Stuart Broad has barely stopped smiling since the moment England won the 2009 Ashes but knows he still has plenty to prove yet.

The 23-year-old all-rounder was man of the match in Sunday's 197-run series-clinching victory over Australia.

"I woke up with a huge smile on my face - I've not stopped smiling," he told a press conference in London.

Now they must prepare for life without retired all-rounder Andrew Flintoff - and Broad knows he is central to those plans.

"We move on and focus on future challenges," he said.

"Our ultimate aim is to become the number one team in the world - but that does not happen overnight."

The absence of Flintoff will be hard felt, but Broad points out he has been missing before with injury.

"We are not rabbits in the headlights without Fred. We have had to play at times without him before.

"But he has been a huge help to me, and I cannot thank him enough for what he has done for English cricket."

Many will now look to Broad to fill Flintoff's boots - just as they did with others a generation before when the great Ian Botham retired.

"It's surreal being mentioned in the same sentence as those two," said Broad.

"But I'm not under any extra pressure - I just try to improve my game as much as I can.

"I'm certainly not in the all-rounder class Ian Botham and Andrew Flintoff were - they could make big hundreds. But I would like to be in the future."