Titmus, who stood down from the panel at the beginning of last summer, said he admired Atherton's batting ability while regarding him as a ``non-entity'' on the field as captain.

His England players would disagree, yet Titmus would not be alone with this view. A top image consultant once said Atherton came over as arrogant, aloof and stubborn. She complained: ``Why doesn't he smile more and move faster? The body language is dreadful.''

Atherton, however, could stifle the debate over his on-field demeanour if he recaptures the Ashes this summer, after a magnificent start.

He will surpass Peter May's 41 Tests as captain on Thursday when he tosses the coin at Lord's, longevity that has made Titmus, a former England off-spinner, squirm with irritation.

Titmus appeared to contradict Atherton's impression that Ray Illingworth, chairman of selectors, wanted him sacked. He said: ``I was anti-Atherton through my time as a selector. He stayed because Illy wanted him to.''

The International Cricket Council have agreed to Bangladesh playing one-day internationals with the main Test nations. A request for Test status was turned down and Bangladesh were given two years to improve before the issue will be reconsidered.