Australia v England cricket betting news & odds: Tourists thrashed in Melbourne

Australia are odds-on to complete a 5-0 Ashes whitewash of England after they retained the Ashes thanks to an innings victory in the third Test in Melbourne.

England were bowled out for just 68 on the third morning at the MCG, losing their last five wickets for eight runs as Test debutant Scott Boland claimed second-innings figures of 6-7 from four overs.

Despite posting a modest total of 267 in their first innings, Australia sealed victory by an innings and 14 runs to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.

England's batsmen had struggled in their defeats in Brisbane and Adelaide but they hit a new low in Melbourne where only skipper Joe Root (28) provided any resistance in the second innings.

Their next-highest scorer was Ben Stokes, who was bowled by Mitchell Starc for 11 before Victorian seamer Boland ripped through the lower order.

Bookmakers cannot see England recovering from that chastening defeat and Australia are no bigger than 5-6 to win the series 5-0, which was available to back at 9-1 before the first Test. A 4-0 home victory is 16-5 while the 4-1 correct score is a 4-1 chance.

England are 6-1 to bounce back in the fourth Test, which starts in Sydney on January 4. They won at the SCG on their successful 2010-11 tour but lost by 281 runs in 2014 and by an innings and 123 runs in 2018.

Australia are 4-9 to go 4-0 up in the series next week and it is 9-2 that the Test ends in a draw. Four of the last seven matches in Sydney have been stalemates.

Despite England's defeat, skipper Root is the leading runscorer in the series and Betfair and Paddy Power go 3-1 that he finishes top of the batting charts after the final Test in Hobart.

Australia's Marnus Labuschagne is 9-4 to be the most prolific batsman in the series and home opener David Warner is a 3-1 shot.

Leading series runscorers after three Tests
253 Joe Root England, 248 Travis Head Australia, 240 David Warner Australia, 229 Marnus Labuschagne Australia, 202 Dawid Malan England.

Leading series wicket-takers after three Tests
14 Mitchell Starc Australia, 12 Nathan Lyon Australia, 10 Pat Cummins Australia, 9 Ollie Robinson England, 7 Scott Boland Australia, 7 Cameron Green Australia, 7 James Anderson England.

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