Thorpe urges England not to panic

As a man who has helped carry England's batting through thick and mostly thin over the past decade, Graham Thorpe is not the type of character to allow himself to be fazed by one blip in an otherwise matchless year for the national side. And so, in the aftermath of England's unsettling seven-wicket defeat against South Africa A at Potchefstroom, Thorpe has urged his team-mates not to press the panic button ahead of Friday's first Test at Port Elizabeth.

"It would be foolish to completely write off what's happened over the last few days," Thorpe told reporters ahead of England's departure from Potchefstroom, "but the key is not to panic too much. Enjoyment is a key element of coming into a Test match like this. You have to be able to enjoy the challenge, because it's not always a bed of roses out there."

With 93 Tests to his name, Thorpe himself has sufficient mental reserves to overcome his less-than-ideal preparation for the Port Elizabeth showdown. He had not played for England since the third Test against West Indies in August, and so would have hoped for a better performance against South Africa A, where his third-ball duck was followed by a ten-ball 11 in the second innings. He, like his fellow Test specialist, Mark Butcher, will be going into the first Test relying on nous, rather than touch.

"We have to sharpen ourselves up and focus in on some of the good things we've done in the past," explained Thorpe. "You need a state of mind where you're going out to enjoy the match, but you're going to be competitive as well. You're not always going to be creaming it around, so part of it is enjoying the challenge of maybe feeling a bit more under pressure than usual."

England have just two more days of net practice before the Tests get underway, but Thorpe and his team-mates always knew that the itinerary would not allow any margin for error. "In an ideal world we'd have all liked to have spent more time at the crease, but it hasn't happened. It's best now to put that behind us, because we're going to have to dig deep mentally on Friday."

There is less concern about the players who took part in the one-day series in Namibia and Zimbabwe - Michael Vaughan was Man of the Series against Zimbabwe, and was the one bright spot at Potch with a classy century, while Geraint Jones and Andrew Strauss also showed glimmers of good form - but Thorpe accepted that the newly arrived Test specialists would have a little extra to do over the next couple of days.

"We've had indoor nets and gym work at home," he explained, "but nothing prepares you for standing in a cricket field and bending down to pick up the ball, and getting into the nets on a regular, daily basis. Ideally you'd have wanted to have left 50 or 60 balls, tucked a few off your legs and hit a few cover drives so it was all hunky dory, but that's not been the case."

Whatever the mini-crisis of confidence that England are currently suffering, it is small beer compared to the trials and tribulations that Thorpe has faced - both on and off the pitch - in his 11 years as a Test cricketer, and he will be playing a major role in lifting the team as they prepare to defend their status as the No. 2 side in the world. "One of the important things I will be saying is not to fret too much," he said. "Our intensity is going to have to pick up, but there will be a big crowd and the fact that it's a Test match will bring the boys together."