Atherton faces late test on injured back (18 November 1998)

18 November 1998

Atherton faces late test on injured back

By Christopher Martin-Jenkins

THE England team were pursued all yesterday by the cameras of television stations eager for glimpses of the two Mancunians whose tribulations have attracted so much attention over the past 48 hours. But they got on with the job: there was a positive and focused look about them all during their afternoon fielding and exercise session at the Woolloongabba ground.

John Crawley took a full part in proceedings and though Michael Atherton was only a spectator, he hopes to join in a full-scale net practice today. Following another cortisone injection into a joint low on the right side of his back, administered yesterday morning in Brisbane by Bill Ryan, a back specialist of renown, Atherton was more confident of being fit for the first Test on Friday. His stiffness and pain had decreased.

Wayne Morton, England's physiotherapist, who himself joined the casualty list by dislocating his right shoulder during fielding practice, said that this was the second phase of Atherton's treatment which had begun in Adelaide under another back specialist, Rob Fraser, the idea being to reduce the inflammation around the joint.

Morton said: "The problem since he had his spinal surgery nearly nine years ago is to try to isolate which of his joints is giving the trouble. Both the specialists have been quite positive. We do hope that with their help Mike can still be the force he can be. We're trying to establish a cure as opposed to a temporary relief. That would be nice for all of us, especially Mike.

"He's only missed one game in almost five years and he's probably played when he was captain when his back was worse than it is now. But he's very well aware that now he's not captain he has a responsibility to Alec [Stewart] and the rest of the team not to let anybody down.

"We were hoping initially that we wouldn't have to progress to stage two, but as he was obviously still suffering symptoms in Queensland we thought we'd try to knock it on the head here. We'll assess his chances after a fitness test today. He'll only play if he's 95 to 100 per cent fit."

The unfortunate Crawley will certainly be fit if he is selected, either as Atherton's replacement as opener or as the seventh batsman. His mugging late on Sunday night in a street near the team's hotel in Cairns was a case, according to Morton, of "being in the wrong place at the wrong time".

Crawley was walking back alone after drinking with members of the England and Queensland teams when he was attacked. Graham Gooch, the manager, said that after words had been exchanged between Crawley and a group of people at the corner of two streets, he was suddenly attacked. "The guy just laid him out," Gooch said. "It could have happened anywhere in the world."

Crawley still has nasty cuts and bruises around his face but Gooch, contacted yesterday by the delightfully-named Inspector Wardrobe of the Cairns police force, said that he would respect Crawley's wish not to make any statements, either to police or to the media.

The most unobservant spectator could hardly have failed to notice the professional and purposeful air of the practice yesterday at a Gabba ground which looks as though it, too, has been mugged. In the throes of massive reconstruction for the 2000 Olympic Games, it is going to be a mess throughout the Test.

Not so England's preparation. Yesterday's session was a vast improvement on similar occasions four years ago and a world away from the haphazard nature of practice on tours before that. Whether there is too much emphasis on the physical as opposed to the practising of strictly cricketing skills will continue to be a debating point among players of old but one benefit of the varied routines coaches and fitness experts have devised is the team spirit they help to foster.

The team ethos was always a factor in winning cricket teams of all nationalities but it has never been exemplified more than by Australia's ability to find a man for almost every moment. Often in tight Test matches in the later years of Allan Border's captaincy and certainly since Mark Taylor took over, individuals seem to have gained strength at critical phases of games, buoyed up by the support of their colleagues.

Border calls it 'karma' and admits that as a selector he has had to balance that need for corporate spirit against the common sense of picking horses for courses. "The bottom line is that you want to win not just every series but every match, and conditions aren't the same for every match," he said, referring to the borderline decision which he and his co-selectors had made to prefer Ricky Ponting to Darren Lehmann.

Border remembers days when he would play in Tests with cricketers he had never even met before. "When Bruce Reid was selected for his debut against India in Adelaide in 1985/6 I had to be honest and say I'd never seen him but I'd heard he was very tall. I first met Bruce when we walked into a team meeting.

"They were anguished, awkward days and I hope they never return. These days Mark Taylor has more input into the shaping of the team and everyone seems to be fully aware of the rising talent. That's the beauty of the Australian team at the moment. There are 16 or 17 blokes who should be playing Test cricket."

Border's comments are typical of the air of confidence, almost of invincibility, which emanates from everyone connected with Australian cricket. But they must all realise, too, that Alec Stewart's side has come to Brisbane intent on serious business and if Atherton is fit on Friday morning they are capable, if John Crawley will excuse the expression, of trading punches toe to toe.

Shane Warne is to be investigated by the Australian Cricket Board for an outburst against umpires after Victoria's Sheffield Shield defeat by Western Australia.

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