England selector Angus Fraser left stunned by Ashes success

“You’re looking for the players to perform on a more consistent basis and thankfully we’ve seen that in three Tests this summer. Everyone is keen to make sure we finish strongly.

“Trying to keep up this form is going to be challenging. It has been very satisfying to see the players play as we know they can and for that to be good enough to win important games.”

Fraser also said England’s results this summer had vindicated the contentious decisions taken in the spring.

Shortly after he became director of England cricket, former captain Andrew Strauss made his mark. He sacked coach Peter Moores, closed the door on Kevin Pietersen’s hopes of an international return and confirmed Cook — who was struggling at the time — as Test captain. In place of Moores, Strauss hired Trevor Bayliss, England’s first Australian coach.

With away series against Pakistan and South Africa ahead, there is plenty of work ahead for England but their displays in the last three months suggest Strauss’s thinking was sound.

“There was a lot of controversy at the start of the year about whether Kevin Pietersen should be picked or not,” Fraser, who is also director of cricket at Middlesex, told talkSPORT.

“People were just saying you should pick your strongest side and that’s it. But those of us who work and live in a dressing room realise there is more to it than that. It’s about the character of the person, how they perform on the field, the scope for development — what sort of cricketer can they become and what they can give.”

England have two principal decisions ahead of The Oval: whether to bring back Jimmy Anderson, who missed the Trent Bridge Test with a side injury, and whether to play two spinners.

Moeen Ali, the off-spinning all-rounder, has been the sole slow bowler throughout the summer but Bayliss is keen to take a look at leg-spinner Adil Rashid, who has yet to play a Test.

Rashid is likely to be needed against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates, where conditions favour spin, and Bayliss would like to see how he handles the challenges of five-day cricket.

The Oval has favoured spin in the past but this summer pitches there for county games have been flat. Yet if England do decide to bring in Rashid, they would probably promote Moeen to be Cook’s latest opening partner, with Adam Lyth — who has had a poor Ashes series — missing out.