Miller: Faith in players paid off

National selector Geoff Miller insists England are not afraid of dropping players but claims the Ashes success in Australia was built on a foundation of faith in struggling stars.

Kevin Pietersen had given little indication of form heading into the tour, while Alastair Cook and Paul Collingwood were also struggling for runs and James Anderson endured a dismal previous Ashes tour. But Pietersen made a double hundred in Adelaide, Cook was man of the series and Anderson took 24 wickets, while Collingwood made some trademark contributions in the field.

"The beauty of the series is that everyone has done something," Miller told Sky Sports News. "It's not just a matter of players being dropped. If we feel it's necessary to drop them then we would do that, but we see a wider angle, and the wider picture than that, and we know we're talking about quality players."

Miller explained: "You stick by players, you know what the situation is with these players.

"You know how they're feeling in themselves and we knew Alastair Cook is a quality player and very strong mentally as well.

"Yes, he was going through a tough time, but that's no different from a lot of international players, they go through tough times.

"He had the quality to come through it, as do one or two of the others. We know what kind of players we've got in there. They each enjoy each other's success, not just their own, so it's a good unit."

Miller dismissed the suggestion that Collingwood's decision to quit Test cricket following the series had spared the selectors the awkward job of dropping him.

"We're not glad when people finish in international cricket," Miller said.

"He's been an integral member of this side and he's a model pro. It's disappointing and we're never glad when people finish international careers because we'd like them to go on as long as possible. But we understand his decision and we accept it."