In this paper, we confirm that a structure composed only of split ring resonator (SRR) particles can produce backward waves. We present numerical and experimental results for electric near fields that give rise to the backward-wave behaviour. This phenomenon is expressed by an effective wavelength λ eff higher than λ. This structure behaves as a bianisotropic metamaterial when the SRRs reduce simultaneously to electric and magnetic dipoles. We show that the produced asymmetric current distribution in such configuration leads to a backward-wave behaviour. An extraction method based on a homogenization procedure shows a good concordance of the index of refraction between the experimental and simulation results. This method is used to quantify the magnetoelectric parameter.