The real test of a captain is when his team are up against it. The players look to him for inspiration, coolness under fire and, hopefully, a touch of magic. They have looked in vain to Atherton.
To be fair, he lacks a match-winning bowler. Unlike Len Hutton in 1955 or Mike Brearley, he has no aces up his sleeve in the shape of Frank Tyson or Ian Botham. Head to head, his England players are inferior to their Australian rivals.
How many of them would make the Australian team? Only Atherton himself, Graham Thorpe, Nasser Hussain and maybe Darren Gough would even challenge for selection.
Given that in-built disparity, England have not performed so badly, despite the crushing result. We have to judge a team by whether they play to their potential. By this test, it could be said that England competed hard and gave up only when the Australians' all-round superiority became unanswerable. Even so, Atherton's failures as a fielding captain were glaringly exposed.
Although I favour Hussain as a long-term successor there is a case for giving Alec Stewart a run as stop-gap captain. His energy and commitment are infectious and the Caribbean was the scene of his greatest triumph in an England cap.
Such an interim solution would give the selectors breathing space. By then, the choice may be clearer. And who knows? A wiser and more relaxed Atherton might even be ready for a comeback.
FOR all the limpid efficiency of the MacLaurin report, I still think it has fudged the central issue of two divisions in county cricket. The reason against it is that the counties will not have it, not that it is not the right thing to do.
Lord MacLaurin says rightly that his proposed new structures will take time to show results and meanwhile the performance of people - as players, coaches and administrators - is the key.
To that end, we should introduce a ``short path to glory'' scheme in which a dozen or so talented young players are spotted, coached, financed and nursed through all aspects of their life as future Test cricketers.
There may be more young Hollioakes out there than we know. If so, we'd better find them quick.
TONY HALLETT'S departure from Twickenham cannot be allowed to pass unnoticed. His resignation as secretary of the Rugby Football Union was the act of a dignified man prepared to sacrifice his own future for the good of the game he loved and served with distinction.
His 'crime' was that he opposed the attempt by Cliff Brittle, the chairman of the RFU's executive committee, to force his will on a democratically elected committee.
It is ironic that the first main casualty of the Brittle revolution should not be one of the ``old farts'' but a man committed to professionalism who had the ear and the trust of the leading clubs.
I have been chastened by some of the letters I have had on this subject, reminding me sternly that the traditional posture of this column is to challenge sporting authorities rather than defend them.
They have not been pro-Brittle (like me, most readers still don't know what he stands for) but fiercely anti-Twickenham on the grounds that their attitudes and structures are ill-suited, even hostile, to the needs of a professional sport.
Brittle wanted power and now he has it. He has his own men in place and his enemies are routed. Let's see what he can do with the power he craved so much.
Anyone who cares for the game can only hope that he succeeds and that captain Hallett has not fallen on his sword in vain.
SOMETIMES a picture can haunt you. One such appeared in this paper last week. It showed the Royal Navy rugby team of 1938, illustrating an obituary of Cdr Sir Geoffrey Vavasour Bt, described as ``one of the most brilliant sportmen of his generation''.
Vavasour played rugby, cricket, tennis, squash and golf for the Navy. But his golden looks weren't all that caught the eye. The men around him all had faces of such strong character that I sensed this must have been a remarkable team.
Did I see among them, for example, the features of H B Toft, later the England hooker and one of the greatest writers on the game?
If anyone can tell me more about these rugby mariners, I'd be very interested to hear.