Date-stamped : 14 Aug95 - 22:27 England v West Indies, Test 5 Trent Bridge, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 August 1995 ====> Day 1, 10 Aug 95 Atherton puts his back into the first England century of summer - Christopher Martin-Jenkins First day of four: England (227-4) v West Indies MICHAEL Atherton decided that his back would stand the strain; Curtly Ambrose decided his would not. What excellent judges they are was confirmed by the events of the first two-thirds of the opening day of the fifth Test. Defying considerable pain, Ather- ton had apparently booked in for bed and breakfast on a pitch as sleepy as a well-fed kitten, diligently and immaculately compil- ing his, and England`s, first hundred of the series and putting on 148 for the first wicket with Nick Knight. It is, however, one of the most outdated of the game`s cliches that West Indian heads tend to drop when their opponents get on top. Cricketers, English professionals blindly to the fore, still glibly recite the theory, but it is disproved time and again. On the big occasion, West Indies sides are as patient as any and tougher than most: to their great credit, a side shorn of three first-choice players - Ambrose, Jimmy Adams and Carl Hooper - did not wilt in the face of a tea score of 142 for no wicket. Helped by the brilliant piece of fielding by Rajindra Dhanraj which ran out Atherton for 113, they ended the day very much in a match which England seemed to have had at their mercy two hours ear- lier. But for the excellence of Kenny Benjamin, the least-vaunted member of a fast attack reduced, because of Ambrose`s absence, to three, the West Indies might have had a totally fruitless day, as England did here in similar weather against Australia six years ago. Over the years, Trent Bridge in high summer has been the very model of a bowlers` graveyard. Two of England`s invalids, Alec Stewart and Robin Smith, were in the dressing-room yester- day, ruing their luck at missing the chance to bat on so flat a pitch against a depleted West Indies attack. England are a long way yet from the dominating position to which they aspire Twice straightening the ball on a good length, Benjamin had Knight leg before on the back foot, playing no shot, after 4.25 hours of dedicated batting. Forty minutes later, John Crawley, watched anxiously by his uniformed brother, PC Peter Crawley, who was on crowd duty for the Nottinghamshire constabulary, went for- ward and edged to the sole slip fielder. Atherton`s run-out by Dhanraj, who hit the stumps from mid-on as the captain called for a quick single and had to sway past Ian Bishop as he stretched for the line, was followed up by Bishop himself. A ball angled across Graham Thorpe took a thin outside edge and, suddenly, it was a match. If England are to translate their overnight 227 for four into a basis for victory, they will need to make at least 400 and then to take wickets as much by sapping the strength and concentration of their opponents as by getting the ball to move. The extent to which they are able to carry out the second phase of a master plan which began when Richie Richardson had the ill fortune to lose the toss will depend, clearly, upon how heavily and how quickly England can score today. There is a new ball to deal with first and Graeme Hick and Craig White, who were both preferred to the luckless Alan Wells, must justify the faith shown in them. Hick was helped greatly during the last five overs yesterday by Richard Illingworth, who came in as nightwatchman when Thorpe was out and batted stoutly, despite a blow on the right index finger from Bishop. England are a long way yet from the dominating position to which they aspire. Until the match changed course after tea, it was all delightfully old-fashioned and, for those used only to the fire and brimstone nature of so much contemporary Test cricket, perhaps a trifle bloodless. A gentle West Indian leg-spinner bowled a third of the overs before tea and rare bouncers were comfortably hooked. Batting in a sleeveless sweater to minimise the back pain which threatens to shorten his admirable career, Atherton was simply impeccable. He did not play and miss until he had reached 99, 69 overs into a day when the temperature exceeded 80F, and his tim- ing, on so slow a pitch, demonstrated what is often overlooked, that he is a batsman of rare quality. Atherton has a character of immense determination and a lively brain Graft on to his natural ability, as Atherton has, a character of immense determination and a lively brain and you have, not a paragon or a superman, but a player ideally equipped for Test cricket. Thank goodness he did not abandon ship, nor the Navy court-martial him, during his crisis at Lord`s little more than a year ago. He was far more fluent yesterday than his partner, but that was hardly surprising because although there is no more than a year and a half between them in age, this is Atherton`s 50th Test and Knight`s second. Neither will often have conditions so much in their favour as yesterday, in golden light, with the ball bounc- ing truly