The pyjama party is finally over. It spanned five months, took in 13 cities in three continents, and at the end of it all, England have identified the core of a side that can compete at the World Cup in South Africa next March.

Two opening batsmen and three seamers can be inked in for the World Cup in South Africa next March, which isn't bad for starters. But as the combined averages demonstrate, there are several places still up for grabs.

Nick Knight was consistently excellent throughout the 16 matches. Selectorial absurdities aside, he can be assured of starting his first World Cup, after missing out at the last minute in 1999. His strike-rate of 75 runs per 100 balls was very respectable for someone who has turned into an anchorman, though it paled in comparison with Marcus Trescothick, who was superhuman in India before suffering the keepers' curse in New Zealand.

Even so, Trescothick's eventual average of 31.88 is a disappointment. He scored his 510 runs from a phenomenal 515 balls, but this works out at just 32 balls per match - barely 10% of an innings. All too often he would race to 30, and then play a listless shot. He has plenty to think about, and that's not just his glovework.

But once Trescothick was gone and Knight had dropped anchor, there was a considerable lack of oomph in the middle order. Nasser Hussain scored 500 runs in the winter, to prove there is more to his game than tactical nous, but he was particularly culpable for the slow tempo of England's innings. After a flying start in Zimbabwe (198 runs in three completed innings), he managed just one more 50 in two series, and his subsequent strike rate of 70 runs per 100 balls (a 50-overs total of just 210) was simply not enough. When Graham Thorpe returns to form and focus, that statistic should improve.

Paul Collingwood jumped up the pecking order with some impressive performances, not least with the ball, and Jeremy Snape did everything that was asked of him. But the lower-middle order was a worry, and it is little wonder that James Foster was jettisoned towards the end.

But England may well have nailed their World Cup seam attack - and it is not quite as expected. Darren Gough, as ever, was excellent, but Andrew Flintoff was a revelation - his back-of-a-length seamers not only picked up wickets, they proved hard to get away as well.

Gough and Flintoff will be joined by Matthew Hoggard, who had it easy in Zimbabwe, but emerged with his reputation enhanced in India and New Zealand. But it was a woeful winter for Andrew Caddick, and an anonymous one for Ben Hollioake. They both have a lot of ground to make up.

Andrew Miller is on the staff of Wisden.com

England batting

	m	i	no	runs	hs	av	sr
1 NV Knight	16	16	2	729	105	52.07	75.70
2 ME Trescothick	16	16	0	510	121	31.88	99.03
3 N Hussain	15	15	1	504	73	36.00	74.45
4 PD Collingwood	14	14	4	333	77	33.30	80.24
5 A Flintoff	16	14	1	314	52	24.15	83.96
6 GP Thorpe	11	10	2	236	59*	29.50	75.16
7 MP Vaughan	7	7	1	206	63	34.33	80.47
8 JN Snape	8	5	2	136	38	45.33	71.32
9 MR Ramprakash	5	5	1	111	47	27.75	66.87
10 BC Hollioake	7	5	1	69	37	17.25	60.00
11 OA Shah	4	4	1	64	57	21.33	52.46
12 AF Giles	8	5	1	53	21*	13.25	56.38
13 JS Foster	11	6	3	41	13	13.67	57.75
14 C White	5	4	1	31	17	10.33	54.39
15 D Gough	11	6	3	30	16*	10.00	54.55
16 AR Caddick	3	2	0	9	7	4.50	25.71
17 AP Grayson	1	1	0	6	6	6.00	50.00
18 MJ Hoggard	12	3	2	5	4*	5.00	71.42
19 RJ Sidebottom	2	1	1	2	2*	-	100.00
20 RJ Kirtley	3	1	0	1	1	1.00	33.33
21 CEW Silverwood	1	0	0	0	-	-	-

England bowling

	m	o	m	r	w	av	sr	rpo
1 MJ Hoggard	12	104	8	478	21	22.76	29.7	4.60
2 D Gough	11	100.1	3	489	21	23.29	28.6	4.88
3 A Flintoff	16	122.1	4	540	20	27.00	36.7	4.42
4 JN Snape	8	72.1	0	351	11	31.91	39.4	4.86
5 AF Giles	8	63	2	300	9	33.33	42.0	4.76
6 PD Collingwood	14	66	0	348	8	43.50	49.5	5.27
7 C White	5	36	1	178	6	29.66	36.0	4.94
8 BC Hollioake	7	51	2	231	6	38.50	51.0	4.53
9 MR Ramprakash	5	20	0	94	4	23.50	30.0	4.70
10 AP Grayson	1	10	0	40	3	13.33	20.0	4.00
11 CEW Silverwood	1	9	0	43	3	14.33	18.0	4.78
12 RJ Kirtley	3	24.2	1	94	3	31.33	48.7	3.86
13 AR Caddick	3	27.3	2	151	3	50.33	55.0	5.49
14 RJ Sidebottom	2	14	0	84	2	42.00	42.0	6.00
15 MP Vaughan	7	18.4	1	92	2	46.00	56.0	4.92
16 ME Trescothick	16	1	0	7	0	-	-	7.00

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