Cricket: Atherton pads up in defence of 'resilient side'

It would be nice for Michael Atherton if he did not have to put on a brave face almost as often as he does his pads, but after yesterday's second capitulation of the summer against Pakistan, the England captain was forced into a routine that he always performs with commendable dignity - facing up to the reality of his team's shortcomings while still salvaging hope from disappointment.

"What I've said all along is that we've become a harder side to beat, though today's not a good day to say that," he said. "But I think we are a more resilient side than we were. The next stage is to try and find an attack that stays together. Just as you need a batting attack that stays together, so you need a bowling attack that stays together."

That, of course, is the hard part. "It takes time," David Lloyd, the England coach, said. "The challenge for us is to come up with a formula that gives Mike something to work with to control the game and take wickets. We've got to give as much support to the captain as we can. The way he's played and handled himself in a difficult Test was a monumental effort, but we've lost. I just feel we've let him down a bit."

Wasim Akram, the Pakistan captain, suggested England could have helped their cause by keeping faith with Andrew Caddick. "We were very relieved when we heard he was dropped," he said. "He was the only bowler to cause us any difficulty at Headingley." Wasim also questioned the wisdom of dropping John Crawley and Nasser Hussain for the one-day internationals to be played this week.

Atherton said that having to tell members of the Test team that they were out of the Texaco Trophy squad and then the disciplining of Chris Lewis had added to his cares during the last two days. However, he still took what he reckoned was his share of the blame for the defeat, citing his own dismissal to Mushtaq Ahmed as one of a couple of "soft" ones in England's second-innings collapse.

Atherton nobly suggested that dealing with Pakistan's new-ball attack was easier than coming in and having to face bowlers, particularly Mushtaq, who were into their rhythm.

"We should have scored more runs in the first innings," Lloyd said. "We would have fancied our chances to bat through the last day, but we didn't play well enough to do that."

Atherton was asked whether events had lessened his enthusiasm for Test cricket. "I've got plenty of enthusiasm, thanks very much," he replied. "I've played for a fair while, quite a while as captain. I like to think I'm an England player through and through, and I'll always give of my best."

Any thoughts of giving up the captaincy? "Not at the present time," he said, with a hint of equivocation. No wonder Lloyd is concerned about letting Atherton down.

Henry Blofeld, County cricket, page 18