India-England ODI series: player rating(eng)
Andrew Flintoff
England need look no further for a deputy Test captain. Only two pace-bowling all-rounder captains have performed so well: Imran Khan of Pakistan, and Gary Sobers when he captained Rest of the World. But doing it long-term is another matter: new captains often bat above themselves before the demands wear them down. "I like a quiet life," Flintoff says, and he would not get it as captain in Australia. Hence Vaughan is indispensable.
Test avgs: Bat: 49.81, Bo: 30.54. ODI: 18.25, 24.83
Andrew Strauss
Went backwards in Asia - too keen to dominate bowling - before he ended up a better batsman. And the England one-day captaincy inspired him (as the Middlesex captaincy did) so much in Jamshedpur - sparing his quick bowlers at the death and using part-timers to take pace off the ball - that he would make a fine stand-in for the one-day series against Sri Lanka if Flintoff is rested, or even if he isn't. Flintoff's one limitation in India was his conventional one-day captaincy.
Test: 39.50, - ODI: 34.80, -
Other players
Kabir Ali
ODI: It is not his height which tells against him - Gough overcame that - so much as his wide angle into the batsman's body which makes him expensive.
ODI: 1.00, 28.40
James Anderson
Test: Six wickets in Mumbai a little flattering but seems back to where he was three years ago, and more resilient after his marriage.
ODI: Simon Jones will have to make a strong late run to deny him a World Cup place. Even if he can't bat, Anderson fields better than his rivals.
Test: 10.50, 13.16 ODI: 17.00, 32.11
Gareth Batty
ODI: Should have played in the early one-dayers on the turners in India.
ODI: 2.00
Ian Bell
Test: In Pakistan he top-averaged with 52 and shaped as a champion on slow pitches at least. India showed up his self-doubt, which suggests Australia also will next winter.
ODI: If Vaughan is out of the World Cup, Bell could still become an accumulator who 'bats through', provided he has the resilience.
Test: 21.83 ODI: 39.00
Ian Blackwell
Test: Prefers the parameters of the pond to the ocean of Test cricket. On his Nagpur debut Blackwell wasn't even his steady one-day self.
ODI: Did the left-arm-over stuff so well on slow pitches that he would have overtaken Giles if he had turned half his batting talent into runs.
Test: 4.00, - ODI: 11.80, 46.00
Paul Collingwood
Test: Did his maiden century sate his Test ambition? Can his offside game hold together on faster, bouncier wickets than Asia?
ODI: While his Test career progressed, his one-day batting marked time and his bowling went backwards - and it will be needed on the slower World Cup pitches.
Test: 68.00, - ODI: 45.80, 53.00
Alastair Cook
Test: Calm, balance, footwork, strokeplay: all he needs is exposure, so let him start against Sri Lanka and groom him for Australia, not that he needs grooming.
Test: 61.00, -
Ashley Giles
Test: Played only two Tests, and the short-term prognosis on his hip is still bad, but a place will always be kept for his all-round virtues.
n/a
Steve Harmison
Test: No world-class statement, like the one against Australia at Lord's, but steady enough.
ODI: If he wants a World Cup place he has to beware Sajid Mahmood on the outside rail.
Test: 17.33, 38.60 ODI: n/a
Matthew Hoggard
Test: You can teach a middle-aged sheep-dog new tricks. Now Hoggard is an old-ball reverse-swing specialist as well as a new-ball.
ODI: Nothing better illustrates the difference between the two games than his 80 mph out-swing turning into one-day cannon-fodder. Has begun to vary his pace but too late for a World Cup place, barring injuries.
Test: 6.25, 17.84 ODI: 7.00, no wickets
Geraint Jones
Test: Has booked his place until the end of the Ashes, but if he doesn't become more consistent, and James Foster makes more hundreds...
ODI: Job safe until the end of the World Cup, thanks to Prior's artless batting against spin.
Test: 15.00, ODI: 31.20
Sajid Mahmood
ODI: On course for a World Cup place, if only the bench, because he has the height, unlike Ali, and the pace, unlike Hoggard. But he cannot bat and field like Plunkett.
