Giddins back in England's Test team

By Ted Corbett

LONDON, MAY 13. Ed Giddins, who might be described as the big bad wolf of English cricket, is back in the Test team even though he had the selectors shaking their heads in despair after his debut last summer. Giddins turned up at the Oval three-quarters fit for the final Test of the series against New Zealand and bowled so poorly that he was not chosen for either the first team in South Africa or the A team tours.

He was told to ``go away and get fit,'' and to his credit Giddins spent the whole winter building up his stamina - at his own expense. So instead of it being the last chance for Giddins, 28, who was suspended after a drug charge while he was with Sussex, his only Test has proved to be an important moment in his helter- skelter career. He has moved to Warwickshire where he is being given special coaching by the great South African quick Allan Donald. His most important backer has been the England captain Nasser Hussain who has, so I am told, ``talked of no-one else all season.''

As there have been any number of rain breaks this spring the conversation in the Essex dressing room must have been fairly predictable but there is no doubt that Giddins is a destructive bowler at his best and under the coaching of Bob Woolmer, who has been in charge at Edgbaston since the beginning of the season, he is sure to improve.

Now he will be given new orders from David Graveney, chairman of selectors, if he gets the call. A cloudy day will see Giddins pushed into the side at the last minute and told: ``You can swing the game our way.''

As he named the 13 for the game against Zimbabwe at Lord's, Graveney said: ``It was a tough choice but in the end it came down to Giddins ability to swing the ball that got him the nod. We talked about Angus Fraser, Martin Bicknell and the young Yorkshire fast bowler to support Andrew Caddick and Darren Gough but we realise what hard work Giddins has put in during the winter and we think he will make the difference. He is a talented, clever bowler and because Alan Mullally, Chris Silverwood and Dominic Cork are all injured, he got in by a narrow margin.''

England has also called up Steve Harmison, the Durham fast bowler for Dean Headley, and recalled Nick Knight, in place of the injured Michael Vaughan. Harmison owes his selection to the Australian left-hander Justin Langer, now with Middlesex, who voted him the most dangerous fast bowler in the country. ``He is seriously fast,'' said Langer.

Chris Schofield, the 20-year-old Lancashire leg spinner and ``another exciting talent'' according to Graveney, is one of the ten contracted players in the squad but I hear that doubts are emerging about his ability to bowl at the Zimbabwe batsmen who are good players of spin.

Some of us have wondered about the wisdom of giving Schofield a contract since he is continuing to play for Lancashire and not receiving any special coaching for his unusual art. The wish to have a wrist spinner has overtaken commonsense and although he has a lot of potential he is no further down the road to Test class than Shane Warne was at his age.

Warne made a disastrous start to his Test career and did not improve until Simpson, now coach to Lancashire, told him to go away, work on his game and lose weight. Schofield is enthusiastic, fit and slim but his great need is a lot of county bowling not a life on the fringe of Test cricket.

Nick Knight, a misused Test batsman in the past, will be the left-handed No.6 while Mark Ramprakash opens the innings with Mike Atherton. Ramprakash's solid defence and immaculate technique will serve him well but unless he blossoms quickly I will still feel that he ought to be a dashing No.4 and that somewhere along the way he missed a vocation that would have brought a lot of joy to crowds round the world.

The team:

Nasser Hussain (capt.), Mike Atherton, Mark Ramprakash, Alec Stewart, Graeme Hick, Nick Knight, Andrew Flintoff, Craig White, Andrew Caddick, Darren Gough, Chris Schofield, Ed Giddins, Steve Harmison.

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