England's winners and losers in South Africa

Andy Bull, in his blog The Spin in the Guardian, rates England's players in the recently concluded series against South Africa. Alastair Cook, Graeme Swann and Ian Bell are among the star performers while Kevin Pietersen and Ryan Sidebottom take a step backwards.

It is easy to forget that Pietersen's 81 at Centurion had everyone waxing lyrical. Maybe he was knocked out of his stride by the idiotic run-out that cut that innings short, but the talk of his slump in form which had dogged him ever since his first innings on the tour seemed to become a self-fulfilling prophecy

Lawrence Booth, in his blog Top Spin in the Daily Mail, sums up the England side after their 1-1 draw in South Africa - a decent side with the priceless ability to punch above their weight and the occasional tendency to fall flat on the canvas after neglecting to tie up their shoelaces.