IF one of the two county knockout competitions is to go whenever the day of judgment comes, deciding which sponsor to offend will not be easy. The expectation is that it will be the oldest surviving supporter of a high-profile cricket tournament, Benson and Hedges, if only because of the trend against tobacco advertising. If that is the case, however, there will be a strong lobby, not least on the part of current players, for the zonal nature of the B & H competition to be transferred to the NatWest.
There is some truth in the belief that to win the B & H Cup is a worthier achievement than lifting the NatWest Trophy in September, simply because a county have to win more games to do so. Lancashire, holders of both, would be best placed to issue a verdict, but the prospects of their retaining the first of the prizes as they prepare to take on Warwickshire today do not look as rosy as their crest. On the contrary, in stock market terms they seem suddenly, and perhaps appropriately, to have hit a bear market.
Since they first met at Edgbaston in this competition, Lancashire have beaten ``the Bears'' there only twice, in 1976 and two seasons ago. Having lost already to Yorkshire and Derbyshire this week, their batting letting them down on both occasions, Lancashire have to beat Warwickshire to retain any chance of being one of the two qualifiers from what, despite the inclusion of the Minor Counties, is the strongest group.
Wasim Akram has recovered from a strained shoulder and is hoping to make his first appearance of the season for Lancashire.
Gladstone Small, who took five for 23 against the amateurs on Wednesday, plays for Warwickshire again despite his current involvement in a diploma of business studies course at Crewe. Against a balanced attack led by the formidable Allan Donald, who loves a big match, the holders will need to make more intelligent use of their man of the moment, Graham Lloyd, who, absurdly, went in at seven against Derbyshire. Only Neil Fairbrother has made significant runs this week and it is time Mike Atherton, already named as captain for the Texaco Trophy games, and John Crawley, made their presence felt.
Derbyshire managed to beat them despite the lingering groin strain which kept out Dominic Cork, but they may need him producing the sort of cricket which is expected of an England all-rounder if they are to beat Yorkshire in the match which will probaly decide who goes through from this group with Warwickshire. Not that Worcestershire can be written off after upsetting Yorkshire, unless Neal Radford, returning for the Minor Counties to New Road where he spent 11 seasons, produces some amazing spell of swing bowling.
Such possibilities can hardly be ruled out in a week which has seen Middlesex defeated in Dublin and Sussex at Fenner's. Ireland must do without their top home-produced scorer on Monday, Decker Curry, who turns from pinch-hitting to his duties as an abattoir worker in Londonderry, but with Hansie Cronje clearly committed to a team with nothing to lose, Somerset will be concerned lest they become the next team to be unexpectedly slaughtered. Mark Lathwell's drop in the order to five proved a shrewd move against Glamorgan and I wonder whether he might not rediscover the art of the long innings by batting away from the new ball in the championship, too.
The Universities have what their irrepressibly cheerful coach, Derek Randall, believed will be their toughest assignment yet against Surrey at the Oval. A bouncy pitch and big, fast outfield will certainly test them, not to mention one of the best-equipped sides in the country, but Alec Stewart will be nursing the damaged little finger of his left hand and unless the vibrant Chris Lewis proves too good, the best student combination for some time will give Surrey a decent game. They field well and bat all the way down.
Only in Atherton's last year at Cambridge, 1989, when Nasser Hussain was the star batsman, have the Universities qualified for the quarter-finals but that is not a realstic prospect now, especially with Kent, undefeated so far this season, still to be played. Even taking 1989 into account, British Universities have won only four of their 39 matches.
Like Ireland, they have nothing to lose, but Middlesex, beaten off the last ball by Essex on Wednesday, must be starting to get seriously anxious. Jacques Kallis has arrived from South Africa and they will be hoping this strong young all-rounder can add against Glamorgan that touch of confidence and experience which was clearly missing against Essex.
Glamorgan are not yet able to call on Waqar Younis, but he is hoping to be fit to make his debut in the championship match against Yorkshire starting at Headingley next Wednesday.