his run out, and that of his vice-captain Michael Clarke within the space of six balls, was the beginning of the end of any chance Australia had of achieving a record fourth-innings chase of 546 runs or batting through to force a draw.
After a comprehensive victory in the fourth Test to square the series at 1-1, after wasting the chance to open with a victory at Cardiff in the first Test, Australia was favored to win or least hold on for a draw at The Oval to retain the Ashes. In two overcast sessions, the entire series turned, and England had the upper hand from the second of five days.
Ponting and Clarke's dismissals didn't help matters for a rearguard fightback from Australia, which rebounded from the 2005 series loss by whitewashing England 5-0 in 2006-07.
"Runout madness ruins revival," Sydney's Daily Telegraph reported in a headline.
"A madcap five minutes in which Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke were both inexplicably run out all but ended Australia's hopes of retaining the coveted Ashes," the Telegraph said.
Ponting's captaincy was under question on the Seven Network's "Sunrise" morning show, which also led its newscast with the Ashes loss, ahead of an environment-threatening oil spill in the Indian Ocean on the country's west coast.
"Should Ricky Go?" was the subject of Sunrise's phone-in poll, although most who replied seemed to be siding with the beleaguered Australian captain.
Another who gave Ponting the thumbs-up was one of his most strident critics in the past, veteran Sydney Morning Herald cricket writer Peter Roebuck.
"Ponting will not be evicted, nor is he likely to step aside," Roebuck wrote. "Although the inside edges are a worry, he confirmed his batting skills in Cardiff and Headingley. And it is rare for an Australian captain to be allowed to keep playing once he has stood down. Other countries may field several former captains in their lineups but that is not the Antipodean way. Ponting knows that resignation and retirement are closely intertwined."
Former Australia opening batsman Michael Slater wasn't so sure, criticizing Ponting and the selectors for allowing Australia to slip to No. 3 or 4 in the world ranking after defending the No. 1 ranking against the odds and against a better team in South Africa earlier this year.
"The fact of the matter is that we have gone over to England with the wrong squad. We needed an aggressive off spinner in the squad and our best option was Jason Krejza," Slater said.
"We should have won the first Test match (which was drawn) and we didn't, the selectors definitely got it wrong and it has just manifested right through the series."
