How did you lose the series?

Like Andrew Strauss said, both teams when they played well were very good, but when they played badly they were very, very bad. When we’ve lost a session, it was like the one the other day, we lose eight wickets and blow ourselves out of the water and all the pressure is back on us. That happened on a couple of occasions, not being able to get the final wickets in Cardiff, at Lord’s and our first innings at The Oval. We need to become more consistent in our performances across the board.

Is there a comparision the series loss in 2005?

I don’t think you can get any more disappointed than I am right now. Looking back at 2005, I was feeling exactly the same. We all spoke about it and built the series up so much, to be a part of it and play well and hopefully to be good enough to win the series, but we’ve come up short. I’m obviously hurting, the rest of the guys are hurting as well.

Were you disappointed to be run out for 66 when you looked set for a century on the final day?

I felt in control today, as much as you can on that surface. I got balls that surprised you. I was pretty determined to play well. With me being the leader, the captain wanting to stand up and perform when we were under the most pressure, I wanted to make a big score. To get 60-odd again was disappointing. I had some opportunities through the series which I haven’t grabbed, two 30-odds, a 60-odd and a 70-odd. For me that’s not good enough. You need top order players to go on to make big scores.

How do you explain the run-outs, of you and Michael Clarke?

That was the turning point in the way the game finished up. We had started to wrestle some momentum back in our favour, 2 for 220 when I got out. We were going along really nicely at that stage. I wasn’t looking at the scoreboard, but Huss (Mike Hussey) and I were going along nicely. Then two run-outs in two overs and then a stumping soon after and all the momentum had turned back against us. England had their tails up. New ball was taken and it was always going to be hard work from there on. I’m very proud of whole group, the way they’ve stuck with things through the tour, we’ve given it our best shot. We just haven’t quite been good enough.

Would you now be keen to return to England in 2013?

Yes, we’ll see how I'm going in four years. Hopefully I will have another chance to play another Ashes series back in Australia, but it would be nice, with everything I’ve done in my career and the games I’ve played, to have some good memories from this ground (The Oval). I might have to come back next time and find some.

Was it a mistake to omit Nathan Hauritz for the final Test?

We probably got that wrong. Not before the game, we thought we were picking the right attack for the conditions that we saw. I don’t think anyone in their wildest dreams thought the wicket would play the way it did. England would have played their two spinners. In hindsight, a specialist spinner would have been pretty handy out there.

Was it worse in 2005 because you had the big guns then?

I'm equally disappointed. It’s a long time ago. I don’t remember exactly how I felt that night. I know now, it’s hard to swallow. For me, the leader, the captain, the most experienced player, it’s difficult for me to accept. Just as difficult for the rest of the guys. We couldn’t have done anything else, we gave ourselves the best opportunity. Just a couple of really bad sessions during the course of five Tests cost us the series.

Do you agree you were outplayed at The Oval?

That’s a pretty sizeable defeat in a Test, 200 runs (197). It would have been a nice toss to win. The wicket playing as it did, looking back, whoever won the toss was going to win the game. We had our opportunity on day two and needed to score more runs. We knew come day four the wicket was going to be like it is. We made 350 in the second innings, a really good chase on that wicket in the fourth innings. I'm proud of the way we stuck it out.

Was there any complacency after winning easy at Headingley?

We’ve done everything really well. A few free days up in leeds to get away and not think about the game. Started training on Monday. Don’t think you can say there was any complacency whatsoever. We really feel we gave ourselves the best chance.

What reaction do you expect back home?

I’ll soon find out. I’ll be answering some questions. You always do when you lose a game or a series like this, it’s part of the job, what leaders are expected to do. I’ve never doubted myself on anything I've ever done when I've had the baggy green cap on. I always get out there and accept challenges the best that I can. I wanted to make 100 (at The Oval) today, to be the last man out. I couldn’t do that. As a leader and a captain I wanted to do as well as I possibly could,  hopefully be the captain that won here, but I haven’t been able to do that either. I’m disappointed with my own performances and other guys are as well.

Looking at the big picture, where is this side at?

