Series averages England have just put away their pyjamas after a busy winter of 16 one-day internationals in Zimbabwe, India and New Zealand. As a team they made definite progress after the fiasco of last summer, winning 10 games and losing six, and improving their score in the Wisden one-day world championship. But how did they fare as individuals? Who made strides and who went backwards?

A step forward

Nick Knight England's best batsman of the winter. He passed 50 in seven of his 16 innings, and outlasted Marcus Trescothick in 13 of them. This was a new, improved model. The occasional shimmy and slash was still there, but he was the man who looked to bat through the innings. Two minor criticisms: he made five scores between 73 and 82, when openers should turn at least two of them into 130s. And while he dropped anchor expertly, he also dropped catches - in New Zealand he put down five.

Graham Thorpe His mind wasn't on the job in India, so perhaps his biggest achievement was to refocus on his cricket in New Zealand (and sing the praises of the sabbatical). The result was consecutive half-centuries after going ten innings without one. At Napier he was a class above everyone else, and at Auckland he didn't look like getting out. He missed a straight one at Dunedin, which took off some of the gloss, but Thorpe remains the engine-room of the middle order. Nudges and nurdles have rarely looked this easy.

Michael Vaughan Nasser Hussain said he never had any doubts about Vaughan's ability as a one-day batsman, and he was vindicated by three little gems: 63 at Cuttack, 43 at Chennai and 59 off 53 balls at Auckland, which was the cameo of the series. Has any English right-hander in the last decade played as elegantly as that? He dropped a dolly at Delhi, and - characteristically - injured himself the game after awesome Auckland, but he's now a certainty for the World Cup.

Owais Shah Salvaged his winter by top-scoring at Dunedin, where he recaptured some of the form that brought him 62 against Pakistan at Lord's in July. Had Vaughan not dislocated his shoulder, Shah might be out of the reckoning altogether, which would have reflected poorly on the selectors. In Zimbabwe his contribution was a second-ball duck; in India he didn't get a game; and in New Zealand he made 7 and 0 not out before that 11th-hour 59. At cover his sliding around was less effective than it looked, but at least England now have depth in the middle order.

Andrew Flintoff The sight of Freddie lumbering to the crease either terrified the opposition (if he was running in to bowl) or had them fighting for the ball (if he was walking out to bat). The batsman who bowled became a bowler who, after the Zimbabwe trip, batted well only twice - at Delhi and Mumbai. But his back-breaking, wrist-cocked, short-of-a-length seam-up became one of the highlights of England's one-day winter. In India, where everyone else bar Vaughan went for more than five an over, Flintoff's economy-rate was a Scrooge-like 4.35. At Auckland he was hit for six, but still returned figures of 7-1-17-4. One giant advert for Pilates.

Ashley Giles After being garrotted by Ganguly for 32 runs in his first four overs at Delhi, Giles's eventual figures of 5 for 57 were the turning-point of his one-day career. In New Zealand he was like a left-handed John Emburey: tight (4.19 an over) but not scary (just two wickets in 37 overs). His fielding combined the agility of a tank with the menace of Thomas the Tank Engine: one creaking turn and chase from mid-on at Christchurch made Chris Nevin's skyer look like a stoke of genius. And he needs to make more 21s at No. 9 like the one he managed at Dunedin. But his weaknesses are a price worth paying - just.

Darren Gough The best bowler on either side in New Zealand, where he took 13 wickets at a shade over 14, conceded only 4.20 an over, and dazzled in just about every game. At Christchurch he almost turned a lost cause on its head. In India he was sacrificed at the altar of Sachin and Sehwag, but it didn't stop him bowling a final over of inch-perfect yorkers to deny Ajit Agarkar at Delhi. He even remembered his forward-defensive to add 37 series-saving runs at Mumbai, while his leaping-salmon catch at third man at Auckland was England's champagne moment in the field. Outstanding - and on his way home.

Matthew Hoggard A winter of three thirds. The man they call Shrek made the most of the new ball in Zimbabwe (10 wickets at less than 14), gurned his way through some vicious treatment in India, and swung it around in New Zealand until Nathan Astle swung him all over the park at Dunedin. He even elbowed out Andy Caddick and earned special praise from Stephen Fleming after Auckland, which was the first time Fleming had deigned to discuss the opposition. A bullocking farmhand in the field - solid, but not always elegant.

