Australia needed a victory to tie the series 2-2 and retain the Ashes. England needed just a draw to take the series. In the end, England survived the tense final hours and the match ended in end-of-summer dusk. England's star was a South Africa-born batsman, Kevin Pietersen, who scored 158 runs.
"It's an amazing feeling," England captain Michael Vaughan said.
"It's been a rollercoaster of a summer. At the beginning of the tournament, it was a real distant dream. It's now become reality because the lads have put a hell of a lot of hard work in, they believed in their own ability and they've known how to express themselves," Vaughan said.
Kevin Johnson, a 45-year-old civil servant watching the final day's play in a London pub, said England was hungry for cricket success after the recent poor performances by the national soccer team, including a 1-0 World Cup qualifying loss to Northern Ireland.
"I think with the football team doing particularly badly it's nice to feel some success. It's a feel good factor. We've got a good young team. If they keep playing the way they've been playing, hopefully we'll be good for the long term," Johnson said.
Emma Wright, 28, agreed.
"I've been sitting in the office with the headphones on and listening on the Internet," she said.
"Every time a wicket has been taken or we've hit a six I've been roaring, and so has the rest of the office," she said.
"It's huge for the cricketers. A lot of the players were playing two to three years ago and they were being slated by the English press and people. They've held it together, pulled through and they've had a fantastic series," Wright said.
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