A lot of the chat here has been about how bad Australia are, and they have been really bad, but in England we have a habit of saying how poor the opposition are, rather than giving proper credit to our side in moments of triumph.
England have been outstanding here. They won the second Test in the first half-hour of the match when they took three wickets and they took them with real cricketing skills, rather than being handed them by Australia.
England's mantra has been that, yes, the Ashes are very important but they are a stepping stone towards what they want to become — the best team in the world. I'm with them on that after this stunning innings victory.
Look how well they are playing and at the age of most of their players, who will be around for a long time. In contrast, Australia are going to have to dismantle their side pretty quickly, the way they are going.
As long as England keep their feet on the ground, and I am sure they will under Andy Flower, then there is no limit to what they can achieve. It is definitely one of the best England sides I have seen and there is no reason why they cannot become the best team in the world.
I like the swagger, the confidence and the passion of players such as Graeme Swann, Kevin Pietersen and Stuart Broad, balanced by the two men at the top, Flower and Andrew Strauss. Those two are calming, level-headed guys and are the perfect counter-balance for their more extrovert players.
Reserve players
There is strength in depth in England too. I reckon most, if not all, of their back-up players here would get a place in Australia's team in this series. Monty Panesar would definitely make it and I think they would have Chris Tremlett and Ajmal Shahzad too.
Then add Eoin Morgan and two batsmen who are not here, Ravi Bopara and James Hildreth, and I think England are in a fabulous position. England have outbatted, outbowled and outfielded Australia for seven days now and there is every chance that will continue.
Losing Broad is a blow because, when you are playing so well and with so much confidence, you do not want to change the dynamic of the side. The way Broad bowled in Brisbane, for instance, did much to help Steven Finn take his six wickets.
But I am excited about the prospect of Tremlett coming into the side at Perth and hope he is excited about that prospect now too. England could play safe and go for Tim Bresnan but they are dominating here by being attacking and aggressive in their cricket and that must continue now they are one up.
Go for the jugular now, England. Win at the WACA and you have retained the Ashes. Australia relied so heavily for so long on that great group of legendary cricketers that they did not notice that the cupboard was bare once they had gone.
Australia's era of success is coming to an abrupt end. We are seeing the changing of the guard. This is the start of big things for England.
