An abiding memory? At the end of the Test match in Madras (Chennai), one of the groundstaff workers, a woman in a bright red sari, hurried out with her sweeping brush to begin her work. As she arrived pitch-side, Sachin Tendulkar had just completed his celebrations and before he turned for the pavilion he shook her hand. This most ordinary of acts had the most extraordinary consequence as a glorious smile suddenly wreathed her face. She went about her work at that instant the happiest person in the world.

Cricket has a habit of throwing up unforgettable moments and nobody who was in Madras would deny that the final day was one of them. Sport cannot be removed from its context, its place in the grander scheme of things, and here cricket was providing not just thrilling entertainment but reminding those who would put a stop to such simple pleasures that life goes on. There were voices that argued trenchantly that England should not have returned to India, but they were drowned out by the noise of 30,000 people or so who stayed at the end of the match to voice their appreciation. England's players made the right choice to return.

It is a return that will have some consequences within the rather less consequential world of cricket politics. Before the Mumbai atrocities, Giles Clarke, the chairman of the ECB, was persona non grata with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and in particular with Lalit Modi, the commissioner of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Clarke's summer attempt to bring on board Abu Dhabi to back a Twenty20 competition was seen in treacherous light by Modi and the decision to ally the ECB with Allen Stanford was seen as another poke in the eye to India. Relations between the two boards were poisonous.

But needs must. Suddenly, in the wake of the terrorism, India required England's support so that it would not be ostracised in the same way as Pakistan. With the second season of the IPL looming, and the credit crunch biting, that would have had dire consequences for India's cricketing economics. England needed India, too, given its fears that the Stanford deal was unravelling quicker than a Wall Street hedge fund. In Mohali, the talks between the ECB and the BCCI were warmer in tone than they had been for an age.

For some, this was the reason for England's return in the first place, since the team's lack of preparation undermined the seriousness of the enterprise. These mitigating factors should be borne in mind when assessing England's performance in the two Tests and, all things considered, they played reasonably well. But the fact remains that England are No5 in the ICC Test Championship and since Peter Moores was elevated to the head coaching job only New Zealand and West Indies have been beaten. England's ranking is an accurate reflection of their performances, if not their capabilities.

If there was one lesson to draw from this two-Test series, it is that chances to win do not come along very often on the sub-continent and when you get one you have to be sure to take it. In that sense, if the lessons from Madras are learnt, and if Kevin Pietersen can ram home the message to his more timid colleagues that the best Test teams constantly challenge the opposition rather than retreat into their shells when on top, then some good may come out of this defeat.

With the Ashes just seven months away, how is the team developing? Moores will be happy to see Andrew Strauss rehabilitated and back to his best at the top of the order, Andrew Flintoff patently fit again and beginning to find some batting form to go with his rock-solid bowling, and Matt Prior performing well enough with the gloves that the uncertainty over the wicketkeeping position can die down a while. In Graeme Swann, England have found a reliable second spinner for whom Test cricket and big reputations hold no fear.

Against that are the worries over a number of key positions. Ian Bell had an anonymous tour and England do not want to be going into an Ashes series with a question mark against such a critical position as No3 in the batting line-up. Monty Panesar did himself few favours with his anaemic bowling - and if he isn't bowling well, he doesn't have a lot else to recommend him - and the perennial problem that is Stephen Harmison away from home reared its head again.

What to do with Harmison? Clearly Pietersen was not enamoured with Harmison's attitude in Madras. He may feel that the Durham bowler's initial reluctance to tour and his desultory performance in the first Test were scant reward for the kind of public backing that the captain gave him before his first game in charge. Before the Brit Oval Test against South Africa last summer, Pietersen was gushing about “my Stevie”; two games later he dropped him. But quick bowlers win matches in the Caribbean, and there is still none better in England. And who would Australia prefer to face? As a hot-headed 25-year-old captain, I would have given up on Harmison, but I suspect that Pietersen would be unwise to do the same.

There is work to do, but England can be confident that they are in good hands with Pietersen. He carried himself superbly well in India, managing the post-Mumbai uncertainty with great poise, dealing graciously with the voracious media (although the overuse of the term “sir” when addressing the local journalists grated a touch) and still finding enough within to play a great innings in Mohali. He had three bad sessions in Madras, when he revealed his tactical inexperience, and his team had five bad sessions there that cost them dear. If both captain and team learn from that experience, then they can look forward to a brighter 2009.

Going of their own accord

England’s provisional itinerary in the West Indies next year:

Jan 25-27: St Kitts XI (St Kitts). Jan 29-31: West Indies A (St Kitts). Feb 4-8: First Test (Sabina Park, Jamaica). Feb 13-17: Second Test (Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua). Feb 21-22: v Barbados CA President’s XI (Venue tbc, Barbados). Feb 26-March 2: Third Test (Kensington Oval, Barbados). March 6-10: Fourth Test (Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad). March 14: v WICB President’s XI (Venue tbc, Trinidad). March 15: Twenty20 international (Queen’s Park Oval). March 20: First one-day international (Providence Stadium, Guyana). March 22: Second one-day international (Guyana). March 27: Third one-day international (Barbados). March 29: Fourth one-day international (Barbados). April 3: Fifth one-day international (Beausejour Stadium, St Lucia).