Date-stamped : 26 Jul94 - 18:27 First Test: England must keep past in perspective South Africa's return to headquarters after 29 years promises to be an emotional if not an enlivening occasion Martin Johnson hopes that a historic match will be celebrated by a memorable encounter For anyone looking for a sense of history and occasion, then Lord's is the place to be this morning. On the other hand, if it is an exciting game of cricket you are after (not to mention a cheaper one), you would possibly be better off at Northampton or Durham University. Despite the bullish talk about an England renaissance, they have won only three Test matches at Lord's (two of them against Sri Lanka) since 1984, while South Africa's latest skirmish with the English could best be described as another Bore War. Since their arrival, they have drawn five of their six county games, and they almost make New Zealand look like dashing cavaliers. None the less, it is 29 years less a day since South African cricketers last walked through the Long Room to start a Test match here, which will make today's entrance an undeniably poig- nant moment. When they were last here in 1965, the BBC was operating in black and white, which serves as a reminder - if any were needed - as to why South Africa have been missing for so long. The last South African team to play a Test match in this country contained some legendary names, the Pollock brothers, Colin Bland, and Tiger Lance among them. Bland was arguably the best fielder ever, even though it was a little easier to stand out in an era when, by today's standards, fielders ran the risk of being wheel-clamped. South Africa's new hero is also a phenomenal fielder, as a crowd banner during their last home series made clear. ''Sixty-seven per cent of the earth's surface is covered by water,'' it pro- claimed. ''Jonty covers the rest.'' Such is Jonty Rhodes' prowess that Sporting Index, the spread betting firm, has broken new ground in this match by offering bets on his fielding, rather than confining them to batting and bowling. However, Rhodes' fielding apart, South Africa's all-round crick- eting talents are considerably more prosaic. This is partly be- cause their system is largely geared to one-day cricket, with the accent on being handy at this and that, rather than very good at one or the other, and partly because their captain's nature is to plan his strategy around the Field Marshal Haig principle of up and at 'em. If you can grab half a yard of enemy ground between Easter and Christmas, it is a good result. Kepler Wessels, presiding over South Africa's 15th Test match (won four, lost three) since being invited back on to the inter- national stage, admits that their initial ambitions - not surprisingly perhaps - were based more around fear of losing than trying to win. ''We're a more confident side now, though,'' Wessels said yesterday, ''and no longer regard ourselves as newcomers. "We have to look past the emotion of the occasion, but we have been involved in a few special occasions since our return to the fold, so we should be getting used to it by now." Wessels is the only member of his team to have played in a Lord's Test before, in the Ashes Test of 1985, during a period in which he appeared to be having trouble deciding whether he was a South African or an Australian. England's Southern African contingent has been reduced by one, although there were those who felt that Graeme Hick, as well as Robin Smith, should have been dropped for the fourth consecutive domestic summer. Even if the match does not live up to expecta- tions, Hick versus Allan Donald should empty a few bars. Michael Atherton had already decided yesterday whether Hick or John Crawley was going to bat at No 3, but said he was going to ''keep it under his hat'' until this morning. With Donald about, any thoughts that Hick might have on the subject will be kept under his helmet as opposed to his hat. It is almost certain that Graham Gooch will bat at No 5. ''I have no real feelings about the batting order,'' Gooch said. ''Wherev- er you go in, your job is to get a hundred.'' In his last two Test innings, however, Gooch has made 100 less than a hundred. ''Getting two noughts is not what any batsman likes, and I'm obviously a bit concerned. On the other hand, I'm not lying awake all night worrying about it. In fact, I've been playing as well as ever this season.'' Many astute judges think Crawley has the talent to match Gooch, who plays his 111th Test today, for longevity, and Atherton said that Crawley had ''all the qualities and ingredients'' needed to make a Test cricketer. ''Given,'' he added, ''a fair chance by the media.'' Well, there are fair chances and fair chances (this is Hick's 28th Test) but perhaps Atherton meant the sort of fair chance given by the selectors to Graham Thorpe. (Thanks : The Independent and Martin Johnson) Contributed by Vicky (VIGNESWA@*umass.edu)