Watch day one of the second Test between South Africa and England, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 7.30am on Friday
Thursday 2 January 2020 15:32, UK
As we welcome in the year 2020, here are five resolutions for Joe Root's men to stick to in 2020 to turn around their Test fortunes...
Jack Leach has been England's premier spinner for much of the year, though he will be remembered more for his epic 1 not out (and glasses cloth) in the Ben Stokes-inspired Ashes win at Headingley than he will necessarily for his bowling efforts - 14 wickets at 34.92 in six matches in 2019.
In their final two Tests of 2019, England have actually fielded a five-man seam attack, in New Zealand and South Africa, and to much criticism.
Leach's omission at Hamilton against New Zealand was tactical, while he was unfortunately ruled out of the recent defeat at Centurion as one of England's lurgy sufferers in South Africa.
Should he not recover in time for the second Test at Cape Town on Friday, Somerset team-mate, and offspinner, Dom Bess, and Lancashire leggy Matt Parkinson could play - though both are inexperienced at Test level, with the latter yet to make his debut.
Ideally, you feel England would like to see a return to form and a return to the side for Moeen Ali - dropped after a heavy defeat in the first Ashes at Edgbaston this summer - but Moeen has currently ruled himself out of selection, wishing to take a break from touring this winter.
Whoever it turns out to be, England desperately need a spinner to step forward in 2020 and they then need to stick with them.
A large reason for England's struggles at Test level has been down to a seemingly small pool of talent to pick from; it's the same names that tend to float around the set up.
Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler - like with Moeen - have found themselves dropped from the Test team in recent times, before somewhat hastily being recalled. That certainly seems true of Bairstow who, after a disastrous 2019 with the bat - averaging less the 20 - was dropped for the New Zealand tour in order to have time to work on his game.
In reality, Bairstow smashed the ball around a bit in the T20 series, was drafted in as back-up for the two-match Test series, and then swiftly found himself back in the team for the first Test against South Africa, with the same technical flaws being exposed.
England will argue that Bairstow only played due to the absence of Ollie Pope - another to suffer with illness, after having impressed in New Zealand. That may be true, but why did Bairstow leapfrog Zac Crawley, the youngster having only made his debut at Hamilton a few weeks before?
Pope is expected to come back in at Cape Town, at least, and England need to give him, and Crawley, an extended run during 2020 to see if they've got the technique and temperament for Test level and if they're worth investing in further.
Archer burst onto the scene in 2019, bowling England to victory in the World Cup final only a mere month or so on from making his international debut, before then tearing through Australia in his first two Test matches.
Archer took 2-59 over 29 overs of fearsome, fast, hostile bowling in the first innings of the second Ashes Test at Lord's, regularly clocking speeds in excess of 90mph and knocking Steve Smith out of the game with a vicious bouncer. He then nearly bowled England to victory with 3-32 in the second innings of the ultimately drawn game.
Next up, Archer took a sublime 6-45 to help bowl Australia out for 179 in the first innings of the win at Headingley, before then taking 2-40 in the second innings. After his first two Tests, Archer had 13 wickets at an astonishing average of 13.53 and England had a new sensation.
Since, Archer has taken 17 wickets in his next five Tests at a less striking average of 38 a pop, struggling to not only maintain such success with the ball, but also such speeds.
He doesn't appear to be bowling quite as quickly as he once was, and England's use of him has been called into question as they have, at times, either over-bowled him or employed him as an 'enforcer' type when desperate searching for a wicket.
At just 24 years of age, Archer is a precious commodity and one England will desperately need on the flat decks of Australia in the Ashes in a couple of winters time. He needs protecting on and off the field.
Sticking with the bowling, England regularly took wickets upfront this summer - happy New Year, David Warner - and they had South Africa 111-5 in the first innings of last week's first Test, but the stats can sometimes lie.
England didn't bowl the fuller length needed with the new ball on an up-and-down Centurion surface, the length that Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje so expertly exploited for South Africa. They went too short, too often, particularly in a wayward second-innings showing.
England have of late had to bowl on flat, unresponsive pitches away from home, like the ones they faced in New Zealand, and that maybe muddied their approach here, while James Anderson was also a little rusty in his first Test back since being injured in the first Ashes Test way back in August. The illness bug circling the camp in the build-up to the game also didn't help.
England also have a dilemma in terms of who gets to use the new ball. Chris Woakes was largely a forgotten man this summer as Archer often got the nod up front with Stuart Broad, leaving him operating without that little bit of nibble with the new nut that makes him such a threat.
Sam Curran is a swing bowler, Anderson the best there has ever been for England, Archer has the speed, while Broad used it brilliantly in the Ashes. They can't all get a go, making it all the more important that those early overs - whoever bowls them - aren't wasted.
Joe Root's job as captain isn't in danger just yet, but it will be quickly if the mistakes of the first Test against South Africa are repeated and he comes away with a series defeat - especially as England were considered favourites coming into the tour.
England didn't lose the game purely because of Root's decision to bowl at the toss, but it was no doubt a contributing factor, while team selection and on-field tactics have also looked confused at times.
Root's partnership with new head coach Chris Silverwood was supposed to be the start of a new era but, so far, with two defeats and a draw from their first three Tests together at the helm, it's looking very much same old, same old.
Already there are whisperings of Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, or even Rory Burns as a possible successor as skipper should things continue to spiral in South Africa, but Root can still control his own destiny with a return to form with the bat as well as results.
He hit a fine double-hundred at Hamilton only two Tests ago and, while his dismissals in both innings were disappointing, he gutsed it out for 48 fine runs in the second innings at Centurion to have England seemingly on course for a record run-chase at one stage.
That's the Root we need to see more of in 2020.
Watch day one of the second Test between South Africa and England from 7.30am on Friday on Sky Sports Cricket.