and at comfortable pace. Headway, however, was slow against bowlers keeping the bouncers and the extras to a minimum once Bishop had given Courtney Browne, in his second Test match, no chance with a wild delivery down the leg side in the second over. The first hour produced 32 runs and, believe it or not, 15 overs, before Dhanraj had even entered the attack. By lunch, England were 67 for no wicket - Atherton`s share 45 - and their steady progress through the afternoon, before an absorbed and well- behaved full house of 13,500, was seldom threatened. Knight sur- vived close decisions against Courtney Walsh`s dreaded slower ball, and later on the front foot against Benjamin and, despite his big backlift and decisive feet, there were few memorable strokes. But here was confirmation that he is not a man to give away his wicket to anyone. A winter`s experience against spin bowling served him well when it came to dealing with the steady leg-breaks of Dhanraj, who bowled 24 overs in spells of 17 and seven, respectively from the Radcliffe Road and the Pavilion ends. The hundred partnership was England`s first since the Barbados Test of April 1994. Time will tell if this, like the Atherton/Stewart stand then, is to prove the foundation of victory: time and perhaps the way that Hick confronts his challenge against the new ball this morning. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com) ====> Day 1, more Allsopp`s farewell Trent Bridge track had `fill your boots` writ- ten all over it, reports Simon Hughes YOU get a better choice of work surfaces at Trent Bridge than in the kitchen department of B & Q. They can be dry and dusty, so jade green the announcer has been known to broadcast "Ladies and gentlemen, Middlesex have won the toss and will break", or like yesterday, as flat as a pancake. Much of the credit for this must go to Ron Allsopp, who has tend- ed the soil at Trent Bridge for 44 years, and been head grounds- man half that time. This is his farewell year. No one knows his square better than Allsopp. He wanders about it before matches stroking his chin, making notes in a book about texture and preparation, adding coded estimates of the pitch`s behaviour at the end of the match. He has a complete dossier of information on every wicket going back to the 1970s, and can accurately predict how each one will play. You would expect that to be the case at most county grounds, but sadly it is not true. Only about half have much of a clue, and the head curator of one Test ground once said to me as I was pawing the surface before a game: "By the way, what does `seaming the ball` mean?" If Nick Knight had had to pick a pitch to play his second Test match on, this would be it A Test wicket receives about three weeks` intensive care, and Allsopp had consultations with Ray Illingworth at about that stage. "I`ve always had a good relationship with Raymond," he said. "He knows as much as anyone that we can produce most things here and some years ago we made a few result pitches. "Sometimes I brush up the surface to help the spinners, but I wouldn`t for a Test match. This one`ll be slowish, even bounce, might turn later." That was two weeks ago, and yesterday his nut-brown face wore a contended smile as Courtney Walsh`s second delivery with the new ball looped through to wicketkeeper Court- ney Browne on the second bounce. He was not the only satisfied person. If Nick Knight had had to pick a pitch to play his second Test match on, this would be it, regardless of the opposition. It had `fill your boots` written all over it, with insufficient bounce for the West Indies to exploit his vulnerable area - shortish veering across him, a delivery he tends to nibble at - but enough pace for him to deflect runs behind square leg and cover. In his nuggety approach and style of scoring there is just a hint of John Edrich, England`s stalwart left-hander of the last gen- eration, now their batting coach. Knight developed his method way before he met Edrich, but clearly the move to Warwickshire this season has elevated his game. The wickets at Edgbaston are more challenging and the team spawns a liberal amount of self-belief which seeps into every pore. The West Indies bowlers were not too chuffed either. Knight has evolved a supremely positive attitude and this hides any technical deficiences, a slight backward shuffle as the bowler delivers for instance. "I`ve learnt to back myself and shut out all the negative thoughts, not to worry about who`s bowling or what`s happening," he said. He would not have needed the scoreboard`s help to know that not much occurred in the first hour. England scored 28, and Knight`s share was six. He was still there though, that was the main thing, as he was at lunch and at tea, by which time Brian Lara`s mother had fallen asleep. The West Indies bowlers were not too chuffed either. "There`s nothing - no bounce or movement in this one," said Ian Bishop with a shrug. Curtly Ambrose had obviously read the entrails ear- ly and pulled out of the match with injury, an option the other pace bowlers probably envied for a time. They gave nothing away, however, and it was 3.35 pm before Knight was allowed enough freedom to play a full-blooded drive which brought up his 50. However, he and Mike Atherton had realised the value of occupa- tion, well aware that dogged century opening partnerships, like featherbed pitches, act like lead weights in demon`s boots. How- ever, they still had enough life and spirit to harry Graham Thorpe and John Crawley into mistakes, and tickle Richard Illingworth`s knuckles. