SYDNEY: Australia beat England by an innings and 123 runs after lunch on the last day of the fifth and final Ashes test on Monday to wrap up a 4-0 series triumph.

The hosts, who made 649 declared in their reply to England's first innings 346, dismissed the tourists for 180 at the Sydney Cricket Ground to seal a comprehensive victory.

England captain Joe Root was treated in hospital for gastroenteritis overnight but resumed his innings and made 58 in the losing cause before retiring ill.

Australia had already regained the Ashes by winning the first three tests of the series in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. The fourth test in Melbourne was drawn.  –REUTERS