Stephen Fleming said he felt exasperated over New Zealand's failure to compete with world champions Australia after his side tumbled to a 2-0 Test series defeat on Tuesday.
Fleming believes Australia's crushing victory in the two-Test series will send shockwaves around the cricket world.
"Every time they play this well it sends tremors around the world," Fleming said.
"There are teams like England who are licking their lips at the opportunity with the Ashes coming up (next year).
"They have played some good cricket and deserve to be full of anticipation.
"Teams are still measuring themselves against how well Australia are playing and improving the game, so it is a good thing.
"You are always absolutely concerned about some of the performances we have put in," Fleming told a news conference at the Adelaide Oval following New Zealand's 213-run defeat in the second Test after lunch on the fifth day.
"We deserve the criticism. At times there have been sessions that have been exasperating for us all.
"We knew that we had to compete in every session in this Test series if we were going to come away with a win, or even be competitive right through to the end of the Test.
"The first two days in Brisbane were fine, then the ante got upped and we didn't turn up for the next seven," the New Zealand captain added.
"There were mistakes made from players who would usually not make those mistakes and that just boils down to relentless pressure.
"It's been a very tough series from a personal point of view and a very tough learning curve for the team.
"Some of their bowling during the Test matches was superb. It was like having three Richard Hadlees and the greatest leg spinner of all (Shane Warne).
"But at some stage there has to be a group of players out there who can match this side, or the age and attrition of this team will cause them to fall by the wayside.
"Then again it is the ability of the young players (like batsman Michael Clarke) they have coming through is quite daunting."
"When you are outplayed like we have been, you have to get rid of that selfish feeling and look at how good the Australians have played and try to learn something from it.
"If we don't do that, we have missed an opportunity. We need to make sure that information doesn't slip by with guys being depressed or too down on themselves."
Australia won the first Test in Brisbane by an innings and 156 runs and completed the series victory with a 213-run win in Adelaide.
"They have exceeded (expectations) and we have come in well short of what we hoped we could have performed," said the 31-year-old Fleming, New Zealand's all-time leading runscorer and most-capped player.
"The pressure they created...it was very tough in this game and it never let up."
Coach John Bracewell said the Kiwis had batted poorly in scoring 251 and 250 in the second Test.
Bracewell said, "We haven't lived up to the (batting) standard of a wicket that is probably one of the best pitches for Test cricket that I've ever seen."
WORLD CLASS
Fleming said England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff and fast bowler Steve Harmison had emerged as world-class cricketers.
"England are going to have to play extremely well if they are going to compete against Australia, but they do have the personnel to do that," Fleming said.
Australia have held the Ashes since 1989.
Australia captain Ricky Ponting said his players were constantly striving to better themselves. Only two of the team who completed a 213-run victory over New Zealand in the second Test on Tuesday, Ponting and Clarke, are under 30.
"We can keep improving. As long as we keep trying to improve ourselves as individual players every day, then there is no limits for this team," the 29-year-old Ponting told reporters.
"The guys are very motivated."
Ponting took over as captain after Steve Waugh retired in January. Australia's only Test match defeat this year came in the last match of the India series last month, which they won 2-1.
"We were challenged in India. That was a very hard tour for us and that was only a few weeks ago," Ponting said.
"We have had things pretty much our own way here for this Test match but Pakistan are a very good side, a lot different side to what New Zealand have here.
"We will gear everything around being right for the first day of the first Test in Perth."
Australia's three-Test series against Pakistan starts on December 16.
Australia beat Pakistan 3-0 in Australia in 1999 and 3-0 in Colombo and Sharjah in 2002.
Ponting said facing Pakistan fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami would be a challenge.
"We are going to have a fast and bouncy wicket in Perth I'm sure against two of the fastest bowlers in the world," he said.
"They are very dangerous. It will be a great challenge and exciting Test cricket to see the fast bowlers off the long run and plenty of bouncers flying around."
