England series ratings

Vaughan 6: Moved back to opener, at times he recaptured the sort of elegance and poise which made him one of the few modern batsmen to dominate Australia on their own patch five years ago. But he did not manage a century, albeit in unfortunate circumstances at Colombo, and his misjudgement of Vaas' in-ducker was crass and began the slide to 81 all out at Galle. For the second consecutive series he found himself out-done as captain, and the team lacked leadership in the field. Having proved himself adept at manipulating a happy ship, he must now show some Hussain-style generalship to get his team going again.

Cook 7: Recovered laudably after he was twice trussed-up by Chaminda Vaas in the first over at Kandy. A pair of half-centuries in the next Test and finally England's first ton of the tour at the last opportunity mean he can celebrate a birthday he shares with, amongst other illustrious company, Marcus Trescothick, a man whose record Cook will hope to emulate. He will be just 23, and with his 7th century behind him is still on track for the greatness he has been long-earmarked for.

Bell 6: He seems at times a peerless batsmen; comfortable facing both pace and spin, possessing the timing and lightness of touch which make his strokeplay a joy to watch. The defence is sure, and has a calm sense of permanence. Then, from nowhere, he errs - a lazy wave of the bat outside off, a weak attempt to hit over the top or a meek run-out. And he is gone, airy dominance rudely interrupted by an unseemly downfall. Were this to occur past 150, no-one would bat an eyelid and the plaudits his lucid play deserves would flood in. But, Bangladesh excepted, Bell has never been past 150; batting at 3, he has not even made it to three figures. He should have this series, and possibly just one time is what is needed to break the mental block, if that is the problem. We will wait, for if he can achieve what is in him, it will be worth it.

Pietersen 3: Asian tours are his bugbear - the three he has been involved in are the only occasions on which he has averaged less than 40 over the course of a series. Here it was under 30 and not even a half-century to his name. Considering his improvement as a player since England's last sub-continent jaunts in the post-Ashes winter, to do worse than he had then was a major disappointment. One flaw is against the short ball, which when accurately and quickly aimed exposes his lack of a cogent back-foot game; his long levers mean he can play most bowling off the front-foot, but not even he can manage that against the fastest men. Comparisons to Viv Richards have been frequent, but one thing one cannot picture is him recreating the iconic image of Richards rocking back to hook Botham into the Oval crowd. When the short ball does not get him, it seems, over-confidence will and he failed to adapt his on-the-up style of play to the slower pitches which was the problem two years ago. He will recover, and should plunder the New Zealand seamers, while he will relish his first Test encounter with the country of his birth. But for England's foremost batsman, their best against spin and big-match player, this was one hell of a letdown.

Collingwood 4: Worked well on the fringes, but England needed more from a batsman whose low backlift and mental fortitude has made him a success on the subcontinent before. Not perfect in the slips, they miss his influence in the outfield, while his bowling could perhaps have been used more. As a senior play and one-day captain, he must shoulder some blame for the team's general direction and lacklustre performances in the field too.

Bopara 1: For turning up. 42 was not his highest score but sum total of runs from five innings. Selection nightmares are rarer than they once were, in the age of central contracts, and this was more one of circumstance than character. But to plump for a man who, despite manifest promise, has just one international half-century in one-day cricket and plays a bit-part role in that team has been shown up to be a major aberration. Still Bopara is a talented player and a scrapper, so to flop completely was surprising. He will come again, but the severity of his failure and England's need for every run in lean times means his Test career could be postponed for a while now.

Prior 5: The batting deserved 7, the 'keeping about 3. He showed his batting prowess and taste for battle with a fifty each in the first two Tests, while he held out for 100 balls at the end of the Galle match. But six chances went begging on his watch, in a series when England were stumbling across wickets like oases in deserts. With a new slip cordon bedding in, a sure catcher behind the sticks is sorely needed, and Prior cannot represent England again until he has got his 'keeping up to standard. England will want him back when he has, unless Alec Stewart's true successor pops up in the meantime, for his batting is what they need in a number 7. Sadly the 'keeping is something they could only afford were Prior pulling his weight in the top 5.

Sidebottom 5: Not only were his sins in a former life significant enough to have made him wait six years for a second international cap, but they evidently merit that the punishment should continue now he has made it back. It must have been Matt Prior's doppelganger he did terrible things to, for the wicket-keeper is costing him wickets almost on a regular basis. Still, there is a sense that he lies in an uneasy no-man's land between county and Test cricketer, and worthy toil will sustain only a short career without success. Maybe it is the bad luck, more probably he is not quite up to the task. Once again he has done enough to ensure England will want another look, but he will need to start making wickets tumble in the more favourable climes of New Zealand and the English spring. His batting deserves a special mention: in a higher position than he turns out for Nottinghamshire, he showed a remarkable application and a tenacity which also typify his bowling.

Hoggard 6: There was a glimpse of the real Hogard at Kandy, subcontinental king-of-the-swingers, as he cleaned out the Sri Lankan top-order on the first day to set up England's biggest opening of the series. Thereafter it was a case of the crocked Hoggard who has stumbled through 2007 managing just three Tests, as he missed the second with his back injury and was played, in desperation, but not rude health, at Galle. After a run of 40 consecutive Tests, the bad-luck has set in with a venegance and England will be fervently praying that 2008 finds Hoggard well. In their current strife, they cannot afford to lose him.

Harmison 6: No great deeds, but there was a noticeable fortitude in his bowling which had been lacking previously, and being shelved for the first game seemed to galvanise him, which was probably part of the idea. At least consolidated his position in the team, and he now has the prospect of some more helpful conditions in New Zealand and back home. His contribution over the next three series should be a barometer of how far he can go, but for the first time in a while, it is not a hand-wringing exercise to summarise his efforts.

Panesar 3: England's leading wicket taker with 8; their biggest disappointment too, by a more significant margin. As the lone spinner, he was expected to, at the very least, plug up one end and create pressure for the seamers. Some enticing aggression on his part would have been nice too. England got neither, just a desperately insipid set of performances, with the last two games yielding just a single wicket apiece. The pitches turned, but it is increasingly evident that Panesar needs bounce to be a real threat, and that was out of the question on these surfaces. But such a low return in a place where inferior English spinners have prospered in the recent past was a confounding experience for player and fans alike. Monty should not pass up on the chance to beard Daniel Vettori when the team travel to New Zealand, for he is at something of a crossroads, and England need more from their spinner, for whom there is no viable alternative.

Anderson 2: For the second successive winter, faith was invested in him at the beginning of a series and he showed once more that Test cricket is not his arena. Peversely he seems to be even worse when not leading the attack, as he did in the summer against India, and he is just not cut out to be a third seamer in Test cricket. Potentially there could be a time in the future when he will take the new ball and do well. But for now, his international appearances should be confined to the pyjama team.

Broad 4: Finally afforded his debut in unforgiving circumstances at Colombo, he can be satisfied despite just the sole wicket, although it confirmed he is not quite ready for Test cricket, even with his strong character going a long way to bridge the gap. The action is just too flimsy, the pace too insignificant for him to prosper as a hit-the-deck merchant. But those are things which advancing experience will remedy, and his time cannot be too far off.