England-West Indies Test, a stirring duel from today

By Ted Corbett

BIRMINGHAM, JUNE 14. The tension has returned to the air, the blood is apt to flow a little faster and the step will sharpen as we approach Edgbaston in the morning for we are at the beginning of one of the great Test series.

Only the Ashes Tests and the series against West Indies make the eyes of the true English cricket enthusiast light up in that special way that indicates that we will not dare miss a ball and never take our eyes off the stars. The true measure of an England cricketer is found in the way he faces up to the Aussies and the Windies; and the true measure of a fan is discovered by the passion with which he greets the start of every Test. Tomorrow we will know the calibre of our men; we know how well Jimmy Adams' men are likely to prove.

Last night England threw down the gauntlet, although there was an immediate problem when Mark Ramprakash reported a slight neck injury. Michael Vaughan of Yorkshire will be Ramprakash's replacement. They had already sent Chris Schofield back to Lancashire; this is a series for hardened men not for milk sop boys and we still hope his time will come. Yesterday David Graveney, chairman of selectors announced that he had also dispensed with Mark Ealham, a substitute in case there was a mishap to Darren Gough, Andrew Caddick or Ed Giddins and discarded Steve Harmison, another lad who might have his heart broken by the Windies.

So 14 became 11 with Robert Croft, the Welsh boyo with Bardic overtones and more than a little poetry in his sing-song voice, left to make his first Test appearance for 18 months among nine contracted men and Nick Knight whose retention is entirely due to the selectors' lack of faith in that sensible man Michael Vaughan. He is no more capable of telling the selectors he is ready when any doubt lingers than he is of wearing a silly hat for his first home Test. Don't they know an old-fashioned Yorkshireman when they meet one? Knight will do his best but Vaughan is special, maybe even a great player. Many hats will be eaten in his home county if his Test record does not outstrip Knight's.

``We have nothing to hide and we think we know their team,'' said Graveney. So do we all although their batting order may be a surprise. We demand to know if it is an emerging side or a great one. Perhaps the first few balls from Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh - 260 wickets together against England alone - will tell whether these two ancient giants can still hurl their thunderbolts as truly as of yore; but there is no cricket fan on earth who will not hold his breath while Brian Lara faces his first half dozen balls.

I saw his first four innings on television and thought he looked anxious. His characteristic exaggerated care for half a dozen balls was missing. Instead he hurried. I missed his century at Arundel against Zimbabwe but I hear he was his old self. ``I feel rested and I am keen to rejoin my team mates as their efforts to put West Indies on top of the world again,'' he is reported as saying.

Please, please let it be true. Watching this great artiste allows us to rise above the common experience of wishing our own team well and instead to hope that each ball allows one more flashing stroke. If Lara is at his best we can forget the horrors of the world, put aside thoughts of bribery and corruption and the allegations of mayhem and dispair. He can be the antidote to all the game's ills, help us believe cricket is a beautiful game again, worth celebrating, worth watching, worth dreaming about.

If he strikes his best form more than once then I suspect West Indies will win the series 3-1. I know Michael Holding and Colin Croft have made the same forecast. Anything less and its batting will break under the strain and England, at home, at ease and with greater reserve strength will sneak a draw 2-2 as it had in the last two series against this great opponent.

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