"The England cricket team," writes Simon Barnes in The Times, "are in the position of a person who charges back into a burning house to rescue the baby and comes out with the cat."

It’s a nice cat, and you are fond of it, but it’s not exactly what you went in for. Still, there’s not much you can do except stroke it.

All the same, in the aftermath of their momentous two wins in a row in the CB Series - not to mention the England rugby team's victory over Scotland - the question has to be asked: "Is England suddenly a nation of winners again?"