The Hindu : Butcher, Hussain help England recover

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Mar 14, 2004

Sport

Sport - Cricket

Butcher, Hussain help England recover

By Ted Corbett

KINGSTON, MARCH 12. Just before the Englishmen left their homes for the West Indies there were a number of television programmes recalling the most dramatic rearguard action in British war history. It came in 1940 from the small French port of Dunkirk where the German armies were driving towards what they had decided must be their next objective — an invasion of Great Britain.

It may have been the inspiration for the backs to the wall effort mounted by Mark Butcher and Nasser Hussain on the second day of the first Test at Sabina Park after the young, short and slightly built fast bowler Fidel Edwards had smashed down Marcus Trescothick's defence with a ball bowled at nearly 95 miles an hour and had the England captain Michael Vaughan caught at slip in the space of seven balls.

As the distressed Vaughan walked off the pitch, his head down and his feet carrying him towards the pavilion rather than him directing his path he must have felt what the rest of us had in our heads: "Oh, dear, here we go again." In the remaining overs to lunch, Edwards and his tiny companion Tino Best peppered the pair as if it might be a dartboard.

The duo was hit on the helmet and the body or arms; too often for comfort both were defeated by the sheer pace of the ball and sometimes, particularly from Edwards, by the clever touches given to him by Courtney Walsh, now the fast bowling expert behind the West Indies pace attack. It could have no-one better. "Yes, I am trying to give him a couple of ideas," Walsh said softly as he visited the media centre. "We're getting there."

After lunch the Caribbean bowlers were just as piercing, got through just as often but met a stiffening resistance. I must not give the impression that for two hours the England pair had its own way entirely. Butcher, for instance, got to fifty off 112 balls and then dried up completely. It was surprising since as his innings flourished he had, characteristically, leaned back towards his stumps and caressed the ball through the offside, particularly around square point, as he did in that memorable innings at Headingley when he beat Australia on his own.

Hussain is a different fish. I see him frequently at breakfast time since we are on the same floor of the team hotel and, judging only from the way he greets even his friends, he gets into `The Zone' — as all athletes like to designate their deepest concentration — early.

On Saturday he was almost undone by his first ball that fizzed around the edge of his bat as if Edwards had spun it as a child spins a top. Another Edwards' fizzer missed his off stump, and there were times when he looked distinctly uncomfortable. He stuck his jaw out so far it almost found its way though the bars of his helmet but battled on until tea with England145 for two.

A delay for rain and bad light ended with the light still poor and before long Lara was involved in a heated argument with the umpires about which of his bowlers he could use. He was very annoyed and went back to first slip fuming.

It was inevitable that the ball flew to him off the next delivery from Edwards as Butcher edged the ball towards Lara's right shoulder and his normally safe hands failed him. His mind was also clearly elsewhere. He rushed off to the dressing room for treatment to his dislocated little finger of the right hand and as he left the field Edwards produced another high speed delivery which had Butcher caught.

England thus finished at 154 for three in reply to West Indies' 311 with a lot of work ahead if it is to remain in this game.

The light was not fit for anyone to play Edwards who is both quick and a slinger. Butcher is a hardened Test No.3 but he could not handle the pace in those conditions. Play lasted only a few minutes longer; evidence enough that the game should not have been restarted.

The result is that the most attractive player in the modern game is injured and a gallant fight brought to an end.

Scoreboard

West Indies — 1st innings: 311

England — 1st innings: M. Trescothick b Edwards 7, M. Vaughan c Lara b Edwards 15, M. Butcher c Jacobs b Edwards 58, N. Hussain (batting) 41, G. Thorpe (batting) 1. Extras (b-4, lb-16, w-3, nb-9) 32. Total (for three wkts.) 154.

Fall of wickets: 1-28, 2-33, 3-152.

West Indies bowling: Collymore 15-5-33-0, Edwards 16-3-50-3, Best 8.1-1-14-0, Sanford 7-0-30-0, Hinds 1-0-1-0, Gayle 1-0-6-0.

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