Date-stamped : 23 Dec93 - 21:38 The Guardian 11 February 1993 - Atherton is left to await an opening - David Hopps in Madras. India v England: second Test England dropped Michael Atherton, and in the process again voluntarily abandoned one of the most prolific opening partner- ships in Test history, as they opted for an attacking policy at the start of the second Test in Madras today. Atherton was considered an integral part of England's Test plans only a few weeks ago, but illness forced him out of the Calcutta Test, where he would have been a certain choice. England's subsequent eight-wicket defeat, ironically, has count- ed against him here because of his reputation as a one-paced ac- cumulator whatever the type of surface. However shaky England's top order appeared at Eden Gardens - their collapse to 40 for four on the second day was a prime fac- tor in their defeat - that was decided to be less important than the urgent need to recover a 10 deficit in a three-Test series. Atherton, therefore, suffers for a defeat not of his own making. Neil Fairbrother, less reliable but potentially far more des- tructive, won the selectors' favour. After his considered, un- beaten 78 against the Rest of India in Vishakhapatnam earlier this week he could lay claim to being the man in form. But with an average of 10.60 in his eight Tests, and not a sin- gle half-century to his name, Fairbrother's selection represented one of the greatest gambles during Graham Gooch's tenure as cap- tain. Gooch is not as predictable as some of us had automatically come to assume. Even against Pakistan last summer Atherton played only one of his three Tests as an opening batsman, batting instead at No. 3 to allow Alec Stewart to remain in his preferred position. England's intention last night was less clear-cut: to use Stewart, whose bruised thumb was deemed satisfactorily recovered, as opener if England batted first, otherwise to promote Robin Smith, which would have the advantage of initially protecting him from the spinners. It was a tacit admission that Stewart's wicketkeeping role im- pinges upon his efficiency as an opening batsman. In that case it would be better if he abandoned the idea of ever combining the roles. Atherton and Gooch rank as the third most successful opening partnership in cricket history. Their average opening stand of 67.80 (1,695 runs amassed over 25 innings) is overshadowed only by their fellow Englishmen Jack Hobbs and Herbert Sutcliffe (3,249 at 87.71) and the West Indians Allan Rae and Jeff Stollmeyer (1,349 at 71). Statistically they are unmatched by any contemporary pairing, but five-hour hundreds are deemed surplus to requirements here. One hopes that they are not replaced by five-minute 10s. England were anticipating that the Chepauk Stadium would produce a sound surface, firm with some bounce, and liable to turn by the third day. Their outlook was partially influenced by their victo- ry in Madras in the fourth Test in 19845, which secured a 21 win in the series. England then made 652 for seven in their first innings, a record Test score at the Chepauk, taking a first-innings lead of 380 runs and, crucially, allowing themselves enough time to bowl In- dia out a second time by scoring at nearly four runs an over. England's enthusiasm for fielding a more balanced attack after the failure of four seamers at Calcutta must have been tempered by the knowledge that it was seam that set up that Madras victo- ry, on a similar-looking pitch. Neil Foster took 11 for 163 in the match, while the spinners Pat Pocock and Phil Edmonds shared three for 310. England's massive first innings was based on two double centu- ries, by Mike Gatting and Graeme Fowler. Gatting regards his 207 as his favourite innings of his entire career, although a cham- pionship century for Middlesex in front of a sparse crowd on a green-top at Derby runs it close. If Gatting's long-awaited maiden hundred in the first Test at Bombay had come as such a relief that it moved the English press to break into rare applause, his double hundred in Madras con- firmed his coming of age. Eight years later he remains England's most convincing batsman against the Indian spinners. Gatting prizes one outrageous memory of that innings: he went from 191 to 199 with two successive reverse sweeps against Ravi Shastri, who was slanting the ball in at leg stump to a 72 leg- side field. He repeated the shot in the World Cup final to less universal acclaim two years later. The Guardian 13 February 1993 - Tendulkar builds a mountain - David Hopps in Madras. India v England: second Test, second day Although he is still two months short of his 20th birthday, Sachin Tendulkar formally announced at the Chepauk Stadium yes- terday that he has long outgrown the brief impetuosity of his teenage years. The serious business has now begun in earnest, as if anybody ever doubted that it would. With a career-best 165, Tendulkar helped to fashion one Indian record and provided an awesome indication of the personal achievements which lie within his reach. India's declared first innings of 560 for six was their highest total on home soil against England, who were grateful to reach the