ODI: 8.50, 41.00
Monty Panesar
Test: What intensity and control in going for only two an over in Nagpur and Mumbai, where Udal reaped what Panesar had sown. Needs all the batting and fielding he can get before the Aussies target him.
Test: 6.00, 62.40
Kevin Pietersen
Test: One century and two fifties not enough for a world-class talent but a reasonable Ashes follow-up.
ODI: In Trescothick's absence, England's only consistent batsman because he has the motivation and wrist-work to push spinners around. Shame he didn't go on to a hundred, like he used to.
Test: 36.00, - ODI: 58.20, 4.00
Liam Plunkett
Test: Baptisms come no tougher than Asia for a 20-year-old seamer, yet he responded maturely and is nearing mid-80s mph - reverse-swing next?
ODI: Not yet a consistent 10-overs 'banker', but hitting 15 off the last over in Rawalpindi set him apart from his non-batting rivals.
Test: 0.50, 59.00 ODI: 8.40, 28.66
Matt Prior
ODI: His impersonation of Alec Stewart might extend beyond the strut if he can find a game-plan for batting against spin. But his lively, instant virtues are no Test threat to Jones.
ODI: 18.50
Owais Shah
Test: His Mumbai debut propelled him alongside Bell and Collingwood as a Test reserve batsman.
ODI: Not going to happen. Had to work on his fielding and bowling long ago to have a chance.
Test: 63.00, - ODI: 3.66, -
Vikram Solanki
ODI: Abolition of super-subs, and his reluctance to bowl off-spin for the last 10 years, must have ended his World Cup prospects.
ODI: 9.66
Shaun Udal
Test: Classic off-spinner's bat-pad dismissal of Tendulkar, but his other four wickets in Mumbai came from slogs, and Sri Lanka no longer have a load of left-handers, so thanks for coming - or might he be needed in Sydney?
ODI: One competent game in Pakistan but his non-selection for India spelled the end at 37.
Test: 11.50, 13.40
Andrew Flintoff
England need look no further for a deputy Test captain. Only two pace-bowling all-rounder captains have performed so well: Imran Khan of Pakistan, and Gary Sobers when he captained Rest of the World. But doing it long-term is another matter: new captains often bat above themselves before the demands wear them down. "I like a quiet life," Flintoff says, and he would not get it as captain in Australia. Hence Vaughan is indispensable.
Test avgs: Bat: 49.81, Bo: 30.54. ODI: 18.25, 24.83
Andrew Strauss
Went backwards in Asia - too keen to dominate bowling - before he ended up a better batsman. And the England one-day captaincy inspired him (as the Middlesex captaincy did) so much in Jamshedpur - sparing his quick bowlers at the death and using part-timers to take pace off the ball - that he would make a fine stand-in for the one-day series against Sri Lanka if Flintoff is rested, or even if he isn't. Flintoff's one limitation in India was his conventional one-day captaincy.
Test: 39.50, - ODI: 34.80, -
Other players
Kabir Ali
ODI: It is not his height which tells against him - Gough overcame that - so much as his wide angle into the batsman's body which makes him expensive.
ODI: 1.00, 28.40
James Anderson
Test: Six wickets in Mumbai a little flattering but seems back to where he was three years ago, and more resilient after his marriage.
ODI: Simon Jones will have to make a strong late run to deny him a World Cup place. Even if he can't bat, Anderson fields better than his rivals.
Test: 10.50, 13.16 ODI: 17.00, 32.11
Gareth Batty
ODI: Should have played in the early one-dayers on the turners in India.
ODI: 2.00
Ian Bell
Test: In Pakistan he top-averaged with 52 and shaped as a champion on slow pitches at least. India showed up his self-doubt, which suggests Australia also will next winter.
ODI: If Vaughan is out of the World Cup, Bell could still become an accumulator who 'bats through', provided he has the resilience.
Test: 21.83 ODI: 39.00
Ian Blackwell
Test: Prefers the parameters of the pond to the ocean of Test cricket. On his Nagpur debut Blackwell wasn't even his steady one-day self.
