Our goal is to be number one in the world: Strauss

The Ashes urn regained from Australia, England captain Andrew Strauss now wants his teammates to become more consistent and use the triumph as a "stepping stone" to become the world's number one Test side.

England on Sunday demolished Australia by 197 runs in the decisive fifth Test to bring back the Ashes Trophy after four years.

The 2005 triumph under Michael Vaughan was greeted with similar optimism but England could not continue with the winning momentum and Strauss does not want a repeat of that.

"We are not the number one side the world, we are far from it at the moment. I think we are honest enough to know that. To become the number one side in the world you have to win consistently home and away," Strauss told reporters after the 2-1 series triumph at The Oval.

"Last time we were stepping into the unknown, nobody in the team had ever won an Ashes series. I think also we have got to be conscious that this is a stepping stone," he added.

Strauss, however, admitted that the road ahead is not smooth and the English will have to prove themselves against strong sides like South Africa.

"Our next challenge is a massive one, away in South Africa. South Africa is probably as hard a tour as you can go on but we can take confidence from this. "(But) Our goal is obviously to be number one in the world," he said.

Chosen Man-of-the-Series, along with Australian Michael Clarke, Strauss hailed the youngsters of the team for making stellar contributions in the memorable win. 

He singled out young pacer Stuart Broad and debutant Jonathan Trott for excelling in England's fifth Test win. 

Broad built the platform for the win with a devastating five-for in the first Australian innings, which folded for 160 and Trott hit an unbeaten century on debut.

"It's an amazing day and it's one that seemed a long way off after Headingley. We've got a young side, we can get a lot better than we are at the moment. We are pretty inconsistent as we've ably demonstrated this series. But we've shown some guts and determination and some character.

"Stuart Broad has come back after a tough first Two test matches and bowled as well as he has done. That says a lot for his character. 

"And the way Jonathan Trott came into this game, you look at it and it stuns you really. But everyone has turned up , in an Ashes series there is nowhere to hide," Strauss said.