Eoin Morgan emphasised the high standards he will hold England to by insisting his side had been short of their best despite a 4-1 series win over Australia.
Morgan captained England to the one-day international series win after Australia sealed a dominant 4-0 Ashes series victory earlier this month.
Beating the reigning world champions was a boost for England, but Morgan is refusing to get carried away ahead of the 2019 World Cup, which will be hosted in England and Wales, and says his side still have work to do.
"The big thing I'd emphasise to come from this series was the character within the side. I don't think we played well at all throughout the series," he told ECB.co.uk.
"I still think we have a while to go. The consistency with the bat has faded off a little bit and it had probably been our strongest point [previously].
"But on the other hand you've got some exceptional performances by the bowlers. They've stepped up in the series probably more than our batters.
"That's a huge positive for us, particularly in 50-over cricket when you can go through lulls of not taking wickets. I thought our guys stood up really well."
One bowler who impressed was Tom Curran, who registered 5-35 in the 12-run win on Sunday to claim his first ODI five-for.
The 22-year-old, unused in the first three matches, was drafted for an injured Liam Plunkett following the third ODI after making his Test debut against the hosts on Boxing Day.
Reflecting on the series, Morgan added: "We said at the start of the series we might learn a lot and might open up some cracks but I certainly didn't think we'd learn as much as this or get quite so much confidence."