From: vigneswa@ecs.umass.edu
Newsgroups: rec.sport.cricket
Subject: Guide to England Touring Party......
Date: 4 Jan 93 16:35:30 GMT

The following was taken from The Daily Telegraph (Dec 29, 92) for the 
readers of RSC.

GUIDE TO THE ENGLAND TOURING PARTY

By Christopher Martin-Jenkins


G A GOOCH, captain, 39 Gooch will start his 100th Test in  Calcutta on
Jan 29 needing 52 runs to pass Sir Colin Cowdrey's 7624 and become the
third-highest scorer for England in Tests. It will add to the piquancy
of next year's selections against Australia that  David Gower's record
8231 is in his sights.  Meanwhile, his eyes will be firmly on the ball
in India where his only full tour was under Keith Fletcher's captaincy
11 years ago. He averaged 54 in a turgid Test series.  Victory in both
Test and one-day series is his objective now. 

M A ATHERTON, 24 A chance to rehabilitate  after recovery  from a back
operation which  kept him out of last  winter's series in New  Zealand
and the World Cup.  He can be thankful to the  selectors for recalling
him so soon last summer. His Test record- three hundreds in 21 matches
and 1,311 runs  at an average  of 34 - shows  why they  believe in his
ability  as an opener.  A further challenge is to  establish a one-day
place  for he  is not one  of  nature's  aggressors.  He has abandoned
serious pretensions as a Test leg-spinner but not as a future captain.

J E EMBUREY, 40 Happy as a schoolboy on holiday to be back in the team,
John  Emburey is a  mature, intelligent  cricketer whose  contribution
should go well beyond the wickets he takes and the runs he scores, the
latter likely to be significant. It is as one still rated the best off-
in  England,  however, that  his  performance  will be  judged.  If he
attacks  off-stump rather  than middle and leg he  should get  pitches
which will enable him to improve on 138 Test wickets at not  much more
than two a Test (60). 

G A HICK, 26 Simply, a make or break tour.  First-class average now 59
(67 hundreds); Test  average 18 (one  fifty).  It is a  bleak contrast
which  he will  be determined to  make less obvious.  Never has anyone
more visibly  frozen in the Test atmosphere.  Surely he will now relax 
and play as he can.  Spoken to at length  by his captain at Lilleshall
recently, he  has been  reassured  that it is  not his method  but his
mental  approach  which has  failed him.  Judgment of  whether to play
forward or back has, however, been part of the problem. 

D E MALCOLM, 29 Having had his moments in the WestIndies and Australia
(tours due to take place again in the  next two winters) this visit to 
India  will in many ways  be the acid test for the  amiable giant, who
could face  a renewed  challenge  from David Lawrence next season.  As
usual it is a question of  whether he can direct balls of searing pace
into the business area.  The margin between being whipped wristily for
four or  catching the top outside  edge will be the difference between
being a match-winner and an expensive luxury. 

J P TAYLOR, 28 How  much is  Paul Taylor's  selection  due to what J K
Lever  achieved in Keith Fletcher's presence under Tony Greig in 1976/
77 - 26 Test wickets at 14?  Lever  reports that Taylor's left-arm in-
swinger was in encouragingly good order at Lilleshall. He also has the
strength  to get extra  bounce out of baked mud and  to keep going for
long periods.  The selectors' stock will rightly rise if the Northamp-
tonshire bowler succeeds.  Otherwise Mark Ilott, of Essex, may swiftly
submerge him. 
 
R J BLAKEY, 25 On the inside track to the England  team since his 1992
schooldays, Richard  Blakey made a  promising  one-day  appearance  at
Lord's in August.  Dedication  personified, he has  yet to achieve the
heights  of which Keith Fletcher, especially, believes  him to be capa-
ble. As with Stewart, for whom the uncapped Yorkshireman is a straight
reserve, he has  talent with the gloves  but batting is his true first
string.  Barring injuries to senior players, however, his patience and
relish for practice may be tested to the full. 

N H FAIRBROTHER, 29 Last  winter  Neil Fairbrother  was outstanding in
the  World Cup for  England as a  dashing but  responsible left-handed
batsman and brilliant middle-distance fielder. Now the challenge which
faces  him is to  displace  either  Mike Gatting or  Graeme Hick  from
England's  probable top five  in the Test order.  The chance will come
only through unanswerable early  tour form or later  through injury or
illness.  Until then, a  Test average of  eight from  nine inings will
continue to haunt him. 

