They Don't Know When They're Beaten

It is becoming a regular occurance now with England, every time they are up against it they will survive by the skin of their teeth.

They have come a long way under Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower and what must please English cricket fans is that there is a lot more fight about England than there has been for several years.

Ever since I've been watching English cricket I have been used to seeing England collapse and not look bothered about a defeat. In the past 12 months we have seen plenty of evidence that England have the belief and determination that can help them climb the ICC rankings.

Many people will go to back to the Ashes as the time when England showed their true fight but I believe that it started back on what proved to be a disastrous tour in the Carribean.

Cast your minds back to the last test when England had a session to bowl the West Indies out to level the test series. Of course, they didn't manage to claim victory but what they did show was persistence and - with the aid of Graeme Swann - came within four wickets.

From there England have kicked on and won both of their home series in 2009 by sweeping the West Indies aside 2-0 and regaining the Ashes against Australia 2-1.

The latter stemmed from the fightback on that final day in Cardiff led by Paul Collingwood with James Anderson and Monty Panesar famously finishing off the job. In that series England managed to end the Lords hoo-doo but were also blown away at Headingley which set up a fascinating finale.

Having watched England sides in the past, I wouldn't have been surprised if they gave up on the Ashes. But they didn't, they showed great character to outclass the Australians in the final test.

The South Africa tour has produced a lot of drama itself. Twice England have held on to scrape precious draws and having won the second test they lead 1-0 going into the finale at the Wanderers. Avoiding series defeat in South Africa is something to be very proud of and winning would be very special.

Credit must go to many players as they have worked very hard to improve their skills. And credit must also go to Strauss and Flower as their leadership has made the past 12 months very exciting for English cricket on the international stage and has made many fans optimistic for the future.