Skipper Ben Stokes said it "hurts and it sucks" to lose the Ashes inside 11 days but vowed England would bounce back as a more consistent side in the final two Tests in Melbourne and Sydney.
Their capitulation over three Tests is a far cry from the pre-Ashes hype that promised a close series, with Australia proving superior in all departments. Stokes admitted as much, but said defeat hurt nevertheless.
"We came here with a goal in mind and we've not being able to achieve that. It hurts and it sucks but we ain't going to stop," he said.
At least England finally showed some of the fight Stokes had been demanding in the third Test, coming within 82 runs of a major upset in Adelaide as they chased a world record 435 to win.
"I think the boys were excellent today. They showed some great application," said coach Brendon McCullum.
"They bounced off each other and tried to take the game as deep as they could. We didn't get there, but I thought it was a fine achievement."
While they showed more grit in Adelaide after eight-wicket losses in Perth in two days and Brisbane in four, England have failed to meet the big moments throughout the series.
Stokes said the key difference between the sides was "constant execution" with England lacking Australia's relentless quality.
"Australia have just been able to execute things on a way more consistent basis than us," he said. "Both with the ball and the bat, and in the field. They've been able to outdo us on a much higher level."
McCullum put it down to Australia making better decisions in pressure moments. "For us, from the get-go, it has never been about scoring rates," he said, alluding to the ultra-aggressive "Bazball" style of play he and Stokes pioneered.
"It is about respecting what is coming at you, being present in the moment. You identify what the levels of risk are, but what the opportunities are and make sure how to counter that. Be able to apply pressure when you need to and absorb pressure when you need to.
"I don't think we have got that balance right in the previous encounters in the series. If we had cottoned onto that earlier then we would have been more competitive."
Australia captain Pat Cummins said: "They made us work for it. A bit of a flat wicket and they played pretty well but another Ashes win and it's been a great atmosphere all week, all series."
His fellow fast-bowler Mitchell Starc admitted things had gotten a bit edgy, saying: "A little bit of nerves there with some really good batting by Jamie Smith and Will Jacks. We held firm as we have been all series."
England show fight after Lyon's injury
England’s Ashes dreams were snuffed out despite an injury to Nathan Lyon giving them brief hope of pulling off a miracle.
But a spirited attempt to chase down a gargantuan target of 435 – 17 higher than the world record and 57 more than any England side have managed – was too little, too late to salvage a torrid tour. They eventually folded for 352 all out and face two dead rubbers in Melbourne and Sydney.
Incredibly, they had a chance to pull of a truly great escape. Lyon, whose triple dismissal of Harry Brook, Ben Stokes and Zak Crawley looked to have settled things on the fourth evening, pulled his hamstring in the field during the morning session, robbing the hosts of their biggest threat on a wearing pitch.
Jamie Smith and Will Jacks set about taking advantage, with a stand of 91 suddenly making the huge target seem achievable. But, after hitting four successive boundaries off the new ball, Smith suffered a rush of blood to the head as he chased a fifth, skying Pat Cummins into the leg-side to let an increasingly edgy Australia off the hook.
His departure for 60 could easily have ended the fightback, with England now seven down and still 150 short, but Jacks dug in again alongside Brydon Carse to keep the show on the road.
The pair clubbed together for another half-century stand as Lyon’s absence began to bite but the English habit for blinking under pressure reared its head, Jacks (47) giving away his 137-ball rearguard with a loose waft at Starc.
Another brilliant slip catch followed from Marnus Labuschagne, another area Australia have proved themselves vastly superior, and their fate was sealed.
Jofra Archer picked out deep point and last man Josh Tongue nicked off, securing a hat-trick of painful defeats for a side who arrived Down Under with real ambition.
Instead they have levelled the unwanted record of Nasser Hussain’s class of 2002-03 by surrendering the urn in the shortest number of days for a five-day, five-match series.
England had begun with almost no hope, sitting 207 for six and needing 228 runs to do the unthinkable and it was a surprise that they even entertained the idea.
