View source for Cook Got His Fairytale Ending And Curran Blew Everyone Away

Former England captain Nasser Hussain looks back over a memorable series against India and ranks each player's performance and ponders whether they will make the winter tour of Sri Lanka.<br>  Alastair Cook: 7/10<br>It's been a difficult series for opening batsmen, with all the movement bowlers get from the Dukes ball.<br><br>But throughout it he has looked fine. And he showed at the Oval that he still has that mental resolve to dig deep and produce something special. It really was a fairytale ending: the perfect conclusion for a great cricketer. He will be missed.<br> <br> Winter tourist: He's made the decision for us.<br>         Alastair Cook and Joe Root celebrate winning the Test series against England at The Oval<br>     RELATED ARTICLES                <br><br><br><br>Share this article<br>Share<br><br><br>Keaton Jennings: 4<br>He faced the same problems as Cook, but didn't have the mental resolve to hang in there.<br>And when he got on a slightly flatter pitch at the Oval, his brain seemed scrambled. His two soft dismissals there will have disappointed him the most. He finishes the summer looking over his shoulder.<br>Winter tourist: NO<br>  Ollie Pope: 3<br>It was a bit harsh asking a 20-year-old who bats No 6 for Surrey to come in against the moving ball and bat No 4 for England.<br><br>But he'll be disappointed with his second-innings dismissal at Trent Bridge, where he chased the ball. You've got to be tighter than that at this level.<br>Winter tourist: YES<br>  Joe Root: 7<br>He didn't look his best until the Oval.<br><br>He'd been falling over and getting lbw, and at times struggled to line up Bumrah. But in the last Test he was more positive because of the match situation and a better pitch. It got his confidence going again. He captained excellently, and kept control of two tight run-chases at Edgbaston and  [https://codepen.io/Elizainfluencer03/pen/qBVPoxN https://codepen.io/Elizainfluencer03/pen/qBVPoxN] the Ageas Bowl.<br><br>And he was tough on the likes of Broad with some of his field-settings, which was a good sign.<br>Winter tourist: YES<br>         Root didn't look his best until The Oval where he demonstrated how good he can be<br>  Jonny Bairstow: 6<br>He gets this mark mainly for his wicketkeeping, because the ball has wobbled all over the place — and at Trent Bridge it bust his finger.<br><br>But his batting has been odd. With the ball doing so much, most players go across their stumps to cover the movement, but Bairstow has stayed leg side. If you do that, you risk getting bowled or nicking off.<br>Winter tourist: YES<br>  Dawid Malan: 2<br>He's struggled in England, and Ed Smith pointed out he's a better bet overseas, which I thought was harsh.<br><br>He's got something about him, but he kept getting trapped on the crease. He needs to play the ball before it moves. And dropping Kohli at Edgbaston didn't help his cause.<br>Winter tourist: NO<br>  Ben Stokes: 7<br>His bowling, even off a slightly shorter run, and when not always fully fit, has really come on. That angle he creates, going wide at the crease has caused problems for some of the Indians, especially Rahane.<br><br>And I've admired his batting. He's not been in the best of nick, but he's shown he can guts it out. And I'm pleased he's back in the slip cordon.<br>Winter tourist: YES<br>         Ben Stokes has really come on despite not being fully fit - he will only get better from here<br>  Jos Buttler: 8.5<br>At the start of the summer, some people labelled him a one-dimensional cricketer.<br><br>But he's been England's top scorer in the Tests, and shown how smart and flexible he is. The tempo of many of his innings has been spot on, and his technique has been excellent. I'd have him batting higher in the order than Bairstow, with Bairstow keeping the gloves.<br>Winter tourist: YES<br>  Chris Woakes: 8<br>His hundred at Lord's was magnificent, and he bowled really well, especially in that game to Kohli.<br><br>It's odd that he can't do it away from home, and it's noticeable that when he has a slight niggle his bowling speeds drop.<br>Winter tourist: NO<br>  Moeen Ali: 8<br>He has bowled brilliantly, using a slight change in his action, with his arm tighter to his body to get more revs on the ball.<br><br>In Southampton, he even outbowled Ravichandran Ashwin, one of the world's best off-spinners. It was a reminder that he bowls better in England than abroad, and I'd have him as my No 2 spinner in Sri Lanka. He's shown fight at No 3, and could bat there this winter.<br><br>But can he do that job, and bowl 30 overs, in the heat?<br>Winter tourist: YES<br>         Adil Rashid, Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali celebrate in the dressing room after the win over India<br>  Sam Curran: 9<br>If it wasn't for his batting at Edgbaston and the Ageas Bowl, England could have drawn this series, or even lost it.<br><br>I thought Curran would just be a bit of a hitter, but the way he played Ashwin at Southampton — going right forward or right back — was exceptional. His assets are his fight and character. I hope he picks the brains of Chaminda Vaas, another left-armer, in Sri Lanka.<br>Winter tourist: YES<br>  Adil Rashid: 6<br>He was probably underbowled and underused because of the abundance of swing and seam.<br><br>He got Kohli out twice and bowled very well at the tail. And that was a very good delivery to get Rahul at the Oval. In Sri Lanka, you may want an extra finger-spinner to give you more control, like Jack Leach of Somerset. But I'd take Rashid as a third spinner, and he's scored some useful runs as well.<br>Winter tourist: YES<br>         Sam Curran pumps his fist after dismissing Ishant Sharma during day five of the fifth Test<br>  Stuart Broad: 6.5<br>He continues to take important wickets — getting Kohli first ball on Monday night was a good example.<br><br>In general, Root did well to get him and Anderson to pitch the ball up, but there was that game at Trent Bridge where they dragged their lengths back. He had a couple of fallouts with Root, which I like, and it's been nice to see Broad get a couple of scores with the bat, which we haven't seen for a while.<br>Winter tourist: YES<br>  Jimmy Anderson: 9<br>It was amazing that he didn't get Kohli in the series, because he bowled beautifully to him — but he wasn't supported by his slip fielders.<br><br>The spell he bowled on the last afternoon at the Oval was a reminder that he's still very fit, even at the age of 36; there was no drop-off of pace or skill. I'd keep him playing, rather than give him three months off. What a bowler.<br>Winter tourist: YES<br>  India ratings <br>KL Rahul 6, Shikhar Dhawan 3, Cheteshwar Pujara 7, Virat Kohli 9, Hanuma Vihari 5, Rishabh Pant 6, Murali Vijay 1, Dinesh Karthik 3, Hardik Pandya 5, Ravindra Jadeja 7, Ravi Ashwin 4, Mohammed Shami 8, Ishant Sharma 8, Jasprit Bumrah 8, Umesh Yadav 5, Kuldeep Yadav 2. <br>         <br>         Jimmy Anderson was in excellent form throughout the Test match and broke more records<br>   RELATED ARTICLES                <br><br><br><br>Share this article<br>Share