Twitchy England under cloud in all manner of senses (23 July 1999)

23 July 1999

Twitchy England under cloud in all manner of senses

Charles Randall

Channel Four's 'snickometer pen' gave a big twitch on the paper like a cardiograph to confirm Mark Butcher's fatal snick in the second Test at Lord's yesterday, and it would probably have run out of ink if it had been measuring heart murmurs among England selectors as wickets tumbled.

The afternoon procession made uncomfortable watching, but David Graveney, chairman of selectors, refused to condemn England's batting performance, insisting that cloud cover and fine New Zealand swing bowling contributed to a poor score.

He said: "It shouldn't be diluted that it was a disappointing day. We've got a lot to get back when we bowl, but it's not easy to judge the wicket at this stage until the second innings of the match. There was a fair amount of uneven bounce and there were good deliveries bowled. New Zealand got the ball in the business area."

Graveney added that England batted first hoping the cloud cover would disperse. As it was, their innings progressed with overhead conditions assisting the bowlers in what he called "borderline" light.

The light meter lamps did gleam brightly, indicating maximum darkness when play ended. They were joyously unaffected by the power cut that hit the England Cricket Board offices and trapped Donald Carr, the committee man, in the lift for 20 minutes.

England's state was perhaps typified by their three newcomers, who this time contributed to the very opposite of a bright new dawn. Alex Tudor withdrew injured before the start, Aftab Habib was cleaned out by a straight ball, and Chris Read was bowled in the most embarrassing circumstances imaginable.

Chris Cairns's slower ball was timed at 71mph - his average was 83mph - and a confused Read ducked instinctively to be bowled through his legs. The New Zealand team gathered to check the big screen replay, chortling openly as though watching a Tom and Jerry cartoon.

Graveney had often said that England's two chronic problems were an inability to take control of Tests with big first-innings totals and a tendency to drop catches at crucial times.

Here was further evidence that at least one of the weaknesses remained. Only twice in 15 Tests had England topped the 300 in the first innings and, resuming at 183 for nine today, they look pushed to reach the mark again.

Graveney said the withdrawal of Tudor, whose face was used in Channel 4's national poster campaign, was a surprise, but they had braced themselves for Darren Gough missing most of the remainder of this summer.

Gough saw a specialist in Leeds yesterday for his troublesome calf injury and has been told to rest for a month. The Yorkshire fast bowler is to have a scan today, but there is already evidence that his problem is caused by wear and tear.

England's players have been urged to be "honest" in assessing their own fitness and Tudor admitted to soreness in his left knee on Wednesday night, which prompted a late night call-up for Angus Fraser.

The selectors had Chris Silverwood, from the original 13, as their first choice but the logistics of bringing him down from Yorkshire's match at Scarborough proved too daunting.

Fraser was summoned from his Middlesex match instead but he was unable to travel because his gear was locked in the Taunton dressing room. He set out yesterday morning at 7.45am only to be turned back by another phone call when he had reached Chiswick.

Fraser's unexpected chance for glory petered out, but he remained philosophical. "It's nice to realise that you are under consideration again," he said.

Tudor was given a routine knee inspection on Wednesday and an England spokesman said the expectation was always that the Surrey fast bowler would play. He said: "It's a niggle he's had for a month or so. He had a scan and the specialist suggested rest."

Gough's visit to a specialist produced no reassuring news. Caryl Becker, the Yorkshire physiotherapist, disclosed yesterday that no reason could be found for the pain in his calf. "It might be related to a previous hamstring injury," she added.

She said that if a hamstring proved to be the problem, Gough would need "progressive rehabilitation" for at least four weeks.

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