Date-stamped : 20 May96 - 10:15 20 May 1996 Cricket Commentary: Irani has best chance to settle troubled po- sition By Christopher Martin-Jenkins TIME WILL tell whether the choice of two new all-rounders, and of five with all-round pretensions in a party of 13 for this week`s Texaco Trophy, is a means to an end or merely, as the England selectors maintain, an end in itself. Their stated intention was to pick a team to win the 50-over internationals, which, inciden- tally, England have failed to do in their two previous one-day (55-over) home series against India in 1986 and 1990. Everyone knows, however, that there is a greater prize on the horizon. The prime goal is not only to win the Test series which fol- lows, but to find a stable Test side who can develop the elusive winning habit. In pursuit of that Holy Grail, one of the essential keys remains the No 6 position. Since the war, Trevor Bailey, Tony Greig and Ian Botham are the only men who have met the demanding criteria, that the player concerned should be capable of earning his place either as a batsman or a bowler. Thus can one player become, in effect, two, and a good team be- come potentially a very good one. When no-one fills that role the alternatives are to pick a specialist batsman at six, with only four bowlers; a batsman-wicketkeeper like Alec Stewart; or a wicketkeeper who bats usefully, like Jack Russell; plus at least two bowlers who are capable of making significant batting contributions too. England have tried all these combinations in recent years and never consistently found the right mix. Three days away from the first Texaco game, one could not confidently predict that ei- ther Ronnie Irani or Mark Ealham is going to do something re- markable enough with the ball to prove himself the genuine ar- ticle, and the same goes for Neil Smith and Dominic Cork with the bat. Chris Lewis, for all his infuriating inconsistency, his injuries and his mental frailty, has come closest, perhaps, if only because he has scored a Test hundred. It will not be easy for Irani and Ealham this week to prove they are capable of be- ing something more than one-day specialists, but they are as Ray Illing- worth says "in the shop window". Irani`s all-round form in first-class cricket this season, how- ever, encourages the possibility that he might solve the conun- drum Ealham`s special quality is as a muscular hitter of sixes late in the innings. Generally he strikes the ball straighter than Irani, who will be given the first opportunity. Irani`s all- round form in first-class cricket this season, however, en- courages the possibility that he might solve the conundrum by matching performances to his naturally positive approach to cricket and to life. His 110 not out against Worcestershire when Essex were 32 for five, chasing 186 to win, and his subsequent 81 not out when they were floundering again in a run-chase against Hampshire, more or less guaranteed his selection for the one-day matches, but his bowling in these games was less impressive and his wickets expensively gained. Since the stress fracture of his back, his action has looked hurried, quite apart from being chest-on. There have been effective Test bowlers with odd actions, of course, and any number in recent times who use the wrist, rather than the traditional sideways action, to swing or cut the ball either way. Nevertheless, I hope a selector will be de- ployed to Surrey`s matches before the first Test to keep an eye on Adam Hollioake`s form. He could make a Basil D`Oliveira-like contribution as a swing bowler and there is sufficient quality in his batting to suggest he could be the missing link. Both his batting and bowling averages are superior to Irani`s. The omission of one as yet untried talent is less significant, for the moment, than that of those who have been tried and found wanting. A little over two months since England`s defeat in the quarter-final of the World Cup in Faisalabad, exactly half of the 16 players who took some part in that competition have been dropped. Neil Fairbrother, Dermot Reeve, Phillip DeFreitas and Richard Illingworth will probably have to conclude that their inter- national playing days are over. Robin Smith and Mark Ram- prakash will have to do something special, and do it more than once, to resurrect their careers. Craig White`s future may well depend on how the other all-rounders get on. Only Jack Russell, therefore, may be fairly sure that his Test place is safe. For everything, there is a season. First, let us enjoy the 50-over internationals and congratulate the selectors on pro- ducing a team who look better suited to the task in hand than the one sent to Pakistan and India. Matthew Maynard has got the place which might have gone to Andrew Symonds. The latter`s reluctance to say publicly that he is keen to play for England counted against him. Maynard`s batting has always had genuine class and he is in commanding current form. It will be fun, too, to see how Alistair Brown succeeds in translating his form for Surrey into an England context and he clearly has the talent to do so. His good form, having played in a happier and more successful Surrey side in a role that suits him, and the fact that he will be starting his international career on his home ground, will give him every chance. If Brown should hit and miss early, England are planning to promote Neil Smith to continue the policy of milking the first 15 overs for all that they may be worth. Every member of this side has scored a first-class hundred, so there is suffi- cient depth to consolidate and launch a second attack if the first one should fail. That was the successful Sri Lankan formu- la. Source :: Electronic Telegraph (http.//www.telegraph.co.uk) Contributed by Shash (shs2@*.cwru.edu)