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A brave Swann, Bell out for a duck and a keeper who isn't Mustard

Cricket expert Andrew Hughes looks back at the positives and negatives of England's ODI series win over Sri Lanka

It wasn't pretty. If you were nursing a hangover after the champagne batting of the Twenty20 World Championship, this was the analgesic, with drowsiness a possible side effect. Five attritional encounters on stodgy and lifeless pitches, where the only reward for expansive ambition was a swift return to the pavilion, where nudges, prods, hoiks and swats prevailed and the tempo of play never rose from a steady andante.

But somewhat unexpectedly, out of the dust, humidity and tedium, England snatched the spoils, for the first time since 1982. They did so thanks to a fully functioning bowling unit and a resilience reflective of the personality of their captain. A scrappy, dogged cricketer, Collingwood's team is starting to resemble him, right down to the terrier-like fielding. And though he looked out of touch with the bat, he delivered a couple of handy innings replete with those familiar square of the wicket shovels. Things went well enough for him to try his hand as the fourth seamer, though on better pitches, his military medium might prove costlier as it is, in truth, more Dad's Army than Rambo.

But the main success stories were in the bowling department. And on a tour where the coach was given to read extracts from Buddhist scripture, Graeme Swann's success is a heartening example of career reincarnation. A genuine attacking option, offering flight, guile and turn, he also kept the runs to a trickle and his consistent batting blended common sense with lusty belligerence. Throw in some enthusiastic fielding and you could almost feel Monty's hackles rise.

And whilst Swann grabbed the headlines, Ryan Sidebottom was relentlessly accurate, sweating for every millimetre of swing he could get and finishing as top wicket taker with the best economy rate. He orchestrated the strangulation of the dangerous Sri Lankan top order and in proving his effectiveness in these conditions, he has patted down another layer of cement around his Test place.

Stuart Broad has not achieved that yet but he has elbowed his way to the front of the crowd of aspiring young pacemen. Arriving chastened from his mauling by Yuvraj in the Twenty20, his speed and hostility on these docile tracks was commendable. He was expensive, but England can indulge a costly speed merchant or two, providing the speed in question is around ninety mph and is accompanied by the clatter of timber.

So gritty was England's performance, it seems churlish to mention negatives but trailing sheepishly through the 'nothing to declare' channel at Heathrow, come Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen and Matt Prior's understudy, Phil Mustard.

Mustard's assignment as pinch hitter was hard enough without the pre-tour hype about his Gilchristian potential. He managed a passable impersonation, but only for an over or two and when he tried to bat rather than hit, the runs dried up. He is a better keeper than Matt Prior, but his apparent reticence to appeal, whilst a refreshing change from his predecessor's inane chatter, did not endear him to his captain and probably means he won't get many more chances. It would be disappointing though if there weren't better keepers around than these two. Disappointing too if England persist with the pinch hitter, a role that went out of fashion with Britpop.

Ian Bell has a fine technique but his evolution from Bell the timid to Bell the cavalier is getting out of hand. His contributions typically comprised a few dot balls, a couple of gorgeous cover drives and a swift exit. Greater patience will be required when he returns here next month. Still, his efforts were almost Boycottian in their application compared to Pietersen. He can talk as much as he likes about mental tiredness, but there were moments in this series when you wondered whether he'd packed his brain at all. In the absence of any sort of intelligent control, his improvising instincts betrayed him time and again. The Pietersen walk across the stumps is fast becoming a cliché as damaging as the Gower leg side waft was to another supremely talented batsman. In the meantime his averages are declining and his fearsome reputation fading.

• Cricket
• England Cricket