England's victorious Ashes team may have drawn congratulations from the Queen and the prime minister; but the players are already focusing on the next challenge.
In a memorable series England regained the Ashes they lost in 2006/07 with a 197-run win over the Australia at the Oval last night, sealing a 2-1 series victory.
Last time England won the Ashes in 2005 it sparked nationwide celebrations as an 18-year wait to win the famous urn was ended.
This time round there will be no repeat of the open-top bus parade or the extravagant drinking sessions that saw Andrew Flintoff – who has now retired from Test cricket - turn up to a Downing St reception clearly half-cut.
Last night the England team celebrated for several hours at the Oval before continuing the party at their central London hotel, while 10,000 people kept up the jubilant scenes in front of big screens erected in Regent's Park.
But the performances of captain Andrew Strauss, stand-in batsman Jonathan Trott, outgoing 2005 hero Flintoff and his heir apparent Stuart Broad has seen the team congratulated from all quarters.
'The Queen congratulates the England team on their victory in the Ashes, and extends her good wishes to both teams on their excellent performances over the course of the series,' a Buckingham Palace statement said.
A Downing St spokesperson said Gordon Brown would be writing to the team to express his congratulations, while the prime minister's wife Sarah wrote on Twitter that she 'wishes Freddie Flintoff a successful knee op - one of the heroes of England's conquest to regain the Ashes today'.
And Conservative party leader David Cameron added: 'Congratulations to Andrew Strauss and all the England team on their Ashes triumph,' Mr Cameron said.
'It has been an incredible series and a fitting end to Andrew Flintoff's test career. The team and backroom staff should know just how proud the entire country is of their inspirational performance.'
Strauss himself, however, is already looking at the next challenge, in the short-term playing commitments in Belfast and in the long-term becoming the best Test team in the world.
England's next opponents in the Test arena are South Africa, who replaced Australia as the best team in the world after the latter's series loss last night.
'We are not the number one side in the world, and we are far from it at the moment - we are honest enough to know that,' Strauss, who was part of Michael Vaughan's team that won the Ashes in 2005, said.
'To become the number one side in the world you have to be winning consistently home and away. Our next challenge is a massive one, away in South Africa, probably as hard a tour as you can go on.
'But we can take confidence from this and the long-term goal is to be the number one side in the world. It is going to take a lot of graft to get there.'
In a memorable series England regained the Ashes they lost in 2006/07 with a 197-run win over the Australia at the Oval last night, sealing a 2-1 series victory.
Last time England won the Ashes in 2005 it sparked nationwide celebrations as an 18-year wait to win the famous urn was ended.
This time round there will be no repeat of the open-top bus parade or the extravagant drinking sessions that saw Andrew Flintoff – who has now retired from Test cricket - turn up to a Downing St reception clearly half-cut.
Last night the England team celebrated for several hours at the Oval before continuing the party at their central London hotel, while 10,000 people kept up the jubilant scenes in front of big screens erected in Regent's Park.
But the performances of captain Andrew Strauss, stand-in batsman Jonathan Trott, outgoing 2005 hero Flintoff and his heir apparent Stuart Broad has seen the team congratulated from all quarters.
'The Queen congratulates the England team on their victory in the Ashes, and extends her good wishes to both teams on their excellent performances over the course of the series,' a Buckingham Palace statement said.
A Downing St spokesperson said Gordon Brown would be writing to the team to express his congratulations, while the prime minister's wife Sarah wrote on Twitter that she 'wishes Freddie Flintoff a successful knee op - one of the heroes of England's conquest to regain the Ashes today'.
And Conservative party leader David Cameron added: 'Congratulations to Andrew Strauss and all the England team on their Ashes triumph,' Mr Cameron said.
'It has been an incredible series and a fitting end to Andrew Flintoff's test career. The team and backroom staff should know just how proud the entire country is of their inspirational performance.'
Strauss himself, however, is already looking at the next challenge, in the short-term playing commitments in Belfast and in the long-term becoming the best Test team in the world.
England's next opponents in the Test arena are South Africa, who replaced Australia as the best team in the world after the latter's series loss last night.
'We are not the number one side in the world, and we are far from it at the moment - we are honest enough to know that,' Strauss, who was part of Michael Vaughan's team that won the Ashes in 2005, said.
'To become the number one side in the world you have to be winning consistently home and away. Our next challenge is a massive one, away in South Africa, probably as hard a tour as you can go on.
'But we can take confidence from this and the long-term goal is to be the number one side in the world. It is going to take a lot of graft to get there.'
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