Atherton emerges with honours - By Alan Lee =Alan Lee, cricket correspondent, believes England have salvaged hope from defeat in the West Indies.= For those most closely involved with the England team, the winter tour of the Caribbean was a disappointing failure. The Test series against a good but unexceptional West Indies side was lost 3-1, the one-day series 3-2 and the fond hope that a new genera- tion would establish itself under the admirable Michael Atherton remained largely unfulfilled. Yet detaching the national self-interest produces a different picture. The cricket on the tour was never uninteresting and, frequently, captivated those who witnessed it. History, it seems, has been constantly in the making and, even in the course of the last three weeks, the second lowest England total, the first visiting victory in Barbados for 59 years and the crowning glory of a world record 375 by Brian Lara have been recorded. There has been scarcely a day to draw breath and reflect on the more routine matters of the tour, such as the encouraging evi- dence that crowds for Test cricket are booming again or that in- dependent umpires can fulfil their function of justice being seen to be done. When the code of conduct is properly enforced, as it has been by John Reid, the match-referee system is also a worthwhile deterrent to the ugly and cynical, though, in terms of intimidatory bowling, this began and ended in one unedifying ses- sion in the first Test in Kingston. A fortnight ago, another 5-0 clean sweep by West Indies was predicted. That it ended so differently reflects credit on Eng- land, but it is also a more reasonable measure of these teams. West Indies had the best batsman in Lara and the best bowler in Curtly Ambrose, but those following were prone to frailties not recently spied in these parts. A composite selection from the two teams, indeed, would include up to five Englishmen and Richie Richardson, a genial though sometimes perverse West Indian cap- tain, may not have a tranquil time ahead. Attention must now focus on what the tour has achieved for the England team and, on the face of it, the answer is not very much. When Keith Fletcher, the manager, compares notes this weekend with Ray Illingworth, the new chairman of selectors, it will be agreed that most of the questions asked of the players remained unanswered. There is no persuasive claimant for the No3 batting position that has long exercised the selectors, there is no sign that Chris Lewis ever will be the all-rounder in whom so much faith has been invested and no reason for optimism that English bowling can em- erge from its destitute state. There is not even the usual com- fort that England have the best wicketkeeper in the world. But all is not gloom, even if Fletcher's argument that ''a lot of good things have come out of the tour'' is something of an exag- geration. The best was the impact made by Atherton, who has the rare distinction of ending a tour as a beaten captain with his reputation greatly enhanced. Atherton went out in January, almost intolerably burdened. A young man of 25 who, only 12 months ear- lier, had not been part of the team, he was to lead it into the most formidable of all series, one on which the visiting captain is traditionally singled out for the worst excesses of the fast bowlers. Under his command was a side that, in rapid succession, had been beaten by Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Australia. But still the nation dared to expect great things and Atherton, for his part, delivered in full. He led a team consciously shorn of its ageing luminaries with strength, composure and maturity. He was single- minded to the point of stubbornness, a trait that may lead to some clashes of will when he disagrees with Illingworth on any selection issue. If, tactically, he erred towards the negative, the slender resources at his disposal absolved him of blame. Atherton could captain England for years to come, not only be- cause he is so young but because he plainly thrives on it. His batting has flourished with the responsibility, so that in seven Tests as captain he has failed only once to make a score above 50 and then by just two runs. As his vice-captain and opening partner, he has been fortunate to have Alec Stewart. For him, too, this has been a tour of self- discovery. Released from wicketkeeping duties, surely with finality, Stewart has relished the stability and been the ideal foil for Atherton both as a motivational lieutenant and a stroke-playing batsman. Only Lara could upstage Stewart's two centuries in Bridgetown as the batting feat of the series. Considering only one player, Allan Lamb, made even 200 Test runs when England were last here, it was some achievement for Atherton and Stewart to finish either side of 500. Beneath them, however, lay a disturbing gulf. Graeme Hick made more than 300 runs and batted impressively in both the Kingston and Bridgetown Tests. Between times, he too often regressed to the mesmerised state of old. Robin Smith described his own tour as ''a disaster'', only partly redeemed at the death in Antigua this week. Graham Thorpe was given a clear run to consolidate his promising start against Australia and his critical innings in Barbados of- fered some justification, but he cannot be sure to defend his place this summer against the challenges of John Crawley and Al- lan Wells, one of whom must be promoted above the three batsmen who failed to vindicate their inclusion. Nasser Hussain and Matthew Maynard had limited opportunities, but spurned most that came their way. Mark Ramprakash arguably had too many opportunities, for, in 16 innings against West Indies, he has still not once reached 30. As Fletcher said: ''Mark hasn't solved the No3 spot at all. We are back to square one.'' England's bowling strategy for the Tests relied upon the axis of Devon Malcolm and Angus Fraser. Crucially, they did not once play together, Malcolm appearing only in the first game and Fraser in the remaining four. England's attack frequently lacked ideas and penetration, despite the variety of Ian Salisbury's leg spin in two Tests. If Atherton's selection is to be criticised, he should have made much earlier use of Phil Tufnell, who contained better than any of the seam bowlers. He should have played the entire series. This, however, was an idea that perished to the concerns over the inadequacies of the seam bowlers. Fraser was willing and able, as ever in Barbados, he was magnifi- cent but his prolonged absence through injury still has its ef- fect and he is a much reduced force in the second innings of a five-day game. Of the other seamers, Andrew Caddick was easily the best, though, as Steve Watkin and Alan Igglesden only con- firmed the suspicion that they are ineffectual outside England, this needs quantifying. Caddick took 18 wickets in four Tests, which is no mean achieve- ment, and Fletcher believes he has more ability than any bowler in the party, but he still has to overcome an insecure personali- ty that tends to alienate him from team-mates. He is not the first fast bowler of whom that could be said, but it would be a pity if it retarded his progress. England's out-cricket was periodically scruffy and added to the frustrations of Fletcher, who began to look hounded and haunted as the tour reached Barbados, the precarious nature of his job all too apparent. The events of the last fortnight, however, were enough to restore the smile to his face as the party arrived home yesterday, and to give all cause to hope that better days may lie ahead. (Thanks : The Times) Contributed by Vicky (VIGNESWA@*umass.edu)