Stewart the obvious stopgap in England captaincy stakes (25 Mar 1998)

25 March 1998

Stewart the obvious stopgap in England captaincy stakes

Christopher Martin-Jenkins

SPRING is a time for new starts and it may be that a fresh season will bring a new captain for the series against South Africa starting on June 4. The England selectors are right, however, to wait until the tour of the West Indies is over before they deliberate seriously.

Mike Atherton is being widely written off on three counts: another major series lost, however unluckily; another ineffective series with the bat himself; and poor media and public relations.

After 52 Tests, his unwillingness to do anything diplomatic which would affect the mood of his team - such as attending parties which, whether through their own social failings or not, bore them, is well documented. So is his refusal to be in any way artificial for the sake of public relations and a voracious media. From one point of view, that is stubbornness and a failure to come to terms with being in a public position; from another, it is honest and practical.

It is not as if he has been downright rude or obstructive; merely that he puts cricket first in the belief that success and a good press go hand in hand. The problem with that is that when it comes to anything less than success, doing the bare minimum in the way of public relations is not enough.

But England at present are not so strong that they can afford to dilute their strengths, which are mainly in batting. The case for Atherton continuing, if he wishes to, is weakened by his recent batting performances.

He is not, after all, a good enough captain to be given a place for his leadership alone, for all his improvement through experience. Following two major series in which he averaged 23 against Australia and 17 against West Indies, he should continue only if he can completely justify a place in the first Test against South Africa by bucking up his performances for Lancashire.

Last season, he averaged 39 in the championship, 15 in the Benson and Hedges Cup, 28 in the Axa League and five in the NatWest. An England captain has to bat and behave like a leader. He should be told so but caution is needed: the only alternative to him as an opener in this series would have been Mark Butcher: he averaged 15 and Curtly Ambrose lost no sleep at the prospect of bowling to him.

The realistic alternatives to Atherton are the vice-captain, yesterday's hero, Nasser Hussain; Alec Stewart; and the major success of the tour, Mark Ramprakash. Adam Hollioake has become the rank outsider.

In time, Ramprakash may become captain of England: as captain of Middlesex, he has learnt under the best captain of recent times, Mike Gatting, and since taking over in the middle of the 1997 season, he has handled the tiller with a sure touch. But for one so swiftly transported from the ranks of unemployed actors to the middle of the stage, it is surely premature to think about saddling him with all the cares of leadership so early. Let him consolidate his position this summer and in Australia next winter.

Hussain is articulate and intelligent, but even for him the insecurity of not knowing whether he would be playing in England's next Test is recent enough to inhibit him.

Stewart is therefore the obvious stopgap choice if Atherton cannot justify it by his performances for England in the one-day internationals to come and for Lancashire next month.

At 34, Stewart is four years older but, unburdened by the remorseless demands of leading a team who struggle more often than not against the major Test opponents, he would make an ideal stopgap, at least. He has just signed for Surrey for five more years and he loves the game and all that goes with it still.

Fate conspired against Hollioake in the form of a run-out for which he was blameless at Trinidad and two untimely injuries. When back and shoulder were mended, however, he had just enough chance to bowl to suggest that notions of his holding down an England place on merit as an all-rounder were fanciful. Therefore, he has to be a captain in the Mike Brearley class to justify getting the job, especially if by doing so he were to block the way to a place in the side for his more gifted younger brother.

Everyone needs another look before the leap is taken.

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