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com) ====> Day 2, 11 Aug 95 Hick makes good his pre-match promise with unbeaten hundred By Christopher Martin-Jenkins at Trent Bridge HE stood up and he was counted. Those still inclined to quote John Bracewell`s withering description of Graeme Hick as a "flat-track bully", on the further evidence of his commanding five-hour innings of 118 not out on a slow, true, even pitch yes- terday must consider the stress under which his career- sustaining, and possibly match-winning innings was played. Left out at Old Trafford, he to some extent talked his way back into the XI here by requesting an interview and putting his own case to Ray Illingworth two days before the match. The chairman`s reaction was to suggest, reasonably enough, that it was time for a batsman of such rare talent to produce cricket worthy of his calling. Illingworth`s point was that Hick has under-achieved and that it was time for him to become a leading light. The consequences of failure, given that public dialogue, might have been a much longer period in the wilderness of county crick- et than the short spells of exile to which successive selection committees have condemned Hick in four of the five seasons since his tormented start to Test cricket four years ago. Furthermore, however comfortable the pitch, the circumstances in which he be- gan one of the most important innings of his life were testing. A draw is now officially 3-1 on Confronted at once by the new ball, he was inevitably given some short stuff yesterday morning, especially once Craig White had thrust his bat towards a wide ball from Ian Bishop to give Court- ney Browne the second of four good catches. Hick hooked a little, ducked a little and had only one nasty moment when he missed a hook at Walsh and the ball dropped from his shoulder close to the stumps. In company with an England lower order which has become more a boxer`s iron solar plexus than a weakling`s soft underbel- ly - Jack Russell, Mike Watkinson and Dominic Cork played useful parts - he proceeded serenely to his third Test hundred and the 83rd of his first-class career. Eight of his 17 fours were scored off Rajindra Dhanraj, who bowled less accurately than on the first day partly because Hick did not let him settle. He thus enabled England to reach a total of 440, which gives their bowlers the chance to create a victory. Mike Watkinson turned and bounced the ball sharply in an 19-over session, restricted by the absurd recalculation method which re- duced the day to 81 overs. A draw is now officially 3-1 on, but it will be interesting to see how effectively Richard Illingworth can support Watkinson. He did not resume his innings yesterday, his right index finger hav- ing been broken during his brief vigil as a nightwatchman, but he took the field with the injury well protected and he can expect plenty of work today. Kenny Benjamin, consistently cheerful through the long day`s work in stifling heat, finished with his third five-wicket haul and will have the chance of a hat-trick with his first ball of the second innings, having ended Cork`s joyful hour at the crease with the help of a diving off-side catch by Browne and clean bowling Angus Fraser first ball. Hick`s innings was, of course, the day`s central theme. His right to a place in the side has been argued here, with one temporary loss of faith last year, because of his obvious class and because of a record better than his detractors would admit. In 1993 he was dropped after the second Test against Australia having scored 64 in the second innings at Lord`s and averaging 52 in England`s previous five Tests. It will be argued that on quick pitches against fast, short- pitched bowling, Hick is vulnerable Recalled for the Oval Test on a quick wicket, he made 80 batting at No 3, but it was insufficient to persuade Keith Fletcher and Mike Atherton that he should bat at three in the West Indies. It could be argued that they have been proved right, but it was at three that he scored 110 against South Africa at Leeds last sum- mer and if an average of 41 in three Tests against Australia last winter was a relative disappointment - and the back injury which sent him home early before Adelaide a major one - he was, again, easily the most impressive batsman in the first-class matches. It will be argued that on quick pitches against fast, short- pitched bowling, Hick is vulnerable. Of course he is, but less so than most and less, too, than he used to be. A flawed diamond, after all, is more valuable than a piece of coal. That he was given sufficient time and space to settle