close without further mishap at 19 for nought. Tendulkar, even at such an early stage of his career, can anticipate nothing less than his eventual coronation as the most prolific Test run- scorer in history. Illness, injury, even sheer boredom could intervene over the course of his next 20 years. But there are fewer doubts about Tendulkar's durability than the survival of Test cricket itself. This was an exemplary performance. For six hours he did not as much repel a persevering England at- tack as ingest it, regarding everything placed before him as further sustenance for his prodigious appetite. When he finally misjudged a leg-side blow against the leg- spinner Salisbury half-an-hour before tea, and skied a return catch, he must have been the one person on the ground still not satisfied. He walked from the outfield despairing of the double century which had eluded him. Indian cricket became synonymous with Sunil Gavaskar as he set his record of 10,122 Test runs. Tendulkar's talent is such that he could score 15,000. In his first two innings against England this winter, his Test average has matured from 39 to 43. The fifties, a mark of greatness, should follow by this time next year. In keeping with the first day, which he finished unbeaten on 70, virtually nothing unsettled him. Tendulkar waved his hand in hor- ror when he refused a single before India's captain, Azharuddin, had scored and his time at Yorkshire last summer probably helped Paul Jarvis, the pick of England's bowlers, to tempt him into an occasional indescretion. Even a post-lunch lull, when he added only 13 in 75 minutes as he approached his previous Test-best score of 148 not out in Syd- ney last year, underlined his serious intent. But the abiding memory was of his flawless strokeplay: three boundaries in five balls off Malcolm to raise his fifth Test cen- tury, including two on-drives drilled so straight that a fielder would have to position himself directly behind the stumps to in- tercept them; a back-foot cover drive, also against Malcolm, exe- cuted with sublime power and precision; and a disrespectful six against Salisbury which cleared the sprawling Atherton at long- on. Amre, who with Tendulkar and Kambli is the third Bombay batsman to emerge from the same vintage, was bound to be overshadowed, but his 78, in 3 1/4 hours, was solidly made. He is most adept against the spinners, especially when manufacturing shots through the off side, but he provided Salisbury with a second wicket by slicing high to long-off. Salisbury was the most dangerous of the spinners on a true bat- ting surface which, disconcertingly for England, had begun to turn periodically, not as much as in Calcutta perhaps, but more quickly. Briefly wresting the initiative after tea, he bowled with the straw-haired, sunny disposition of a farmer's lad strid- ing forth along a country lane. Nevertheless, Salisbury underwent a painful education, conceding 103 runs in 19 overs yesterday, a stark contrast to the restric- tive mood of Hick, who coolly bowled 11 overs for 26 and might have bowled more. Tufnell, whose selection was advocated because he makes things happen, bowled 41 overs in the innings when noth- ing much happened at all, save for another sprinkling of no- balls. If one person was not about to be upstaged by Tendulkar it was Kapil Dev, whose arrival at the crease at 442 for five was about the most draining sight imaginable for any bowling side. His un- beaten 66, from 75 balls, swept him past 5,000 Test runs. That Malcolm lacked the fire of the first day was illustrated by one mighty blow over long-off for six. With the declaration imminent, More made at least two moves for the pavilion only to find that Kapil was in no mood to follow. Such is Azharuddin's tender-hearted style of captaincy, it seemed he might never leave. England's bill of health improved yesterday as Smith appeared for the entire day (even at opener he could not escape the spinners as Kumble took the new ball) and Gatting made a cameo appearance after tea, during which he became an unfortunate con- tender for the worst dropped catch in the history of Test crick- et. Salisbury's leaping delivery bobbled so invitingly off More's glove to silly point that umpire Rathore routinely raised his finger at the same time that Gatting was bumbling the catch to the ground. Hasty apologies all round followed. Gatting, who had just been struck on the shin, winced with pain, blinked at the sun in his eyes, and probably also experienced a sudden return of his stomach cramps. He was quickly chaperoned from the field by England's physiotherapist, Dave Roberts, trail- ing off with an unbalanced walk reminiscent of Charlie Chaplin. Gatting had at least been able to tuck into England's emergency tinned rations at lunchtime as the tour manager, Bob Bennett, rustled up a meal of corned beef, baked beans and vegetable soup. This was not a response to the food poisoning which had struck down Gatting, Smith and Gooch on the eve of the Test, but because the distance from the team's hotel to the ground had proved too great for warm lunches to be provided. Even so, it was appropri- ate that the England chaplain, Andrew