Form is temporary, class is permanent. So the saying goes, but all the class in the world won't do you much good if you're out of form. We look at the England and New Zealand players who are notably in and out of form (based on performances in the 2001-02 season). Batsmen

England
Nick Knight 578 runs at 57.80
Nasser Hussain 410 at 41.00
Graham Thorpe 106 at 21.20
Ben Hollioake 69 at 17.25
James Foster 41 at 13.67 Now performing the less-sexy-opener's role, England's anchor Nick Knight has been a model of consistency this winter, while Nasser Hussain's average is better than the criticism of his performances might suggest. At the other end of the scale, Ben Hollioake needs to deliver runs on his obvious promise, as does James Foster - who is under real pressure after a top score of 13 in 11 matches - while Graham Thorpe hasn't really hit his straps after a couple of lazy dismissals in Zimbabwe and a stop-start series in India, although his 41 at Christchurch suggested an imminent return to form.

New Zealand
Chris Cairns 322 at 40.25
Nathan Astle 189 at 31.50

Chris Cairns held New Zealand together in the VB Series, when their big gun Nathan Astle had a fairly modest time of it. But Nathan Astle showed an ominous return to form in his 67 not out at Christchurch, which extended his one-day record against England to 401 runs in seven matches at 66.83. Bowlers

England
Andrew Flintoff 14 wickets at 29.00
Darren Gough 12 at 28.83
Andrew Caddick 3 at 50.33 Before the trip to Zimbabwe in September, Andrew Flintoff had not taken a one-day wicket for over two years. To go from that to bowling a series-deciding last over is quite a turnaround: enough, in fact, to make a man get his kit off. Darren Gough took a while to get back in the groove in India, but his four-wicket burst at Christchurch suggested he was somewhere near his bullish best. Andrew Caddick, however, is really struggling, both to penetrate and to keep the score down: the only man in the England squad with a career economy rate of under four an over has been walloped for 122 runs in 17 overs (6.97 per over) in his last two games.

New Zealand
Daniel Vettori 10 at 38.50

Vettori had a shocking end to the VB Series - three wickets in eight matches - but England's stuttering middle order benevolently played him back into form at Christchurch, where he took 3 for 17 in eight overs. Rob Smyth is on the staff of Wisden.com.

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