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London - England captain Andrew Strauss said his side should be proud of their one-day series win over world champions Australia despite convincing defeats in the final two matches of the contest.
England were already an unbeatable 3-0 up in the five-match series against the world champions before a 78-run loss at The Oval on Wednesday was followed across London by a 42-run defeat at Lord's on Saturday.
Had Australia's Shaun Tait, the fastest bowler on either side by a distance, played from the start rather than being drafted in as an injury replacement after the first two games, the outcome might well have been different.
The South Australia quick, man of the match at Lord's for his return of four wickets for 48 runs, took eight wickets in three games at just 12.37 apiece.
But Strauss, bowled by Tait on Saturday, insisted England's series win had not been invalidated by their last two performances.
"We are disappointed we lost the last two, because we were in a good position to really assert some supremacy over Australia," said Strauss.
"But we won the series. Beating the number one team in the world in a five-match series is a great achievement, and we shouldn't lose sight of that."
Australia captain Ricky Ponting, whose side made 277 for seven at Lord's on Saturday before dismissing England for 235, was proud of the way a team on tour without a quartet of injured fast bowlers, including Brett Lee and left-armer Mitchell Johnson, had finished with a flourish.
"It was important for us, no doubt about that," Ponting said after what was the old rivals' last meeting in any format before England begin the defence of the Ashes in Brisbane in November.
"I had complete confidence in the guys that we could bounce back. If you look how the series has gone I think we improved with each game.
"I'm a bit disappointed with how it has finished to tell the truth because game three (which saw England win by just one wicket at Old Trafford) could have gone either way and we probably should have won it.
"England probably outplayed us in the first three games so it's a pretty fitting result. But I'm proud of the character we've shown."
And Ponting said cricket lovers would be in for a treat come the Ashes, where England will bid to win a Test series in Australia for the first time since 1986.
"I think the fans can be pretty excited about what they've seen when you look ahead to the Ashes. Every single game has been a great contest."
Australia are remaining in England to play Pakistan in both Twenty20 and Test series.
As for the opening leg of the tour, Ponting said: "This has been a good learning curve regarding the England team after we came here off a break.
"It took us a while to find our stride but our cricket in the last few games has been pretty commanding."
