5 Things England Learned from T20 Series vs. Pakistan

Not too long ago, England were embarrassingly limping out of the 2015 ODI World Cup, and their future, at least in limited-overs cricket, was looking far from rosy.

Fast forward a few months, and with a burgeoning reputation for playing attractive white-ball cricket culminating in an impressive Twenty20 series whitewash over Pakistan in the UAE, things are on the up.

But can Eoin Morgan's men seriously make a significant impact at the 2016 ICC World T20 competition, which begins in India next March?

Here, focusing predominantly on England's T20 side, are five things Trevor Bayliss and Co. have learned from their recent successes over Pakistan.

Ever since Ryan Sidebottom was discarded in 2010, England have been searching for a left-arm seamer, and like London buses, it appears two have arrived at once.

David Willey, a big-hitting bowling all-rounder, made his debut in the summer and has acquitted himself well, taking 26 wickets in 14 international appearances with his aggressive pace.

Meanwhile, Reece Topley, another left-arm paceman who is capable of swinging the ball prodigiously, has also hit the ground running and claimed three wickets for just 24 runs in the T20 at Dubai.

It's unlikely either youngster will become the next Mitchell Johnson or Mitchell Starc, but with variety such a valuable commodity in a bowling lineup, these two talents need to be nurtured carefully.

Hampshire's James Vince has long been tipped for international cricket stardom, and the 24-year-old took his chance in the UAE with aplomb.

The talented strokemaker looked at ease on the big stage to score 125 runs in total, significantly more than any other batsman from either side in the series.

Impressively, he reigned in his attacking instincts when early wickets went down in the opener at Dubai and in the final game at Sharjah to help England recover from potentially crippling situations.

And then, in the second tussle at Dubai, Vince unleashed his wide range of shots to contribute 38 off just 24 balls, top-scoring for his side and vastly improving his chances of featuring in India in March.

Perhaps the biggest concern for England's current T20 side is the lack of production for the first wicket from current incumbents Jason Roy and Alex Hales.

While both players made tons in the ODI series, in the 20-over format they averaged 12.66 and 9.50 respectively and only managed to put on scores of 16, 32 and 0 before one of them fell.

In fact, the pair have opened the innings together six times in T20 Internationals, and so far their average contribution is just over 19.

Of course, the data size is still small, and both Roy and Hales have shown flashes of brilliance, but if England are to be serious contenders in India, this partnership needs to significantly improve.

Buttler and Billings sounds like the name of a Savile Row tailor shop, and it is fair to say that Sam Billings and Jos Buttler are certainly suited to their roles as England's finishers.

The former has been around for some time now, and while he has struggled of late in Test cricket, the 25-year-old is a devastating white-ball player, as Pakistan found out in a recent Dubai ODI.

Billings only emerged on the international scene in June, but judging from his 24-ball half-century, the Kent blaster is a major new lower-order weapon in England's armoury.

T20 cricket's worldwide takeover has made such players hot commodities, and it would be no surprise to find this duo being sought after in the Indian Premier League some stage soon.

And finally, when Andrew Strauss became England's director of cricket in May, few expected his impact to be so sudden and so successful.

Yet, just over six months later, the former England skipper has clearly got England back on the right track, with an Ashes series win in the bag and two resurgent limited-overs teams.

Strauss preached more separation between the red ball and white ball teams, and judging by recent results, this is paying dividends.

After the whitewash of Pakistan, the T20 team has now won five consecutive games and seems to be quickly catching up with the rest of the world's more progressive approach to the sport's shortest format.

Also, look at the players who weren't even present in the UAE for the three-match series but will be hoping for a chance ahead of the 2016 T20 World Cup.

Err...Stuart Broad, Jimmy Anderson and Ben Stokes, for example?

This strength in depth and the continued emergence of the youngsters mentioned in previous slides is one of the reasons why England's odds to lift their second T20 World Cup are likely to be shortening.