David Graveney, the chairman, secured the agreement of Lancashire's chairman, Jack Simmons, before the completion of the 98 not out which took Atherton's aggregate in the series to 476 runs from four Tests at an average of 68.
Lancashire's cricket secretary, Dave Edmundson, said during the NatWest Trophy quarter-final at Old Trafford yesterday that the county club recognised ``the rigours'' involved in opening the batting against Donald and Shaun Pollock and the concentration required to bat for long periods in the intense atmosphere of Test cricket.
The club's willing compliance will strengthen opinion in the shires that the gentlemen's agreement under which all county chairmen have guaranteed to give sympathetic consideration to the resting of England players at key moments in a season is preferable to any binding order, or even to the central employment of England players.
A committee under Sussex's joint-chairman, Don Trangmer, is viewing the possibility of central employment from all angles and have already concluded that the matter cannot be considered in isolation. They are aware that an increased number of international matches - perhaps as many as seven Tests and 10 one-day internationals each season - are likely to be part of the regular diet of home seasons from 2000.
Not all the internationals would necessarily include England, if, for example, this season's experiment with a triangular tournament is successful, but the probability is that England players, in common with their counterparts overseas, will gradually play less and less domestic cricket.
Atherton is in the most commanding batting form of his life but he has still contributed only 324 first-class runs for Lancashire this season and his mental stamina seems to fail him when the challenge is less demanding.
It is one reason why Atherton has recently joined an increasing number of influential people who believe that a tier of regional cricket, between the County Championship and Test cricket, would be a better way forward than two divisions.
The championship is quite difficult and competitive enough for young players still learning the trade, like Andrew Flintoff, Darren Maddy, Ben Hollioake and Alex Tudor. As figures prove, is it no breeze either for Test players like Atherton and Brian Lara. In order to harden themselves for the international game, however, Atherton believes that the time has come for emerging players, and the best of the established ones, to be stretched further.
The imponderable is how many regional games a season would be feasible if home international players were to take part. If they are to be kept fresh there would be a limit. If they were not regularly involved the standard would drop, a point equally true of a two- divisional format.
After England's eight-wicket win at Trent Bridge the hope is that the autumn review of the programme from 2000 onwards, which Lord MacLaurin will chair on Oct 13 and 14, might be undertaken from a position of greater strength. There would certainly be more chance of a balanced debate if England could defeat South Africa at Headingley and wrap up a five-match series at last.
At the most intense period of the contest between Donald, Pollock, Atherton and Nasser Hussain on Sunday evening the BBC recorded an exceptional peak viewing figure of 4.7 million. Through the afternoon on BBC2 the average figure was 2.8 million, according to audience research. The epic finish of the Old Trafford Test, also on a Monday, attracted a peak figure of 3.7 million.
These figures and the extraordinary last day crowd of 12,024 at Nottingham, a city which for all its long cricketing history has not been noted previously for fervent support on the big occasion, eloquently speak of the link between the success of the national side and the well-being of the English game generally.
Alan Mullally's five for 18 for Leicestershire yesterday has strengthened the probability of an unchanged England party for the fifth Test, leaving possible experiments with players such as Alex Tudor and Ed Giddins for the Sri Lanka match at the end of August. Not that liberties can be taken with Sri Lanka.
England's coach, David Lloyd, said yesterday: ``I'm not averse to changes but wrist spin always seems to play a part in any series England play and I hope Ian Salisbury will at least be in the squad for Leeds.''
Headingley has actually encouraged spin bowling in the last two seasons, at least when the weather has been dry, and if three specialist fast bowlers proved sufficient on a flat pitch at Trent Bridge they might be enough for Headingley, too. Andrew Caddick (48 wickets at 26) and Martin Bicknell (46 at 17) should also be in the running if an extra fast bowler is needed.