I’m comfortable with where we're at, we’ve been rebuilding for 12 to 18 months, guys who have a few Tests under their belts who are still learning about the game. There couldn’t be a better example for the young guys than the last couple of months. They all should be a lot better off for being part of this series. They all should have learned about the conditions, a lot about how one ball, one over, one hour can turn a series. That’s what they’ve learned the most. We have to make sure we don’t let it slip. We’re definitely heading in the right direction and I’m really proud of the guys.

You got a nice reception at The Oval after being booed before?

It was nice. When I’m going out to bat I tend not to hear all that much. There’s been a lot made of booing, but I haven’t made anything of it over the last couple of months. Freddie said when I went out, he thought I’d hired a PR company for this week to get a few supporters on my side. It was nice to get an ovation and I might have won a few over in the post-match presentation. I’ve enjoyed every match. I’m going home for 10 or 12 days and will come back for the last half of the one-day series.

Was The Oval pitch prepared that way on purpose?

I don’t know if it was a deliberate ploy, to prepare the wicket that way. The wicket didn’t have a huge effect at the end of the day, both teams batted and bowled on it. The difficult thing for me, we batted better when it was really bad than we did when it was ok. We had our chance in the first innings.

Were you impressed by how England rebounded after Headingley?

They’ve done it through the series, they did it after Cardiff as well. We half expected them to come out fighting like they did, that’s a really good sign for the English team. Strauss led from the front with his batting to get them off to good starts. Am I surprised? You expect that from international teams. It wasn’t so much batting day one, it was their bowling day two (that impressed).

How do you explain your run-out?

I wasn’t expecting too many ultra-quick singles to be taken at that stage of the game. I saw the angle of the ball coming off the bat and thought it was going straight to mid-on. I had a look at where it was going, thought it was going straight to a fielder, so then I got on my bike and came up a bit short. That’s how it was.

How do you view your captaincy?

With a loss, I’m more determined than ever to be a better player and leader than I am at the moment. I don’t really know what to expect, hopefully most of the questions will be from journalists and not from people above. But we’ll see. I’ve felt I’ve given myself the best opportunity and done a good job as a captain and leader in this series. Leaders are always looked upon on their results on their team. Unfortunately for me and the rest of the guys we haven’t got the results we would have liked. Ultimately my responsibility is to get the best out of the guys and to win series. I felt I ticked most of those boxes, other than making a few more runs myself.

How has the Australian batting failed so badly at times?

I wish I knew. We go to training every day and practice things. As a player, you can still make mistakes. That’s what has been highlighted here. We got hit with a very good spell of bowling here. Broad was exceptional. The ball swung a bit after the rain and seamed a bit more off the track. You’ve got to give them credit. We’re all experienced guys in the middle order of our batting and it’s been the collapses that let us down, all to good bowling.

Has Mike Hussey saved his Test career with that 121?

He played beautifully, exceptionally. It was good fun to be out there and share that partnership. You could see in his eyes this morning that he was really up for the challenge. It's been a while since he made the hundred and he’s probably felt that more than anyone else. To see him stand up and make that hundred in difficult conditions when the team needed him most and when he needed it most. It would have been a really satisfying innings, was great for us. He showed today just how much of a class player he is.

Does there need to be a few changes?

This squad, we’ve had 16 players for the majority of the trip, have a lot of Test wins in them. In a couple of years there are going to be guys coming in and going out with a couple of us getting a bit long in the tooth. Otherwise you look at (Shane) Watson who has been terrific opening the batting, (Simon) Katich has been pretty consistent again, Michael Clarke has been outstanding right through, I could have scored more runs, (Marcus) North has been terrific, Huss made a great hundred. (Brad) Haddin, (Ben) Hilfenhaus, (Peter) Siddle, (Mitchell) Johnson, a lot of quality cricketers in that group. They will win a lot of Tests for Australia in the future.

Given the umpiring mistakes in the series will you be pleased to see the introduction of referrals?

We knew there weren’t going to be referrals in this series. I think it will be definitely a good for the game. I've said that before. Any time you can get more correct decisions in the game then that’s what you’re after. When you have Test series as close and as evenly-matched as they appear to be, you don’t want a decision here and there being the difference in a series – not saying that was the case here. But I think it will be good for the game, if it's done in the right way, with the right amount of money spent to get the cameras in the right places.