ODI: Did the left-arm-over stuff so well on slow pitches that he would have overtaken Giles if he had turned half his batting talent into runs.
Test: 4.00, - ODI: 11.80, 46.00
Paul Collingwood
Test: Did his maiden century sate his Test ambition? Can his offside game hold together on faster, bouncier wickets than Asia?
ODI: While his Test career progressed, his one-day batting marked time and his bowling went backwards - and it will be needed on the slower World Cup pitches.
Test: 68.00, - ODI: 45.80, 53.00
Alastair Cook
Test: Calm, balance, footwork, strokeplay: all he needs is exposure, so let him start against Sri Lanka and groom him for Australia, not that he needs grooming.
Test: 61.00, -
Ashley Giles
Test: Played only two Tests, and the short-term prognosis on his hip is still bad, but a place will always be kept for his all-round virtues.
n/a
Steve Harmison
Test: No world-class statement, like the one against Australia at Lord's, but steady enough.
ODI: If he wants a World Cup place he has to beware Sajid Mahmood on the outside rail.
Test: 17.33, 38.60 ODI: n/a
Matthew Hoggard
Test: You can teach a middle-aged sheep-dog new tricks. Now Hoggard is an old-ball reverse-swing specialist as well as a new-ball.
ODI: Nothing better illustrates the difference between the two games than his 80 mph out-swing turning into one-day cannon-fodder. Has begun to vary his pace but too late for a World Cup place, barring injuries.
Test: 6.25, 17.84 ODI: 7.00, no wickets
Geraint Jones
Test: Has booked his place until the end of the Ashes, but if he doesn't become more consistent, and James Foster makes more hundreds...
ODI: Job safe until the end of the World Cup, thanks to Prior's artless batting against spin.
Test: 15.00, ODI: 31.20
Sajid Mahmood
ODI: On course for a World Cup place, if only the bench, because he has the height, unlike Ali, and the pace, unlike Hoggard. But he cannot bat and field like Plunkett.
ODI: 8.50, 41.00
Monty Panesar
Test: What intensity and control in going for only two an over in Nagpur and Mumbai, where Udal reaped what Panesar had sown. Needs all the batting and fielding he can get before the Aussies target him.
Test: 6.00, 62.40
Kevin Pietersen
Test: One century and two fifties not enough for a world-class talent but a reasonable Ashes follow-up.
ODI: In Trescothick's absence, England's only consistent batsman because he has the motivation and wrist-work to push spinners around. Shame he didn't go on to a hundred, like he used to.
Test: 36.00, - ODI: 58.20, 4.00
Liam Plunkett
Test: Baptisms come no tougher than Asia for a 20-year-old seamer, yet he responded maturely and is nearing mid-80s mph - reverse-swing next?
ODI: Not yet a consistent 10-overs 'banker', but hitting 15 off the last over in Rawalpindi set him apart from his non-batting rivals.
Test: 0.50, 59.00 ODI: 8.40, 28.66
Matt Prior
ODI: His impersonation of Alec Stewart might extend beyond the strut if he can find a game-plan for batting against spin. But his lively, instant virtues are no Test threat to Jones.
ODI: 18.50
Owais Shah
Test: His Mumbai debut propelled him alongside Bell and Collingwood as a Test reserve batsman.
ODI: Not going to happen. Had to work on his fielding and bowling long ago to have a chance.
Test: 63.00, - ODI: 3.66, -
Vikram Solanki
ODI: Abolition of super-subs, and his reluctance to bowl off-spin for the last 10 years, must have ended his World Cup prospects.
ODI: 9.66
Shaun Udal
Test: Classic off-spinner's bat-pad dismissal of Tendulkar, but his other four wickets in Mumbai came from slogs, and Sri Lanka no longer have a load of left-handers, so thanks for coming - or might he be needed in Sydney?
ODI: One competent game in Pakistan but his non-selection for India spelled the end at 37.
Test: 11.50, 13.40