Cricket
Take your pick
Peter Phillips
The event, seen as a try-out for England hopefuls, was more eye-catching than usual because Botham and Hick (along With Radford, Newport, Dilley, Curtis and Rhodes) were already playing for Worces- tershire, which meant that the England selectors were offered these leading names gratis, before they had to make a single decision about the MCC team. Why they chose Cowdrey, Parker and Medlycott was not clear to me, nor was it especially revealing to watch Alan Lamb struggling to find his timing for several hours on the last afternoon; but John Carr and Robin Smith batted with fluency and the MCC pace bowlers, Agnew, Lawrence and Fraser, looked competent in unhelpful conditions. None of these bowlers featured large on the England scene last year, though David 'Sid' Lawrence played against Sri Lanka at the end of the season, so one may deduce that Ted Dexter is pondering new possibili- ties in this department as much as any Other. Angus Fraser, who has yet to play for England, was the pick of the three, keeping an impeccable length. His reward was having Gordon Lord caught behind When he was on 80 and very well set. Why Jonathan Agnew has been ignored so Persistently by the England selectors re- . mains the mystery of the moment amongst cricket writers. The argument in his favour Points out that he took 93 first-class wick- ets last season, didn't disgrace himself on the three occasions when he was picked for England (against West Indies in 1984 and Australia in 1985) and intends to become a radio personality if he is overlooked much longer. No one is quite sure how seriously to take this threat, since it seems to have been in the offing for a season or two now; but Ted may be preparing to call Agnew's bluff.
It came as no surprise that the only outstanding performance in the game was provided by Graeme Hick, who scored 173 not out. Indeed the way he played alone justified the decision to publish this column in the arts pages. However, I notice that the very lack of surprise about Hick's run-scoring has begun to cause ennui amongst my new-found colleagues. I find this ungrateful. Mike Selvey wrote in the Guardian that Hick's innings are taking on a stereotyped, predictable air' and that he is getting close to the mechanical produc- tion of runs of which Bradman was cap- able'. I can only say that I wish I could remember Bradman; not everyone can these days. Failing that I think it rather thrilling to be around to watch the career of a player who is probably going to be reckoned as one of the best ever, and he has my blessing to score as many runs as he likes, so long as he doesn't score them against Middlesex or for Zimbabwe. The latter reference is to reports that, should Zimbabwe be admitted as the newest Test-playing nation at the end of this year,
Hick may choose to play for them rather than for England. This would mean not only that England would lose Hick for ever, but that England would lose to Zimbabwe. The whole thing is unimagin- able.
Whether Botham, on the evidence of this game, shaped up to Ted's deftly floated remark that he, Botham, would have to bowl as well as bat if he were to play for England again, remains to be seen. Worcester declared at 474 for 3, so Botham never got to the crease; but his bowling was at a very modest pace. He takes a run-up now about as long as Underwood's was at the end of his Test-playing career, generat- ing slightly greater momentum than Underwood did, but at the inevitable cost of unpredictable movement off the pitch. He did manage to surprise Smith when he was on 56 with one that kept low to bowl him, but his greatest moments came when he was fielding in the slips. There he caught Kim Barnett for 39 and John Carr for 64, of which the latter dismissal was blinding. Then, for a moment, he threw all caution to the winds and moved again with all his old exceptional agility. With his shorter hair and slimmer waist he almost gives the impression that he thinks he is starting all over again.
Peter Phillips's cricket column will appear monthly during the cricket season.
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