ENOUGH IS enough. Michael Atherton must now take his cue and, with dignity still intact, part company with the England captaincy, bringing the curtain down on a four-year reign that began when Graham Gooch resigned the job with two Tests matches to go in the 1993 Ashes series.

Atherton has wisely and steadfastly kept his thoughts to himself over the last couple of weeks and has even managed to smile when pressed as to his intentions. For four years he has absorbed all the pressure and attention that comes with the job, his every move analysed and commented upon by the massed ranks of former captains, players and pundits.

His strength of mind and sheer doggedness of spirit have allowed him to resist such pressure, so it must all come down now to the strength of his relationship with those that he leads. It is in the dressing room and elsewhere off the field that much of the work of captaincy takes place, and by all accounts his team would urge him to continue as a man they like and trust.

Such trust counts for plenty, and if ever it ebbs away then the remedy has to be swiftly applied but it is now a question of whether anyone could actually get anything more out of the men designated as England's finest.

Even so, if I were Atherton I would be walking away from the Oval maintaining the right to take time to consider all options once the emotions of such a turbulent series have been given time to settle; time, therefore, to let reason decide. After such a draining and disappointing series it would be all too easy to let emotion and frustration dictate a hasty response. Beware, however, the well meaning of others far removed from the immediate situation.

I distinctly remember the encouragement I was offered in 1989 at the end of that wrecked campaign. A surprising number of well-wishers, even some who understood the game well, urged me to stick with it. I was not entirely convinced but at least made it as far as the required debriefing with Messrs Dexter and Stewart.

It is probably fortunate for all concerned that they then took the option to ``change direction'', but somewhat unfortunate that the next story to leak out was that I had resigned, which then precipitated a chain of events that saw the cricketing press obliged to chase the story out to Portugal, where I was busy getting away from it all up the Douro. What a shambles all that was.

Should the position become vacant, there are but two men in the frame to take over in the Caribbean, Alec Stewart and Nasser Hussain. Stewart has probably missed his chance, which came and went on England's last tour of Australia. Half way through that series of mishaps Alec took the reigns while the captain's back kept him hors de combat and keen observers thought they detected new vigour in England's approach.

In the short term that is always the way it looks, as there is always a sense of 'let's give it an extra crack for the new gaffer,' but, as in politics, once the honeymoon period is over it is performance that counts. In cricket, a struggling side will find some kind of way to bring any new captain down to earth all too soon.

If there is to be change I would have Hussain do the job. He established his credentials a couple of winters ago as captain of the England A side, obviously enjoyed the experience and came back to play a major role through last summer's series against India and Pakistan.

His hundreds against Australia have added to his reputation and he is a sparky character who would put heart and soul into driving the team with the sort of vigour that will be required in the West Indies and beyond.