David Graveney hopes to embark on a bright new era as England's chairman of selectors, optimistic they now have a squad capable of staying together and being successful for some years.

Since Graveney succeeded Ray Illingworth in the role in 1997, England have changed their policy of selection from chopping and changing during less successful times to a settled squad this summer when only 12 players were used in winning their first Ashes series since 1986-7.

Instead of selection meetings taking several hours discussing possible options, Graveney's conversations with coach Duncan Fletcher and fellow selector Geoff Miller are short enough to reflect the success gained from a settled squad and team over the last few years.

With the majority of England's successful Ashes line-up still in their 20s, it is a situation Graveney hopes will continue in the years ahead as England face the challenge of establishing themselves as the number one side in world cricket.

"Win, lose or draw in this Ashes series, I always believed this squad and this team could stay together for a number of years," said Graveney. "Most of them are young enough to continue developing and improve together as a side.

"We have seen the benefits of a settled side both this summer and in the last few years and no matter what had happened this summer, this side deserved the chance to go forward together.

"That is not to say we have a closed shop - far from it. There are plenty of people knocking on the door even now and things can change with injuries or loss of form, but we believe we have a strong side."

The success this summer may also be reflected in selection discussions for the first half of England's winter itinerary, with Graveney due to announce the Test and one-day squads for the pre-Christmas trip to Pakistan and the National Academy squad at Lord's on Monday.

Under normal circumstances, the winter tour squad would provoke plenty of speculation and conjecture about the likely personnel, but this time the only real discussion point is the identity of the back-up players.

"The biggest thing I have learned in my time as a selector is that sometimes it pays to hold your nerve," he said. "There was a lot of talk about changing this and changing that after we lost the first Ashes Test at Lord's, but there was never any doubt in the selectors' minds.

"Picking an unchanged team after Lord's was not that difficult a decision because the team had done so well in the couple of years before that and they hadn't turned into bad players overnight.

"Players do respond to being in a settled team and environment and the coach and the captain have done an excellent job in fostering such a good team spirit. We have found that batsmen in particular thrive on being given an extended run and that has shown with our performances over the last couple of years."

Graveney could be forgiven for saying "I told you so" to the world having boldly announced he believed England would win the Ashes series 2-1 in the immediate aftermath of their convincing Lord's defeat.

While the rest of the country could have been forgiven for fearing yet another Ashes series dominated by Australia, Graveney went on national radio to make his confident prediction.

"I was asked if we were going to lose the Ashes again and I gave an honest answer," he stressed.

"I always thought we would win at least one Test and if you can win one, there's always the possibility of winning another.

"To beat Australia you have to bat first and make sure Shane Warne does not have the chance to exploit the wicket in the fourth innings because when he did do that at Trent Bridge, he did have a great effect.

"When you bat first, you also have to make it count and on every occasion we did that, we also produced a competitive total which gave our bowlers the chance to put their batsmen under pressure.

"If I had to express how I am feeling right now, I would have to say I'm very proud of the lads and all the efforts they have put in this summer. It's been an extraordinary journey and I don't think I've ever experienced four Tests that tense and tight."

Graveney admitted he had to leave The Oval on that dramatic final day after England had slipped to 126 for five because the tension of the occasion became too much for him, adding: "I went for a walk and once I'd done that we'd stopped losing wickets so I had to stay there then.

"I've had people come up to me in the last few days and say we all deserve it because we've been through tough times in the past, but the honour of doing this job has not waned one bit since I first became involved.

"The players deserved their party and their celebrations and going through London yesterday was such an extraordinary event - to see all those people cheering and smiling was quite emotional for us all."