May as well do my ratings:
England
Crawley 8 - England's biggest surprise packet. While we had seen big innings from him before, the problem is that far too often he got out for under 20. This time around he pretty much always made starts, and while his big daddy ton did have luck you still need to capitalise on that luck and once he got into the 50's he looked close to imperious there. I still think he has legitimate question marks about his technique outside off-stump which does make it galling that Australia didn't bowl there to him anywhere near often enough, but bowl anywhere else and he'll murder you.
Duckett 5 - unlike Crawley, didn't look anywhere near as convincing. He did have a great Test at Lord's and I think he did his job at The Oval, but outside of London his technique did get worked over and felt a walking wicket at times. In conditions where the ball is doing a bit still has a long way to go.
Pope 4 - remember him? Wasn't awful in his two Tests but it did seem like Lyon had the wood on him like he did back in Australia, and then he busted his shoulder before he had the chance to take a Lyon-less Australia on. Still feels unconvincing but is probably still the right option for 3 unless Stokes wants to go there full time.
Root 7 - like often the case against Australia the Aussie bowlers did often work him over, but unlike 2019 or 2021/22 he did make excellent contributions when Australia didn't get him out early. When he got it right he looked a class above any other batsman out there.
Brook 6 - short ball weakness was exposed a bit and he'll have to work on that on bouncier wickets, but still managed two genuinely great innings to help set up Test wins. When in the zone he looks a freak.
Stokes 7 - like a lot of his team was more of an "impact" batter than a beacon of consistency, but played two out of this world knocks - one that nearly got England a win in a game they were miles behind in, and another that stopped a collapse and helped set up a win, and both of them really changed the complexion of the series. As a captain mostly did well and has excellent rapport and buy-in from the team, but made two questionable declaration decisions that might've cost England the outright series win.
Bairstow 4 - with the bat he was....OK I think. Two 78's bookended his series and in both innings he showed how dangerous he is as an attacking batsman, but he is a flaky starter and his technique was exposed far too much especially in the middle Tests. And while he did improve as the series went on with the gloves it's safe to say that this was not a great series from him in that regard. Made so many crucial dropped catches, conceded a heap of byes and showed poor technique. If England retain him as a wicket-keeper for India it'll be suicide.
Moeen 5 - was awful at Edgbaston and had people questioning why he was called out of retirement. For the last three Tests though while he didn't have any big hauls or innings he did have a noted impact in all those Tests. With the bat he proved a handy counter-attacking 3 and it also helped others in the team played their best roles possible. And while he did bowl a number of pies, he managed two key spells that proved crucial towards wins. Assuming this is the last time we see him at Test level he can at least say he's sort of vanquished the demons of 2017/18 and 2019 against Australia.
Robinson 5 - stats flatter him, if I'm being honest. When he was playing he seemed to bowl rat powder that Australia's top order was able to smash and often needed the tail to help make his figures look the best. Fitness also has to come into question after breaking down and I wonder just how committed he is to the cause. Still, he looked dangerous when he got in the right areas.
Broad 7 - very solid, though strangely didn't run through a side like he often does against Australia. Still, ended his career on a high note and managed to have his last feat with the bat and ball to be a six and a wicket. He will be missed for so many reasons.
Anderson 2 - his worst series since.....2006/07? I guess he was a bit unlucky at times, but more often than not he didn't even really contain all that well, let alone prove a significant wicket-taking threat. In England even when he's not at his out and out best he's usually good for at least one great spell a series. That didn't happen at all here, and you have to worry that at his age he might have finally hit the wall.
Tongue 6 - still has a fair bit to learn but at Lord's he did show a number of signs that he could be a genuine weapon with the right seasoning. A very good find given England's bowling ages and injury issues.
Woakes 9 - amazing. Had the ball on a string at all times and proved difficult to play no matter the conditions. Had he not played at The Oval Australia I think would've chased down 380. Well deserved MOTS even if he only played 3 Tests. He has to be the first picked bowler in English conditions now.
Wood 8 - I think there were 3 key turning points in the series around Lord's and Headingley, and Wood's spell at Headingley was probably the third of them. Was bowling out and out hand grenades in the first innings there to cause a big collapse just when Australia was looking like they might put a big score on the board. Did slow down a bit as the series went on but Australia never felt comfortable playing him and the momentum of the series felt very different when he was around. Also managed some key blows with the bat. An asset England have to take extreme care of and is a key player.