yesterday was largely due to Russell, who has surely never batted better than he has this year. For 28 overs he helped Hick to work the shine off the ball; nudging, nibbling, nurdling and pushing in his own idiosyncratic way but, above all, sniffing the ball and never taking his eyes from it, even when he followed a ball an- gled across him and was caught behind. Watkinson batted for 65 minutes, rather less convincingly at times, but Dhanraj was no great challenge to his professional know-how. The evidence of Watkinson`s five maidens was that finger spinners may be more effective. Stuart Williams and Sherwin Campbell did well to resist their tiredness, but this is still a lovely pitch on which to bat. In a dry summer, it is right that spinners and batsmen should be enjoying themselves. The image of the match so far was the one shortly before lunch when Hick took a firm forward pace and leaned on the ball to hit a leg-break gracefully through the gap at extra-cover. All the beauty of cricket was in that movement; a timeless moment, even in a brutal age. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) Contributed by The Management (help@*ogi.edu) ====> Day 3, 12 Aug 95 Lara`s 152 turns up the heat Scyld Berry sees bowlers suffer again at Trent Bridge TWICE England have been slugged to the floor and twice they have got up and knocked West Indies down. Now both sides seem to have punched each other to a standstill, as first innings have not yet been completed and only two days remain. Every player is either reeling against the ropes or leaning against them for a breather, save for one individual. The excep- tion is Brian Lara, who restated yesterday that he is not as oth- er mortals are. Thus the awful possibility is growing - as the cricket world hangs upon the outcome of this series - that it will remain poised at 2-2, because there will be no bowlers left who are fresh enough to dismiss their opponents twice. To prevent this eventuality, or non-event, England have to make sure that their two pace bowlers here, Dominic Cork and Angus Fraser, are rested next weekend. They, and Devon Malcolm, have to be at their best at the Oval on Thursday week if England are to break the stalemate. Both Derbyshire and Middlesex have championship and Sunday league fixtures next weekend. Cork and Fraser should be spared one or other game, and both if it best serves England`s cause. When a player is called up for a Test match, his county receives compen- sation to the tune of 75 per cent of his Test fee: a county could similarly receive #2,000 or so if their player misses a county match as he is resting for England. The closeness of the tourists to being on their last legs was evidenced before the resumption yesterday, when only 11 of their 17 cricketers attended the stretching exercises with which they all normally start their day. Lara has finally found the wind to fill his sails Lara, however, was one of those present, and afterwards he had a long net against the groundstaff bowlers, as his own kind could not oblige. A fair-haired lad bowling off-breaks had Lara caught and bowled in the nets, but nothing similar happened in the middle until Lara had scored 152 - his fourth hundred against England and his sixth in 30 Tests - from 182 balls. In the series he has hit as many centuries as everyone else put togther. Lethargic for the first half of this summer, as England were in Australia last winter, Lara has finally found the wind to fill his sails, as England did in Sydney. If this was only a question of time, the arrival of family members to see him at Old Trafford doubtless stimulated the revival. It was not just that he scored swiftly yesterday, his first 50 taking 43 balls in less than even time. He scored swiftly too at Headingley and Lord`s. What Lara rediscovered at Old Trafford, and displayed to the full here, was his discrimination: now he is prepared to block a good ball, unlike before, and so he radiates again his awe-inspiring certainty. That anyone should be capable of so many perfectly balanced strokes is almost miraculous. True, the Trent Bridge turf must have been as desultory as at any time in its last hundred years of ample run-making, grudging nothing more than some turn for England`s spinners; and not all of the 11 men representing Eng- land here could be accused of being among the best 11 cricketers in the land. None the less, Lara was supreme. Consider, too, that he came in when West Indies had scored 77 runs from 45 overs, then hit 152 himself in 59 overs. Con- straints had been imposed and England, by their tidy cricket, had built up the pressure on their opponents, as mercury rises in a warm ther- mometer, until something had to give. First it was Sherwin Campbell, who gave an opportunity to Jack Russell to stump him when on 12. An eventual square-cut off Illingworth proved to be intoxication The wicketkeeper must have been as surprised as Campbell, moving down the pitch, that Richard Illingworth should make a ball not only turn but bounce as well, hitting Russell`s right glove to- wards the wrist. It was missed