A steady rise

Whisper it quietly, but there is an aggression and confidence about this England side that has more than a hint of Australia about it. There is not the class of the Australians yet - certainly not the depth of class - but there is a growing self-belief and assertiveness to suggest that the rebuilding programme is ahead of schedule.

The mood was evident in the field as the South Africans were simply humbled. From the moment Michael Vaughan won the toss, he made a statement by asking the South Africans to bat. It said: "We think our attack is good enough to get you out." And they did.

There would have been times when an early dropped catch would have resulted in drooping shoulders and sagging morale. Not any more. When Vikram Solanki gave Graeme Smith a let-off from the first legitimate delivery of the day there was no suggestion of despondency but more an idea that having beaten him once, they could do so again. And they did a few balls later when Smith edged James Anderson to slip.

The mood reflects the character of the captain. Vaughan does not scream and shout but he exudes a calm authority that transmits itself to the rest of the team. He is blessed with natural leadership qualities and his team responds accordingly. He has been fortunate to start his reign against teams that are also in the process of reconstruction, but his influence should not be underestimated when attributing credit for the fact that England's progress can be measured favourably against that of South Africa and Zimbabwe, and Pakistan before them.

Of course, when things are going well it is easy to create a buzz and enthusiasm in a team. However, such opportunities have been wasted before and this team really does have a youthful exuberance about it. When there is genuine enjoyment at the success of others, the unit becomes a team in the true sense of the word so that collective achievement can outstrip individual contributions.

It was not only in the field that England were superior to South Africa. Earlier in the series, there was an unhealthy dependence on Marcus Trescothick to provide a bulk of the runs. At Lord's, Trescothick was out without making any impression on South Africa's meagre total, yet Solanki and Vaughan snuffed out any potential crisis with a composed partnership of 87 to put the result beyond doubt.

The result of this win takes England to third in the ICC one-day international rankings. That might be a little high at the moment and there is a very real danger that public expectation could overtake the reality of a highly promising outfit that has real potential. They are not world-beaters yet but, at this rate of progress, they could become genuine contenders before too long.