5 Things We Learned From The First Ashes Test

5. England Might Not Be In Transition Anymore

England cricket has been down in the dumps for a little while. The World Cup debacle was followed by two unconvincing test series against the West Indies and New Zealand, both of which were drawn at one test apiece. This feeling of transition was compounded by the fact that England really should have won both series, but fell apart at key moments. In Cardiff however, everything seemed to come together. After a sticky first session that saw them reduced to 43-3, England dominated every session until the final ball was bowled and almost seemed to resemble a settled side. The same 13-man squad has been retained for the second test, but only an injury would see a change to the starting eleven. Coming in to the test, there were a few question marks, but these were all put to bed over the four days. Ian Bell looked back to something near to his best in the second innings, meaning Johnny Bairstow will have to wait a little longer for a test recall. Up until the toss on the first morning it wasn€™t clear whether Moeen Ali or Adil Rashid would get the nod as the team€™s spinner. Moeen€™s value to the side was clear though, as he helped the tail add important runs on the second morning on his way to scoring 77, and he popped up with some key wickets throughout. Whilst his role still isn€™t 100% clear, if he€™s taking wickets and scoring runs does it matter? It€™s amazing what four good days of cricket can do for a side. England have gone from a team riddled with insecurity to one settled and confident.