cricket series in england

England were expected to win this series, and win it well, and in the end they did. But it was by no means as easy as the 2-0 scoreline suggests. A series of outstanding personal performances at Old Trafford and Trent Bridge masked long periods of mediocrity. Cricinfo runs the rule over the 11 men who took part:

Andrew Strauss: re-established as the rock of England's top-order � Getty Images
 

Andrew Strauss - 8
It's hard to believe the Strauss we've just witnessed is the same Strauss who was battling for his Test career only three months ago in New Zealand. The fretfulness that characterised his game on that trip has been buried beneath the Napier outfield, and instead he is back to his compact, thoughtful and fluster-free best. During his Old Trafford masterclass, he forced New Zealand to feed him runs on the leg-side by declining any temptation outside off - an approach that echoed his remarkable debut season in 2004 and demonstrated a renewed self-assurance. He suffered a slight relapse at Trent Bridge, where he chased a wide half-volley after lunch to trigger England's first-innings collapse, but his Player of the Series accolade was richly justified.

James Anderson - 8
England fast bowlers with a "-son" suffix are an infuriating phenomenon, but they don't half impress when they get in the mood. England lost patience with Steve Harmison after his Hamilton no-show in March, and since then James Anderson has taken over that enigmatic role with incredible success. When he pitches up to the blockhole, the natural whip in his action causes the ball to perform tricks that the bowler himself struggles to understand. None of the New Zealanders had any answer, that's for sure. The pair of pearling outswingers that detonated the stumps of both Aaron Redmond and Brendon McCullum were collector's items, and set Anderson on his way to the best match and innings figures of a mercurial career.

Ryan Sidebottom - 8
What a year Sidebottom is having. Twenty-four wickets at 17.08 in New Zealand; and now 17 more at 20.47 in the first series of the home summer. Last year he was arguably the unluckiest bowler in the world game, with dropped catches ruining his figures against India and Sri Lanka, but now he's picking up wickets on reputation as well as skill. By his own admission he was off the pace at times in this series, not least on the opening day at Lord's, but New Zealand's batsmen were in such a funk whenever his unruly barnet bounced up to the wicket, he still harvested a bagful. His 6 for 67 in the final innings of the series was his fifth five-wicket haul since his recall last summer. He is firmly ensconced as the leader of England's attack.

Michael Vaughan - 7
Two series wins in a row, and Vaughan is the daddy once again. His authority was being questioned after a lean winter in Sri Lanka and New Zealand, but the captain silenced the doubters with a determined hundred at Lord's, then followed that up with a vital and imposing 48 as England turned the tables at Old Trafford and chased 294 for victory. His strokeplay was as sublime as ever, even if his shot selection went awry at times, but as a leader you can sense he's finding his level with his new charges. His marshalling of his troops at Trent Bridge was spot on - he backed his bowlers with attacking fields, and showed the same nous for a timely bowling change that was his hallmark in 2004-05. South Africa will be his biggest test since his return to the side last summer, but there's no doubt he's ready for it.

Stuart Broad - 7
A series that began amid talk of Andrew Flintoff's comeback ended with the arrival of another serious allround cricketer. Broad's rich promise had been plain to anyone who witnessed the Napier Test in March, when he took vital wickets and scored vital runs in all four innings of the match, but this was a first chance for the English public to watch a man who has already attracted rave reviews from the former coach, Duncan Fletcher. In truth, Broad's bowling was a touch disappointing. He wasn't left much to do given the success of his new-ball colleagues, but he'd have hoped for better than seven wickets at 43.57. His batting, on the other hand, was composed, technically impeccable, and above all ballsy. He reignited England's flatlining performance at Old Trafford with a crucial first-innings 30, then put the boot in at Trent Bridge with a maiden half-century that broke New Zealand's resolve. He's only 22, and he'll only get better.