stumpings in the West Indies which halted Russell`s Test career. Stuart Williams was second to give. Handsome stokes by the Nevi- sian had taken him to his first 50 in his 11th Test, but he visi- bly thirsted when the supply was cut off. An eventual square-cut off Illingworth proved to be intoxication, for he went out to the next floated ball and landed it at mid-off. After his reprieve, Campbell went into his shell and his crease, not to be prised for five hours and six minutes - one of the slowest of all West Indian innings. New, keen, and anxious, he had the relief of seeing Lara make his entrance, seize the ther- mometer and break it over the heads of England`s bowlers. Not only is Lara a genius, but a genius from Trinidad, the territory which has produced most West Indian spinners. Misreading Illingworth`s away-floater, as he had at Headingley, was virtually his one mistake. Lara`s reaction was to pound the left-armer through the off side and to score as heavily in his first four overs as Campbell had in 48. Fraser had his first go of the day after lunch from the Radcliffe Road end, to be twice carved to a vacant third man. Soon afterwards Lara hit him there twice more, forcing Mike Ath- erton to take away a slip and post a third man. Lara could not resist late-cutting the next ball for four as well, bringing a smile to the faces of two journalists who had backed Lara at 66-1 to set a new world record; and to the faces of aesthetes who thought the late-cut defunct. If going to a hundred with a single off Craig White is not the highest achievement, to do so from 118 balls - Lara`s second 50 took almost twice as long as the first - was brilliance. Then he reined himself in, as the second new ball was taken, and let Richie Richardson lash eight fours and the first six of the game off 45 balls. So severely was Fraser treated that Illingworth had to return to take the eighth over with the second new ball So severely was Fraser treated that Illingworth had to return to take the eighth over with the second new ball, having bowled the first 27 overs of the day from the pavilion end with his broken finger. He was steadily accurate, but that`s nothing new. Wick- ets are, so it made a pleasant surprise when Richardson dabbed low to slip and Keith Arthurton shoddily shouldered arms. Lara carried on though, and changed the parameters of this match as he went. Before his appearance England hoped to make West In- dies follow on. But so sure was Lara in his movement against the spinners, usual- ly right forward or right back, that he first made a draw the probability, and even opened up the possibility of a West Indian lead. Before his eventual departure Lara`s wicket had been threatened only once, on 123 when a bail came off. But after consulting with their third colleague, the umpires decided it had not fallen in the course of his stroke. Cork, attacking in the evening cool, removed Lara with the day`s worst ball - a leg-side long-hop - and the best piece of field- ing. At which point the match itself seemed to take a deep breath and expire. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) Contributed by The Management (help@*ogi.edu) ====> Day 4, 13 Aug 95 Atherton and Thorpe lead resistance for battered England By Christopher Martin-Jenkins at Trent Bridge Fourth day of five: England (440 & 111-2) lead West Indies (417) by 134 runs HAVING batted only four overs fewer than England and come within 23 of their total, the West Indies produced some high-quality fast bowling on the fourth afternoon of the Notting- ham Test and left the hosts exposed for the first time to the possibility of defeat. The crisis, when England, with two injured men, were effectively four wickets down with a lead of only 59, was calmly overcome by Mike Atherton and Graham Thorpe, the only members of the home side who have battled through every minute of this constantly dramatic Test series. Ron Allsopp`s final Test strip is just starting to give the bats- men a less comfortable ride and though a draw is more or less guaranteed as England go into the final morning 134 runs ahead, Atherton`s hope will be to declare in mid-afternoon and to give his spinners, Mike Watkinson and Richard Illingworth, as much time as he dares to pull something miraculous out of the dust. But for Brian Lara`s glorious batting on Saturday, the West In- dies might now have been in serious trouble. On the other hand, had he gone on scoring at the rate he was - 50 off 48 balls, 100 off 118 and 152 off 182 - the boot would soon have been on the other foot. Sherwin Campbell, defensively, and Stuart Williams and Richie Richardson with freedom, made attractive contributions to West Indies` eventual total of 417, but yesterday the England spinners continued to wring substantial, albeit slow, turn from the dry surface as the last five wickets added 83 more runs. The outcome of the match suddenly seemed of little significance immediately after lunch when Nick Knight, fielding at silly-point to Watkinson, was hit on the right of his head by a fierce drive from the meat of Kenny Benjamin`s bat. With