Emotional Paine revels in memorable Ashes win

Australia beat England by 185 runs, with Paine becoming the country's first captain to bring the urn home from England, since Steve Waugh in 2001.

"I didn't think it would be this emotional," Paine said after the win. "The amount of work that's tried to go on in to retain the Ashes has been enormous. I’m really proud of this group."

Paine had special praise for Australia star batsman Steve Smith, who in his comeback series, has disintegrated England with a deluge of runs. In five innings this series, Smith has racked up 671 runs, averaging 134.20, with a lowest score of 82.

"I don't know what to say [about Smith]," Paine said. "He is clearly the best player we've seen, there's no doubt about that. His ability to go anywhere in the world and score runs against all types of attacks is just phenomenal.

"Anyone who’s watched him bat knows the talent, hunger and skill that he has got. People don't see how driven he is and how he trains, eats and sleeps batting.

"He is just a genius, and I never had any doubt he would come back and be the player he was. The scary thing is he's getting better. I don't know where it is going to stop, but we are enjoying being on the ride, that is for sure."

Paine said that though it had always been a dream to win the Ashes on English soil, he never expected to get the job done as a leader – a job that past greats, such as Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke, had left unfinished.

"My dream as a cricketer was to come here and win an Ashes [as a player]," said Paine. "But I certainly didn't want to be the captain winning the Ashes.

"It doesn't mean any more or any less to me. I have said a lot of times, my part in this team is one of many jobs that people are doing. I just get to, I suppose, get a lot of credit at times, but it is certainly something we share around us between the players and staff. I am just happy to be a part of it."