Monty Panesar: one great day at Old Trafford changed the series for England � Getty Images
 

Monty Panesar - 7
This was a one-spell series for Monty, but what a spell. On Sunday morning at Old Trafford, England were staring at humiliation. They'd limped past the follow-on having succumbed for 202 to Daniel Vettori, but when New Zealand reached 85 for 2 in their second innings, their lead was 261 and there was surely no way back. Enter Monty, with a performance that irrevocably transformed the dynamics of the series. His career-best figures of 6 for 37 included 5 for 10 in nine overs, as New Zealand's last seven wickets tumbled for 29. The haul included his 100th in Tests, from only 28 matches, and the fact that he was unable to add to that tally at Trent Bridge was a testament to his team-mates rather than any shortcoming on his part.

Kevin Pietersen - 7
Started slowly when Daniel Vettori pinned him for 3 at Lord's, but finished with aplomb, with his second vital century in four Tests against New Zealand - it was Napier revisited when Pietersen faced up to England's post-lunch scoreline of 86 for 5, but then as now he responded with a calculating counterattack and a superbly paced century. His celebrations on reaching three figures were a neat insight into his mindset - at Napier he produced little more than a sheepish bat-wave, but at Trent Bridge he was back to full-frontal bombast. The message is clear - KP is back in the mood, and with his favourite opponents, South Africa, awaiting, the timing could not be better for England.

Tim Ambrose - 6
Blameless with the gloves, but took a while to get going with the bat after three runs in the first two Tests at Lord's and Old Trafford. Made impressive amends in partnership with Pietersen at Trent Bridge, however, where he revived memories of his series-changing century at Wellington in March. New Zealand seemed to have got his measure after that game, as they pitched up by an extra half a yard to compensate for his diminutive frame and restricted him to 50 runs in his next five innings, but they lost their discipline during a crucial 161-run stand for the sixth wicket. In the long term, Ambrose still faces a fierce challenge from his former Sussex team-mate, Matt Prior, but at least he enters his one-day debut flushed with renewed confidence.

Alastair Cook - 5
It's been a quiet year so far for Cook. His highest score in home and away campaigns against New Zealand was a mere 61 at Lord's, which is the first time in his young career he's gone consecutive series without a century. New Zealand's seamers are, in Michael Vaughan's memorable estimation, no more than "workmanlike", but their diligence in the channel outside off stump was sufficient to reawaken some familiar troubles for Cook - that gap between bat and pad led to his dismissal in each of his last two innings. He and Strauss did at least prove they can work together as a partnership with their maiden century stand, at Lord's, but the younger partner is the one with the form worries at present.

Ian Bell - 3
It's getting a bit monotonous to criticise a player who, over the past four years, has averaged a healthy 41.79 from 39 Tests, with seven centuries and more than 2500 runs, but Bell's anonymity when the heat is truly on is becoming more than just a coincidence. England's top six has been under scrutiny from the first ball of the Lord's Test, and while three of the top four have responded with centuries, the man at No. 5 has mustered 45 runs in four innings. He and his fellow struggler, Paul Collingwood, steered England over the finish line in tense circumstances at Old Trafford, but his three-ball abomination at Trent Bridge was a truer reflection of his foggy gameplan - England were in the throes of a post-lunch wobble at 85 for 3, when Bell exacerbated them by playing around a straight ball from Iain O'Brien and falling lbw for a duck. His talent is unquestioned, and England's current winning streak means he's sure to be retained. But England need him to be more than just a pretty bit-part player.

Paul Collingwood - 3
Collingwood's returns were even worse than Bell's - 30 runs in four innings, including that single unbeaten innings at Old Trafford. His problem, however, has never been one of temperament - he's dug England out of far too many holes for that to be called into question. He's simply suffering from a shocking run of poor form. He entered the series with concerns about his long-term fitness after a second cortisone injection in his shoulder, and who knows how that has been weighing on his mind? There's little time to dwell on his woes, however, because as England's one-day captain, he'll need to pick himself up ahead of the Twenty20 international at Old Trafford next week.