A step back

Mark Ramprakash Did all right in Zimbabwe, but this team obviously ain't big enough for two classy, studious right-handers who bowl a bit of offspin, so Vaughan leapfrogged Ramps in the pecking order. And, eventually, so did Owais Shah. Ramps will probably now retire without ever playing in a World Cup. But, like a world-weary football manager whose team has been knocked out of the cup, he can now concentrate on the proper stuff.

James Foster Every tour has its fall guy, and at Christchurch Foster fell flat on his bottom. That dropped skyer proved the final straw, and a "tired" Foster was officially rested. For four games. In truth, he's England's biggest headache. They suspect he's not good enough - only Deep Dasgupta makes more errors among current international keepers - but the management desperately want him to be. Now they're not even giving him the experience. England missed his cheerleading after Christchurch, and they didn't even get any runs out of his replacement. Pass the aspirin, please.

Jeremy Snape An instant hit in Zimbabwe, where he had both Flower brothers stumped in three balls, but when Giles cleaned up at Delhi, Snape's England career stalled. He's a cuter batsman than Giles, and an electric eel in the field to Giles's beached whale, but once batsmen get the hang of his 40mph loopers, he can be hittable. Should make the World Cup squad as the second spinner.

Andy Caddick Last summer the Aussies got to him on the pitch. Now the Kiwis got to him off it. Hammered in the press by Simon Doull after the first warm-up game at Hamilton, heckled when he came out to bat at Christchurch, and humiliated when he slipped over at third man, Caddick retreated into his shell and waited for the Tests to start. He produced the ball of the series in India - a rearing lifter that brushed Agarkar's gloves at Mumbai - but that was about as good as it got. It's hard to imagine he won't be back (after all, he still concedes less than four an over in pyjamas), but does he have the stomach for the fight?

Ben Hollioake Finished the winter in fourth place in the Battle of the Allrounders behind Flintoff, Collingwood and White. Showed his languid class when he charmed the press at Napier, but otherwise it was a walk-on part that was limited to a gritty 37 at Chennai and an athletic finger-tip dive at Cuttack to run out Tendulkar at the non-striker's end. His best chance lies in convincing Hussain and Duncan Fletcher that he - and not Craig White - can provide the much-needed fireworks from No. 8.

A step sideways

Marcus Trescothick Irresistible in India, he was neutered in New Zealand, although it was hard to tell just how out of form he was because he never stayed in for long enough. After warming up with a series of cameos in Zimbabwe, he smashed 318 runs in India at better than one a ball, but faced only 76 deliveries against New Zealand. Between the start of his series horribilis and the end his average plummeted four points (from 38.74 to 34.67). And he can't use the excuse that he was distracted by keeping wicket: in three of the four games in which he wore the big red gloves, England batted first. He'll be back, but for the first time in his international career, Banger was mashed.

Nasser Hussain Nasser doesn't agree, but you can't argue with the stats. In 16 games he made 504 runs at an average of less than 34 and a strike rate of 74, which is merely adequate for a No. 3. And only once did he make more than 50. Press-box rumblings finally got to him at Auckland, where he played an ugly crash-and-burn innings that dripped with resentment. Might be better off at No. 6, shoring up a collapse or marshalling a run-chase. His fielding was usually world-class, while his captaincy recovered from a stodgy start and was back to its incisive best at Napier.

Craig White Finished on a high note with a tidy spell at Dunedin, which could have been a matchwinning one if Steve Dunne had upheld a convincing shout for lbw before Craig McMillan had scored. But until then, Chalky had been scratchy. His one-day batting average of 12 remains a scandal, and his bowling lacks bite now that the speedometer no longer touches 90mph. England need an Andre Adams at No. 8, but White doesn't do sixes. Might struggle to make South Africa.

Paul Collingwood One match award in each of the three series gave a superficial sheen to a winter that lacked depth. He could be intelligent (his 77 at Bulawayo and 71 not out at Cuttack were cheeky and innovative), but he could be inflexible too (in New Zealand, extra cover was just waiting for a leading edge as one leg-side heave followed another). His bowling was either deadly (Napier) or dud (Auckland). But his fielding stood out in a team full of blunderers. Hussain's a big fan, so expect to hear more of those Geordie appeals over the next year.

A step nowhere

James Kirtley bowled with fire but remains under a cloud after his action was queried in Zimbabwe. Chris Silverwood has pace but not enough control. Ryan Sidebottom has to learn to swing it into the right-hander as he does for Yorkshire. And Paul Grayson at least ensured that he wouldn't retire with no international runs and wickets after taking 3 for 40 and scoring 6 in Zimbabwe.

Lawrence Booth is assistant editor of Wisden.com.

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