The Ashes: England receive a timely reminder of their place in world cricket

Had England won this fifth Ashes Test they’d have gone to second in the Test rankings. It could have given them an unrealistic view of where they sit as a side.

For all the excitement and good will generated in the UK as a result of their reclaiming of the Ashes, England remain an average side with significant weaknesses.

The reality is that prior to this series, they had won only five of their previous 18 Tests. In this period they had been flogged 5-0 by Australia, succumbed at home to an ordinary Sri Lankan side and struggled against a shocking West Indies team which was then promptly destroyed by Australia.

Their efforts in regaining the Ashes were brilliant and worthy of considerable praise. Yet there has been a lot of exaggerated optimism coming out of England in the wake of the lopsided results in the third and fourth Tests.

Australia are an inept side in crisis, while the home team are at the start of a golden era, according to many English pundits and fans.

The “inept” description of Australia is accurate when referring to their ability on seaming English decks. Yet England also have genuine concerns about their capacity for flourishing outside of such accommodating conditions.

In the two Tests this series played on less responsive pitches, England have been monstered by Australia. These sorts of flat Test pitches are commonplace across the world these days.

Whether it’s in the subcontinent, the Caribbean, South Africa or even Australia, “roads” are more prevalent than ever. The desire to maximise revenue by ensuring Tests go into day five is often cited as a reason for the proliferation of batsmen-friendly decks.

If England are to even begin to challenge South Africa for the title of the world’s best Test team they will have to become far, far better on flat surfaces.

They won’t have the luxury of green, seaming decks when they travel to the UAE in October to play three Tests against the red-hot Pakistanis, nor most likely when they head to South Africa in December.

England look likely to be humbled in both of those series. The last time they ventured to the UAE in 2012 they were pummelled by Pakistan, losing the series 3-0.

That England side was considerably more talented and more experienced than the current line-up. Australian offie Nathan Lyon has caused problems for England the past five Tests, despite conditions not favouring spinners.

That suggests England may have major issues on the dry, spin-friendly UAE pitches against the world’s in-form slow bowler Yasir Shah, who has 61 wickets from his 10 Tests, and uber-accurate left arm tweaker Zulfiqar Babar.

It was that pair who wreaked havoc as Pakistan trounced Australia in the UAE last year. England will have to play out of their skins to beat Pakistan.

Their easy Ashes win largely has been on the back of supreme series by batsman Joe Root and paceman Stuart Broad.

Aside from Root, none of England’s top seven have averaged more than 31. Adam Lyth does not look up to Test standard, with a top score of 37 from eight digs this series.

His batting partner Alastair Cook has captained well but again has failed with the bat against Australia – his fifth poor series from the six Ashes he’s played.

First drop Gary Ballance was axed after his flawed technique was exposed by the Aussie quicks in the same manner as it had been by the Kiwis. His replacement at number three Ian Bell entered this series with his position in the side the source of debate due to a long form trough.

He had a good match in the third Test at Birmingham but overall has battled, with just 202 runs at an average of 29 for the series.

Over the past two years, Bell has averaged just 29.76 from 23 Tests. Now he has to venture to the UAE where last time around he made just 52 runs from six innings, averaging 8.5 for the series against Pakistan.

At five, Bairstow has been a mixed bag from limited appearances and with a batting average of only 27 after 17 Tests has a lot to prove at the highest level.

All-rounder Ben Stokes has cemented himself a man for the big moments and appears destined to be a superstar. At seven, wicketkeeper Jos Buttler has an ugly, bottom-handed technique which sees him look to play through the leg side too often.

He has floundered in this Ashes, his first major Test series, compiling only 80 runs from seven innings at an average of 11.

At eight, Moeen Ali is a very gifted all-round cricketer. But he is not yet good enough to be a frontline spinner, as has been exposed in this series.

Despite Australia’s horrendous batting, and opposition spinner Lyon proving very effective, Ali’s off spin has been pedestrian, as evidenced by his average of 46 with the ball.

England’s alternative spin option is another all-rounder in Adil Rashid. Their lack of a strong spin option will prove a major hindrance as they push to become an elite Test team, particularly in Asia.

England’s fast bowling stocks are stronger now than they were before the Ashes thanks to the rousing comeback of Steven Finn. On a seaming pitch they have a pace attack to rout any team.

However, aside from the wonderfully adaptable Stuart Broad, the rest of their bowling unit is significantly less effective on the type of unresponsive pitches they will encounter often outside of England.

As we saw at Lord’s and again here at the Oval, their pace unit lacks the cutting edge to be consistently threatening when the conditions aren’t in their favour. And the absence of a proper spinner becomes even more of a problem on flatter decks.

England should learn from the experiences of Australia over the past 18 months. When the Aussies spanked England and then upset the Proteas in South Africa, they were gifted an unwarranted number one Test ranking and seemed to believe the hype.

Promptly they were embarrassed by Pakistan and then, after cheap wins against India and the West Indies, were smashed by England when it really mattered.

A bit of success in the 2013-14 summer distracted Australia from the shortcomings they needed to address. England now are in a similar position.

They can get carried away by their Ashes win in unique home conditions. Or they can recognise it as merely a stepping stone, remain humble and focused, and be ruthless in trying to become a quality side in all environments.