Australia
Warner 4 - the most depressing thing was that 1. he probably still exceeded my expectations and 2. he still did better than what I think Harris or Renshaw would've done. At least I guess he got starts, but a lot of that felt down to the new ball being easier to bat with than usual. That he didn't kick on is a clear cut sign of someone not really good enough for these conditions anymore.
Khawaja 8 - amazing first two Tests to help set up the 2-0 lead. Did drop off quite a bit as the series went on though, but I did think he copped a number of really good balls when he might've kicked on for a big match-defining knock. Clearly Australia's best batsman.
Labuschagne 5 - in a word, disappointing. He did play a very important role at Old Trafford where without him it might not have mattered that it rained for effectively two days straight, but otherwise never really looked settled and strayed significantly from what worked well for him in 2019. Hopefully this is merely a form slump.
Smith 6 - frustrating series. Looked in generally decent nick throughout but only at London did he manage contributions of susbtance. Seemed hurried a bit by Wood when he got back in the Test team, and played a number of bizarre shots after doing the hard work.
Head 6 - not quite the same kind of razzle-dazzle that we've often seen from Head at home and unlike large chunks of the last 18 months his technique seemed worked over. Still, he managed a number of important innings, even if he didn't turn any of them into a big daddy hundred.
Green 3 - a very "no-rounder" kind of series. While never out and out awful he didn't really make much of an impact anywhere. It seems like he's still stuck in his shell a bit in terms of how to play Test innings, really he needs to be more natural and just take the game on especially in conditions like these.
Carey 4 - started off well, but it seemed that the stumping changed his series. While I don't think he was in the wrong to go for the stumping, it did put a target on his head that he didn't really handle very well. After the first Test he made minimal runs and at The Oval he dropped a crucial catch. Frankly, he needs a break to recover his best form.
Cummins 5 - inconsistency is not often a word you use to describe Cummins, but that's what his series was. His best spells still proved as incisive as ever but unlike most other series he also had plenty of moments where he bowled a lot of short and wide crap that got the treatment it deserved. And his captaincy was.....well let's just say I'm not sure I've seen a worse tactical performance from an Australian skipper that we saw from him in the third and the fourth Test, though he did at least prove a handy leader. And hey, he showed more with the bat than what we've seen for a while!
Lyon 8 - in hindsight Lyon's injury was the first big turning point of the series. At Edgbaston was arguably Australia's best bowler and managed a crucial partnership with Lyon to win a Test out of nowhere, and before breaking down at Lord's was bowling really well. Without him it felt like England could control the momentum a lot easier, and I think this series showed just how much Australia has taken him for granted over the last decade.
Boland 2 - well, it looks like the bubble has burst. I could kind of forgive him for what happened at Edgbaston as I thought that was more of a case of England going hard at him and he did make a key contribution with the bat, but at Headingley he was out and out awful. It wasn't just that he wasn't taking wickets, he also offered no control and was bowling all over the place, something that we hadn't seen from him at Test level before. It's hard to not come to the conclusion that he's played his last Test.
Hazlewood 5 - frustrating. Did bowl a number of good balls, but in general lacked the consistency that we generally expect from him. Whether it was a case of a lack of recent red-ball cricket meaning he wasn't at his peak conditioning or getting #spooked by Bazball I don't know, but it was aggravating to see him stray from a good line and length so much and this felt a lot like his 2015 series. He needs a big home summer to keep his Test career alive.
Starc 8 - the perception of Starc is that he bowls a number of "help yourself" balls but makes up for it by bowling some genuine jaffas. And while that's not necessarily the wrong perception, it's not often an accurate one especially against the better batting lineups. And frankly I feared for him after seeing him bowl in the WTC. Instead, he actually played the strike bowler role to a very high standard. For all of the last 3 Tests was clearly Australia's biggest threat with the ball, and nearly won a game single-handedly at Leeds. It might not have been his best Test series in his career, but it was clearly the toughest situation that he actually succeeded in at Test level. Unless he's playing India he seems to be in career best form at Test level.
Marsh 7 - that century at Leeds was a genuinely amazing moment, and showed a lot of maturity to bat 100 balls to save a Test (even if rain helped there). Did show signs of diminishing returns at The Oval however. Overall did pretty well with the bat though and showed that when he's in the right mindframe he could be a genuinely dangerous batsman.
Murphy 6 - was sold up a river a bit. Underbowled at Leeds and didn't play in a Test where he might have done some damage in Manchester. At The Oval did solidly and picked up a number of wickets, though still showed he has a bit of a way to go at Test level. Bonus points for some seriously impressive batting.
Interesting how even the scores ended up being. Not many great individual series but not many out and out poor ones either.
