Winning Poms

The series against Australia has been characterised by frayed nerves and countless twists and turns, and fingernails were chewed right down to the cuticles yesterday as England started brightly, only to collapse agonisingly before a brave and belligerent innings of 158 by Kevin Pietersen led them to safety.

This summer's drama has won many converts to cricket, and last night there were scenes of unbridled joy as England secured a draw in the Fifth and final Test, which enabled them to win the series 2-1.

The grandmother of Durham fast bowler Steve Harmison even revealed she had done a celebratory conga around her North-East home, such was her delight.

Brenda Harmison, of Ashington, Northumberland, watched the action with his brother, Ben, an England under-19 player, who is also with Durham.

She said: "I have done the conga right the way around the house and I am very pleased for them all."

The Queen described the success of captain Michael Vaughan and his team as a "magnificent achievement", and Prime Minister Tony Blair hailed the "fantastic series win".

The series, which concluded at The Oval, in London, has been called the most gripping series in living memory, with each of the five-day games being closely fought.

Last night, the champagne flowed as Vaughan lifted a replica Ashes urn aloft. Crowd favourite Andrew Flintoff, who was named as the Man of the Series, said: "I have got to pinch myself and make sure we are not dreaming."

Yet, in typical cricket fashion, the seven weeks of drama ended in confusion and anti-climax. After struggling in the morning, England had effectively secured the required draw by about 4pm and were not bowled out until about 6pm.

This left the Australians with an hour in which to score 341 runs - an impossible task, even for the world champions.

The Aussies came to the wicket, faced four balls and then - even though the sun was shining - the umpires decided the light was not good enough to allow the pointless play to continue.

As the Australian batsmen walked off, the England players were unsure of what was happening.

This, though, has been such a bewildering match that on Sunday the 23,000 crowd enthusiastically applauded the grey cloud cover that was stopping play and so enhancing England's prospects.

It was not until 6.15pm yesterday that the umpires re-emerged from the pavilion to remove the bails and pull the stumps from the ground to signify the game had been drawn.

Vaughan, who plays for Yorkshire, described the series victory as "incredible".

"It is an amazing feeling," he said. "It has been a rollercoaster."

One of the stars of the series was the Durham bowler Harmison.

Business leaders were last night predicting an economic boost for the North-East because of the feelgood factor created by England's win.

Many big employers were content yesterday to let staff keep an eye on play where possible, and most reported no rise in absenteeism.

George Cowcher, chief executive of the North-East Chamber of Commerce, said: "The Ashes series has captured everyone's imagination - be they cricket lovers or new to the game.

"I have no doubt that, in workplaces across the North-East, staff were keeping up with play via the Internet, TV or radio.

"While this will have caused some distraction, the feelgood factor of this momentous win will more than compensate."

Liz Smith, assistant regional director of the CBI in the North-East, said: "A win is good for the country's and people's morale.

"And our members will only be too pleased if it has a knock-on effect."

At Durham County Council's County Hall headquarters, workers were able to watch big-screen coverage at lunchtime and from 3pm onwards.

David Spackman, personnel manager at engine maker Cummins, in Darlington, said: "We've not found any connection between big sporting events and absenteeism.

"People are interested in the cricket and they are talking about it and we just tend to roll with these things."