Atherton can still get hooks into McGrath (26 November 1998)

26 November 1998

Atherton can still get hooks into McGrath

By Christopher Martin Jenkins

MICHAEL ATHERTON will continue to be positive against his tormentor Glenn McGrath. To get into a negative frame of mind against Australia's outstanding fast bowler would be fatal, at least in the opinion of the batsman whose advice Atherton follows most assiduously, Graham Gooch.

As Atherton's former England opening partner, unofficial personal batting coach and now also his manager in Australia, Gooch can call on his own experience of a succession of failures against a particular bowler.

The key to overcoming his problems against Terry Alderman, who repeatedly had him lbw in 1989, was footwork. Unlike himself at that stage of his long career, when he had begun overbalancing towards the off-side, Gooch believes there is nothing wrong with Atherton's technique at present.

"He has to remain in a positive frame of mind and take the scoring opportunities he is offered," Gooch said after McGrath's 10th and 11th dismissals of Atherton in his last 15 completed innings against Australia. "Being positive means different things to different people. It doesn't mean going out and looking to crash a bowler around; but it does indicate that a batsman is lost if his feet are not moving well, whether in defence or attack.

"Hooking is a matter for the individual. It is a question of the line of the ball - Athers top-edged that one on Tuesday because he had to fetch it outside the off stump. But every batsman has to make his own mind up about the wicket, too: how quick it is, who's bowling, whether the bounce is even. I wouldn't necessarily tell him to stop hooking. He's got a lot of runs with the shot."

It would be possible to exaggerate the McGrath-Atherton duel, important as it is to the fate of this series. It is no surprise that the outstanding fast bowler of one side - and McGrath is head and shoulders above any of his English rivals - should target the senior opening batsman on the other.

He has, in fact, dismissed Atherton on fewer occasions in a Test than the bowler he most resembles in height and method, Curtly Ambrose, who has seen Atherton off 16 times. By coincidence, Gooch was dismissed 16 times by Malcolm Marshall (only seven by Alderman).

McGrath is a more consistent performer than Ambrose, but both of them seem to produce their very best against England and they are never sharper than when they are bowling against Atherton, who they recognise to be the key to the door of England's batting. Atherton himself puts the two great bowlers - great in physical stature not least - on a par.

Given McGrath's double over Atherton, it was immensely encouraging to see Mark Butcher batting with the aplomb he did at Brisbane. If he had gone into the match with five hundreds rather than five single figure scores, his performance in both innings would still have been greatly satisfying.

Over a succession of Cokes and cigarettes - he makes up for Phil Tufnell's absence when it comes to supporting the tobacco industry - he was still purring with pleasure over the excellence of the pitch at the Gabba yesterday evening.

He knows all too painfully well that the WACA, where he was struck on the head batting against Western Australia, will give less time for making decisions about what shot to play but said, without a trace of bravado: "I'm looking forward to it; I really am."

There will be much discussion over the next 48 hours about whether Dean Headley or Alex Tudor should be brought into the England XI for the second Test, which starts here on Saturday morning, or whether John Crawley should replace Robert Croft. If Atherton can see off McGrath, however, life will be easier for everyone else.

Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)