Atherton agrees to lead England

By Ted Corbett

LONDON, JULY 12. Michael Atherton, captain of England for a record 52 Tests between 1993-98, has agreed to lead the team in the Lord's Test which begins on July 19 while Nasser Hussain is recovering from a broken bone in the little finger of his left hand.

It is an about-face from the 33-year-old player who has said this week that he did not want the job again and a sign that considerable pressure has been brought to bear by selectors who have been meeting almost non-stop in a bid to find the right man for this crucial stage of the series.

Australia won the first Test by an innings leaving England in a daunting position with four Tests remaining.

``We believe that Michael's previous experience of Test captaincy makes him the right person,'' said David Graveney, chairman of selectors. ``He fully understands the predicament facing the team and is happy to take on the responsibility.''

In the three years since his dramatic resignation at the end of the Antigua Test in 1998 following yet another defeat Atherton has always insisted he wanted no part of the captaincy again.

Atherton will probably be in command for the next two Tests against Australia since Hussain will need three weeks to recover. If Hussain's finger heals he will have had no time for an innings even if he manages to have any worthwhile practice ahead of the third Test which begins at Trent Bridge on August 2. Announcements from Lord's suggest that Hussain will play in the third Test. It is improbable.

There is no doubt however that Atherton has helped the selectors considerably by agreeing to take on the captaincy again. With Alec Stewart and Mark Butcher refusing the job, with Marcus Trescothick willing but rated too inexperienced by Duncan Fletcher, the coach, and with Darren Gough clouding the issue by offering himself as captain, there was a danger that the whole selection process would descend into farce. At least Atherton has the background, a secure place in the team and the respect of his opponents.

``We looked at all our options and felt that at this stage the captaincy would be an unnecessary burden for Marcus,'' said Graveney.

None of the more bizarre choices offered in the last few days - John Crawley of Lancashire, Mark Alleyne of Gloucestershire, Adam Hollioake of Surrey and David Byas of Yorkshire - can fulfil those criteria as well as Atherton and from that point of view alone England has made a sound choice.

It is a mystery why one of Atherton's media friends - a man who has previously pointed the way Atherton is thinking - wrote earlier this week that Atherton wanted to be left in peace before he announces his retirement at the end of the season. Something has clearly been done - or said - to make him change his mind.

If Atherton leads England in the next two Tests he will rise above Hansie Cronje in the table of captaincy led by Allan Border of Australia with 93. Clive Lloyd is second with 74, Arjuna Ranatunga third with 56. Cronje lead South Africa 53 times.

Atherton won 13 and lost 19 Tests which is not the most distinguished record to take to Lord's where England has not won for 67 years. He is a luckier captain than Hussain who has won eight and lost the toss 14 times with England; Atherton won

22 and lost 30. Captaincy has never affected his batting. He has 7,568 Test runs, is 11th in the all-time list of great Test run scorers led by Border with 11,174 and needs just 56 to overtake the late Colin Cowdrey.

It looks impossible for him to score more runs than Graham Gooch, David Gower and Geoff Boycott, the leading England batsmen, but the truth about Atherton is that he goes his own quiet, unsmiling way and as a result constantly surprises us all.

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