BIRMINGHAM.
June 5(AP): Four years ago, ip the qf,Bpgland s, third coij7 secutive Ashes se
ries defeat. Mi chael Atherton was appointed captain with the task of rescuing English cricket after one of its worst years in history.
In his second Test he led England team to Its only victory In a series it lost 3-1. Now. with his rescue mission partially accomplished, Atherton returns to Edgbaston hopefill of winning the Ashes back for the first time In 10 years with a renewed enthusiasm and the vl-brance of a young England.
In the process, he will equal Peter May's record of 41 matches as captain and at Lord's barring accident, he will break it.
Atherton, then 25. replaced Graham Gooch after heavy losses at the hands of India, Sri Lanka and Australia had cost Ted Dexter and Gooch their jobs.
England, already 2-0 down, played well in two of the remaining four Tests, culminating with that long-awaited victory at The Oval.
That success gave Atherton the clout he needed to call the tune in selection.
"I've always stressed the need for youth and vibrancy and 1 felt we moved an important step towards that with the squad which toured the Caribbean in 1994.'' said Atherton.
When the team was announced for the West Indies, there was no Gooch, David Gower. Mike Gatting. Allan Lamb.
After several false starts, it was finally decided to discard the old faithful. Atherton was concerned that the inclusion of even one single old head would be at the expense of the young
guns".
"For the next two years this went into abeyance, to some ex-
that the nation; v+ants to see the team full of energy and commitment. and that is what I want to see from us in the Tests again."
Atherton, who has managed to win Just 10 Tests and lost 13. felt a ’’new start" when David Lloyd was appointed coach.
Lloyd replaced the contro-
versial boss Ray Illingworth last year with Atherton already three years Into the job.
"It was certainly a fresh start for me since the coach came aboard," Atherton said. "I know him from Lancashire and have a very good relationship with him, and I think the team has a very good relationship with him.
Atherton said things began to piece together with the new appointment and opened a new horizon for English cricket.
"I think gradually there has been an improvement since that time. I think roles are more clearly defined. There is a clear definition between selection and management." Atherton himself is a role model. He has led from the .front-end batted the team to ln dlfncu>t timed. Eng-, I JTtmd fans will never forget the Johannesburg Test in December 1995 when he batted for 10 and three-quarter hours for an unbeaten 185 to save the match.
Atherton's solid leadership, dependable batting and resilience in the face of adversity have led his teammates to Jokingly call him "Iron Mike".
The captaincy has driven Atherton's batting to new heights, unlike his Australian counterpart Mark Taylor who is presently experiencing the worst form slump of his career, and of any Australian captain.
He has averaged 47.40 as captain as opposed to an ordinary 35 in the 27 games before he took over.
He enters the six-match series 44 runs short of 5000 Test runs, and at 29 he is playing his best cricket.
In New Zealand he came out of a barren run with innings of 83. 30, 94 not out and 118 in successive Innings and led the team to back-to-back wins just when it looked like he was about to lose his Job.
If England manage to win the Ashes for the first time since Gatting's 1986/87 tourists, Atherton will be hailed as the man to have resurrected English cricket from the gutter.
But he is under no misconception of how difficult this task is going to be.
"First ball, first session can take you back to the very start," Atherton said. "A very good start is very important, because it will set the pattern for the rest of the Test.
We are a keen to start well. I am sure Australia would too."
"For an English cricketer, the Ashes is the ultimate," Atherton said.