Andrew Miller is UK editor of Cricinfo

Despite having moments when they were in control, New Zealand fell to a 2-0 series defeat against England. The key moment came during their collapse at Old Trafford, but as hard as they fought it became increasingly clear that their lack of depth means hopes of improving at Test level remain bleak. Cricinfo assess what each player can take from the series

On the rise: Brendon McCullum slowly moved up the New Zealand order and is one of their few truly world-class players � Getty Images
 Brendon McCullum - 7
Arrived amid all the hype from his extraordinary 158 in the IPL, and lived up the billing with a belligerent 97 at Lord's after being shifting up to No. 5. Went head-to-head with England's aggression, returning to the crease after a nasty crack on the arm in the first Test, but got sucked into trying too hard to dominate at Old Trafford, where Monty Panesar grabbed him twice. Unable to keep in the final Test, he moved further up the order to No.3. Failed in the first innings, but his 71 second time around emphasised why he is New Zealand's prized asset. Now it's a question of where to bat him. Claimed some stunning salmon-like grabs, but dropped a vital catch at second slip in the final Test. It's different without the gloves.

Daniel Vettori - 7
Midway through Old Trafford, Vettori was ruling the roost. He'd claimed his second consecutive five-wicket haul, helping New Zealand earn a lead of 179. Then it all fell apart and he will always be haunted by the events of Manchester. However, the contest between him and Panesar was enthralling and Vettori's 5 for 69 at Lord's, in seam-bowling conditions, was one the best performances by a visiting spinner at headquarters. England slowly got on top of him and by Trent Bridge he looked weighed down by his team-mates problems. However, he never hid behind excuses and is developing into an impressive leader.

Iain O'Brien - 6
The surprise package among New Zealand's seamers after he was drafted in at Old Trafford. His experience of playing in Wellington was invaluable during the gale-force conditions, and he caused plenty of problems for England's batsmen with his seam movement. Followed up with four wickets at Trent Bridge and was promoted to new-ball bowler, resulting in the scalps of Kevin Pietersen and Tim Ambrose. Will struggle on flatter pitches, but a valuable workhorse. Nothing much on offer with the bat.

Ross Taylor - 6
One major innings in six is not a good enough return for a No. 4, but given the paltry numbers of some of his team-mates it still puts him well ahead of the pack. That one innings was breathtaking, too. His 154 at Old Trafford handed New Zealand the momentum and England's bowlers had no answer to his IPL-style hitting. However, his other innings were characterised by an inability to react to conditions, often dismissed trying something too ambitious, too early. But he can learn selectivity and has a long Test future ahead of him. His slip fielding was also outstanding.

Jacob Oram - 6
A strange series for Oram, who often looked all at sea with the bat, but still managed 231 runs with a fine century at Lord's. He is a far better batsman when he plays his shots and perhaps needs to believe in himself a little more. Admitting his problems against Ryan Sidebottom was refreshingly honest, but more than the opposition needed to hear - even if it was abundantly clear. With the ball he was as miserly as ever, although wickets proved hard to come by with just three in the series. How long the body will hold up for Test cricket remains to be seen.

Jamie How - 6
'Underrated' is one of common words used to describe New Zealand's cricket, and it fits perfectly with How. He continued the gutsy displays he produced during the previous series, showing more stickability than any of his colleagues. He faced 419 balls in the series, the most by a New Zealander, but again failed to convert his hard work into something more substantial. However, he looks the most likely opener of recent times to crack the century barrier.

Daniel Flynn - 5
Will be remembered for leaving the field at Old Trafford with a mouthful of blood and two missing teeth, but his fighting qualities were evident both before and after his nasty injury. Played an important role in guiding New Zealand to safety at Lord's with a 118-ball 29, then responded to a first-innings duck at Trent Bridge with a battling 49. He is compact batsman who, unlike some others around him, doesn't flinch against pace, even after taking one in the mouth. A positive to emerge for New Zealand.

Hard yards: Chris Martin found wickets tough to come by, a key reason why New Zealand let strong positions slip � Getty Images
 

Kyle Mills - 5
Wasn't impressed by the quality of the Duke balls, which had to be changed in every innings, and bowled without luck until the first innings at Trent Bridge, when he finally made a meaningful impact. Would gain more success by bowling a touch fuller, but always ran in hard for Vettori. The body stood up well, too, and there should also be more Test half-centuries to follow his 57 at Old Trafford.

