Date-stamped : 20 May94 - 18:24 DEFREITAS MUST DELIVER TO AVOID LONG GOODBYE David Hopps on the inconsistent bowler who faces his final Eng- land chance in the one-day series against New Zealand which starts at Edgbaston this morning Whenever England have played badly in recent seasons, the selec- tors have turned to one particular remedy with obsessive regular- ity. "How about dropping that fellow DeFreitas?" "We dropped him last week, chairman." "Oh, so we did. In that case it's high time we brought him back again." Since his selection for the 1986-87 Ashes tour when, at 20, he was proclaimed England's most exciting all-round prospect since Ian Botham, Phillip DeFreitas's international career has been abandoned and relaunched on more than 20 occasions. He has stopped by the dressing room every once in a while for a few fit- ful overs of outswing, a more-often-than-not inadequate swing of the bat, and a confirmation of his phone number should those in power decide to contact him again. Even at the heights of his popularity DeFreitas could not have posed for Hello! magazine without its first being retitled Hello - and Goodbye! More than any other player, his career sums up the uncertainties and divisions that tend to gather around a largely unsuccessful side. With his selection in England's 13 for the Texaco Trophy series against New Zealand which begins at Edgbaston today, that aura of transitory usefulness remains as powerful as ever. After the Il- lingworth coup, some of the old rifles are merely in different hands. The return of Graham Gooch - who is scoring prolifically but, as he approaches his 41st birthday, negates all attempts at long- term planning - has most inflamed passions outside the selection room, but DeFreitas's credit rating will probably have been the prime source of dispute within it. Michael Atherton's patience with DeFreitas has not only worn thin, it is positively anorectic. He endured too many days of lassitude on perfect batting pitches at Lancashire when DeFreitas's body language spoke of surrender: all drooping shoulders, dilatory rambles to the crease and the miserable ex- pression of a man who would gladly exchange the Old Trafford strip for the Gaza strip at a moment's notice. His release on compassionate grounds at the end of last season - his daughter, Alex, had been diagnosed a severe asthmatic, and he wanted to live closer to his wife's parents in Burton-on-Trent - was a natural parting of the ways for all concerned. He had to be able to do far better than this. Since joining Derbyshire, where the pitches are more responsive to seam bowling, DeFreitas has been a picture of bliss. During Lancashire's Benson and Hedges Cup defeat at Derby last week he bowled at Atherton with fire and purpose. Atherton's survival against the swinging ball - he went on to make a hundred - was not enough to deflect Illingworth from his conviction that the bowler was back to his best. DeFreitas has also achieved this month the first hat-trick of his career, against Hampshire; his outswinger is functioning effi- ciently again; and if Illingworth's brief exhortation to "get some runs" has hardly been answered, it at least provided speedy confirmation that he was not necessarily a spent force at England level. Considering Illingworth's insistence upon a balanced England side, which is likely to mean a third seamer who can hold a bat coming in around No. 9, DeFreitas can force his way back into the Test side. The only difference, if we are to accept Illingworth's profes- sions of high standards and higher expectations, is that this chance is likely to be his last. It really is about time people made up their minds. "It has been disturbing to hear people writing me off when I'm only 28 and approaching what should be my physical prime," DeFreitas said. "I've been a bit up-and-down for England, and in that time I've learned how quickly people can change their tune." By the completion of his debut for Derbyshire, at Chesterfield last month, he had bruised and battered his big toe into submis- sion on some badly repaired wicket ends. He missed Derbyshire's latest championship match against Surrey at The Oval and has only played the last two one-day games with the aid of pain-killing injections. Atherton will wonder what he is about to receive. He also experi- enced at painfully close quarters DeFreitas's depression in India two winters ago. It was the lowest point in the bowler's England career: 63 first-class overs on the tour without a wicket, and a persistent groin injury which he thought was reason enough to re- turn home but which elicited limited sympathy from England's management. "I admit I bowled badly on that tour," he said. "I couldn't see myself becoming fully fit and my daughter was ill in hospital. I wasn't in the right frame of mind." DeFreitas had begun that tour as England's leading strike bowler. Happier memories can be found in his 22 wickets against West In- dies in 1991, followed by his best Test return of seven for 70 against Sri Lanka at Lord's, and in a good World Cup the follow- ing winter. Nothing less than that will do. (Thanks : The Guardian) Contributed by Vicky (VIGNESWA@*umass.edu)