In his latest exclusive diary entry for CricInfo, England's senior player assesses the implications of the innings defeat by Australia at Edgbaston, and confirms that he isn't a candidate for the captaincy. He also explains why he would have chosen Stephen Waugh ahead of Adam Gilchrist as man of the match.

First of all we were beaten by the best side in the world. Anyone and everyone who knows anything about cricket was aware of Australia's status, and they've proved what a fantastic side they are. The fact that we didn't perform to the level we've reached over the last 18 months made it frustrating from our point of view, but as Nasser Hussain and Duncan Fletcher have said, and as I said in my diary before the Test, we have to be playing to the best of our abilities just to compete with them. In the event they beat us very convincingly.

It's going to be a very hard summer. We can't hide behind the fact that they're a better side than we are, and we've got to play our game well. Our batsmen were got out a lot of the time, as opposed to making mistakes, and that's because Australia have a line-up of match-winning bowlers. People in the media seemed to think that Shane Warne was on his way out, but those of us who know a bit about cricket were fully aware that he's still a top-class bowler. He proved that in this game. We all knew about McGrath; we hadn't seen a lot of Gillespie or Lee, and they've shown what quality bowlers they are. We've got to keep our chins up, keep battling, and look after our side of the game as well, which we didn't at Birmingham. We didn't get the totals we needed; we didn't bowl well enough, and we didn't field well enough. Quite simply, you can't afford to slip up against a side of Australia's quality.

Adam Gilchrist was outstanding at Edgbaston. He's had to succeed Ian Healy, which was never going to be easy, but he's taken to the job well and is averaging around 50 with the bat. He really took the attack to us and showed what a clean striker of the ball he is. It was top-class batting. It wasn't slogging, they were proper cricket shots, and that was as cleanly struck an innings as I can remember seeing. Having said that I'd probably have made Steve Waugh man of the match – when he came in we'd just taken an early wicket in bowler-friendly conditions, and he showed just why he's probably the best batsman in the world at the moment.

Stewart - looking ahead Photo CricInfo

I hope there aren't too many changes to the side for Lord's. Graham Thorpe has a slim chance of playing, and should obviously come back in if he's fit. Otherwise, whoever you bring in is going to find it hard work. These guys have been picked, and Nasser's already said that we don't want to start dismantling the side that's performed well over the past 12-18 months. What we have to do is improve our performance all round. We need to get back to the standard of the past 18 months and improve on it.

There's been some speculation that I might become captain again, but I wouldn't take the job back if it was offered. I think it's time to move on. I only did the Old Trafford Test and the one-day series to help the side out in an emergency. I've been captain and done everything that's been asked of me, and I think it's better to look to the future now, so I won't be putting my hand up for the job. I don't know who they'll come up with – the selectors will have to decide that when they pick the side.

There's Atherton and Gough of the seniors, and Trescothick of the younger players. Mark Butcher has captained England before, so has Graham Thorpe. I'm happy to play under any of them. In the meantime I want to give myself the best chance of playing well for England, as a batsman and as wicket-keeper.

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