Date-stamped : 29 May95 - 10:24 England v West Indies, Third One-day International Lord's, London, 28 May 1995 Atherton heroics inspire England to series victory By Christopher Martin-Jenkins at Lord`s AN anti-hero when last he captained England at Lord`s, Michael Atherton was truly a hero there yesterday. His 127 was an innings of quite exceptional brilliance, his first one-day hundred for England and a performance, even given the often deceptive nature of one-day internationals, of genuine significance. It enabled England to win the Texaco Trophy and the third one-day international by 73 runs, despite having to contend with more difficult batting conditions, and it suggested again that there is a dangerous lack of confidence in the West Indies camp. Even without Courtney Walsh, whose back injury is not serious, but whose absence in this West Indies side immediately reduces their effectiveness in any match, they had an early grip on this game. The other fast bowlers, Curtly Ambrose especially, found considerable bounce and movement in the first hour after a wet night. Under the pressure of Atherton`s inreasingly assertive batting, however, and of running between the wickets which bore the clear stamp of lessons learned in Australia, the West Indian bowling and fielding wilted. There were nine wides, seven no-balls and too many fumbles. Not only was it a reversal of the roles played by these two sides when last they met in the Caribbean, but apparent evidence that it was England`s form, not the West Indies`, which was delusory at Trent Bridge last week. If England`s rugby union team play so well in their next two matches after so bad a start, they will be well on the way to winning the World Cup. England`s record in Lord`s Tests has been appalling for too long The real cricketing story, it must be said afresh, will not un- ravel until the Tests. As Atherton said afterwards, "that`s a to- tally different game". England`s record in Lord`s Tests has been appalling for too long and if they have beaten the West Indies here after the second Test four weeks from now, the celebrations can probably begin in earnest. As it is, Atherton`s #2,250 for becoming man of the match and the series, and his share of England`s Texaco prize money of #25,000 represents a nice little earner for a man fined #2,000 here by Ray Illingworth last year for keeping the ball dry in unorthodox fashion. Like flies to wanton boys are cricketers to the gods; they kill them for their sport. Refreshed by his break at the end of the tour of Australia, Ath- erton has now scored more than 1,000 runs in all competitions this season and this was his fifth century. Not only has he rediscovered his enthusiasm for the game after his often harrowing experiences in 1994, but also his confidence. This is a man now convinced of the need for England to set out to dominate in every match they play, not just to survive; and a batsman who has appreciated that he is not just a worthy interna- tional but potentially a great one. It is, indeed, one of the virtues of limited-overs cricket that it sometimes enables batsmen who tend by nature to be defensive to express their talents more freely. Many an adjective has been used to describe Atherton since first he played for England at 21 and took over as captain at 25, most of them variations on a theme of grit and adhesiveness. Yesterday he needed his famed ability to hang on when the going is tough after losing the toss on a pitch which made Ambrose, from the Pavilion End, truly a difficult proposition. Having taken 27 balls to get off the mark and played and missed half a dozen times at balls bouncing and leaving him off what was once known as the Lord`s ridge, he began to pick up runs, first with beautifully-timed strokes off his legs and then with an in- creasingly wide range of cuts and drives. Atherton`s fitness was no less remarkable than the power of his hitting Alec Stewart was caught at slip off Ian Bishop as he followed a ball down the slope but Graeme Hick, full of confidence like his captain and looking in prime form, had made 28 of a stand of 67 when, drawing back to nibble Carl Hooper to third-man, he was bowled. Graham Thorpe, reinstated in the team when Neil Fairbrother with- drew with a hamstring strain, helped step up the pressure after lunch and when he had skied Ottis Gibson to cover, Mark Ram- prakash again struck the ball handsomely and ran like a fiend between the wickets. Atherton`s fitness was no less remarkable than the power of his hitting and when he was finally caught with a six and 14 fours to his name, Alan Wells took his brief chance with aplomb and a memorable hook off Bishop. So, still more briefly, did Peter Mar- tin, who drove his only ball for four to backward point. The ball ran for England in the field as it had with the bat. Carl Hooper, determined on a long innings, was almost too cir- cumspect this time, but Angus Fraser and Martin both swung the ball and Dominic Cork, taking over from Martin at the Nursery End, had one of his luckier days. Stuart Williams, after an as- sured start, whipped him to square-leg, and Brian Lara edged a slash at a wide ball. If this was a relatively straightforward catch for Stewart, the one he took swooping like a hawk to his left to dismiss Jimmy Adams in the 27th over was another reminder of his ability with the gloves. The temptation to use his all-round ability when the Test team is picked next weekend will be considerable. After Hooper had finally lost patience and tried to pull a ball which was nowhere near short enough, Stewart`s third catch, to end an accomplished and assertive innings by Keith Arthurton, virtually settled the affair. The West Indies went down in a blaze of wild strokes. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)