Brendon McCullum admits England have work to do ahead of the first Ashes Test in November, but he has already pinpointed areas for improvement after their 2-2 series draw with India.
England were on the precipice of a series victory in the fourth Test, only for India to heroically bat out the remainder of the match for a draw, keeping the score at 2-1.
India then won a nail-biting fifth Test by just six runs, with England left without captain Ben Stokes due to injury and choosing to rest Jofra Archer after his long-awaited return.
England were effectively deprived of a batter in the closing stages of the final Test, too, as Chris Woakes emerged to bat with his left arm in a sling on the final day and was unable to face a delivery, only running between the wickets on four occasions.
After a thrilling series, McCullum is optimistic that England will be ready when they arrive in Perth for the opening Test against Australia, which begins on November 21.
"We'll let this one sit, we'll digest it. We'll be able to pick out what has gone well, then start to work out how we can keep improving so, when we do arrive out in Australia, we give ourselves a huge chance," McCullum said.
"We're halfway through what we knew was going to be an unbelievable 12 months of Test cricket. We know we've got some room to improve.
"You're always learning any time you get to see guys having to dig deep and go to places they've maybe not been before.
"There's lots to pick out as we give ourselves time for this to digest and work out areas we can look to improve for our next challenge.
"Ultimately, I'm really proud of the guys and their efforts. It's been a combative series, it's taken its toll with injuries. Some of the best players have gone home injured.
"To sit here at 2-2, yes, you're disappointed, but you're proud of the efforts."
Dropped catches could be one of McCullum's areas for improvement, having emerged as a theme of England's series.
A host of dropped catches proved costly in the fourth Test, while Yashasvi Jaiswal alone was dropped three times en route to his second century of the series in the finale.
"We didn't catch very well in this game but have caught really well over the last few years. Sometimes dropped catches happen and one leads to another," McCullum added.
"If we had held our catches, maybe we would have been on the other side of the result. That's life, there are so many little things in the game we could pick out and have huge impacts.
"We threw everything at them. It was testament to how stoic they are as a team. We knew when they turned up in England it would be a very stern challenge, and we'd have to play excellent cricket to get the results we wanted."
England are currently waiting to hear the extent of the shoulder injury that hampered Woakes in the fifth Test, though Stokes is expected to be fully fit for the Ashes.
