With England's summer done and dusted, it's time to reflect on the side's progress, or lack thereof, on an individual level.

Andrew Strauss
Having resolidified his spot at the top of the order with a career-saving knock in New Zealand, Strauss returned home and continued to flay a relatively poor Black Caps pace attack to all corners. A century and two fifties in four knocks was a good return, but when he came up against a far tougher South African seam quartet he struggled badly.

And so the cycle continued as he went on to save his bacon once again, scoring 58 in the final innings of the series to confirm that while his best is probably behind him, he's not a spent force either. However with Kevin Pietersen banging on about there being no room for mediocrity in his side, Strauss will have to raise his game significantly - and iron out the obvious flaws highlighted by the Proteas - if he's not to be usurped by rising stars on the county circuit. 4/10

Alastair Cook
Along with Andrew Flintoff's return to fitness, the brightest element of England's Test series loss to South Africa. While he didn't have a great time of it against New Zealand (series average 28.5), he showed that he can mix it with the best by averaging 47 against the Proteas.

Such progress is encouraging as England look forward, and so he should view his absence from the one-day side as a blessing in disguise, even if that disguise fails to mask the fact he will miss out on a shot at £500,000. He has shown himself to be a quality Test player and so it is this that he must focus on. 6.5/10

Michael Vaughan
A century against New Zealand made that series a relative success and ensured that finishing the summer without him, even in the event of a Test series loss to South Africa, was never a consideration for England fans. As it was Dale Steyn drove the nail into his coffin but England have seemingly emerged from it all for the better, if Pietersen's reign thus far is anything to go by.

It's a long way back from here, and few expect him to make it. His departure helped to balance England after they had previously struggled to find their best combinations in the wake of Flintoff's return. If there is to be another coming, it will be the result of failures from either Ian Bell or Paul Collingwood and the desire of Pietersen to include the former captain in order to pick his brain. 3/10

Ian Bell
"If you look at Ricky Ponting, he controls everything himself about his own game and that's something I'm trying to do," said Bell in February. "He's a strong individual and that's something I'm searching for personally to become that mature person that people look at in a different light so they don't look at me as a good young player but look at me as a really tough cricketer." When Bell hit a career-best 199 against South Africa at Lord's, it seemed that finally he might be making that step up.

But now that the summer is over, it's clear that he hasn't. That massive innings aside, Bell managed just one other fifty in ten Test innings, and averaged a miserable 15 against the Kiwis. If there's one England cricketer who epitomises Pietersen's 'mediocrity' lamentation surely it is Bell, who is often good for 20 or 30 but is yet to make a significant score going solo for his country. A sustained opening role in the one-day side has been to his benefit, but the progress he'd have hoped to make in his game over the summer has not been made. 5/10

Kevin Pietersen
Talk about building up a head of steam. Pietersen started the summer slowly, scoring 3, 26 and 42 in the first two Tests against New Zealand, but then hit 115 as England won the third Test by an innings. From there, he never looked back really as South Africa depart England's shores shaking their heads at their inability to beat an England side captained by one of their own.

Overall the summer was a huge success for Pietersen, even without the captaincy scoop, as he built on an average series against New Zealand (Test average 46.5; ODI average 33.25) to top the run-scoring list in the Test series against South Africa. Again the major disappointment there would have been the failure of the team, for which KP can accept some responsibility after his irresponsibility in the second innings at Edgbaston. But that is from a different era of English cricket, and the new one looks quite promising now that KP is at the helm. 9/10

Paul Collingwood
A real mixed bag for Collingwood, but he's come out of it in a positive state after an excellent recovery. The series against New Zealand is better forgotten - he averaged 10.66 in the Tests and emerged from the one-day series with a ban and a battered reputation following the Grant Elliott furore at The Oval.

After getting a stinker from umpire Billy Bowden at Lord's, he got a slice of luck to be recalled at Edgbaston (after being dropped and scoring zero runs for Durham) and subsequently set about reviving his career with a hard-fought century which would have led to a series-levelling victory but for Graeme Smith's heroic knock. He followed it up with a half-century at The Oval to prove it was not just a flash in the pan and ensure that he's very much a part of the future in all forms of the game. 6/10

Andrew Flintoff
Quite simply, it could not have gone any better. Fears that he may never recover the form that made him so missed during his injury absence have been put to bed and replaced with a desperate hope that never again will England have to take the field without him. An unbroken run in the side since his return, apparently free of any discomfort in his troublesome ankle, hints at a promising future.