Gareth Hopkins - 4
Coped better than most with the swinging ball at Trent Bridge, after his late call-up following McCullum's back injury. Played within his limitations, but his long-term prospects will depend on whether New Zealand feel McCullum should concentrate purely on batting. Tidy behind the stumps, caught his catches and did his job.

Chris Martin - 4
Disappointing or luckless? It's sometimes hard to know, but the feeling is the latter. New Zealand's strike bowler ended with just four wickets, a key reason why his team couldn't ram home a couple of strong positions. Was at his best at Lord's, struggled with the wind at Old Trafford, and was off-colour at Trent Bridge when Vettori really needed him. But he's still New Zealand's next-best quick unless they can get Shane Bond back.

Aaron Redmond - 3
New Zealand's search for an opening batsman brought them to a 28-year-old former legspinner. Redmond churned out runs in the warm-up matches, including a career-best 146 against England Lions, but was out of his depth at the highest level. Troubled by James Anderson's sharp, late outswing he played with hard hands that always ensured his edges carried. However, given the lack of options in domestic cricket Redmond may get another chance when New Zealand return to Test action in November. It won't be any easier, though, as they face Australia.

James Marshall - 3
An attractive century against Essex raised hopes that Marshall might be able to fill the troublesome No. 3 spot, but as in his previous outings at Test level he was soon found out. Struggled against the swing of Sidebottom and his awful shot against Panesar in the second innings at Old Trafford began the decisive collapse.

Tim Southee - 3
Appeared nervous in his one appearance at Lord's, but slowly improved during the innings. An untimely stomach upset meant he lost his place at Old Trafford, and didn't get it back as O'Brien impressed. Once he develops his strength and stamina he should be a certain pick. No chance to reprise his explosive batting from Napier.

Andrew McGlashan is a staff writer at Cricinfo

NOTTINGHAM -Former test captain Mike Atherton damned New Zealand's batting lineup as one of the weakest to tour England as the home side's 2-0 test cricket series win was put in context today.

Writing in The Times, Atherton said England's third test victory by an innings and nine runs should be treated with similar caution to their previous innings win over West Indies in Leeds a year ago.

"As on that occasion, the brilliance of the day and the emphatic nature of the victory must be tempered by the realism that New Zealand were weak opponents," he wrote.

"Other than Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, there has not been a flimsier batting team to visit these shores in the past 20 years.

"... At Old Trafford, in the second innings, and here at Trent Bridge, in both, deficiencies in technique, method and plain ability were cruelly highlighted on pitches that, because they offered something to the bowlers, produced compelling cricket."

The Guardian's Mike Selvey said the home side's run of four wins in the last six tests against New Zealand wasn't as impressive as it seemed.

"Nor should the wins be taken out of context: New Zealand scrap hard and have some excellent cricketers - Daniel Vettori, Ross Taylor, Brendon McCullum and Jacob Oram, a man whose career batting and bowling averages are superior to those of Andrew Flintoff. But overall they are a pretty poor side."

Selvey added the win shouldn't paper over some of England's batting jitters.

"Were there a further test match next week, then Paul Collingwood and possibly Ian Bell might have been dropped for the time being.

"Now, though, comes salvation in the form of five one-day internationals and a month before the first test against South Africa and the much sterner challenge that will arrive with it."

The Telegraph's Derek Pringle said the familiar pattern played out as New Zealand served up the entree to the main tour of the English summer.

"South Africa will be tougher and far less obliging in conceding a strong position than New Zealand," he wrote.

"In five of the last six tests against England, Daniel Vettori's team had created a potentially winning position in the first half of the match. Only one, in Hamilton, was converted into a win. The others were all overturned by such power shifts as to end in defeat."

- NZPA

Have firefox at home, I doubt work will ever upgrade to IE 7, certainly not firefox.

If the selectors stick to their recent rationale, they surely can�t pick Redmond for the tests against Australia later this year. If Matthew Bell�s 117 runs at 19.50 against England during the home summer wasn�t enough for him to retain his place in the side, then surely Redmond must be dropped for scoring less than half that against the same opposition in the same number of innings. 

