Steve Smith: "I wanted to tick this off my bucket list"

For Smith, however, who has endured a tough year after serving a ban for his part in the ball-tampering scandal that rocked Australian cricket, ensuring that the urn returns to Australia meant a huge amount

Steve Smith admitted that retaining the Ashes in England represented a feat he could “tick off the bucket list” after Australia secured the win they needed at Old Trafford in the fourth Test match of the series.

Faced with taking eight England wickets in the day after dismissing Rory Burns and Joe Root in successive balls on Saturday evening, Australia finally saw the end of Craig Overton as time began to tick away.

At one stage, it had seemed a foregone conclusion, but Overton alongside his Somerset teammate Jack Leach gave England fans hope of a recovery akin to that of Headingley only a fortnight ago.

For Smith, however, who has endured a tough year after serving a ban for his part in the ball-tampering scandal that rocked Australian cricket, ensuring that the urn returns to Australia meant a huge amount.

“To know the urn is coming home now is incredibly special,” he told Sky Sports in the immediate aftermath to the win. “I’ve been here a few times where things haven’t quite gone our way and we haven’t performed to the best of our ability in 2013 and 2015.

“To come back here, it was always one I wanted to tick off my bucket list – to get the urn over here. Obviously there’s another game where we’d love to win it, but to know that it’s coming home is extremely satisfying.

“The boys were getting a little bit tired out there. With the new ball, we thought we’d get enough chances. It proved to be the way.

“They fought incredibly hard; I thought Overton was exceptionally good at the end and showed great courage. Fortunately, the boys got the job done. There we are.

“I have been here a few times and I wanted to tick this off my bucket list, so I’m incredibly proud of the way I’ve been able to perform throughout this series and help the team.”