England have been the bridesmaid but not the bride in three of the fiveWorld Cups played to date. To reach theLahore final this time they will need much moregood luck than they have ever called for in the past.
Recently, in South Africa, they used the seven one-day internationalsto establish the strongest combination of players for their World Cup programme which ismainly in Pakistan. It was not an easy exercise for Ray Illingworth, the manager, andcaptain Mike Atherton because those flown out from an English winter took time toacclimatise. They also had to form their judgements with Pakistan pitches in mind, and itis this particular factor which has me worrying about their ability to score enough runs.
Atherton and Neil Fairbrother apart, the England batsmen are biffers of the ball, usedto firm covered pitches in England: they are excellent at driving the ball on the up. Eventheir defensive strokes crash to mid-off or mid-on. I have to wonder how they will cope onslower surfaces which possibly keep a little low, some taking spin. I do not see RobinSmith, Graeme Hick or Alec Stewart pushing for smart singles, sliding into creases andspinning around with their noses close to the ground for the return run in the inimitablemanner of Javed Miandad. On the other hand, I see Graham Thorpe and Neil Fairbrother doingexactly that.
England’s strongest suit will be the all-round qualities which Illingworthrecognises to be essential to a World Cup win. Just think of Australia who use Mark andSteve Waugh to fill in ten overs between them, yet they are frontline batsmen. GraemeHick, with his slow off-spin, may be able to help his captain out here if there is no pacein the pitch, as well as all-rounders like Craig White, who bowls nippy medium stuff,Dominic Cork too, a leading bowler who can bat if his eccentric temperament does not runaway with him, and Richard Illingworth, a frugal left-arm spinner who has a first classcentury to his name. Yes, all-rounders will be England’s strength.
Of course, a winning side in one-day internationals is usually an excellent fieldingside. England were not as good as South Africa who were quite outstanding. There weretimes when ground-fielding was ragged in the outfield but here again, it depends on whichcombination is fielded. There are no hiding places in a World Cup butEngland will be sureto look for strength in the field from Graeme Hick’s superb throwing from longdistances, the wonderful catching reflexes of Atherton and Fairbrother in ‘thering’, Thorpe’s safe hands and, I would guess, the wicket-keeping of JackRussell.
So we come to the major weakness, the bowling. Having all-rounders is well enough, butthere need to be specialist bowlers who can quickly ‘read’ opposing batsmen andbe trusted to bowl to their fields. Cork is a promising attacking bowler, looking forswing and late movement off the pitch. When he is under pressure his line driftsexpensively down the leg side. Darren Gough, the young Yorkshireman who has improved agreat deal, does have a slower ball and an off-cutter which stop the batsmen wading intohis bowling. England must not be underrated and it would not surprise me if they win thetournament, but if they do, they will have to raise a cup to good fortune and theprofessional perseverance which is the habit of our domestic, professional game.
