ARTICLE: Atherton sees his reserves as ... (S.Berry) - 28 Nov 1993

Atherton sees his reserves as real 'A' level players 
by Scyld Berry
Whatever the  criticisms levelled at England 'A' tours, and there
have been  not a few, they  have done their job in preparing Eng-
land's apprentices for Test  cricket.  By the time  these juniors
reach the full Test team, they know  everything there  is to know
about  being consistently  unsuccessful.  On their four 'A' tours
over the last four winters, England have won one 'Test match' out
of  nine, and that  was the  first, before they could be  drilled
into the habit of drawing or losing, against the might- or rather
the  mites - of  Zimbabwe.  Of eight other  first-class  games on
these tours, they have won one. Yes, the 'A' tour has been a per-
fect introduction to the full England Test side.  Several are the
explanations for an inherently sound idea going wrong, or, at any
rate, failing to giving value. First has been the selection 'pro-
cess', which has been set against up-and-coming cricketers.  Pre-
ference has been given to the down-and-going, the never-has-beens
and never-will-bes.  Following the  ridicule rightly visited upon
the 'A' party in  Australia last winter, for its emphasis on mid-
career mediocrity, the worm  had to turn.  Now it is probably too
late  ever to  varnish  into  Test  batsmen  such  stroke-playing
talents  as Alan Fordham, Martin  Speight, Trevor  Ward, Alistair
Brown  and Chris  Adams, none of whom has even been given a tour,
while some average plodders have had the trip of a lifetime.  But
at least the next generation, including John Crawley and Mal Loye,
will not be similarly wasted.  Credit for this change in thinking 
must go principally to Mike  Atherton, who quietly and firmly had
his way in choosing the full and 'A' tour  parties.  Since the 31
players  come from 15  different  counties, there can be  no more
suggestion of a bias towards Essex and Surrey, while the criteria
are  manifestly sound.  "The timing  of the tour to  South Africa
made it ideal for  preparing  our reserves  for the West Indies,"
said Atherton.  "We'll have five senior  players on hand in South
Africa  in captain Hugh  Morris, Alan  Wells, Peter  Such, Martin
McCague and Martin Bicknell, and  we have surrounded this nucleus
with young potential." Morris then added: "I thought it pointless
to use the  tour as a reward  for players who had a good season."
Atherton  would  also  like  to  see  the  objectives  redefined.
Hitherto, the habit of winning has not been  ingrained.  In other
words, 'A' tours have been an extension of county 2nd XI cricket,
where for some reason  quite inexplicable to Australians, winning
is  seen as  secondary to  player-development. "This  tour is not
about results," said  Ted Dexter, visiting  England 'A' on  their
1990-1 tour of Sri Lanka.  "We need players in the frame  of mind
to win  matches," said  Atherton, far  closer  to  the mark. "But
having said that, winning is not the be-all and end-all on an 'A'
tour, and they have to be about player-development as well."  The
virtue of 'A' tours is that they offer  players an opportunity to
refine their techniques, some  of which have  raised the eyebrows
and other follicles of the coaches at Lilleshall in  recent weeks
- notably the young pace bowlers' ignorance and  violation of the
basics.  High-class coaching is needed during a tour as well,  if
players are to maintain  an upward learning curve, but whether or
not they get it in South Africa seems to be a hit-or-miss matter,
as in so much of English cricket. There is also a drawback to 'A'
tours which  is not of  England's making:  the lack of  big occa-
sions on which to test a  youngster's mental fibre. Save for the
odd one-day game in Sri Lanka, England have  played in front  of
negligible  crowds and minimal  media  exposure, thus  depriving
them of pressure.  At least this  tour of South  Africa has  one
'Test match' for  the players to aim at, whereas  Australia  did
not grant  one last  winter.  Before then, they  will be able to
gauge the strength-in-depth of South African cricket, with their
Test party in Australia. Of the England players, there must be a
suspicion that Mark Ilott, who  has to  swing the  ball  consis-
tently before he can progress any further, was chosen partly be-
cause he had  already been  awarded a retainer  for the  winter.
But, in general, the 'A' tour, as devised by Dexter and the Eng-
land Committee, is now  moving in the right  direction - towards
youth and the formulation of winning habits. 

 Contributed by Vicky (VIGNESWA@*umass.edu)