KEY POINTS:
By now England were supposed to be the best cricket team in the world.
Well, that was the view of the tens of thousands of celebrating England supporters who gathered in Trafalgar Square the day after Michael Vaughan's side regained the Ashes in 2005 and the England and Wales Cricket Board who basked in the glory and made bold predictions of world domination.
As those who watched England in the first test at Hamilton, when Vaughan's team were totally outplayed by New Zealand, will by now have realised, it has not quite worked out like that.
Since those heady days, England have slipped from second to fifth in the world rankings and, if New Zealand play as they did in the first test, they face the real possibility of losing a third consecutive series.
So what has gone wrong? Why has the team that promised so much delivered so little in the past two-and-a-half years?
More money is being pumped into English domestic cricket than ever before and the players are getting better remuneration and assistance than ever before, so there should be no shortage of motivation.
As is always the case, the fall cannot be pinned on one single issue, it is a consequence of several. There is no doubt that England took their eye off the ball following the win over Australia.
In the 18 months leading up to the 2005 Ashes, England played wonderful cricket, as New Zealand found out in the winter of 2004 when they suffered a 3-0 defeat.
Five consecutive test series had been won and plenty of records broken. The England team was vibrant and the players were fit and hungry. The focus of everyone within the side was inward; all they wanted to do was improve as cricketers and win matches.
Then came the Ashes, a victory that made every player feel like a superstar. MBEs were handed out as if they were sweets at a primary school and Andrew Flintoff was named as the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year. In the aftermath, the players saw an opportunity to capitalise on their success and make loads of money. Appearances were made here, endorsements signed there and suddenly the focus turned outward.
The complete overreaction of the English media and everyone associated with English cricket probably led some players to believe that a lifetime's work had been completed.
So the starting point of the slide was the focus of the team. Then came the injuries. Vaughan is a magnificent captain but his right knee gave in before the first test of England's next series in Pakistan.
He returned to play in the final two tests of the series and then missed a year of cricket. It was in Pakistan that Marcus Trescothick's mental illness began to stir and the opener has not played an overseas test since.
Simon Jones, whose fast bowling made such a huge impression in the Ashes, will be lucky if his knee allows him to play for much longer. A hip condition ended the career of Ashley Giles and there is no certainty that Flintoff will overcome the chronic ankle problem that continues to trouble him.
These sound like excuses but Vaughan, Trescothick, Jones, Giles and Flintoff are serious players and they have been missed. Young players were introduced, with some having a greater impact than others. Alastair Cook, Monty Panesar and Ryan Sidebottom have been excellent, others have failed to fill the void left by their predecessors.
The selectors did not help England's cause by making Flintoff captain. Flintoff is a wonderful cricketer but a leader he is not.
The team lost its direction while Vaughan was away. It returned, briefly, when Andrew Strauss was in charge in the home series against Pakistan, but the selectors then foolishly gave the Ashes 2005-06 captaincy to Flintoff. It turned out to be a nightmare.
Duncan Fletcher, the England coach, struggled without Vaughan and failed to control Flintoff. Bad habits developed and gifted young players failed to make the grade.
In a desperate attempt to retain the Ashes, Fletcher picked half-fit players. The move backfired - as it did in the first test here - when an undercooked Stephen Harmison and Matthew Hoggard were selected. Confidence ebbed, matches that would previously have been won turned to defeat. Fletcher resigned at the end of last year's World Cup.
So here we are with a talented yet apprehensive England side once again trying to find its way.
The form of several players has tapered off. The batsmen's averages look good - all are over 40 - but Kevin Pietersen is the only one playing to it. In the past 18 months, the other five have averaged at least 12 runs fewer per innings.
Hoggard and Harmison have faded too, and their best days seem to be behind them.
Players get older and their reasons for playing change. The desire to survive becomes as strong as that to achieve.
There are many aspects of the past 30 months that could have been controlled better by the ECB and dealt with better by the players.
Winning the Ashes was supposed to be the best thing to happen to English cricket, but it proved to be the worst for that team.
* Angus Fraser played 46 tests for England from 1989-98, taking 177 wickets.
