England player ratings

For the 4 Test series against West Indies:

Andrew Strauss 3: The double-whammy of the captaincy and the Lord's setting, conditions in which his batting tends to thrive, meant that the first test was a good chance to re-establish himself after a thin winter. However, having got to 30, he got himself out and things went swiftly downhill from there, with universal failure apart from the first innings at Durham, where he endeavoured to hit himself out of trouble for a bright 77. Still, his demise in the second innings showed that the technical problems, mainly consisting of a flaw against the full, swinging ball remain. After a year of almost uninterrupted cricket, he seems jaded, and England have enough batting depth to give someone else a chance in the India series and give Strauss the break from international cricket which he is in desperate need of.

Alistair Cook 8: He had already alleviated his Ashes blues with a run-drunk spell in county cricket while others toiled in the Caribbean, and his headstart showed with instant success at Lord's followed up consistently while the series was still alive. The bowling was not of a standard to really trouble him, so he might be disappointed that he was unable to extend his two centuries into something a bit more meaningful than his current Test best of 127. Still, with Graham Gooch in his ear, it should only be a matter of time.

Owais Shah 2: Given just enough rope to hang himself with, being made to bat at 3 when given a chance at Lord's, 14 months after his last test. By batting him in the preferred position of the soon to return captain, the selectors made clear that Shah was first in line to go and unfortunately he could not do anything to force their hand. The one-day side now presents the best chance of a return and he might just sneak back to the test team if the selectors see fit to discard Andrew Strauss.

Michael Vaughan 7: This time last year, retirement was as likely a prospect as a return to the colours, which in itself was a major achievement, made that much sweeter by the century in his first test innings for 18 months with a good number of hacks who had railed against his inclusion watching on. West Indies were no great opponent, but England showed some of the purpose which had been lacking in his absence, while his batting, an asset forgotten amongst all the celebration of his captaincy, is as fluent as ever and adds class and experience to what had become a fragile top order. Could do with his old helmet back though.

Kevin Pietersen 8: West Indies were rightly beside themselves with glee when he succumbed to their trap at Lord's, but might later have regretted pulling the tiger's tail, as he racked up the highest number of runs on either side, helping himself along the way to the double century which English batsmen seem to find so hard to come by. There were still moments of idiocy, notably falling twice to the hook shot in the last two tests, especially off the last ball of the day at Durham, when England needed him to scrap. Nevertheless, there are some things which are better left unchanged.

Paul Collingwood 7: Two centuries, and, despite a lack of stellar batsmanship, there were displays of vintage Collingwood. Dug in when the team needed him most, specifically when he rescued them from a self-inflicted crisis in the final test. A century in his first test on home soil was a moment to treasure in an ever expanding scrapbook, and he continues to give the selectors every reason not to drop him, also chipping in with his customary excellent fielding, predominantly at slip in the absence of Flintoff and Trescothick, and some tight bowling when England were a man down at Lord's.

Ian Bell 7: The overall impression was good, the figures slightly less so, just 227 runs at 45.4, including a century at Lord's which was one of the less taxing roads to the honours board. Still, there was one vital knock, the 97 at Old Trafford which rescued England from a precarious first innings position and set up the winning position; that certainly deserved three figures, a mark denied him by a capricious pitch. Andrew Flintoff may not play a test this summer, giving Bell three more to make an impression, but it must be frustrating for Bell to be languishing at 6, a position which suggests, in broad terms, he would be the first for the chop, especially now Vaughan is firmly entrenched back in Bell's preferred role at first drop. The difficult roles have seemed to fall his way; #3 against the best bowling in the world last winter, he has had to wait in line behind five others against the much more friendly offerings purveyed by the tourists. Still, having proved himself able both at 150 and 300-4, there is not much more he can do than continue to churn out the runs and wait for the dice to fall his way for a change

Matt Prior 8: Sentiment and early season form counted against him in the latest round of the great English wicket-keeping debate as the selectors prepared to pick the first squad of the Peter Moores era. Fortunately, Moores was able to see past the lack of runs for Sussex and put his foot down in selecting one of his own. How well he was repaid. While all of the English centuries at Lord's had a slightly ersatz feeling to them, in view of both bowling and pitch, Prior's effort stood out. A bullying driver on the front foot, he is proficient both throwing his arms through the line of the ball and rocking back to dismiss the short ball on both sides of the wicket. Having made the impression at Lord's, he backed it up with more significant knocks at Old Trafford and Durham when the situation demanded application and he responded by making the necessary runs while never losing the belligerent approach. His keeping was by no means perfect, but his athleticism in the wake of bipolar bowling from Plunkett and Harmison was impressive.

Liam Plunkett 3: Not much more to add on what has already been said. Problem: can't land two balls in a row on the same spot. Solution: county cricket. See you in two years.

Steve Harmison 5: Finished back in the groove from which he had erred so disastrously at Lord's and in the first innings at Old Trafford in particular. A highly successful spell with Durham did not cure his ills, and it was clear that only bowling on the international stage would help him back to full potency. Painful for the rehabilitation to happen under the public eye and we will see against India whether a lasting equilibrium has been reached or not.

Ryan Sidebottom 8: A month ago, he was just the answer to an intricate quiz question involving fathers and sons, one test wonders and a sum total of 0 wickets. When England's straight man Hoggard went lame at Lord's and the Durham wide-boys went wild, Peter Moores decided to recall the man with a silly hairstyle and a serious line in inswing. Back on home turf and in England colours for the first time in 6 years, he produced an exemplary display of swing and seam bowling on a track at Headingley which offers assistance to those who know how to use it. His success at Leeds was not unexpected, but with the encouragement of Allan Donald he added a slightly feral dimension to his demeanour, something which combined well with his neolithic brown curls and was all too much for the timid West Indians. Now a shoo-in for the one-day side, he has earned the right to expect selection against India and his future is in his own hands.

Matthew Hoggard 6: Injury after just 10 overs at Lord's ended a streak of 40 consecutive tests, and England's prospects of victory in that game effectively went with him. Sidebottom's successful return, along with West Indies' mostly clueless batting meant that his injury could have come at a worse time, and he slipped back into the groove seamlessly in the 4th tests, knocking over the top 3 in the 2nd innings to open up the middle order to Panesar. Now that England are in coloured clothing and the counties in 20:20 mode, he could find himself with his feet up again though.

Monty Panesar 9: Finishing top of the averages and bagging the highest number of wickets is no mean feat for a spinner in the early-season tests and Panesar was more than worthy of the achievement. Played a lone hand at Lord's when his three seam bowling colleagues went missing for one reason or another, and toiled away valiantly to take 4 first innings wicket on the now habitual Lord's road. He was England's trump-card on what must be his favourite ground at Old Trafford, a potent mixture of bounce, turn and nagging accuracy all that was needed to do the job which other England spinners have not done in recent years. We knew he was good, and, although the quality of the opposition means his returns here must be digested with some caution, he has now proved himself as England's matchwinner when the pitch helps him, as well as the man who can choke off the runs when it doesn't. Only Chanderpaul could resist him, and the duel between the two provided some of the quality generally lacking. The Indian batsmen, surer against slow bowling, will be a sterner test, but such is Panesar's enthusiasm that he will enjoy the prospect of bowling against them. The contest with Rahul Dravid, in particular, should be one of the highlights of the summer.