The pace of any international sport in hock to television money, cricket not least, is more or less remorseless. It means that the dust (in Napier’s case volcanic) will hardly have settled on the combative, error-strewn but never dull series between England and New Zealand when they meet each other again at Lord’s seven weeks from today.

There have been shorter gaps, but it is not much time to absorb lessons and to make adjustments. Sadly, both in the hope of a close series and because England have to improve fast if they are to compete next season with Australia, the probability is that New Zealand’s adjustments will be for the worse. Ross Taylor had a fine series and may become a better batsman than Stephen Fleming, who has played his last Test, and New Zealand are never less than competitive – “streetwise” is Michael Vaughan’s word for it – but they have been troubled far more than England by the consequences of the two Twenty20 leagues in India and their batting will be gravely short of experience.

In the past year or so a number of seasoned players – Nathan Astle, Craig McMillan, Lou Vincent, Scott Styris, Shane Bond and Fleming – have moved away from Test cricket. For different reasons the same could be true of England, if it proves that no more than five of the class of 2005 appear at Lord’s on May 15. Marcus Trescothick and Ashley Giles will not and what price Andrew Flintoff, Stephen Harmison, Matthew Hoggard, Geraint and Simon Jones? In view of James Anderson’s apparently chronic inconsistency, Hoggard has the best chance.

If England had not pulled themselves together admirably here after being thoroughly outbowled and out-batted in the first Test match in Hamilton, there would have been questions asked by the new selection committee about whether to stick by Vaughan as captain. Despite his disappointing batting since, that is no longer an issue. Paul Collingwood has blossomed in the past two years in all phases of his game bar slip catching, but he will be a right-hand man rather than the leader of the Test team, at least until Australia have come and gone next year.

That said, Vaughan has to unscramble his mind when he bats, which may call for a radical alteration to the order before this time next year. A mere 123 runs in six innings here is a total quite unworthy of his talent. In theory, the combination of himself and Alastair Cook, with Andrew Strauss at No 3, gives a better balance than starting with two left-handers whose methods are not unalike. At his best it hardly matters whether Vaughan goes in first or at No 3, but wiser shot selection is essential wherever he bats.

A dramatic change of the order will have to be considered for next winter if Vaughan does not regain his authority, namely for him to drop down to No 6, as many a captain has effectively done in the autumn of his career, among them Garry Sobers, Clive Lloyd and Allan Border. That would enable Ian Bell to have another shot at imposing his class at first wicket down.

If only because a top three of Strauss, Cook and Bell failed in Australia last winter, however, the reestablishment of Vaughan’s command and consistency as a batsman is the prime requirement for his team this season. The tougher test will come against Dale Steyn and the other South Africa bowlers this summer, although New Zealand are not to be dismissed lightly.

Perhaps in this series that was part of Vaughan’s problem: despite his imprecation that the opposition had to be respected, deep down he did not respect them enough. Otherwise, why try to pull a good-length ball in the first over of an innings? He did it in the second innings in Hamilton and got away with it, but in Napier his example was misguided and irresponsible. Play each ball on its merits has never been a bad mantra.

At last and at least, in perfect conditions, England’s batting unit came together in the second innings in Napier. In view of the crucial importance of slip catching in Test cricket alone, Strauss’s return to form and confidence was valuable to the team rebuilding and the proof that Cook can become in time as reliable a slip catcher as Trescothick was another big step forward.

For all the fallibility of both teams, it was an encouraging tour for England. Ryan Sidebottom, the man of the series, who is getting married in Yorkshire next week, deserves the happiest of honeymoons. His 24 wickets, the emergence of Stuart Broad as an outstanding Test cricketer in the making and the bold decision to dispense with Harmison and Hoggard combined to make it an eventful month’s cricket. The five senior New Zealand players signed by the Indian Premier League, including Daniel Vettori, the captain, have been granted permission to arrive late on the tour to England to allow them to play in the early IPL games. They will miss the opening first-class match, against Kent, starting on April 28.

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