Chairman Hits A Half-Century
If Chris Silverwood, a young fast bowler from Yorkshire, makes his international debut for England during this winter's tour of Zimbabwe and New Zealand, he will become the 50th player ""and presumably the last "" to be selected by Raymond Illingworth. Last week's selection, in which Silverwood is the only new face, was to be Illingworth's last as chairman of selectors, though no successor has yet been chosen. Since the former captain took on the job in the spring of 1994, Illingworth has given almost everybody a go for England.
Illingworth's record in terms of results is not particularly bad. Test series were lost to Australia, Pakistan and South Africa, all very good sides. There were tied series against the West Indies and South Africa and victories over New Zealand and India. The one-day record would be good were it not for last winter's dismal showing, when South Africa defeated England 6-1 and, in the World Cup, England managed to beat only the Netherlands and the UAE.
But Illingworth has failed to build a side with substantial experience of playing international cricket. During his short reign, 49 players have been picked for 57 international matches. Even leaving out those who have now retired from international cricket, England could field four teams "" not just England and England A, but a B and a C team too "" in which all the players would have played a Test or a one-dayer since May 1994.
Forty players have played in 28 tests under Illingworth, and 36 in 29 one-dayers. Only six (Mike Atherton, Graham Thorpe, Graeme Hick, Alec Stewart, Darren Gough, Dominic Cork) have played in more than half of England's international matches. Of the 11 who have represented England the most under Illingworth, five (Hick, Philip DeFreitas, Peter Martin, Angus Fraser and Robin Smith) are now discarded "" although previous experience will teach them not to announce their retirements just yet.
Illingworth has picked many more players than, for example, the Indian and Australian selectors. During the same period, India has used a total of 27 players for 54 matches (only nine Tests and 45 one-day internationals). Australia has also used just 27 players for 61 matches (18 Tests and 43 one-day internationals).
A glance at the accompanying table shows that many men have played just a few times for England, and have not been able to develop into truly international players. During his first summer, Illingworth tried out 23 players in six tests and three one-day matches. Over the winter in Australia, a further three were added. In the summer of 1995 against the West Indies, eight more. Last winter in South Africa, two more. This summer against India and Pakistan, another 13 players have played for England, three of them recalled after first playing before Illingworth's appointment.
Last winter's showing suggested that one of Illingworth's key principles was flawed: that it was advantageous to pick different teams for Tests and one-day matches. This is not a policy pursued to any great extent by other countries, which simply aim to pick the best cricketers. Thirteen of Illingworth's 49 have played no Test cricket under him, and nine have played no one-dayers.
A major reason for the large number of selections has been the failure to hit upon a penetrating bowling attack. Fifteen of Illingworth's choices are fast bowlers. A number of them (Cork, Gough, Devon Malcolm, Fraser, DeFreitas, Andrew Caddick and Chris Lewis) have produced match-winning performances for England but only Cork has managed to keep a permanent place. Either they were too inconsistent or Illingworth did not have enough faith.
England also failed to hit upon a slow bowler, with Illingworth having chosen eight (though sometimes the former spin bowler picked none at all). Of these, Richard Illingworth (no relation of Ray), lasted the longest but only Tufnell and Croft have shown real promise. Add to these 23 bowlers the seven men picked to be "all-rounders" "" they bat a bit and bowl a bit but excel at neither. This is an unenviable task because the inevitable comparison is with Ian Botham, who excelled at both. The all-rounder's role has fallen on Dermot Reeve, Craig White, Mike Watkinson, Neil Smith, Ronnie Irani, Mark Ealham and, perhaps most promisingly, Adam Hollioake. That makes 30 men picked to bowl.
Nor has the batting line-up been much more settled, with 17 batsmen shuffling around the five or six positions "" although, since Atherton, Thorpe, Hick and Stewart have been virtual fixtures, the remaining 13 have been battling for one or two places. By the end of this season, a batting side of Atherton, Stewart, Nasser Hussain, Thorpe, John Crawley and Nick Knight appeared fairly secure, and reasonably formidable.
Some players can only muse upon the vagaries of their careers:
Andrew Caddick was the leading wicket-taker on England's 1993-1994 tour of the West Indies (he took the last West Indian wicket to fall, Brian Lara bowled for 375). He captured 6 for 65 in the fourth test, which England won. But come the summer, he found no place under Illingworth. This year he was recalled for the second test against Pakistan, but was dropped for the third.
Nasser Hussain, first picked when he was 21, played three tests against the West Indies in 1989-90 (playing some of the time with a broken wrist), four against Australia in 1993, and toured the West Indies without playing a Test in 1993-94. Illingworth had no place for him until he was selected against India this season. After a total of 12 tests and four one-day internationals spread over seven years, he is the new vice-captain and perhaps England's next captain.
Alan Wells, Mike Watkinson and Matthew Maynard, all county captains, will no doubt have been happy to get Illingworth's call at the ages of 33, 33 and 30 respectively. But the first two could hardly expect a long run in the Test side (they lasted for one and four tests respectively), and there did not appear to be much logic in recalling Maynard, last seen on the 1993-94 West Indies tour, for five one-dayers in1996. Illingworth also perhaps surprised Mike Gatting, then aged 37, by asking him to tour Australia along with Graham Gooch, then 41"" two not-so-mobile former captains.
Alistair Brown, who scored 100 in a one-dayer against India this summer, has not been selected since and does not even find a place in the winter A team .
Illingworth is not the first chairman of selectors to adopt an experimental approach. In 1988, England went through 4 captains in 5 Tests . His predecessors, including Ted Dexter, also had a ready eye for anyone who showed promise on the county circuit.
No less than 64 players with Test experience were registered to play for their counties at the beginning of the 1996 season, and a further six Test debutants have been added since. England boasts a large number of players who have made it into the Test side just once, only to be dropped and never recalled. At the beginning of the season, seven one-Test wonders were still registered (Joey Benjamin, Mark Benson, Tony Pigott, John Stephenson, Wells, John Whitaker and Neil Williams). Simon Brown was added this summer. Of these, only Benjamin, Wells and Brown were picked by Illingworth, though three others have been discarded after playing just one Test under him (Jon Taylor, Martin McCague and John Emburey, whose recall late in his career was more remarkable than his subsequent ejection).
There are mitigating factors. First, selectors cannot help it if players don't make the most of opportunities. Mark Ramprakash, a prolific batsman for Middlesex, has played 19 Tests and 10 one-dayers for England and has scored just two 50s. Philip Tufnell could be one of England's best bowlers but for problems with his temperament and personal life. Lewis has been given many chances. England has in fact stuck with some out-of-form players, notably Hick, because of belief in their potential. But in the end, players like Hick and Robin Smith must be dropped if bad form persists.
Secondly, England has had more than its fair share of injuries. Of Illingworth' tch might be history for the next "" or you could be.