England go in search of history today in the final npower Test against West Indies with captain Michael Vaughan believing they have now have a squad capable of developing together over the next few years.

Years of inconsistency have caused the selectors to chop and change in an attempt to find the winning formula, with the exception of regulars like Michael Atherton, Alec Stewart and Nasser Hussain forming the spine of the side.

Since the retirement of that key trio, however, England have evolved into a vibrant new unit under Vaughan's captaincy.

They are currently on the verge of becoming only the third England side in history to claim seven successive victories, following the achievements of their predecessors in 1884-85 and 1928-29.

The West Indies were well beaten in the first two Tests and although they produced a spirited response at Old Trafford, Vaughan knows England may never have a better opportunity to complete a summer clean sweep than over the next five days at The Oval.

For this Test they will have to perform without key batsman Graham Thorpe, whose centuries in Barbados, Trent Bridge and Old Trafford guided England to outstanding victories.

The Surrey man has failed a fitness test on his injured right little finger and is replaced by Warwickshire batsman Ian Bell.

But even with a shuffle of personnel, England are still keen to show their ruthlessness to the world by completing what they failed to achieve in the Caribbean, although it has been the development of the side over the last year which has most pleased the captain.

''The whitewash is a huge motivation for us,'' insisted Vaughan.

''If we can beat the West Indies 4-0, having beaten the Kiwis 3-0, it it would be an outstanding summer for the side, but the most pleasing aspect is that this side can stay together for a few years.

''We'll miss Thorpey this week but it also creates an environment where every single player should be playing for five or six years together.

''There will be changes and there will be different personnel, but that's a huge positive for the English game that we've got a side that can stay together for a few years.

''We know the whitewash is there and we certainly know it's a goal we can achieve.

''At Old Trafford we were very close to slipping away and losing that game so we're pretty fortunate we're here now 3-0 up.

''But if we play well here it's a great opportunity to get seven Test victories in the summer and that would be a great achievement for this side.''

Like Australia, the only side now above them in the official ICC World Test rankings, England's consistency of selection has helped them to a staggering year of success, with their defeat in Sri Lanka the only blemish since their victory over South Africa at The Oval last summer.

During that match several of the younger England players came of age with Steve Harmison claiming four crucial wickets in the second innings while Andrew Flintoff began his incredible year with a superb 95 to earn a crucial first innings lead.

Vaughan, who will be making his 50th Test appearance this week, admitted: ''I think that was a huge game for everyone involved.

''It started a wonderful year for Steve Harmison and we came back and won a Test match when the opposition got 450, so that gave us a huge amount of confidence. Freddie also had a fantastic game and look what he's done over the last year.

"I would say it was the start of individuals starting to prove they are Test quality.''

Another example of that is debutant Bell and England really will have problems when the selectors sit down this weekend to pick the squad for the Test tour to South Africa, which is due to be announced at Lord's next Wednesday.

''Hopefully Ian can come in and do well and hopefully create headaches for the selectors,'' said Vaughan.

England's final choice is between Lancashire seamer James Anderson and Glamorgan's Simon Jones.