Date-stamped : 04 Aug94 - 18:28 Candid Atherton vows to stay England captain offers his definitive explanation of actions in field at Lord's..... With characteristic candour at his final press conference on the question of earth in his pocket at Lord's, Michael Atherton yesterday summarised the position at the end of a dreadful week for English cricket and a wretched one for the England captain himself. "There are going to be those who believe me and those who have doubts. At the end of the day only I know. That's why I decided not to resign." Anyone with the spirit of cricket at heart must have been disturbed by what television pictures seemed to be suggesting last weekend. Whilst deploring an England cap- tain telling less than the whole truth to an independent referee, however, I concluded that as a man of known integrity Atherton should be given the benefit of the doubts raised by television evidence. I am certain, after hearing his fuller explanation yes- terday, that those doubts were falsely raised; that the pictures deceived and were widely misinterpreted; that the injustice has been to Atherton himself; that having apologised to the referee for failing to give him the full facts, he himself deserves apo- logies from those who would not accept his word and who, by in- sinuation if nothing else, have called him a liar and a cheat. Many of us should be wiser after this event, and not just Ather- ton. The press should have learnt the camera can sometimes lie. The public relations arm of the Test and County Cricket Board should have learnt that a considered but full explanation sooner rather than later is desirable on all controversial issues, but that crowded press conferences require a degree of organisation and dignity so that everyone can think straight, be they inquisi- tors or informers. Ray Illingworth should have learnt that whilst firm action is desirable and a fine for misleading the re- feree was merited, the additional fining of Atherton for putting soil into his pocket, which was not against the laws, signalled, unintentionally, he had personal doubts about the innocence of what his captain did on the field. Atherton himself has learnt not to hide anything from those who have a right to know, however much he might fear the facts could be misleading. He was convinc- ing to me yesterday on the crucial matters of what he was trying to do to the ball - namely, to keep it dry, not to alter its con- dition - and on why he was not completely frank with the match referee, Peter Burge. "I did take my trousers to the meeting," he explained yesterday. "He asked me if if I had resin in my pocket; I replied 'no'. He asked me if there had been any other sub- stance; I replied 'no'. That is where I made my mistake. I was thinking of other substances such as iron filings or Lipsyl [which have been used by cheats from time to time]. There was ab- solutely no other substance [apart from earth] in my pocket." In the end the answer always lies in the soil. We have reached the conclusion of this matter and it should no longer bug Atherton. By collecting earth from a neighbouring pitch he did something unusual and, as it transpires, unwise. It did not strike him as being so silly at the time: he used to put earth in his pockets as a leg-spinner, as Arthur Mailey and SF Barnes once used resin, to keep his grip on the ball. He will not do it again, although he would not be against the law as it stands if he did so. End of issue, at least until the MCC or ICC cricket committees can re-word the law for the better. Having unburdened his soul and answered all the questions, Atherton can try to meet the rest of the selection committee in Manchester this evening with an un- cluttered mind. The first consideration in choosing a side for the second Test, starting at Headingley next Thursday, is perhaps that England must not lose. Graham Thorpe fills two of the requirements in one: stiffening the batting and in- troducing a left-hander. Thorpe's return will be four matches too late. In the end he has picked himself with a first-class average of 58 and through the failures of others preferred despite his good finish to the Caribbean tour. John Crawley must and will be retained, so Craig White's first phase an an England player is likely to end. The selectors should resolve to seek at least one other left-hander amongst their seven or eight batsmen for the Australian tour. Darren Bicknell, by sheer consistency, is probably the most deserving. It is axiomatic that a left-hander must make life harder for bowling sides when batting with a right-hander. If people doubt how effectively their presence tends to break up the line of bowlers, they have only to consider the long list of left-handers who have prospered against England in recent sea- sons. Gary Kirsten and Kepler Wessels, South Africa's highest scorers at Lord's, are but the latest in the line. To go back only as far as the tour of India the winter before last, Vinod Kambli for India and Hashan Tillekeratne for Sri Lanka batted for hours. Then came Taylor and Border; Lara, Adams, Chanderpaul and Arthurton. The lesson can be ignored no longer. Important issues remain over the batting order and the correct bowling attack. The rediscovery of Graeme Hick as an off-spinner does not alter my opinion that he is also overdue his chance at No 3 and it makes sense to get Thorpe in at four if only because of his left- handedness. Crawley at five, and Gooch as ballast at six, prepared to bowl medium-pace if required, would then be the logi- cal progression. The bowling selection is complicated by the in- juries to all three of the fast bowlers at Lord's - Darren Gough, Phillip DeFreitas and Angus Fraser - but it appears that all will be more or less fit by next Thursday. Andrew Caddick, who might otherwise have been in contention, is not fit and Martin McCague should not be forgotten. Joey Benjamin will certainly be con- sidered on his excellent form all season but to drop Fraser, the most reliable bowler, would be foolish in the extreme. The spe- cialist spinner is the problem. Hick's success with the ball at Lord's will delay Shaun Udal's chance, presumably, leaving a choice between Ian Salisbury, Phil Tufnell and Min Patel. Salis- bury did not bowl badly at Lord's and I would stick with him, on grounds of character as much as anything else. My XI would be: Atherton, Stewart, Hick, Thorpe, Crawley, Gooch, Rhodes, Salis- bury, DeFreitas, Gough, Fraser. (Thanks : Christopher Martin Jenkins and The Daily Telegraph) Contributed by Vicky (VIGNESWA@*umass.edu)