Sydney, Aug 10 (AFP) Australia captain Michael Clarke angrily today denied claims that the disastrous England tour has been plagued by off-field dramas, saying it was "absolute garbage".

Clarke, 34, announced he was retiring after England completed a crushing innings and 78-run victory in the fourth Test at Trent Bridge on Saturday to take an unbeatable 3-1 lead in the five-match Ashes series.

He will play the final Test at The Oval on August 20 before the curtain comes down on a distinguished career.

But his departure has been met by rumblings of off-field unrest in the Australian media, with the Sydney Daily Telegraph claiming there was a long-running feud between the wives of two senior players which caused distractions.

It also claimed Clarke refused to travel on the team bus or socialise with teammates, while the sacking of popular vice-captain Brad Haddin after time off for family reasons did not go down well.

"There is no disharmony is this group whatsoever. The players are as tight as any team I've been a part of," Clarke told Sydney radio station Triple M.

"Travelling in different cars...Wives and girlfriends being on tour is a distraction?... That's absolute garbage," he added.

"I'll give back 10 of my Test 100s if it wasn't for my beautiful wife."

The newspaper had claimed it was "the year-long disintegration in the off-field relationship between Clarke and the rest of the team" that hindered any chance of Ashes success.

"He often chooses to travel by private car instead of the team bus and rarely attends team get-togethers," it said.

"On the night that he made his decision to step down, team members were stunned when he joined them for a rare drink in the hotel bar, although he ended the night drowning his sorrows with former teammate Shane Warne rather than any of the current side."

Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland has vowed a full review of the tour, and Clarke said the players had to accept blame.

"At the end of the day the players are the ones who walk onto the field, we have to perform and we haven't performed well enough," he said.