Consistently inconsistent

	Sixty and out: Alastair Cook's final run tally was impressive, but he didn't produce the much-needed century © Getty Images

Andrew Strauss - 4

For the second season running, Strauss has been left struggling to secure his winter tour place, and despite the eventual ease of his matchwinning half-century at The Oval, the doubts have not been allayed. In his last series against South Africa, in 2004-05, he anchored himself on the back foot, and cut and drove his way to 656 runs in an incredible series-winning performance. Four years on, he's mustered barely a third of that tally, having time and again threatened to come forward in a show of intent, only to be cramped for room from around the wicket in particular. Missing out on the England captaincy has undoubtedly upset his equilibrium, and if changes to the batting are to be made for India, Strauss is once again a leading candidate for the chop.

"Pretty sixties" have been the single biggest symptom of England's recent batting woes, and no-one has epitomised that trait more acutely than Cook. Since the sixth of his Test centuries, at Galle in December, Cook has been dismissed between 60 and 67 on five occasions in 10 Tests - three times in this series alone, and ten times in total in his 34-match career. Consecutive scores of 60, 18, 60, 76, 9, 39 and 67 have been the very epitome of insubstantial consistency, and while others have been more culpable, Cook must carry his share of the blame for the collapses that wrecked England's series prospects.

His lowest ebb. England's most successful Test captain deserved a more fitting denouement, but in the end his atrocious form dictated the terms of his departure. Had England somehow turned the Edgbaston Test in their favour, he would have survived until The Oval, but after one match of the KP era, Vaughan already seems like a fond but distant memory. England's balance seems transformed by the five-bowler option, but a squad place in India is not out of question if he can finish his county season on a high.

His 199 at Lord's hinted that maturity had finally been reached, but the ease with which South Africa secured their momentum-shifting draw in that match revealed Bell's innings for what it really was: another flat-track cash-in from a player who has few equals when it comes to turning on the style, but whose substance remains sadly lacking. He was largely anonymous as England slipped to defeat at Headingley and Edgbaston, and his post-Lord's average of 22.17 spelt out his shortcomings. His promotion to No. 3 will be the making or breaking of him.

An imperious performance that lived up to the hype, not only of taking on his former countrymen, but of taking over the England captaincy. As the man himself admitted, "things can only get worse", but he's entitled to revel in this honeymoon period. An emotional hundred at Lord's, a counterpunching 94 at Edgbaston (for which he was unfairly pilloried for his dismissal) and a fantastic platform-laying 100 at The Oval have carried him clear as the leading run-scorer in the series, and quashed all lingering issues about his allegiance. As a leader, his players have responded to his style, and for the moment the future seems bright.

Axed for Headingley and recalled one match later because of the apparent impact his absence had had on the dressing-room, Collingwood rose above the spuriousness of that particular argument with a career-saving century of unequivocal bravery. His third-day performance could even have saved the series, such was the momentum he provided for England going into the fourth and final day, but it wasn't to be. Nevertheless, having managed 96 runs in his first 10 first-class innings of the season, he added nearly 200 more in his next two visits to the crease, to re-establish his credentials as one of his country's doughtiest fighters.

His furious onslaught on the second evening at Edgbaston will live long in the memory, but there wasn't a whole lot else to report from a comeback that was a triumph only insofar as he got through it without further injury alarms. A brutal workload was piled onto his shoulders as the series ebbed away, and his pace and accuracy deserved better rewards than nine wickets at 36.44. Yet, as two five-wicket hauls in 70 Tests would demonstrate, Flintoff has never been a man to rip through the opposition. His batting had its moments, but he's a long way short of his best in that department.

Over-exposed as a No. 6 batsman, under-productive at No. 8. An international career that began six months ago in Hamilton now looks set for a lengthy hiatus, after a ten-match stint in which Ambrose has been competent without looking outstanding. His batting had shown promise against the lesser lights of New Zealand, but 97 runs in six innings does not bode well for his Ashes prospects next summer. Twice at Edgbaston, he looked set to produce the rearguard that England desperately needed from him, but in the first innings in particular - bowled limply off the inside-edge by Jacques Kallis - he came up short. His keeping hasn't been a desperate failure, but his body language has betrayed a man whose self-belief is on the wane.

A mixed series finished on a positive note with his career-best figures of 3 for 44 in South Africa's second innings at The Oval. A hugely promising cricketer, but right now he is not quite a strike bowler and, despite a majestic 76 at Headingley, not quite the batsman whose technique has drawn lofty comparisons to Garry Sobers. Nevertheless, England's rejigged formation should suit his development perfectly. As England's fourth seamer and a specialist No. 8, he is effectively the team's apprentice in both roles - and judging by his progress so far this year, he will continue to learn voraciously.

A disappointment. Never fully fit after an intense year as England's spearhead, and in hindsight he should never have played in the series decider at Edgbaston. His pace was down from Lord's onwards, and so too was the late dipping swing that caused New Zealand's batsmen such nightmares in the early part of the year. Guaranteed a tour place, but will need to shake off the niggles if he is to become, once again, the first name on the team sheet.

Picked up 13 wickets at a relatively healthy average of 31.69, but was disappointingly one-dimensional at the crucial moments of the series. He'll never develop a doosra, but the absence of an arm-ball is a crime against his vocation - consequently Smith devoured him during his Edgbaston epic, reading him instantly on length, and playing him with the spin off front foot and back alike. His wild appealing is getting beyond a gimmick as well. He's going to make enemies of the umpires soon, and that's not something that any spin bowler can afford.

Something approaching a breakthrough series. For years Anderson was the spare wheel in England's pace attack - habitually ignored for months on end, and then overawed when called into the team for one-off appearances in venues as diverse as Johannesburg or Brisbane. Now, however, he's a big gun in his own right, unfazed by the sight of Flintoff and Harmison on the same team-sheet. His burgeoning mastery of swing was epitomised by the in-out combination that suckered Smith for a duck at The Oval, and he has the confidence to keep Simon Jones at bay as the Ashes approaches. He has also developed a gutsy batting style - still no ducks in a five-year Test career, and a brilliantly brave 34 that gave England hope on the final morning at Headingley.

If Harmison was an Olympic athlete, he might be mentioned in the same breath as Matthew Pinsent or Steve Redgrave. Nobody would care what he'd been up to for the past four years, just so long as he reached his peak in time for the biggest contest of all. And the omens for next summer, dare one say it, are good. Having worked his way through more than 500 county overs for Durham, Harmison's rhythm has returned, and in his solitary outing of the series, he gave England the cutting edge that had been sorely missing all summer. The challenge now is to sustain that through an arduous winter itinerary. With expectations renewed, that might prove the toughest challenge so far.

Did he really play in this series? I'm not sure the man himself actually believes it either.