JAMES Anderson was basking in the glory of a first Lord's final win after England's sensational NatWest Series success over South Africa.

The Burnley paceman took three wickets for 50 runs in the seven wicket win as England tied up a notable success.

And Anderson was happy with England's performance and said: "It has been an exceptional one-day season for England.

"We couldn't have expected to win both series, against Pakistan and South Africa.

"We just wanted to see how the new team gelled together so to come away with two trophies is an outstanding effort."

Now England prepare for the Test series against South Africa with the team being named on Friday, but Anderson was just looking to relax.

"I've now got a few days off to re-charge my batteries before the first Test," he said.

"I will keep myself fit in the gym but I won't be doing a lot of bowling this week.

"The Test series is going to be very interesting but I think England definitely have the edge over South Africa going into the first match."

Vikram Solanki emerged from a crisis of confidence to fire England's young side to an emphatic NatWest Series final victory over South Africa at Lord's.

The Worcestershire batsman hit a quickfire half-century off only 58 deliveries to help England to a seven-wicket victory to lift the trophy in front of a sell-out Lord's crowd with 29.4 overs to spare after they had dismissed South Africa for a lowly 107.

Their triumph, which follows victory in the NatWest Challenge against Pakistan, completes an impressive first summer for captain Michael Vaughan and his youthful squad, giving them a lift in their long-term planning for the 2007 World Cup in West Indies.

The victory also lifts England to third place in the new International Cricket Council's one-day rankings and confirms they are on track to be competitive in the Caribbean.

It also vindicated the selectors' decision to blood players like Jim Troughton, Kabir Ali, Anthony McGrath and Richard Johnson and look to the future rather than recall more experienced players who are unlikely to feature at the next World Cup.

Perhaps Solanki, above all, has epitomised the improvement having been recalled after a three-year absence and suffering more than his share of mixed fortunes as England's new opener alongside Marcus Trescothick.

He has dazzled on occasions, particularly during his brilliant century against South Africa at The Oval a fortnight ago, but he has suffered four consecutive single figure scores since to prompt calls for him to make way for Vaughan to open.

Faced with a last chance to impress this summer, Solanki hammered England towards victory by dominating an 87-run partnership with Vaughan.

The manner in which he brought up his second half-century for England was particularly impressive, launching Jacques Kallis for a six and a four off successive deliveries.

Having weathered the early pressure caused by Trescothick's loss in the second over of England's reply when he edged Makhaya Ntini to Andrew Hall at first slip without scoring, it would have been fitting if Solanki had been there to witness the celebrations.