1. Seven Days
Since ending the 307-run partnership between Mike Hussey and Brad Haddin on day three in Brisbane, England have produced over seven days of almost perfect cricket. They demolished the Australian tail and scored 517/1 in their second innings before absolutely destroying their hosts in Adelaide. It's been a spell of consistent dominance - not just of the matches but of almost every session - unmatched in England's recent history. And Australia's for that matter.

2. Seam Up
All the focus will undoubtedly be on Graeme Swann's latest five-wicket haul and he bowled beautifully on a pitch that might have been custom-built for his skills. But the two wickets apiece picked up James Anderson and Steven Finn in an England bowling attack reduced to three frontline members by Stuart Broad's injury woe were crucial. Even the best spinners need back-up from the other end and Finn in particular was hugely impressive in this final innings in particular. After he removed Mike Hussey, rushed into an ill-judged pull shot, the result was all but inevitable.

3. Pitch Perfect
After the appalling ever-flattening road at the Gabba, here was a perfect Test-match pitch: little bit of something for the new ball but generally flat for batting on the first three days before deteriorating to bring the spinner into play late in the piece. Test pitches should get harder to bat on. It should be easier for the bowlers and harder for the batsmen in the second half of the match.

4. Bowl Off
As was feared, Stuart Broad's stomach muscle injury has brought an early end to his first Ashes tour of Australia. He's faced one ball and taken only two wickets. You have to feel for him, especially with Australia seemingly there for the taking. But it means England have a decision to make. The 'second string' of Ajmal Shahzad, Tim Bresnan and Chris Tremlett will now bowl-off for the available spot in the Test team during the tour match against Victoria at the MCG. The final selection will be another test of England's confidence. At the WACA, surely the choice has to be Tremlett. A tall man for a tall man. But England - 1-0 up in the series now - will undoubtedly give serious consideration to Tim Bresnan's excellent batting. But I'd suggest stiffening the batting need not be too high on England's priority list right now.

5. Warning From History
With the sensational cricket we've seen in recent Ashes series, you need never go back too far to find something to warn against getting carried away. The last time an Ashes Test was this one-sided was all the way back in 2009, when Australia annihilated England by an innings inside three days. A week later, England stuffed Australia by 197 runs at The Oval to regain the Ashes. Despite what we've seen here, England are not yet that good nor Australia that bad that the outcome of this series can be declared a formality.

Dave Tickner