England learned some useful lessons in Queenstown, not all of them to do with the finer points of bungee-jumping and white-water rafting. They learned that Andy Caddick is slowly rediscovering his rhythm, and that James Ormond probably won't get another chance all tour to find his. They learned that Marcus Trescothick needs a rest, and that Mark Ramprakash is raring to go. They learned that Usman Afzaal – 0 and 30 – isn't the answer at No. 6, and that even Richard Dawson – 24* and 35* - should be ahead of him in the queue. But with just one three-day game against Canterbury separating England from the Test series, there are still two main areas of concern.

First, there's The Puzzling Case of James Foster. After the Christchurch one-dayer, when he dropped a skyer for the second time in his brief England career, Foster was officially rested, the rationale being that a young, fit, 21-year-old couldn't possibly be expected to appear in five one-day games inside two weeks. Everyone thought he'd play at either Auckland or Dunedin or both, but he played in neither. And when it became clear that Warren Hegg would wear the gloves at Queenstown, people wondered whether Foster would get a game there as a batsman. After all, he'd had more than a fortnight to do all the resting he liked.

But he was left to his own devices instead, and Hegg did what he promised to do, which was put a few doubts in the selectors' minds: he top-scored in the first innings with 32, held on to a blinder of a catch in front of first slip's face, and hurled himself again and again down the leg side like a lemming who knows no fear. It was hard to escape the conclusion that he would be a far safer option for the Test series than Foster. And if Hegg plays against Canterbury, we'll know that the selectors agree.

The other question that became harder to answer was who to play in the engine-room of Nos 5-7. Ramprakash, Michael Vaughan and Andrew Flintoff? Or one of Ramprakash and Vaughan, plus Flintoff and Craig White? Of course Vaughan needs his shoulder to come through the Canterbury game first, but assuming it does, England will be forced to drop a recent Test centurion: Ramprakash (133 against Australia at The Oval in August); Vaughan (120 against Pakistan at Old Trafford in June); or White (121 against India at Ahmedabad in December).

The Indian experience told us that England could hardly afford the luxury of Flintoff at No. 6 and White at No. 7. The Queenstown experience, where five of the top seven registered ducks (Flintoff making 16 and 0, White 9 and 0), backed that up. And while Vaughan batted sensationally at Auckland, and Ramprakash with Oval-style freedom in the second innings at Queenstown, White has made just 55 runs in eight innings on New Zealand's new brand of bouncier wickets. If he can't lunge forward on to the front foot, as he does so expertly on the subcontinent, he is a sitting target for any bowler with a half-decent bouncer. England like the balance he brings – in theory at least – to the side, but with Caddick, Matthew Hoggard, Flintoff and Ashley Giles leading the attack, and Mark Butcher backing them up, England can get by without White's bowling as well. Canterbury might be his last chance to convince the selectors otherwise.

One thing is for sure. England will be far more severely tested by Canterbury on Thursday than they were by Otago. The Canterbury squad was announced today and contains nine internationals. The time for doubts is almost over.

Canterbury squad Gary Stead (capt), Robbie Frew, Michael Papps, Shanan Stewart, Craig McMillan, Nathan Astle, Chris Cairns, Chris Harris, Gareth Hopkins, Paul Wiseman, Warren Wisneski, Wade Cornelius, Chris Martin.

Lawrence Booth is assistant editor of Wisden.com.

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