INTERMITTENT rain showers and a pitch left soggy by overnight rain couldn’t delay the inevitable yesterday: Australia regained the Ashes from England with victory in the third Test.

Steve Smith’s Australian side followed up its convincing victories in the first two tests in Brisbane (by 10 wickets) and Adelaide (120 runs) by winning the third by an even more emphatic margin of an innings and 41 runs to take the best-of-five series 3-0.

Needing to bat through the fifth and final day to salvage a draw and keep the series alive, England were all out for 218 after Perth’s fickle weather almost saved them.