They may have just won back-to-back one-day series, but England are dogged by a number of doubts. Chief among them, as Andy Flower acknowledged today, is the form of Craig Kieswetter.
Since he won the man of the match award in the World Twenty20 final Kieswetter has struggled to find form. In his last eight innings against Australia and Bangladesh he has made just 121 runs, with a top score of 38, and Flower admits the pressure is on the wicketkeeper to prove himself.
"By the time he plays for England again he [Kieswetter] must make his package stronger," Flower said today. "There are a number of things he can learn from the last nine one-day internationals. It's his job and his responsibility to go back and score runs and work hard for Somerset and come back a stronger package."
It was far from a ringing endorsement, but then after seeing his side lose a match to Bangladesh and two dead games against Australia, Flower has serious concerns about the underperformance of his top-order. "We certainly want to see more consistency from the top four in the amount of runs they score in one-day cricket, there's no doubt about that."
Andrew Strauss and Jonathan Trott both scored centuries in England's last ODI, leaving the onus on Kieswetter to up his game. "He's had an interesting time of it recently," said Flower, who feels that the rush of success that Kieswetter enjoyed when he came into the team may have unsettled him.
"Scoring a hundred in his third ODI, getting a man of the match in the world final and being a world [Twenty20] winner, a lot of English players haven't done that," said Flower. "And then he's had a bit of a hard time in this one-day series. International cricket can do that to you – it can teach you some lessons and perhaps expose a few doubts. So I think in the long run for Craig it might be a very healthy thing to have happened."
Flower said all of England's players would be made available for their counties ahead of the first Test against Pakistan. While others will simply be trying to readjust to four-day cricket, Kieswetter has a more specific task ahead of him in the coming months. "He hits the ball beautifully, as well as I've ever seen anyone hit the ball. But he's got to work out how he scores runs," Flower added, "Sanath Jayasuriya did it, these other attacking opening batsmen have done it. He's got to work it out for himself, with the help of others along the way."
A short stint with Lancashire will also be crucial for James Anderson, who was dropped for the third ODI against Bangladesh. "Hopefully he'll get enough overs under his belt and be absolutely ready for the first Test," said Flower.
Another man coming back into the team, Kevin Pietersen, will only play a one-day game for Hampshire, as the county do not have a Championship match scheduled, a situation which Flower says "isn't ideal but it is all that we've got". Pietersen himself says that the rest he has taken while recovering from a thigh strain has done him the power of good.
"This rest has come at a really good time to try and get myself sorted," Pietersen said. "I have absolutely loved the time off. I have a brand new child at home and spending time with him has been priceless. The injury is fine. There's no problem with that whatsoever. I will be fit and raring to go for the Pakistan series."