Bell scored a gritty 69 in his last test dig but still wasn�t picked to tour England and Glenn Turner even went so far as to discount him from future selection, saying he�d had his chance and it was now someone else�s turn.

I know hindsight is always 20/20, but Aaron Redmond�s selection ahead of Matthew Bell was completely ludicrous.

Result England won by 114 runs

England innings (50 overs maximum) R B 4s 6s SR IR Bell run out (Taylor) 46 58 5 1 79.31 LJ Wright c Vettori b Mason 11 33 1 0 33.33 KP Pietersen not out 110 112 8 3 98.21 RS Bopara c & b Styris 4 13 0 0 30.76 PD Collingwood b Vettori 64 64 4 2 100.00 OA Shah c How b Southee 49 25 4 3 196.00 TR Ambrose not out 1 1 0 0 100.00     Extras (lb 3, w 9, nb 10) 22     Total (5 wickets; 50 overs) 307 (6.14 runs per over)

Did not bat GP Swann, SCJ Broad, JM Anderson, RJ Sidebottom

Fall of wickets1-49 (Wright, 11.2 ov), 2-84 (Bell, 19.6 ov), 3-95 (Bopara, 23.3 ov), 4-231 (Collingwood, 43.5 ov), 5-304 (Shah, 49.5 ov)

 Bowling OM R W Econ  KD Mills 10 1 59 0 5.90 (2nb, 1w)  TG Southee 10 1 68 1 6.80 (4nb, 2w)  MJ Mason 10 0 62 1 6.20  DL Vettori 10 0 38 1 3.80  SB Styris 8 0 63 1 7.87  LRPL Taylor 2 0 14 0 7.00 (2w)

New Zealand innings (target: 308 runs from 50 overs) R B 4s 6s SR JM How c Wright b Broad 20 45 1 0 44.44 BB McCullum c Bell b Broad 36 27 5 1 133.33 JAH Marshall run out (Collingwood) 4 25 0 0 16.00 LRPL Taylor c Sidebottom b Wright 20 34 1 0 58.82 SB Styris c Anderson b Swann 18 33 1 0 54.54 DR Flynn c Ambrose b Swann 34 37 3 0 91.89 GJ Hopkins c Bopara b Collingwood 25 30 2 0 83.33 DL Vettori c Anderson b Collingwood 8 11 1 0 72.72 KD Mills c Wright b Collingwood 7 9 1 0 77.77 TG Southee c Bell b Collingwood 6 6 0 1 100.00 MJ Mason not out 0 0 0 0 -     Extras (lb 12, w 3) 15     Total (all out; 42.5 overs) 193 (4.50 runs per over)

Fall of wickets1-52 (McCullum, 8.1 ov), 2-61 (Marshall, 13.5 ov), 3-72 (How, 18.2 ov), 4-101 (Taylor, 24.3 ov), 5-116 (Styris, 29.1 ov), 6-165 (Flynn, 37.2 ov), 7-179 (Hopkins, 40.1 ov), 8-180 (Vettori, 40.3 ov), 9-187 (Mills, 42.1 ov), 10-193 (Southee, 42.5 ov)

 Bowling OM R W Econ  JM Anderson 8 0 45 0 5.62  RJ Sidebottom 8 1 43 0 5.37 (1w)  SCJ Broad 8 2 16 2 2.00  GP Swann 10 1 45 2 4.50 (1w)  LJ Wright 6 0 17 1 2.83  PD Collingwood 2.5 0 15 4 5.29 (1w)

Toss New Zealand, who chose to field first
Series England led the 5-match series 1-0

ODI debuts TR Ambrose (England); TG Southee (New Zealand)
Player of the match KP Pietersen (England)

Umpires SJ Davis (Australia) and NJ Llong
TV umpire PJ Hartley
Match referee J Srinath (India)

What a joke, they should have just abandoned the game completely! not played 35 overs and call it off. I can understand why the kiwis are angry at this decision.