He's bowled with his usual pace and control and cut down Jacques Kallis just as the dangerous all-rounder was threatening to regain some form. The South African never got into his stride after Edgbaston and his continual failure at first-drop in the one-day side never allowed the Proteas to get going. Meanwhile Flintoff was the runaway man of the series (batting average 187, bowling average 12.9) and can look to India with great expectation. 8.5/10

Owais Shah
Never set the stage alight, and thus the calls for a return to the Test side remain muted, but one-day series averages of 39.8 and 39.5 against New Zealand and South Africa respectively are praiseworthy. They will also put him ahead of Ravi Bopara in the queue in spite of Bopara's admirable season for Essex, especially as Bopara's bowling does not seem to be held in any sort of esteem by Pietersen. All in all the season can be rated a success, and the promotion to number three is a clear indication of how highly his abilities are rated. 6.5/10

Ravi Bopara
You have to feel slightly sorry for him, just because he's had an excellent season for his county but failed to make a dent on the international scene or even the selectors. An average of 25.8 during the New Zealand series - when he was given a full run in the side - simply wasn't good enough and he now seems a long way away from selection for the one-day side, let alone the Test team. Even Dimitri Mascarenhas should be ahead of him should England need another batsman, particularly if it's of the explosive variety. 3.5/10

Tim Ambrose
Averaged 23.33 in the Test series against New Zealand and 2.50 in the one-day series, then averaged 16.16 against South Africa. Given that his glovework was no more than adequate, at least England can rule him out of the wicketkeeping merry-go-round for the future. International cricket will not miss his noise standing up to the spinners either. 3/10

Matt Prior
Back in the side through sheer runs for Sussex and looking fully deserved of the recall. In fact he was the only player to gain anything out of the Cardiff washout, which allowed just enough time for him to claim another stunner and prove that his dismissal of Graeme Smith earlier in the series was no fluke. Could he possibly be 'the one'? 6.5/10

Stuart Broad
If progress was the sole factor in judging England's players for their efforts this summer, then Broad would score very highly indeed. While Bell and Monty Panesar failed to make the sort of advances England fans hoped of them, Broad continues to evolve and made the biggest gains in all facets of his game.

While his improvement with the bat was most noticeable (summer average: 46.66), he also made strides with the ball in spite of a tough Test series against South Africa. There is no doubt about his one-day ability - a nagging consistency makes him pivotal to England's attack there - but everyone will now be hoping that he can make enough progress in the Test arena to really harass the Aussies next summer. 7.5/10

James Anderson
When Anderson was selected for duty in New Zealand, the inconsistency which had plagued his career seemed to make this his last chance to prove he really was of international quality. Match figures of seven for 130 at Wellington gave him the jumpstart he needed and Anderson went on to play every match this summer, taking 34 Test wickets in the process as England's most consistent and impressive bowler.

The one-day arena was less kind to him - he managed just one wicket against South Africa and five against New Zealand - but the balance he brought to the attack made him worth his place. Six years after he made his debut and still only 26 years of age, England will be hoping that Anderson can repeat his golden summer for several years to come. 8.5/10

Ryan Sidebottom
Statistically a good summer for Sidebottom, who boasted Test series averages of 20.47 and 32.33, but a disappointing one in that England's success against South Africa came in his absence. A poor one-day series against New Zealand suggests he'll struggle to crack an injury-free attack in India, and as he approaches the age of 31 there is a worry that the last year's personal achievements will not be repeated. 7.5/10

Monty Panesar
As mentioned earlier, he hasn't made the prodigious progress that England would have wanted. Saved England at Manchester when they threatened to go one-nil down to the Kiwis, taking six for 37 to turn the match on its head, and a series average of 31.69 against South Africa suggests it was a pretty decent summer.

But he never put in a match-turning performance against the Proteas and failed to make an impact in that crucial second innings at Edgbaston when conditions were in his favour. And he still takes no responsibility for setting his own field and has not curbed his over-exuberant appealing, which is no longer endearing. Hopefully Pietersen will insist on Monty taking more responsibility going forward. 6.5/10

Steve Harmison
Handed a lifeline by the new skipper, Harmy has been in a chirpy mood and his bowling has been threatening as a result. But will it continue to be so when England are struggling in an Indian backwater? 7/10

Luke Wright
Not the summer he would have hoped for, given that it started with mutterings of forcing his way into the Test side. One-day series averages of 17.8 and 19 were not helped by his position late in the order and he was rarely tossed the ball. Still one for the future though. 5/10

Graeme Swann
One-day series average vs New Zealand: 23.28; Economy: 4.17. Clearly Kevin Pietersen thinks very highly of Samit Patel. 6/10

Samit Patel
A solid start to his international career as he played an important role in stifling South Africa during the middle overs of the first one-dayer. Went on to take a five-for and hit 31 in a man of the match performance at The Oval. 7/10

Tristan Holme