Michael Vaughan's reshaped side deserved to celebrate their success on Sunday but will be aware that lessons must be learnt quickly if England are to end years of stagnation in the limited-overs format.

In truth, Pakistan handed them a sharp lesson even in defeat, and particularly in the series decider at Lord's.

Playing Test cricket in all but name, they came close to obliterating England's batsmen on Sunday. "We had quite a bit of luck," Marcus Trescothick conceded.

Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami, the fastest new-ball pairing in the world, ended the game with one wicket for 90 between them but deserved much more after a mesmerising display.

Trescothick, however -- who should have been run out without scoring and who was later dropped on 35 and 93 -- dug deep to end with a match-winning 108 not out. No other home batsman reached 30.

His opening partner Vikram Solanki, who, significantly, has yet to get a chance in tests, struggled throughout.

UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

Youngster James Troughton, meanwhile, failed with the bat again -- he has scored 26 runs in his first three one-day innings -- while Rikki Clarke, a powerful hitter who bowls a bit, has made four runs in his first two.

It may be too early to judge Troughton, but Clarke looks worryingly like another English 'bits-and-pieces' player -- a one-day all rounder not quite good enough in either discipline and with little hope of graduating to test cricket.

Similar unanswered questions surround Anthony McGrath.

One of them seems unlikely to survive the return from injury of Paul Collingwood or even -- should the selectors forgive him that late withdrawal from the Ashes -- Graham Thorpe.

None of Pakistan's young players, in contrast, looked short on technique.

While their top-order batting failed to catch fire, Mohammad Hafeez, Yasir Hameed and Imran Nazir all looked well organised. Hafeez also took three for 31 in the decider with his off spin.

England, though -- eighth in the world one-day table to Pakistan's third -- still earned themselves a smile under their new captain.

"We got the best of the conditions at Lord's but to come back from 1-0 down in the series showed immense character," said Vaughan. "Pakistan are a very talented team (but) there wasn't a great deal between the sides."

All rounder Andrew Flintoff, batting at five, looked happy with the added responsibility and bowled excellently, taking five wickets at an average of 18.20 with his restrictive back-of-a-length bowling.

Chris Read, despite his streakier batting, was so accomplished behind the stumps that the recently retired Alec Stewart was not mentioned.

GREATEST SUCCESS

England's greatest success, however, apart from their bright fielding, was that they entertained.

Under Nasser Hussain, the result always seemed more important than the style. Vaughan's leadership may usher in a change of approach.

If Pakistan's pacemen left an enduring impression, so did Trescothick's thunderous 55-ball 86 in the second game at The Oval, all but 10 of those runs coming in boundaries.

If entertainment is indeed the new mantra, England may be tempted to gamble on Steve Harmison in their upcoming one-day series against Zimbabwe and South Africa.

An out-and-out strike bowler, Harmison looks made for tests rather than one-dayers. The same, though, could be said of Shoaib and Sami.