Light at the end of the tunnel?

What a difference a few short months can make. After sitting pretty at the summit of the Test Rankings, England were brought back down to earth with a thump and almost faced slipping to third position with their annihilation of India last year seeming a distant memory.

Pakistan victorious

Andrew Strauss' England side concluded several forgettable and at times calamitous months of Test cricket in the Sub continent with a comprehensive 8 wicket win over Sri Lanka to tie the series 1-1.
To a casual onlooker this may appear as an acceptable scoreline as England notoriously don't travel well, however let us not forget what preceded these events where a dejected and woeful England were comprehensively thumped by Pakistan in an uncharacteristic 3-0 whitewash.

Strauss's individual, as well as the team's collective batting performances, were dire at times as they repeatedly failed to post substantial and challenging totals. The tour was littered with several scores under 200, a far-cry from their huge totals recorded away to Australia and home to the former number one ranked team India, and when England did post their solitary strong innings of 327 they compounded it with a dismal 92.
This inconsistency, lapses in concentration and lackadaisical attitude that was so abundantly clear throughout the tour must be stamped out by Head Coach Andy Flower ahead of the upcoming appetizer home test against the West Indies and before the feast that is South Africa this summer.

Over the years England haven't fared particularly well in the Sub Continent having only won 8 of 27 away test matches, but for the supposed 'Number one' ranked test side to be beaten so heavily isn't acceptable. There were no standout performances, no gritty, defiant innings or confidence in the side. Instead they were compounded with batting collapses, poor strategies and abysmal dismissals.

Strauss fails again

Even Strauss's indispensable captaincy has been called into question, just a few months after being one of the bookies favorites to acclaim the 2011 Sports Personality of the year accolade. Though Strauss's position shouldn't be in any doubt, an immediate return to form is a must not only for England, but for one of the most successful English captains of all time it is imperative to recapture the form of 2009-10 and lead from the front, ahead of the forthcoming challenge against the Proteas.

For want of a better phrase, 'every cloud has a silver lining', England can reflect on one consistent positive throughout this tour..... their bowlers. Their dependable attack and unswerving commitment restricted both Pakistan and Sri Lanka to scores beneath 400 with Graham Swann, James Anderson and Monty Panesar, who has been somewhat in the cricketing wilderness for the past few years, particularly impressive.

Monty on song

If only their fellow batsmen could have returned the favour, as they did in Colombo, who knows perhaps Andy Flower's men may have not tasted defeat in their Sub Continent exertions. Perhaps a wee bit presumptuous but ever the optimist tis I.

A return to a more friendly, welcoming and familiar environment will meet the returning English who have ended the tour on a good note but will be left to lick their wounds somewhat.
They will undoubtedly be confident that they can rewrite the wrongs of the past few months, as is expected for a number one side, despite it being far from the most assured lead with South Africa and potentially Australia breathing down England's necks.

Every potentially great side experiences the odd rough patch, but what separates sides who have potential and those that maximise potential is how they bounce back from these setbacks as Australia did to India in 2001 and the West Indies did in 1979. So how good is this England side? Will this really test their metal? And can they bounce back, learn from their mistakes and assert some dominance over the chasing pack?
Whatever the answer is, there are undoubtedly exciting times ahead for Test Cricket which is very much alive.