England v South Africa - Series Summary

SOUTH AFRICA WON THE SERIES 3-1
Defeat at The Oval completed a wretched summer for England, and as a consequence they relinquished their number one status in the world rankings, with South Africa moving into second place behind new top dogs, the West Indies. Poor batting has been the root cause of England's demise, with Hammond's complete loss of form severely compromising a badly misfiring top order. Graham Thorpe seemed to spend the second half of the series trying to play himself out of the side after his match winning century at Trent Bridge, and David Gower now appears to be the only certainty in the middle order following his 146 in the last Test. Les Ames' influence was badly missed in the two defeats at Old Trafford and The Oval, and although England's bowlers all performed adequately, Ian Botham's place as all-rounder must surely be in doubt once again.

As for South Africa, Hansie Cronje's elevation to the captaincy has led to a huge upsurge in fortune for the Proteas, and although Cronje himself endured a poor series with the bat, those around him usually did enough to blunt the English attack. One criticism that could be levelled at the South African batsmen was their collective tendency to get out after making a start, but Denis Lindsay was invariably able to pick up the pieces, and his two centuries went a long way to securing the victories at Lord's and Old Trafford, although it must be said that his keeping was decidedly below par for much of the series. Goddard once again led the way with the ball, but his continued lack of production at the top of the batting order continues to give the selectors a major headache.

Series averages

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South Africa could go top of the rankings if, as expected, they defeat New Zealand in their next series, whilst England's selectors now face some tough decisions ahead of the upcoming Ashes tour.

Players of the Series: DL Underwood & DT Lindsay