Martin-Jenkins C: Picks his squads for Aus/Ind (1Sep94)

Gatting temptation must be resisted

The great thing about Ray Illingworth, apart from the telling fact that as chairman of the England selectors he still attends committee meetings at Farsley Cricket Club, is that he can usually distinguish the wood from the trees. He has stated already that the prime objective of this evening's meeting in Manchester is to select a team capable of winning the Ashes. The one-day internationals will take care of themselves. Only when it becomes a question of which of two candidates of equal stature in Test cricket will contribute more in the limited-overs game will the World Series Cup, which takes place in the middle of the tour, be taken into account. This year's tour committee will be more accountable: the same cabal which has chosen the teams all season - Illingworth, Mike Atherton, Keith Fletcher, Brian Bolus and Fred Titmus - will pick both the 16 for Australia and the A team for the tour of India after Christmas. There will be a temptation, no doubt, to take 17 to Australia, a policy which worked in the West Indies, where injuries are so common, notably when Devon Malcolm had to go home for an operation but did not need to be replaced. A problem, however, always arises if there are too many batsmen, and for this reason 16, to include seven specialist batsmen, two all-rounders, one specialist wicket-keeper, four specialist fast bowlers and two specialist spinners would be the right balance. There is perhaps a stronger case for one extra player in India and I hope that the selectors will pursue the idea of giving assisted passage to three reserves who will play for leading clubs in Australia and therefore be acclimatised if required. The six batsmen who played the last of the six Tests of the summer should already be inked in: Atherton, Graham Gooch, Graeme Hick, Graham Thorpe, Alec Stewart and John Crawley. The latter ought to have settled any doubts by making 250 against Nottinghamshire when he knew that a big innings was needed. I do not agree with the view that his technique is suspect. Certainly he favours the on side and certainly he will have to mutter "play straight" to himself as a constant mantra from Perth in October to Perth in February. If he does, Crawley is capable of making as strong an impact on his first tour of Australia as Peter May 40 years ago.

There will be debate about Gooch, too, no doubt, but not for long. His mantra, especially early in an innings, needs to be "move the old feet, Graham". When he does not, he looks more vulnerable than he did and it was worrying to see him lbw to an in-swinging yorker from Dion Nash at Lord's when Robin Smith came in next ball and hit an identical delivery for four. Nonetheless, if it comes to a choice between Gooch and Mike Gatting, as it probably should but equally probably will not, the fact that Gooch has scored more than twice as many Test runs from only a third more Test matches must weigh as strongly in his favour as his 673 runs at 56 against Australia last year. Competition is white hot for the next three places, be they taken by one batsman and two from the possible all-rounders - Mike Watkinson, Craig White, Chris Lewis and Dominic Cork - or vice versa. Gatting's direct challengers for the seventh batting place are Smith, Mark Ramprakash, Neil Fairbrother and Darren Bicknell. The chairman is thought to favour Gatting, whose form for Middlesex in the early and late matches of the season has proved his quality once more. He and Hick alone of England-qualified batsmen average over 50 in first-class cricket. Gatting was dropped last summer having made 59 in the second innings at Lord's and being a little dubiously given out leg before to Shane Warne. He had managed, however, only 357 runs at 29 in his 12 Test innings since being recalled for the tour of India and the flesh had no longer looked so willing as the spirit. Australia's big grounds would test his fielding, too. Ramprakash could not take his big chances in the West Indies although one day, no doubt, he will. He and Gatting could be reserves in case of broken bones. To blood Bicknell in Test cricket in Australia would be a gamble, despite a career average of 40, an average this season of 49 and experience of A tours. A second left-hander, however, must be an asset against Warne, the most dangerous member of the Australian attack, and having shaken off his hamstring injury, Fairbrother has played some outstanding innings recently. He came home from India a better player of spin and a straighter batsman. Stewart's ability behind the stumps means that Steve Rhodes needs no reserve and the only challenger to Phil Tufnell and Shaun Udal as the pair of spinners, given that Udal has overtaken Peter Such, is Ian Salisbury. Only at Sydney can finger spinners expect much assistance but Tufnell, strange to say as he has played in only five of England's last 17 Test matches, picks himself. Udal is more likely than Salisbury to earn a Test place at Sydney as a counter-balance to the leftarmer. That said, it is worth remembering that Hick was comfortably England's most effective Test bowler in India and that Salisbury is as versatile a cricketer as Udal. THE fast bowling places are being even more fiercely competed for, despite Andy Caddick's decision to stay behind for an operation on his shins. Phil DeFreitas, Malcolm and Darren Gough are the bankers and if only one of Cork, Lewis and White is chosen - my preference is for Cork - two places remain. Joey Benjamin, Angus Fraser, Mark Ilott, Martin McCague, David Millns, Tim Munton and Simon Brown lead the queue and remembering both that the ability to swing the ball in Australia is important and also that to beat Australia, England will have to be aggressive, I would give Fraser a rest and go for Ilott, because of his left-handedness, and McCague, because of his extra speed and strength. The teams I should like to see announced tomorrow are:

ENGLAND (to Australia): Atherton, Stewart, Hick, Thorpe, Gooch, Crawley, Fairbrother, Rhodes, Cork, Gough, DeFreitas, Ilott, McCague, Malcolm, Udal, Tufnell. Reserves: Benjamin, Gatting, Ramprakash.

ENGLAND A (to India): Wells, Ostler, Twose, Gallian, D J Bicknell, Carr, Hemp, Loye, Alleyne, White, Piper, Salisbury, Stemp, Patel, R L Johnson, Millns, S J E Brown. Reserves: Hollioake, Daley.

I have assumed that Marcus Trescothick and Michael Vaughan will be the openers for England's under-19 team in the West Indies, but there is a clear case for both to tour India instead. If Roger Twose, a borderline case, is not picked, he would emigrate to New Zealand. A new era in Australian cricket begins today when Mark Taylor leads the Australian team on their tour of Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

(Thanks : The Daily Telegraph and Christopher Martin-Jenkins)