England - not too shabby

"Are England always this good, Daddy?"

And so we face the final curtain – at least as far as my blog is concerned. Like the England and Australia cricket teams, I now plan to move on and focus on the shorter forms of the game – not in my case one day and Twenty20 internationals, but opening a Twitter account. But not before giving a final run-down of my views on the overall experience and the performances of the respective teams – starting with England.

I had the enormous good fortune that my trip coincided with an Ashes series when England fielded one of its strongest of modern sides and Australia one of its weakest. A 3-1 Ashes series win really was the icing on my Australian holiday cake.

Without a doubt, this was the best England fielding team I have ever witnessed – the catching, the chasing, the run-outs, the diving stops were simply outstanding. With the exception of Perth, the batting was superb too – two scores of 600 and a further two of 500 do not come along too frequently against any side – especially away from home and even more especially against the "old enemy". To complete a very rounded team performance, the bowling unit was surprisingly good too, demonstrating a consistency of line and length often lacking from England teams of the past and a strength in depth I for one did not anticipate.  If they could somehow eliminate the one match in every series when the batting collapses not once but twice, then this England side could yet fulfil its ambition of being rated the best in the world.

Andrew Strauss:  Generally excellent captaincy, with the exception of an apparent blind spot against free-hitting tail-enders (mainly named Johnson and Siddle).  Made some important contributions with the bat (once he stopped leaving straight balls) and always scored his runs very quickly. Well on his way to becoming one of England's most successful captains of all time.

Alastair Cook: Began the tour as the supposed weak link after a wretched summer, ended it being compared to Don Bradman and Wally Hammond....has there ever been a more complete reversal of fortunes? Handed out a master class in concentration and stamina, deservedly awarded Man of the Series for a colossal contribution to the series win.

Jonathan Trott: Enhanced his already considerable reputation with two mammoth innings at Brisbane and Melbourne. His brilliant run-out of Katich also set the tone for the first victory at Adelaide. Should be England's number 3 for years to come.

Kevin Pietersen: While I admit my drunken Adelaide eulogy was a bit over the top, his double century there was the stand out innings among the many highs for England batsmen. Made important contributions at critical stages in Melbourne and Sydney without progressing to bigger scores.

Paul Collingwood:  Possessed the self knowledge to quit while it was still his decision to do so. His most telling contributions this series were in the field – his flying catch to dismiss Ponting at Perth will live long in the memory. A long standing Barmy Army favourite, Colly will not be easy to replace.

Ian Bell: Finally added big match temperament to undeniable talent and produced arguably the best batting of all. Should get even better now the psychological hurdle of a first ton against Australia is behind him. Expect big runs from Bell in the next few years.

Matt Prior:  Brilliant attacking batting in Melbourne and Sydney combined with agile, reliable keeping to the quick bowlers. A couple of missed chances standing up to Swann did not prove crucial. Prior has cemented his place as an essential part of the England line-up.

Chris Broad / Tim Bresnan: Desperately unlucky to be injured in the 2nd Test, Broad was sorely missed at Perth where the balance of the side was disrupted. Bresnan's selection for the last two Tests proved to be inspired, as he proved to his doubters (myself included) that he could take top order wickets regularly as well as adding batting strength down the order.

Graeme Swann:  Produced a match winning performance at Adelaide, but was otherwise restricted to a modest haul of wickets by his own high standards. Nonetheless, his nagging spells were often instrumental to the success of the seamers operating at the other end.

Chris Tremlett / Steven Finn:  Tremlett's consistent performances in the final three Tests provided an unexpected plus – even his staunchest supporters cannot realistically have expected him to do quite so well. Finn continued to show enormous potential for the future (he is only 21) by picking up wickets regularly but it was right to rest him after a jaded showing in Perth.

James Anderson:  Now rightly acclaimed as one of the world's leading seam bowlers, his wicket haul was the highest in an Ashes series since the legendary Frank "Typhoon" Tyson. Rather oddly he never seems to bowl quite as well in his opening spell of a second innings but, in contrast to his earlier England career, he invariably came back strongly later on to take wickets with reverse swing.

Coaching and backroom staff:  Outstanding. The team led by the understated but ruthless Andy Flower out-prepared and out-coached the hosts by some distance. A complete turnaround from the Peter Moores era of chaos.

An assessment of the Australian team and its loyal - and not-so-loyal - supporters will follow shortly.