no helmet on, Knight`s quick reactions were all that saved him. Had he been a split-second later to turn away from the line of fire, he might have been hit on the temple. The series has seen quite enough invalids already It is unusual for close fielders on the off side to be hit but Knight, brave fellow and brilliant fielder though he is, will surely wear a helmet there in future, not to mention leg-guards and a box. Sunil Gavaskar was in just this position for India at the Oval in 1982 when Ian Botham launched a massive square-drive at a ball from Dilip Doshi and broke his left leg. Yesterday there was total silence, that rare thing when a large crowd is gathered at a major sporting occasion, as Knight, never unconscious, was rapidly and efficiently tended on the field and taken off on a stretcher to an ambulance, accompanied by his parents. The Queen Elizabeth Medical Centre was a mere five minutes` drive away and Nottinghamshire deserve congratulations for being so thoroughly prepared for a medical emergency. Mercifully, Knight suffered no fracture, but was detained in hos- pital last night as a precaution, not least, perhaps, because he was concussed only two months ago when he collided in the field with Warwickshire team-mate Trevor Penney. The series has seen quite enough invalids already and there was nearly another when Mike Atherton was hit on the top of his left hand and badly bruised by a rapid, lifting ball from Ian Bishop as England added 36 to their negligible lead of 23 in the 13 overs bowled by the West Indies in the hour before tea. However confidently, even ambitiously, the England captain may have ap- proached the start of his side`s second innings, he soon knew that runs were going to be garnered a good deal less easily than they had been in the first. John Crawley, opening in Knight`s place and badly in need of a significant innings if his Test career was not to be in danger of further interruption, had already been hurried into an edged four by Bishop`s exceptional pace when he was bowled playing no shot at a sharp breakback from Courtney Walsh, almost exactly as he had been at Old Trafford. Just for a moment Crawley`s reaction was much as Mark Ramprakash`s had been after completing his pair at Lord`s: disbelief at his own error and its possible conse- quences. For a time survival was a battle Unlike Crawley, Atherton will not be playing in the Roses match later this week. His suspect back and the mental strain of cap- taining England in this tough series have taken their toll and Lancashire officials feel, with Atherton`s compliance, that his interests and theirs will best be served by his having a rest. He started the season with runs flowing freely but they have dried up completely for his county. Confront him with the ultimate challenge of Test cricket, howev- er, and his skill and stoicism cannot be questioned. They were needed once more when Hick, after an assured start, went back to Benjamin in the third over after tea and was bowled, as too often he is for a player of such class. With Knight`s abili- ty to bat uncertain and Illingworth`s chances of any effective batting con- tribution ruled out by his broken finger, England were arguably 36 for four. For a time survival was a battle: Walsh bowled flat out, Benjamin cut the ball about off the seam and Bishop swung the ball at pace in his second spell as he had in his first. But Atherton batted well and Thorpe very well indeed. He has become, I believe, England`s best batsman, an impression confirmed by his computer rating as currently the fifth most ef- fective player in the world, behind Steve Waugh, Lara, Inzamam- ul-Haq and Jimmy Adams. A straight drive and square drive in the same over from Benjamin were hit from the middle of the broadest of blades. RajindraDhanraj gave neither Thorpe nor Atherton any trouble in a four-over spell costing 22. He has been a disappointment, but the reverse may be said about Watkinson and, especially, Illingworth, whose 51 overs and four for 96 was his best Test effort. Bowling with the distraction of strapping on his painful right index finger, his left hand served him well. Varying his pace and trajectory artfully, he added the wicket of Courtney Browne yesterday to his three hard-earned successes on Saturday. Browne had batted with some style and an occasional natural stroke reminiscent of the hitherto badly missed Jeff Dujon but he was slickly stumped by a ball spinning past his drive, just as Campbell should have been some 25 hours previously. The crucial wicket of the morning, however, was that of Shivna- rine Chanderpaul, caught at short leg off an inside edge on to his pad an hour after Dhanraj had been deftly caught by Knight in the gully, fending off a bouncer. Chanderpaul had lined up the fast bowlers with ease and played them late, but he has an evi- dent frailty against spin. Watkinson also dismissed Bishop, bril- liantly caught left-handed by Hick at slip as he drove. Ladbrokes are accepting no more bets on the draw and it is a shame this is not a six-day Test, but with a fifth of the game still left, who can be sure? Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) Contributed by The Management (help@*ogi.edu) ====> Day 5, 14 Aug 95 England scent series victory after Watkinson defies tourists with 82 West Indies secure draw at Trent Bridge to make Oval match a thrilling prospect, reports Christopher Martin-Jenkins IN 26 years, England have only once gone into the final Test against the West Indies with even a theoretical chance of winning the series. Graham Gooch`s side in 1990 were in no state to take their opportunity. This time, not least because of injuries to three of the over-burdened West Indian fast bowlers, there is reason to anticipate a happier ending to the denouement at the Oval next week. It was duly a draw at Trent Bridge yesterday, but, until Mike Watkinson and Richard Illingworth eliminated the possibility of an England defeat with a last-wicket stand of 80, it was an ex- citing one. Immediately after Illingworth came in, his broken right index finger specially protected, Watkinson was dropped, turning Courtney Walsh off his legs to Sherwin Campbell. Had that brilliant fielder taken the catch, as 19 times out of 20 he would have done, the West Indies would have needed to score 215 in an estimated 41 overs. No doubt they would have had a go. Equally probably they would have got into difficulties, because the bounce on a dry pitch in its fifth day was no longer entirely reliable. The chances are that England and the West Indies would, in any case, still have been level at two games all. That is the situation now, but it was no certainty early yesterday afternoon when Kenny Benjamin had taken four more wickets to earn his first 10-wicket match analysis. On such a slow, essentially true pitch it was an admirable ef- fort, justly earning him the Cornhill man-of-the-match cheque, despite Brian Lara`s 152, Mike Atherton`s staunch batting and Courtney Browne`s sure catching behind the stumps: four more yes- terday took his victims to nine in the match, one short of Bob Taylor`s record. What finally settled the issue, not to mention the nerves in the England camp, however, was the resourceful bat- ting of Lancashire`s cool, competent and battle-hardened captain and Illingworth`s courageous defiance of doctor`s orders to share in England`s largest last-wicket stand since Bob Willis and Peter Willey put on 117 in 1980. Two experienced county players showed that there is still such a thing as English professionalism, in the best sense of that word Watkinson batted 2.5 hours for his 82 not out in his second match for England, having come in three overs before lunch when his side were a mere 171 in front. He played one rash shot when Il- lingworth joined him but the subsequent dropped chance jogged his sharp cricketing brain back into top gear and between them two experienced county players showed that there is still such a thing as English professionalism, in the best sense of that word. They worked out a modus operandi, Watkinson taking most of the strike, until Richie Richardson was forced to turn to his patent- ly inadequate slow bowlers. Benjamin and Ian Bishop had taken four England wickets for 37 when Watkinson came in to bat with Graham Thorpe who, crucially but not without some luck, held the fort all morning. Had Thorpe been given out for 55 by umpire Cyril Mitchley when Bishop trapped him on his crease with a ball which looked as though it had to hit the stumps, England`s overnight pair would have been swept away in the first 10 overs. Bishop had already swung a ball away late from Mike Atherton to give Browne the first of his five second-innings catches and fol- lowed up by having Craig White caught at short leg as he pushed defensively at a good-length ball on his leg stump. There is little time for wounds to heal before the Oval Test Bishop turned his ankle for the second time in the match immedi- ately after lunch, but by then Benjamin had angled a ball across Jack Russell and had Nick Knight, coming at No 7 with a clear head but after a sleepless night, caught behind top-edging a poorly executed cut. Walsh supported Bishop with his usual total commitment after lunch, ignoring his own sprained ankle in pursuit, vain as it transpired, of his 300th Test wicket. Thorpe was No 299, getting a bottom edge to a pull after 267 minutes of stern concentration. Dominic Cork got an outside edge an over later and Angus Fraser was ninth out, fending to short leg, when the England lead was a precarious 212. The last-wicket stand which followed denied the West Indies their clear chance of winning but also prevented England from turning the tables. There comes a point in such circumstances, especially on a slow pitch, when the receding number of overs gives the side fielding last little chance of taking all 10 wickets. Atherton still set a defensive field just in case when the West Indies were eventually set 294 to win in 20 overs, having made his declaration immediately after tea. Fraser and Cork took a wicket each, however, before hands shook weary hands. There is little time for wounds to heal before the Oval Test. White is virtually certain to be omitted, even though a quicker surface there might suit his bowling. His main job in a series wherein batsmen have been more vulnerable than bowlers, is to score runs and, all too predictably, he did nothing in this game to suggest that the selectors were right to prefer him in the fi- nal XI to Alan Wells. Illingworth, his duty pluckily done, will no doubt be replaced by Devon Malcolm. John Crawley`s place must also be in jeopardy, if the selectors react in the same ruthless way to his double disap- pointment here as they did when Mark Ramprakash got his pair at Lord`s. Ramprakash, Jason Gallian, Wells and perhaps Alec Stewart will be under consideration again this weekend when decisions are taken. