Nine-wicket hero Stuart Broad reserved special praise for teammate Ben Stokes as his six-wicket haul in the second innings helped England clinch the Ashes.

Broad was named man of the match after he his eight-wicket burst on the first morning virtually killed off any Australian hopes of retaining the trophy.

The Nottinghamshire and England bowler stepped up to fill the void left by the injured James Anderson, who missed the match with a side injury, but Broad also paid tribute to the role played by Stokes whose figures of 6 for 35 were a career-best.

“In our last four innings, four different guys have got five wickets, so I think that shows how we have done well as a bowling unit,” Broad said.

“That’s the best I’ve ever seen Ben Stokes bowl, I mean he’s had the ball on a piece of string. To deliver in such a high pressure game was awesome to watch."

Despite enjoying home advantage against a team to whom they have not been beaten in a home Test series since 2001, England were considered underdogs prior to the start of the series.

Broad believes the key to overturning the form book lay in the side's preparation and in not being preoccupied by the opposition.

“A lot of hard work went off behind the scenes,” he said. “There were quite a few doubts about whether we could cope with the power of Australia, but I think that trip to Spain did us the world of good.

“We talked about how we wanted to go about playing our cricket, it was very much about us. I think it is a dangerous game when you focus too much on what the opposition are doing.

“If you looked too much at Australia they’ve had an amazing year so far, really quick bowlers and a very powerful team.

“We made a conscious decision to make everything about us and talk about our strengths and how we wanted to go about things.

“That paid off throughout this series. When the pressure has come on, Cooky has asked the guys to play to their strengths.

“In my wildest dreams I didn’t think we would be 3-1 up at Trent Bridge,” he added.  “Credit has to go not just to us as players, but to all the management.”