Thus far, under Atherton, England lost 1/3 to the West Indies in early 1994, 1-3 to Australia in 1994-1995 and 1-0 to South Africa in 1995-'96.

If Atherton's batting form holds and if injury does not rule him out of any of the upcoming games, then he should be skipper for the rest of the winter - and this in turn means that he could end up breaking Peter May's record for having led England the maximum number of times on the trot (41) sometime next June, when England play Australia at Lord's during the Ashes series.

``I don't really feel the need for that record,'' Atherton said. ``It's something someone else will break anyway, some day. I'm just looking to improve as a captain, and I feel I am improving, I think I am reacting quicker on the field to emerging situations. I believe captaincy is a form thing, just like batting and bowling - some days, everything works, on other days, nothing does.

``It is nonsense,'' the English skipper continued, ``to suggest that everything depends on the captain. You need players playing well, players with drive and determination.''

Atherton thinks that for once, the England side he is leading, with Nasser Hussain as his deputy, has both the drive and the determination. ``Our record on recent tours has been poor, but this time we have tried to get our preparation absolutely right,'' the England skipper said.

His main worry, though, is the absence of spearhead Dominic Cork, who has pulled out of the Zimbabwe leg of the twin tour owing to marital problems. Cork is expected to rejoin the team for the New Zealand part of the tour.

Atherton will also have to motivate left arm spinner Phil Tufnell, notoriously a temperamental performer, and Andrew Caddick, a talented bowler who, however, has proved rather troublesome on past tours.

``We are looking to record a series win,'' Atherton said, on the eve of leading his team to Zimbabwe. ``I feel comfortable with the captain's job at the moment, but we need to start winning it is very difficult to keep taking a losing side around.''