THE fact that England look set to leave the Caribbean without a one-day series win is not the dampener some pundits are suggesting.
While it is true that having batted first and setting 280 runs or more we should be winning games, you equally have to concede that the West Indies were probably due a couple of good knocks after the way things have gone for them over the winter.
I feel we have folded at the end in some of the one-day innings when maybe 20 or 30 more runs could have been scored, but as coach Duncan Fletcher says this is all part of building a team for the 2007 World Cup.
The players will learn from these games against the West Indies and you have to remember their progression in the current one-day series has been hampered by games being lost to the weather and then having to play back-to-back games this weekend - which is far from ideal.
Also I would have liked to see Steve Harmison bowled in a different way.
Rather than saving him for the end, he should be bowled with the new ball and then finish his stint in the middle of the innings, and leave the experienced guys like Darren Gough and Andy Flintoff to finish off.
But the fact is that we went out there to win a Test series and the boys did that in style - there is plenty of time yet to prepare for the World Cup.
IT WAS good to see Kyle Hogg back at his best with Lancashire at the weekend.
A lot was expected of Kyle last season, but his progress was hampered by illness.
Because of his quiet season the spotlight has moved on to others like Jimmy Anderson and Sajid Mahmood, and that is probably in Kyle's favour.
He can now get down to doing his job without the pressure of expectation.
And he has the potential to become a very good all-rounder over the coming seasons.
Having the likes of Dominic Cork around the club will help, but one factor that might stand in his way is on the batting front.
With the players at the top of the order all looking likely to get plenty of runs over the coming summer, it is arguable that Kyle will be able to get the time at the crease he needs batting lower down the order.
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