I've always maintained that a player's future should be based on their 2nd home season. Bell had a great 2nd home season against Pakistan in 2006 (Bell played two innings against Bangladesh in 2005 but I don't count that series because they weren't serious opposition) and doesn't warrant dropping yet despite underachieving in this series against India. Cook has had two good home seasons in 2006 and 2007 and is definitely a player of the future. Tremlett has impressed in his first home season but needs to back it up in 2008 to become a regular.

The players who most disappointed me in the series against India were Strauss, Bell and Panesar. I think the others performed acceptably given their level of experience. It was a long summer for Sidebottom and he bowled spiritedly throughout. He should continue to get opportunities in the future. Prior is probably good enough with the bat to continue the experiment of playing a batsman-keeper. He must shine next summer, though, with both bat and gloves, otherwise even I will admit enough is enough. I'm just not sure whether good footwork and anticipation can be learned or is instinctive. I know Prior is mentally strong enough to work hard to improve. England can't afford to give him more than one more home season, though. Don't be surprised if other keepers serve notice next year because there are some good up-and-coming keepers around. I'm sure this will be a hotly debated issue when the WAT 2007 team is selected.

It's not news that most series wins are setup by good opening partnerships. As a senior member, Strauss needed to contribute more runs. In my opinion, he is playing for his spot in the team now. If he has another ordinary series against Sri Lanka England will almost certainly lose that series. That will almost certainly see him dropped.

This series was the 7th of three or more matches for Bell. At this stage in his career he is expected to score heavily in the middle order. I think he's another one that is on shaky ground as far as Test selection is concerned. Panesar, simply should have taken more wickets in the 2nd half of the English summer when pitches are drier. The good batsmen have worked him out and he's too predictable. He should have been a match-winner in this series but he was tamed by the Indian batsmen. I think he's future Test selection is more certain than Strauss or Bell but he was below par in this series and should accept part responsibilty for the loss of the series.

If I had to list the players in terms of certainty for future Test selection from most certain to least certain the order would be as follows:

Pieterson, Vaughan, Panesar, Cook, Collingwood, Sidebottom, Tremlett, Bell, Anderson, Prior, Strauss.