PW JARVIS, 27 Emphasis on getting strong rather than fit has convinced
Paul Jarvis that this time he will make the most of his chance.  Fortu-
nate to be  recalled after  earlier failures - 14 wickets in six Tests
at 50.57 and  a sketchy  record for  Yorkshire - he is now 121/2 stone
and  raring to go.  "Maybe it  all came a  bit too easily  for me at a
young age," he said.  At his best he is a classy, incisive fast bowler
but on slow pitches like those he will encounter in India, other quali-
ties will be tested again. 

D A REEVE, 29  Picked  because  of the verve  and  intelligence of his
cricket last winter, it would be a surprise if he were  considered any-
thing other than a one-day utility man now.  Yet he knows how to build
an innings and to  think batsmen out on slow pitches; he will not have
ruled  himself out of Test contention, whatever  anyone else may think.
Has made 124 runs in three Tests, average 24.8, and  taken two wickets
at 30 each.  Appointed captain of Warwickshire next season. Disappoint-
ing in the World Cup  final but will  relish the enthusiasm of  Indian
crowds. 

A J STEWART, vice-capt, 29 Life will be easier for Alec Stewart on his
fourth winter tour in  succession in  only one respect: the absence of
his  father will end all talk of nepotism.  Keith Fletcher's  faith in
Stewart is  as great as his  managerial predecessor's,  however, hence
Alec being asked to take over the captaincy in Sri Lanka and as wicket-
keeper and, presumably, No 6 in the order.  So far this has undermined
his batting (average 16 from  five Tests as keeper) but  he is capable
of justifying the gamble and enabling  England to field  three seamers 
and two spinners. 

P A J DeFREITAS, 26 Amazing to think he is  only 26 yet has been going
away with England since Gatting's tour of Australia in 1986/87. In his
first Test at  Brisbane he looked as though he  might become a genuine
all-rounder. His Test batting average is 12, like Chris Old before him
a better reflection of his heart than his talent, but his bowling when
fit over the last two years has been  outstanding and to win the Tests
this  time England need him  fit, committed, pitching  the ball up and
swinging it. Has 93 Test wickets at 32 to date. 

M W GATTING, 35 Controversially preferred to David Gower and fortunate
to be so, having turned his back on England in disillusionment in 1989
to captain the 'rebel' tour of South Africa. Exactly 2,000 first-class
runs at 66 last season for Middlesex and his inspirational performance
for England on their last tour of India in 1984/85  explain his recall
and he will be determined to achieve similar success now.  He loves to
dominate spin bowling but the oneday games may expose him in the field.

C C LEWIS, 24 His long-term  target must  be to substitute his current
Test  batting  average (24) for his  Test  bowling  average (36).  The
Nottinghamshire all-rounder will have been pencilled in at No 7 in the
Test side and he should get plenty of runs in India and Sri Lanka. But
he will need to do  more with the ball, especially through the air, if
he  is to make  further progress personally and give full value to the
team in a pivotal all-rounder's role.  His fielding in any position is
always an asset. 

R A SMITH, 29  Having struggled through against Mushtaq Ahmed last sea-
son, Smith  may feel able to  deal with lesser spinners now.  Guileful
slow bowling can still trouble him but he is a dedicated batsman whose
Test average of 50 is substantially higher than his first-class one of
44.  Rated No 3  in the world by  Coopers and Lybrand, he may be  even
higher before the tour is over. He now seems to have found his natural
place at No 4 and fears that he might miss early matches with a broken
toe seem exaggerated. 

P C R TUFNELL, 26  The most  important  man in the side, although many
things  in  India may  test his volatile  temperament, on  and off the
field.  Gooch, Emburey  and Gatting will each  try to nurse, scold and
encourage him in the right proportions.  As long, however, as they let
him  bowl naturally, he  should build  significantly on his 38 wickets
from 10 Tests to date. Rivalry with his Indian  counterparts, the dimi-
nutive Venkatapathy Raju and an improved  Maninder Singh, may prove an
additional stimulus.


Thanks: The Daily Telegraph and Christoper Martin-Jenkins

+++

Vicky:
UMass, Jan 04
Newsgroups: rec.sport.cricket