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Just when it looked like England had found a resilient streak they also managed to find a way to return to old habits and provide us with a batting display that can only be described as a horror show.
The final Test in Johannesburg last weekend turned into a rout and no amount of complaining about the review system can hide the inadequate display that England put in.
To be fair to Andrew Strauss he did refuse to blame the system in his post-match comments making tit clear that 'ultimately we have not batted well enough on this tour and not enough of our batsmen have had a good series'.
The most talked about incident since the controversial review system came into force was made by Daryl Harper when he opted against giving South African Captain Graeme Smith out when he was on 15. Allegedly, he did not have the sound turned up on his screen so he failed to hear the distinctive nick that Smith made which proved critical as he went on to make a very important 100.
England was the only country to oppose the introduction of technology to assist umpires and it shows in their irritation every time it fails to work effectively. Of course, their irritation is strangely absent when the advantage of the system falls in their favour but we have become used to professional sportsmen hiding behind poor performances by blaming officials - look no further than Sir Alex Ferguson for such utterances.
Ironically, this dismal performance reminds me of the situation United faced going into the Champions League final. A team full of confidence believing they are on the verge of something big suddenly realise that are not quite the finished article they thought they were when the opposition put in a world class display.
Strauss won the toss and elected to bat on a green but fair wicket. The first ball of the match, however, set the tone for the entire Test when Amla took a stunning catch at short leg to dismiss the captain. England proceeded to play loosely and one player after another gave their wicket up - only Bell can feel he was 'got out' - and in only 47.5 overs England were dismissed for a below par 180.
South Africa's response was positive and clinical as they amassed 423 including that controversial 100 from Smith and a rapid 95 from man-of-the-series Mark Boucher. This lead of 243 always looked like it was going to be enough and so it proved when only 42.5 overs later the tourists were all out for 169 to lose by an innings and 74 runs.
These statistics do not look good but it is the batting averages that must cause most concern to the England management.
Only Cook, Bell and Collingwood have averaged over 40 for the series whilst Pietersen (25), Trott (27), Strauss (24) and Prior (22) all failed to score enough runs to give the bowlers a chance to put pressure on the South African batsmen. In addition, they scored only two centuries between them and this is a telling statistic that was mirrored in the Ashes series last summer.
This time they failed to win the series and had the two 'great escapes' gone against them then the 3-1 scoreline would have made this look a very different result.
These fine margins make it difficult to judge how much England are progressing and perhaps one more Test match would have made the analysis easier but we will now have to wait to get a firmer conclusion on the state of English cricket.
There is no doubt that it has been a very good year in that they have won back the Ashes and drawn away to a very good South African side. They have also added a degree of respectability to the one-day side and much of the credit must go to Strauss for achieving this.
A forthcoming tour to Bangladesh will not help solve this conundrum but a home series against Pakistan and the Ashes in Australia next winter will give a much better indication.
For this period to be a successful one the main batsmen must start scoring more runs particularly in the first innings and Peitersen, in particular, must revive the form that made him one of the most feared players in the world.
Can England be the best in the world? Well, it looked like it after the resilient performances of this year but after the debacle in Johannesburg the jury is most definitely out.
