B is for Brocket, as Andrew Strauss is mockingly known in the dressing-room, in honour of his education (Radley College). Lordly or not, Strauss has been a great find. Has the composure and compactness of many a left-hander, with more shots. His only obvious weakness is the pull, which South Africa have targeted — only to hand him dozens of cheap runs.

C is for central contracts, which have made Test cricket the players’ day job rather than just a form of moonlighting. They have also brought consistency of selection. Generations of selectors demanded consistency from the players without offering it themselves. Result: a dressing-room filled with fear and loathing.

D is for Duncan Fletcher. To outsiders, he’s dour, taciturn and looks like a football left out in the rain. To the players, he has a dry wit, an eagle eye and the priceless ability to say little but make it tell. His hunches, from Michael Vaughan in 1999 through to Strauss this year, are becoming legendary.

E is for esprit de corps. Not a phrase often heard in sweaty boundary interviews, but crucial to England’s success. Their camaraderie leaves Steve Archibald’s line that team spirit is “an illusion glimpsed in the aftermath of victory” looking a bit sad.

F is for Flintoff. More than an all-rounder, he is a rare blend of popular hero and team player. F is also for the fourth day. Ian Botham has a theory that Tests are won and lost on the third day, but England keep asserting themselves on the fourth. Australia still prefer the first.

G is for Giles. With little turn, less flight, and a real reluctance to go round the wicket, Ashley Giles is reinventing slow left-arm. Still, fast left-armers bowl over the wicket, so why shouldn’t he? Also bats well, for a wheelie bin.

H is for Harmison. Humble and prone to homesickness, he is an untypical fast bowler. But when he finds the accuracy to go with his pace and bounce, he’s lethal.

I is for injuries. They haven’t gone away, they’ve just become strangely benign. Instead of sabotaging whole campaigns, they now create opportunities for understudies — last summer Strauss, Robert Key and Ian Bell all got a go when a regular went lame.

J is for Jones. Fletcher and Vaughan have placed a lot of faith in the unrelated Jones boys. Simon repaid them handsomely at Port Elizabeth. Geraint still has work to do behind the stumps, but bats with great flair when he gets going.

K is for Kelly Holmes. England play the way that Dame Kelly runs — happy to fall behind early on, confident in their ability to come through. And her fairytale Olympic victory has done them a favour, deflecting some of the limelight.

L is for losing the toss. With only six successes in 21 Tests, Vaughan is an even more useless tosser than Nasser Hussain (19 in 45). How good will England be when he starts winning them?

M is for McGrath. Not Anthony, recently cast in the thankless role of Flintoff’s understudy, but Glenn, England’s nemesis since 1997. Written off a few months ago, he has just destroyed Pakistan and returned to the top of the PricewaterhouseCoopers ratings. England handled him well in the ICC Champions Trophy, but the Ashes are a different ball game.