Despite copping a hammering from Australia, England have the makings of a good cricket team. It's now a matter of whether they can unearth the missing ingredients to graduate into a top-class side. It's rare that a tour uncovers three players with not just the ability, but the stomach for the fight that is Test cricket. England have achieved that success on this tour with Dawid Malan, Mark Stoneman and Craig Overton all displaying - in varying degrees - the potential for future success in Test cricket. It could well be that by the end of the series they will have added a fourth, as James Vince was displaying the talent to succeed until an 'unplayable' delivery ended his eminently watchable WACA innings. There's no doubt Vince has the talent and there were hints in that second innings that he has the fight to survive. It's a matter of whether he can find the nerve to believe in himself.

If Vince discovers the key to constructing a Test innings then opposition sides better beware as no one times the ball better. If you add Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow and Jimmy Anderson to that quartet, then England have a very solid foundation, at least for the near future. What is required to turn that groundwork into a multi-storey building is a genuine fast bowler or two and a couple of top-class spinners. There was never any doubt that Stokes would be sorely missed on this tour but as much as his batting, bowling and catching, it's his aggressive attitude that could've changed the course of the series. Root has relied heavily on the advice of Stuart Broad and Anderson on the field and this has been a mistake, as both are defensive-minded when it comes to tactics.