England take series but rain the real winner

Captain Andrew Strauss and man of the series Chris Tremlett with the npower trophy

All behold the Great British Summer. Already it has claimed its first sporting casualty but England's cricketers should be pleased with how they acquitted themselves against Sri Lanka.

They more than deserved their 1-0 triumph in the three-match series, and if it wasn't for the rain, it surely would have been 3-0.

The Sri Lankans are not the highest quality test team England will ever face but they provided a decent warm-up for the big series against India later this summer.

Clearly, England have some issues to iron out between now and then but there are much more positives than negatives to come out of this series.

Sri Lanka were written off beforehand but those predictions seemed wide of the mark after their first innings 400 at Cardiff in the first test.

From then on though, it was one-way traffic and only the weather could save the tourists.

They collapsed in the second innings at Cardiff to an unthinkable 82 all out and that is an indication of what a vulnerable side they are at the moment.

Reaching the World Cup final should have been excellent for them but since then they have been in turmoil, with no permanent coach, a new captain and several players retiring.

This series always looked like it was going to be too early for them but there really aren't too many positives they can take away with them.

Captain Tillakaratne Dilshan batted well, averaging 84, in the first two tests before injury ruled him out of the third test. Wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene also looked good with the bat and won Sri Lanka's man of the series award, but other than those two their batting line-up looked meek.

Kumar Sangakkara's 119 in the last innings at the Rose Bowl was his first century in England

Kumar Sangakkara scored a century in his last innings but other than that he had no scores to note. Fellow star man Mahela Jayawardene averaged just 17 as the big names failed to ignite once again on English shores.

Sri Lanka's bowling attack was also distinctly unthreatening so all in all, England's batsmen had a pretty easy series.

However, captain Andrew Strauss did not find it so simple as he averaged less than seven, an extremely disappointing and surprising return by a high quality player.

Strauss will now return to his county after retiring from one-day internationals

Left-arm seamer Chanaka Welegedara dismissed Strauss three times in the series and his so-called weakness against left-arm seam is now being widely debated.

His technique against it is sure to come under even greater scrutiny in the India series, with Zaheer Khan a considerably more skilled and experienced bowler, so Strauss needs to work extensively to sort out this problem before that series comes around.

His position in the side is nowhere near under threat now as he does such a good job as skipper, but failure to contribute against India will leave serious question marks hanging over his head.

Other than Strauss, all of England's other top order batsmen were able to fill their boots.

Alastair Cook was the leading run-scorer with 390 - including two centuries - and has backed up his magnificent form in the Ashes last winter brilliantly.

Cook has now scored 18 test centuries

He is a statistician's dream right now as he breaks record after record and he is well on the way to becoming an England test legend. He has had six consecutive scores of 50 or more and you just can't ask for anything better than that.

Cook is also the one-day captain but hopefully that responsibility and the different dimensions of the 50-over game will not affect his test form. He is in the form of his life and that needs to be protected.

Ian Bell was England's next most successful batsman, scoring two centuries at an incredible average of 331, a figure skewed considerably by a number of not out scores.

Ian Bell is in the form of his life

Bell has now become the batsman he has long promised to be and there isn't a better player to watch than him.

It was not his technique that was the problem in his early international days, it was his character, but he now seems a lot more confident and is reaping the dividends. Both Cook and Bell have been reinvigorated in the last year or so and all credit for that must go to coach Andy Flower and batting coach Graham Gooch.

Jonathan Trott's continued run of form also cannot go unnoticed, as he has been in prime form ever since breaking into the side in 2009.

Trott's temperament seems perfect for test cricket

He averaged around 67 in this series but accumulates his runs so quietly and calmly that sometimes it is easy to forget about him. His role is invaluable though and there aren't many more consistent batsmen in world cricket than him.

Kevin Pietersen had a poor series until his last two innings, but two scores above 50 proved he is back. Expect to see him in peak form by the time the India series comes around.

Matt Prior and Eoin Morgan also contributed, with Prior chipping in with a century, so it has been a real team effort by England's batsmen.

They may not have been facing the most quality bowling attack in the world but they punished that to the maximum, with the exception of Strauss.

As for the bowling, it could have been better.

Chris Tremlett was sensational throughout though - winning England's man of the series award after taking 15 wickets - and has truly cemented his place in the side now.

Many experts believe Tremlett could become the best bowler in the world

Sri Lanka simply couldn't cope with his hostility, and he will be a massive player in the India series as there aren't too many bowlers like Tremlett around at the moment.

James Anderson missed the Lord's test but looked as dangerous as ever when he did play, again proving his status as leader of the attack, while Graeme Swann was not used too often but still managed to pick up 12 wickets.

The real worry for England with the ball is Stuart Broad.

Broad has been struggling for match fitness after a number of injuries in recent months

He looked horribly undercooked throughout and averaged over 48, which is far too high for a member of a four-man attack.

England will be desperately hoping Broad finds his form in the one-day series against Sri Lanka as he is a key player and will be badly needed against India. His lower-order runs are invaluable but his poor form with the ball cannot be ignored as there are a number of ready-made replacements, such as Steven Finn and Jade Dernbach.

Hopefully, Broad will have found his feet by the time the India series comes around as an attack of Anderson, Tremlett, Broad and Swann when all four are on form would be the most feared in world cricket.

England now move onto a one-day series against Sri Lanka and while it is vitally important they bounce back strongly from their World Cup failure, the test series against India will be the main focus.

India are ranked number one in tests and that is a position England would dearly love, so this series is going to be a crucial one.

Sachin Tendulkar has 99 international centuries and will be looking for his 100th 100 against England

It will be great to see the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and MS Dhoni on English soil and this will be the perfect test of where England really are at the moment. If they can beat this India side, they can rightfully call themselves the best team in the world.

The weather may have scuppered their chances of beating Sri Lanka by more than one but in the time they were on the field they battered them, particularly with the bat. England have a couple of issues to sort out before they face India but they should be pleased with their performance against the Sri Lankans.

Tougher challenges certainly await with the India series just around the corner but England are well on their way to being number one.