Moeen Ali's maiden tour of Australia has been one to forget but the offspining allrounder insists it's been a fantastic experience.
Moeen arrived as one of first players picked in England's XI, having excelled with bat and ball during their home summer.
He was almost unstoppable against South Africa, becoming the second English allrounder to take 25 wickets and score 250-plus runs in a Test series.
The 30-year-old has struggled to produce anything even closely resembling that sort of form in Australia, resulting in speculation he could be axed for the series finale.
Moeen suffered a side strain two months ago, when the touring party first arrived, and his form has since dipped with every game.
Knocks of 38 and 40 during the first Test remain Moeen's highest scores in the series.
Moeen denied Steve Smith a century at the SCG on Saturday but it was just his fourth wicket of the series.
"It's been tough obviously. I've enjoyed it," Moeen told ABC Radio on Saturday morning.
"Playing in Australia in the Ashes, it's been fantastic. Obviously disappointed that we lost the series but these things can happen in cricket.
"Before that I felt I was playing quite well, I just had a bad series."
Australia's batsmen have made no secret of their desire to hit Moeen out of the attack, while most pitches in the series have offered him little assistance.
Nathan Lyon has captured Moeen's wicket six times this summer He has also often looked uncomfortable when on the receiving end of a bouncer barrage from the hosts' quicks.
"I would say sometimes the harder I try, sometimes the worse you get," Moeen said.
"A lot of players have let the team down, especially in the first three games."
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