Ben Stokes suggested an Ashes series draw was a fair result and was not interested in entertaining "what ifs" for England after it beat Australia in the fifth Test.
England ran out 135-run winner at the Oval on Sunday to earn a stalemate, yet its hopes of claiming the urn had been ended a week earlier in defeat at Old Trafford.
The triumph in the last Test was the first time England had got the better of a full-strength Australia, with the outstanding Steve Smith limited to just 23 in his second innings.
But Stokes did not want to reflect on how the series might have panned out had it produced the same level of performance earlier in the series.
"I don't think you can ever look back and say, 'What if this happened', 'What if we'd done this differently'," he said, having been named England's player of the series by Australia coach Justin Langer.
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"I think it's just been a great series of cricket, to be honest. It's ebbed and flowed in certain areas throughout every game. I think that's shown in the end result with it being 2-2.
"There's been two very evenly matched teams and two very competitive teams, as Ashes cricket always is. I think everyone's been treated to another great Ashes series."
Stokes handed England a historic one-wicket win in the third Test at Headingley with a remarkable unbeaten knock of 135.
But having earlier suggested it would mean little if England did not regain the Ashes, the all-rounder indicated he still felt that way.
"It'll probably be something to look back on in a few years' time," he said.
"You know the saying that you'd probably give it all back if it meant we ended up lifting the urn at the end. But I'll come to that innings in a few years' time."
Stokes said he and the team are "100 per cent" behind captain Joe Root, while he picked out Rory Burns and Joe Denly for praise at the top of the order.
"Everyone who has come into the Test team has put their hand up and shown they can compete at the highest level," he said.
- Drawn series a fair result – Bayliss -
Trevor Bayliss praised England's character and felt a drawn Ashes series against Australia was a "fair" result.
Bayliss, the outgoing England head coach, accepted his side was below its best during the series, but he lauded its response.
"It was a fantastic effort to draw the series, not being able to win the Ashes, but there was still pride on the line for the boys and Test Championship points," he told Sky Sports.
"To finish off well and level up the series I think we showed a lot of character.
"Two-two was a fair score. Both teams had their chances to win the series. We certainly did not play as well as we would have liked to."
It wrapped up a busy year at home for England, who went into the Ashes on the back of a remarkable success as Cricket World Cup host.
While prepared, Bayliss said hosting both the World Cup and Ashes was even harder than expected.
"For all the coaching staff it has been a long summer," he said.
"We knew it was going to be challenging but having now been through it I'm not sure we realised how hard it would be.
"It was tough and we were so close to both trophies but we will take one."
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