In term sof best and worst English bowling performances... putting Panesar up on a pedestal makes no sense: he has huge potential... and I've followed his rise with enthusiasm since well before he burtst onto the International scene... and it's encouraging to see him emerge from an Ashes series with a bit of credit... but he started the tour so badly that Giles was regarded as the better bowler (forget the batting, Giles was outbowling him) and the guy's bowling at Perth was by some margin the worst (though most handsomely rewarded) of his short career.

The kid has a lot to learn, and still lacks the experience to bowl to the level some seem to think he's already managing... a fact recognised by Flintoff, whose negative field placings to allow Symonds off the hook were diabolical... but perhaps based on a realistic assessment of Panesar's current ability to bowl to a plan.

In terms of best England bowler... a jaded Flintoff (nowhere near his best) topped Panesar... and Hoggard comfortably eclipsed both (being the only only English bowler on tour who looked consistently on his game and capable of bowling to a plan.

The worst? Mahmood by miles: I've not seen a bowler inspire less confidence in his captain and look less capable of bowling to a plan since Devon Malcolm had Boycott spitting feathers for undoing all the great work of Gus Fraser. Anderson, by comparison, was pretty decent: it's a shame Anderson's best spells came in tour matches rather than Test matches... but he at no point looked as incapable of following instructions as Mahmood.

Giles was out of sorts, but (in near impossible circumstances created by a mis-firing seam attack) still bowled better than both Mahmood and Anderson: a defensive finger spinner is there to help the seamers maintain pressure.. but with Harmison doing his best to get the series known as "shoddyline" and Anderson struggling... there was simply no pressure to maintain - and Giles stood no chance.

ps. we all admire those bowlers who can thrive when the other bowlers are NOT helping build the pressure... as Murali does, for example... but that's hardly the be all and end all of bowling: even the best finger spinners and medium pace bowlers generally need to be part of a fully functioning bowling unit to really shine... even an all time great like Laker (or Bedser for that matter) would have struggled with Harmison and Anderson gifting the initiative as they did at the Gabba!