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) Contributed by The Management (help@*ogi.edu) ====> Day 5, more Veteran Watkinson an overnight success - Simon Hughes EITHER due to the benign nature of the pitch or because they had temporarily forgotten what to do if a Test survives four days, the two captains let this match drift to the first draw of the series. Until they took a couple of wickets, the West Indies fast bowlers were on cruise-control in the morning, though they gave nothing away, and in the afternoon Richie Richardson lacked the imagina- tion or resources to terminate England`s last-wicket partnership. Reclining in the dressing-room, Mike Atherton allowed it to accu- mulate, apprehensive of putting the painstaking effort of the en- tire summer at risk. "I only thought briefly about declaring," Atherton said. "We didn`t feel we could bowl them out in that time, unless they were going for it." Richardson admitted that Sherwin Campbell`s dropped catch when England were 192 for nine, only 215 ahead, was crucial. "If he`d taken that catch the chase would have been on but these things happen, and the batsmen kept on hanging in there." Those two batsmen, Mike Watkinson and Richard Illingworth, are the sort of cricketers the chairman of selectors, Ray Illing- worth, seeks. They have unpretentious aptitude, northern grit and both bowl his beloved spin. And neither are afraid to defy the pain barrier or doctors orders - Illingworth, remember, was bat- ting with a broken finger. "But that`s what I expect of profes- sional cricketers playing for England," Ray Illingworth said. The younger Illingworth is as certain to miss the final Test as Watkinson is to play a pivotal role in it. Aside from Dominic Cork, Watkinson has been the major find of the summer - 14 sea- sons` county experience has ensured he is not overawed by his promotion. He has not bowled off-spin even half that time, but he is learning fast. He spins the ball more than any other English protagonist, bowls an attacking line outside off-stump and picked up useful tips from John Emburey at Old Trafford. Watkinson`s morale fibre has never been in doubt, but he has elevated his all-round skills to new heights in the last three weeks These included some enlightened field settings - a deep leg-gully for right-handers, a scattering of people on the drive for Brian Lara, for instance - considerable patience, and the wearing of spikes when batting to help assist the wearing of the pitch when advancing down it to drive. Against the West Indies bowlers you do not generally get much op- portunity to charge but Watkinson was quickly out of the blocks to punch the leg-spinner Rajindra Dhanraj straight, and after some dogged early resistance, unleashed some productive slashes and resounding pulls against the quicker bowlers. His innings began in a mini crisis at 148 for six but the tension was immediately alleviated by Kenny Benjamin running into bowl without the ball, which happened to be in the umpire`s pocket. When it was eventually delivered, Watkinson tickled it to fine leg, and, except for the occasional flirt outside the off-stump, never looked in serious trouble after that. The weariness of the bowlers at this stage and the pitch, which Joel Garner would have described as having "gone to sleep", helped somewhat. Watkinson`s morale fibre has never been in doubt, but he has elevated his all-round skills to new heights in the last three weeks. Despite an occasional tendency to drag the ball down short, his lack of spin-bowling experience has not been exposed and though his batting technique may be crude, he is hard to set a field to. A summer of the West Indies always separates the wheat from the chaff, and at 34, Watkinson is fully ripened. Steady bowling fig- ures and 106 runs for once out at Trent Bridge is more than enough guarantee that he will not be spending the winter watching Blackburn Rovers, unless they get satellite feeds of Premiership football in South African hotels. The levels of versatility, commitment and repartee will be enhanced by his presence. So England still cannot break their duck against the West Indies at Trent Bridge - Ron Allsopp`s handiwork was just too good and now they have to start all over again at the Oval. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) Contributed by The Management (help@*ogi.edu)