England's whirlwind cricketing summer reached its conclusion at the weekend, but there remains more questions than answers as we head into the Autumn.
It seems an eternity since Ben Stokes dramatically announced his retirement from the international game midway through the third Test against New Zealand, sparking a change of leadership that saw Joe Root re-appointed as Test captain.
Although he still presides over the white-ball sides, Brendon McCullum was replaced as Test coach by his great mate Stephen Fleming; 'Bazball' ended once and for all and off-field issues continued to dominate column inches, with Stokes, Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse all facing disciplinary action at different points through the summer months.
On the pitch, multi-format series wins against India, Pakistan and most recently Sri Lanka followed a disappointing Test loss to New Zealand, meaning that on the whole, England can come away pretty happy with their performances since the beginning of June.
We assess the winners and losers from England's summer exploits...
Winners
Ollie Robinson
Ollie Robinson's international comeback couldn't have gone too much better and is now almost a guaranteed starter for the winter tour of South Africa.
The 32-year-old made a return to the Test fold after more than two years at the beginning of the summer, taking seven wickets against New Zealand at Lord's before injury ruled him out of the remainder of the series.
However, this didn't hamper the Sussex skipper too much for the remainder of the summer, getting himself back fit enough to feature in three Tests against Pakistan where he picked up 21 poles at 8.76!
Dan Lawrence
Injury to Sam Curran (we'll come back to this) and Stokes' retirement left England's all-rounder spot very much up for grabs in the second half of the Test summer. Selectors decided to overlook Rehan Ahmed, instead opting to allow Dan Lawrence to audition for the role, an opportunity that he grabbed with both hands.
Lawrence, much like Robinson, was getting a third chance to stake his England claims and scores of 51, 54 & 65 leave him very much in contention to play the opening match in South Africa.
Jordan Cox
Although Jordan Cox probably didn't do enough to replace Jamie Smith with the gloves, he is very much in the frame to occupy a position within England's top order in the Test team off the back of several gutsy performances with bat in hand.
Fitness issues meant that Cox was made to wait to make his Test bow, however, he certainly made up for lost time this summer, scoring 254 runs in four matches against New Zealand and Pakistan.
A move to an opening spot looks likely when Jacob Bethell returns from injury, but it is still unknown whether England will stick with Emilio Gay following a few inconsistent showings.
Losers
Sam Curran
Not only did injury put an end to Sam Curran's chances of replacing Stokes as England's all-rounder this summer but the performances of Lawrence might have seen his opportunity disappear altogether.
Selectors were on record saying that the left-hander would have been in the Test squad for the Pakistan series were it not for his fitness issues, however, he failed to regain full fitness in time for the beginning of August.
Not only that, but there is also another world where Curran could now be captain of England's white-ball teams if events panned out a little differently. If England opted to back Harry Brook for the Test captaincy, then the Yorkshireman would likely have given up his white-ball responsibilities and Curran would have definitely been in the frame for both the One-Day and T20 roles.
Jacob Bethell
Barring injury, Bethell is an absolute certainty to play the opening Test in South Africa, but his lack of availability won't have done his progress any good at all.
The Warwickshire all-rounder has still won just nine Test caps and, although his talent is so glaringly obvious, needs time in the middle to be able to churn out properly consistent performances.
His white-ball returns weren't too bad though, making 91 and 76* in ODIs and T20Is against India.
Ben Duckett
There haven't been too many England openers better than Ben Duckett since the turn of the century, but despite this, 2026 is definitely a year to forget for the Nottinghamshire lefty.
His slot against the new ball remains pretty untouchable, even given his modest returns, and there is a growing feeling that if that form continues into the South Africa series then serious questions may start to be asked.
44 runs in five knocks against a poor Pakistan side tells you all you need to know regarding his game right now and no England player managed less across the entire series.
