The biggest bonus was undoubtedly the return to form of England captain Michael Vaughan.  It was great to see him back among the runs and his performances will have given the entire team a massive boost.
 
Marcus Trescothick continued the form he had at the end of the summer; Nasser Hussain came back to find his touch in the Second Test while Graham Thorpe's re-introduction to the international arena gathered pace as he emphasised his standing as a batsman of the highest calibre.
 
Filling Alec Stewart's gloves was never going to be easy, but Read did everything expected of him and showed that he also knows which end of the bat to hold. Steve Harmison was a revelation in the First Test and an injury absentee for the second while Richard Johnson filled in admirably.   The backing up of Matthew Hoggard allowed him to claim the Man of the Series award on his return to the big time.
 
If there is one problematical area it is that of the spinning department.  As we head for Sri Lanka it is one for concern because England will be playing on pitches which are a heaven for spinners as I'm sure Muralitharan will demonstrate.
 
Sri Lanka have the biggest spinning wickets on the world stage and there will be no better stage for one of our guys to hold his hand up and show that there is no cause for alarm.