England cricket team: Fun and flawed

It's a shame really that, once again, the England cricket team have ended a series in a limp defeat in a dead rubber. Just as with the last Ashes test at the Oval last summer, Alistair Cook's men put up a lacklustre show in Centurion and took a little of the shine off what was a superb series win against the number one ranked test team in their own back yard.

He might have his hands on the trophy but Cooky says team must go to the next level #SAvsENG https://t.co/OTT8fprlhU pic.twitter.com/OTMS3jiXXd

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) January 26, 2016

In some respects you could make two very different cases for the state of the nation's cricket team. On the one hand there are question marks over the technique of Alex Hales - the umpteenth opener to be tried - over the suitability of Nick Compton at 3, James Taylor at 5, the wicket keeping ability of Jonny Bairstow and his rival Jos Buttler and the fitness of bowlers Steven Finn, Mark Wood and, to a lesser extent Jimmy Anderson.

Then there's the infamous batting collapses. The website Holding Willey reckons there were an incredible 11 in 15 tests from April 2015 in the West Indies.

Yet, on the other hand, there are great positives. Cook, the captain, is England's record run scorer of all time, Joe Root is constantly vying with Kane Williamson and Steven Smith for the crown of the world's best batsman, Stuart Broad IS the world's best ranked bowler and Jimmy Anderson is England record wicket taker, with the 7th most victims in test history for any team. Ben Stokes, Bairstow and Moeen Ali also epitomise an exciting attack lower order and embody the new style of Trevor Bayliss, Paul Farbrace and Andrew Strauss.

Then there's the individual moments of brilliance in the past year alone. Broad's Ashes 8-15 at Trent Bridge was one of the best spells in test history and his 6-17 at Johannesburg wasn't far off either.

Stuart Broad: people have been walking past me doing that face | @James_Riach http://t.co/9bjli0Emcr (Photo: Rex) pic.twitter.com/jexFNvfkGu

— Guardian sport (@guardian_sport) August 17, 2015

Joe Root hit two Ashes hundreds and Cook racked up an incredible 263 in the UAE at the end of 2015 in a marathon innings that was the third longest stay at the crease in test history. It was the complete opposite of Ben Stokes' scintillating double hundred in Cape Town, 198-ball 258 that must rank as one of the most exciting knocks ever from an English batsman.

The Ashes win and victory over South Africa were both against the odds and the 2-0 defeat against Pakistan hardly reflected the balance of an even battle in the UAE.

So, which is true? Are England a side riddled with selection issues, injury doubts and worrying dips in form? Or are they a side full of great individual talent that has played some breathtaking - and successful - cricket that we should all be proud of.

The answer is that both are true and that, in my view, is part of the attraction of this current line up. Yes they are flawed but you can rarely argue that they are dull. They're never too far from either a collapse or some match-winning brilliance, a trait that means it's captivating to watch (if a little nervy). It's precisely because a collapse or a Broad spell could be just around the corner that makes this unpredictable side an exciting prospect. Some of the negatives, too, come from the fact that the team strives to play attacking cricket, hardly something to be too critical of.

We should all be proud of what the side has achieved and the manner in which it has gone about its cricket. In truth this team has not had the praise it has deserved.

We also need to accept that when the going is good this side can be truly great but, when the going is bad, things can quickly go pear-shaped. Don't relax, don't get complacent and, importantly, don't take your eyes off them. They may be flawed but they're ruddy fun too.