Nick Compton

Despite insisting that he will continue to play his natural game, Nick Compton's recent dismissals suggest he is trying to be something he is not

England's top five is dominated by four right-handed batsmen with modern stances but very contrasting styles

Paul Farbrace, England's assistant coach, has hailed Jonny Bairstow for the improvement in his wicketkeeping since the tour of South Africa

Despite much debate, England's first Test squad of the season includes minor tweaks rather than any major overhauls which is a prudent outcome

The Hampshire batsman James Vince and Nottinghamshire seamer Jake Ball have been handed their maiden Test call-ups

Sam Robson continued his impressive early season with a third Championship hundred of the summer, but there was more pain for Nick Compton

Joe Root is set to stay at No. 4 in England's Test line-up for the series against Sri Lanka, but Alastair Cook admitted there were some "tough decisions" to be made about other batting positions

Middlesex batsman Dawid Malan staged a batting comeback after the visiting county lost early wickets

Gary Ballance, dropped by England midway through last summer's Ashes series, made an immediate statement in the traditional curtain-raiser to the English county season with a century against MCC in Abu Dhabi

Trevor Bayliss, the England coach, has sought to reassure his top-order batsmen that their modest displays in the victory over South Africa will not necessarily lead to their exclusion

Alastair Cook admitted England had been left with "a lot of unanswered questions" at the end of their Test tour of South Africa

A series win in South Africa is a notable achievement, but England are still going to finish the series with some familiar issues to overcome

England appear no nearer to finding a long-term partner for Alastair Cook but this was always likely to be a tough series for openers and, given the endless merry-go-round, it could be worth investing more time in Alex Hales

An evolving England side are not only searching for consistency with bat and ball but also in the field where missed chances proved costly in Cape Town

England coach Trevor Bayliss praised the contribution of Nick Compton towards victory in Durban and said there was more hard work ahead to prevent South Africa coming back into the series

Alastair Cook's side have had an up-and-down year but the sense that they are on the rise is undeniable

After a two-and-a-half year wait for a recall, Nick Compton was greeted by the world's No. 1 bowler on a murky day and responded with an innings of immense character and skill

The opening day of the series in Durban started and ended with Dale Steyn's vein threatening to pop through his neck, but England did not allow the world's No. 1 bowler or team to overwhelm them