Lewis on the Ashes: Stiffen the sinews, steel the gaze as battle is joined (22 November 1998)

22 November 1998

Lewis on the Ashes: Stiffen the sinews, steel the gaze as battle is joined

Tony Lewis

IF playing cricket was merely a matter of going to work with professional tools bagged in your accumulated wisdom, then England have already saved the first Test. The pitch is a little slow and unhelpful to bowlers; the Australians have only one who can remove mountains, Glenn McGrath, and so we can relax in the achievement of a draw.

It will not be worthy of the lap of honour made famous by the England rugby team, but in the context of a five-match series, as we saw after the draw against South Africa at Old Trafford last summer, it may be part of a winning effort. Missing chances and conceding 485 should not be deadly.

But cricket is not like that, and Test cricket even further from it. Even in a half-full Gabba, the catch dropped or the run-out missed can break through the toughest old scar tissue and make a former hero wobble. Angus Fraser knows that big, hard Australian grounds expose his lack of athleticism in the field; Michael Atherton's failures against McGrath begin to stack up seriously against his self-confidence - so much of the game is in the mind.

We know that Australians assault the minds of their visiting opposition - another bunch of Pommie no-hopers - Ian Healy and company are in your ear, the media are up your nose and as John Crawley discovered, some of the others are in your face. They choose the right target. This is why England need players who are actually inspired by Australian mouths to perform their best. Ian Botham did at the Gabba in 1986. He whopped Merv Hughes into the back row of the spectators while he scored 138.

This England have no Botham and came into the Test without much form. But still it should not be a problem by Tuesday. Often at the start of a tour certain players have difficulty concentrating until the first ball is bowled in the first Ashes Test.

Of course, it is better that they are in form, that the rhythm runs right through the bowling action and the batting feet are moving into well-worn patterns. But the heat of the battle often does the trick as long as they are dying for the scrap. The mere sight of an Australian cap should be sufficient to get a decent England player going.

It has not been like that for a long time. Collapse and decay are the order of the day. But I did hear a story which gives hope to Alec Stewart's dressing-room. Derek Randall modestly says that once God had made all the great England cricketers he used the bits left over to make him. Three Test centuries against Australia, including a phenomenal 174 in the Centenary Test in Melbourne, led me to ask what was his motivation.

"Just the fun," he said. "What a lovely way to spend the day, playing a Test match. I wasn't going to let Dennis Lillee spoil it for me." Already Nasser Hussain has proved himself a man who is not fazed by any variety of bowling, Stewart can break out of retreat with swashbuckling strokeplay, Graham Thorpe is improving against spin, as is Mark Butcher, and Mark Ramprakash can hang about forever. Atherton will be fine. The tail can also bat these days.

Whether England will describe the next few days as fun, I doubt, but the point Randall passes on is that you do not need to be a great player to respond to the Australian challenge but you do need exceptional character to stare into the eyes of a team who have beaten you regularly and suddenly tilt the balance your way. This is the right pitch for a bit of serious staring.

Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)