Wingfield-Digby, was on hand to say grace. The amens will have never rung out so loudly. The Guardian 16 February 1993 - Time for sharp turn on En- glish pitches - David Hopps in Madras. India v England: second Test, final day India's heavy victories after enforcing the follow-on in the first two Tests have been obtained by the simple method of pro- viding pitches which play to their most obvious strengths. Turn- ing wickets in Calcutta and Madras have exposed English deficien- cies against moderately skilful spin bowling with disturbing ease. Had England won the toss on both occasions they could realisti- cally have hoped to go into the final Test in Bombay with the series tied at 0-0. Instead the toss favoured Mohammad Azharud- din and, as India have gone five years without a home series, it would be unfair to chide at his good fortune. ''India have every prerogative to prepare pitches as they see fit - I would like to see us do the same,'' Graham Gooch said yesterday after England's record defeat against India by an in- nings and 22 runs. It took only 35 minutes for India to take England's last two wickets, with Chris Lewis falling on 117 when he was lured into a drive by the leg-spinner Anil Kumble, who finished with six for 64. Gooch's attitude did his captaincy credit, although it begs the question as to what exactly is regarded these days as England's strongest suit? Those who parrot the traditional reply of ''line-and-length seam bowling'' should consider recent events at Headingley where seam, swing and uneven bounce theoretically should make a good England side virtually impregnable. However, extensive efforts have been made this winter to turn Leeds into the bland, homogeneous surface which does a disservice to the development of the English game. Keith Boyce, Headingley's groundsman, has been ordered to dig out his Test pitch under the strict guidelines of the Test and County Cricket Board's pitch inspector Harry Brind. The loam which he has been forced to use is identical to that favoured at The Oval, with the intention that it should produce identical results, a case of the blind following the bland. No one should pretend that all Headingley's Test pitches have been entirely satisfactory. But if a ground which can enliven a series by its uncertainty degenerates into another feather bed, where the balance is tipped too far in the batsman's favour, no one should be unduly surprised. English cricket, denied a sur- face to turn to its advantage, risks further deterioration as a result. What then of the future? It is a question that the marketing men should answer as they whine insistently that sponsors boxes must have guaranteed entertainment placed before them like B & Q wall- paper for all five days. Nothing assures the future, or financial health, of Test cricket more than a competitive, exciting contest, even more so if there is a slight imbalance of home victories. An enticing Indian series has satisfied on both counts. Dire predictions that Test cricket in India was on the point of col- lapse have been answered by crowds at the first two Tests total- ling nearly 450,000. ''The two Test wickets we have played on have not been raging turners, but our players have found them difficult,'' said Gooch. would be better able to cope.'' Instead four-day championship pitches have been, with a few ex- ceptions, deeply disappointing. Visions of firmer, faster wick- ets, increasingly responsive to spinners, have bowed to the real- ity of Plasticine surfaces which lack pace, turn and bounce and perfectly suit the run-of-the-mill county player blessed with above-average concentration. The result of that is illustrated by two Hampshire batsmen: Tony Middleton's determined sterility won selection for the England A tour to Australia, whereas David Gower, who for all his talent could not disguise that it was all a bit of a drag, made it to India only as a member of the Sky Television team. Of all the English batsmen languishing by the pool in Madras, Gower had good reason to look ahead optimistically. An Ashes re- call next summer looks ever more likely, especially now that it is becoming trendy again to insist that there is no substitute for class. Two years ago in Australia Gooch identified unprofessional atti- tudes as a contributory factor to defeat. The dedication and pro- fessionalism of these tourists cannot be faulted. But it is an unpalatable fact that they have still been outplayed. This is or- ganised chaos. Keith Fletcher, who has the task over the next five years of im- proving England's fortunes, has begun with two crushing defeats as team manager. He has long believed that more turning pitches will make championship cricket more entertaining and challenging, increase the pressure, add to the variety and assist the develop- ment of Test players - spin bowlers and batsmen alike. Instead umpires mark down any pitch which shows premature signs of turn, and Mike Corley, the groundsman at Scarborough, wins a host of awards for pitches so mind-blowingly perfect they should be issued with 10-year no-wear guarantees. The TCCB has a lot of rethinking to do. Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)