By now England were supposed to be the best cricket team in the world.

Well, that was the view of the tens of thousands of celebrating England supporters who gathered in Trafalgar Square the day after Michael Vaughan's side regained the Ashes in 2005 and the England and Wales Cricket Board who basked in the glory and made bold predictions of world domination.

As those who watched England in the first test at Hamilton, when Vaughan's team were totally outplayed by New Zealand, will by now have realised, it has not quite worked out like that.

Since those heady days, England have slipped from second to fifth in the world rankings and, if New Zealand play as they did in the first test, they face the real possibility of losing a third consecutive series.

So what has gone wrong? Why has the team that promised so much delivered so little in the past two-and-a-half years?

More money is being pumped into English domestic cricket than ever before and the players are getting better remuneration and assistance than ever before, so there should be no shortage of motivation.

As is always the case, the fall cannot be pinned on one single issue, it is a consequence of several. There is no doubt that England took their eye off the ball following the win over Australia.

In the 18 months leading up to the 2005 Ashes, England played wonderful cricket, as New Zealand found out in the winter of 2004 when they suffered a 3-0 defeat.

Five consecutive test series had been won and plenty of records broken. The England team was vibrant and the players were fit and hungry. The focus of everyone within the side was inward; all they wanted to do was improve as cricketers and win matches.

Then came the Ashes, a victory that made every player feel like a superstar. MBEs were handed out as if they were sweets at a primary school and Andrew Flintoff was named as the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year. In the aftermath, the players saw an opportunity to capitalise on their success and make loads of money. Appearances were made here, endorsements signed there and suddenly the focus turned outward.

The complete overreaction of the English media and everyone associated with English cricket probably led some players to believe that a lifetime's work had been completed.

So the starting point of the slide was the focus of the team. Then came the injuries. Vaughan is a magnificent captain but his right knee gave in before the first test of England's next series in Pakistan.