The David Lloyd-Michael Atherton combination has worked so far and the improved atmosphere must have something to do with this. Of course, Atherton is temperamental under pressure. Time and again he has shown the ability to perform in crises. My respect for him went up when, surrounded by the balltampering controversy and under extreme pressure, trailing in the three-Test series against South Africa, he not only performed well personally but inspired his team to come back and level the series.
This time he played a vital innings to stop India from drawing level against England. For England to become a strong cricketing nation again it is vital he stays captain for a few years more and at the same time a team with a view to the future is built.
England are the only Test-playing country that rarely introduce young players in Test matches on potential. Often a player has to prove himself over a couple of seasons at least before he is given an opportunity. Even when he is finally given a chance it is not an extended one.
In other words, he might have a few failures then be relegated back to county cricket. If the county game was like the Sheffield Shield in Australia then it would not be a bad thing for a young player to go back to a highly competitive domestic competition to eliminate weaknesses and again look to get back in the national team.
Unfortunately, county cricket, beyond a certain period, starts doing more harm than good. Cricket played day in, day out in a relatively non-competitive atmosphere and with many average players, actually damages young cricketers. Scoring runs from bowling attacks that have just one or two quality bowlers with the rest pretty ordinary is hardly going to improve young batsmen. If anything they learn to see off the good bowling and cash in on the ordinary ones, ie ``Method cricket''.
During my 18 years in county cricket I saw several young English bowlers who had the potential to become seriously fast but because of injuries or simply the workload of county cricket, ended up becoming one of the many medium pacers on the circuit.
At the same time the sheer quantity of cricket starts sapping the most important advantage that youth has enthusiasm. And that enthusiasm is vital for a young player to im- prove.
For fast bowlers, county cricket is a killer. The mix of the four-day game and one-day cricket is far more demanding on the body of a fast bowler than the format before the 1970s of more three-day matches, but no one-day play. Often, young bowlers have to play with injuries which become chronic especially in the back and knees - and in the long run it means the bowler cannot reach his full potential of speed.
During my 18 years in county cricket I saw several young English bowlers who had the potential to become seriously fast but because of injuries or simply the workload of county cricket, ended up becoming one of the many medium pacers on the circuit.
DAVID LLOYD has taken a bold step in asking the counties to rest some of their key players in between Test matches. If England are to remain competitive as a Test-playing nation, then the main strike bowlers have to be looked after. I remember Bob Willis hardly used to bowl for Warwickshire when he was England's lead strike bowler. Dominic Cork should certainly be looked after more - he looked jaded at Trent Bridge.
The one player who could be vital for England in the future, and who was rediscovered in the series, is Nasser Hussain. He looked confident and technically well equipped to occupy the vital No 3 spot for England. I also felt that Mark Ealham is a useful find as an all-rounder, especially in one-day cricket. Alan Mullally looked good and appears to have potential. He has the ability to swing the ball in to the right hander.
However, the worry for England is that whenever they tour abroad they do not have a genuine fast bowler. Even Cork, their strike bowler, was overshadowed by Javagal Srinath of India.
England's spin department is also weak. So what happens when England try to bowl out their opponents twice on wickets that do not assist seamers? The English bowling attack in Test matches is going to be a worry for Lloyd and Atherton.
The reason that Atherton, as captain, has performed well under pressure is because he has an excellent defensive technique on which he falls back in times of crises.
India gained far more from the tour. They discovered three talented cricketers for the future. Venkatesh Prasad looks a fine medium fast bowler and if he gains another yard and half of pace he will form perhaps India's best pace attack with Srinath (who looked the best pace bowler in the series). Rahul Dravid looked a technically correct batsman with a good temperament, but the best find was Saurav Ganguly, who not only has a good defence but can also play strokes on both sides of the wicket and loves to occupy the crease.
I felt sorry for Mohammad Azharuddin, who lost confidence in himself completely by the end of the series. Azhar will benefit by not being the captain. His batting technique is such that he plays best when he is relaxed and playing his natural aggressive game. He does not have a good defence and when under pressure he can look extremely vulnerable.
The reason that Atherton, as captain, has performed well under pressure is because he has an excellent defensive technique on which he falls back in times of crises.
I T LOOKS like Sachin Tendulkar will take over India's captaincy this winter and it remains to be seen what sort of effect it will have on his great talent. He looks to have all the qualities that make a good captain. Being head and shoulders above the rest of his team in ability will ensure that he will command respect from his team and that will perhaps protect him from the captaincy intrigues that plague the teams in the Sub-Continent.
As for England, the real test will start when they play Pakistan at Lord's. The Pakistanis will be a completely different team, having the ability to bowl out England twice on good wickets.
On the other hand, the Pakistani batting will be far more unpredictable than India's. The wickets are likely to be less helpful to seamers than in the first half of the summer.
It is going to be an exciting series. I just hope the umpiring is better than what we have seen so far. Thank God for the neutral umpire, otherwise it would have been like the 1980s, when hardly a series was played where touring teams did not blame biased home umpiring for their misfortunes.