Celebrations after England's nine-wicket defeat of WestIndies in the second Test were full of relief. Scenes resembled that of anAshes victory.
Perhaps this wasn't surprising given the criticism of theplayers and staff since the World Cup debacle and the pressure incoming ECBchairman Colin Graves heaped on them after promising "enquiries" ifEngland failed to win this series.
England, captain Alastair Cook in particular, needed thisvictory - their first overseas since the India series in 2012 - to draw a lineunder their recent poor form. It was certainly a step forward.
Some will point to below-par opposition in a disjointed WestIndies outfit, but England deserve credit for forcing a final-day win on aslow, lifeless Grenadan pitch.
So what have we learned from this impressive display?
Jimmy's still got it
Another lifeless pitch, another boring Test match draw. Orso we thought. West Indies started day five on 202-2 and few people expected aresult by the end of the day. Cue James Anderson.
England's all-time leading Test wicket-taker took the gameby the scruff of the neck and dragged his side to victory. New ball in hand, hedispatched of three Caribbean batsmen, caught two and ran one out in amonumental display as West Indies added just 105 runs to their overnight score.
Despite breaking Sir Ian Botham's record and being one ofthe world's greatest swing bowlers, some have questioned Anderson's ability totake wickets when there is little assistance from pitch or weather conditions. But with thisdevastating spell, Jimmy showed he has adapted his game to be a threat on anysurface.
Ballance back to best
Gary Ballance was one of the many England players to have apoor World Cup.
In truth, he was treated poorly - thrown in at the deep end inthe first match of the tournament at number three in the order - and washorribly out of nick.
So it was no real surprise when the Zimbabwe-born batsmanregained his form on the Test circuit. He backed up his century in the firstTest with 77 and an unbeaten 81, and looks as though he is back to his best.Ballance now averages an astonishing 67.93 in his 10 matches for England.
He is sometimes criticised for scoring slowly. Admittedly,he does take his time getting himself in, but Ballance has shown he has theability to switch gear and score quickly when he needs to. When he is scoringthat many runs, who really cares anyway? He has nailed down that number-threespot in what is now looking like a very good England middle order.
Root will be a special player for years to come
Since he was dropped for the final Test of the Ashes series,Joe Root has been scoring at an average of 110.10. He also became thesecond-youngest England batsman to reach 2,000 Test runs.
His unbeaten 182 off 229 balls was a display of classbatting. It seems every time Root strides to the crease, the momentum of thegame swings in England's favour.
He has that ability to put the pressure backon the bowling attack.
Not only has Root been England's best batsman in recenttimes, he has bowled handy spells and been an asset in the field, in close tothe batter. The Yorkshireman is surely an England captain in the making.
Trouble at the top
Despite this confidence-building victory, there is stillwork to be done - most notably at the top of the order. Captain Cook scored 135runs in the match and looks to be somewhere near his top form. The problem lies with his partner.
Jonathan Trott came back for this series after 16 monthsaway from international Cricket. Before his break, he was one of England's mostreliable run scorers - but not as an opener.
After a poor first Test, Trott did manage to muster an uglyhalf-century in this game but he doesn't look comfortable opening the batting.He appears to be on the move when the ball is being delivered, which leads togreat difficulties when playing the swinging new ball.
Going forward, I can't see it getting any easier for theTrott. Unless you play him lower down the order - which won't happen givenEngland's strength there - he must be dropped for the next Test. Adam Lyth, whoscored 1,619 first-class runs for Yorkshire last season, must be given anopportunity to show that he is the man to partner Cook for this summer's hugeTest contests against New Zealand and Australia.
Back-up bowling
For some time now, England have struggled to find bowlerscapable of backing up Anderson and Stuart Broad's new-ball efforts.
Chris Jordan has been given a chance to show his worth againstthe nation of his birth for this series but, despite his outstanding fielding,he hasn't really impressed with the ball. He offers little pace or movement andfuels accusations that England's pace attack offers no variation.
Liam Plunkett deserves a chance after bowling well lastsummer. His extra pace and bounce could cause West Indies more problems on whatshould be a livelier Barbados wicket.
England thought they had solved their spinner issue afterGraeme Swann retired when Moeen Ali dominated India's batting line-up lastsummer. But now he is rusty and showing that he doesn't have the experience tocome straight back into the side and bowl as a frontline twirler.
Many would like to see Adil Rashid's leg-spin given a tryand I believe we need to look at our spin bowling options before we head intoan exciting, but tough-looking, summer of cricket.
