Ashes 2013: England third in two-horse race,

England have not played well in this series and Australia deserve to win the Ashes, but we must stick together and come out fighting.

There are no excuses from us. We have not been good enough and finished third in a two-horse race.

As a team, this is the lowest point and it is tough at the moment to stomach. We will be criticised of course and rightly so.

I remain convinced that, as a team, we will go on to achieve a lot more success; but we have not performed well in Australia and have taken a hammering.

We will fight back in this series and that will start in Melbourne. We cannot even look at Sydney yet. We go into the Boxing Day Test looking to win it and prepare for it as if it as any other match, forgetting the series has gone.

The players are obviously low. It is still very raw and a fresh wound. The guys are not in a great place right now and nor should they be. Losing hurts. We are not used to this feeling but we have lost three on the bounce, and more importantly The Ashes.

We will have to stay together and keep on fighting in this Ashes series.

It will be hard for people to take any positives from this game but Ben Stokes's hundred and I believe Ian Bell played a brilliant knock. We know if we can put runs on the board we can put pressure on the Aussies. We have not done it for a long period and changing that situation is our main goal. If we can make runs we can absolutely win two Test matches.

I have to congratulate Australia. They have played really well, they have bowled brilliantly and squeezed us. Sometimes you have to doff your cap and say well played.

Their big players have stepped up and other guys, for example Steve Smith in this match, have followed their lead. They deserve to win this Ashes series.

You are never surprised by opponents because you try to prepare yourself for every eventuality. You look in their dressing room and you know the quality they have, but the blend of players has to click and it has clicked as much for them as it has not for us. They have played well and been more skilful than us. It is as simple as that.

I said before this Test match we had to front up. It was not about hunger or desire, that is there. I can only talk about myself and I know the preparation I have put in, the work and training has been as good, if not better, than at any point in my career.

But sometimes it is just not your time. You have to accept that. But you can't just throw in the towel. You have to keep pushing and coming out fighting. I tried to do that this morning. But one mistake, I nicked it, and it was all over.

Quite honestly I thought we could perform a miracle, simply because we have been in a similar situation before and come out of it well.

All Monday night I was thinking about Auckland and the tempo we used there to get through that day. All through my innings I felt comfortable and in control. With Stokes going brilliantly at the other we knew we were not dead. OK, there was only a sliver of hope, but we thought we could do something special.

The first job for us was to get to the new ball, which we did, then get through the new ball and reach lunch. You break the challenge down like that and see how far you can get.

We will all, including myself, be criticised, but even the result cannot take anything away from Stokes's innings.

That was right up there as one of the best hundreds I have seen on an international stage for any team. Bearing in mind the conditions, the way the series has gone so far, the cracks on the pitch, which were something he had never seen before, meant the odds were stacked against him. But the shots he played and the confidence he showed was outstanding. A lot of us can take something from his performance.

Before his innings I could tell he had the potential to have a massive career for England.

Everyone at this level has the ability and the talent but he has got something about him that means he does not get fazed. You have to have the mental side to your game. You can tell he is always up for the fight and will not take a backward step. He is a very natural cricketer in the way he bats and bowls, and that is something he must hold on to.

As for my Test performance, I can only admit it is just not going for me personally. What disappointed me the most about my performance was missing the stumping of David Warner when he was on 13 because it was costly. I am a big enough person to admit that