Cricket: England's search for right formula

By Derek Pringle in Port of Spain

TWO heavy defeats over the lost weekend here, and a narrower one in Barbados, have inevitably thrown up doubts over England's new-look one- day side. Success in Sharjah may have been deserved, but here in the Caribbean the performances have been anything but assured. With the World Cup due in 1999, murmurs of rethinks and revamps are already beginning to circulate.

In some ways the one-day series here has echoed the Test series that preceded it, with England beginning strongly before fading away. On both occasions, the West Indies appeared to learn their lessons quicker than the visitors, whose regimented approach appears to be far more easily countered than that of those of a more unpredictable nature.

Needless to say, Adam Hollioake, captain of England's one-day team for the last eight internationals, has no doubt about the route England must take over the next 13 months.

Speaking after England had lost the Cable & Wireless one-day series 3- 1, Hollioake was adamant that the panic button must not be hit.

"It's not a worrying trend," he said. "We've just lost two games in two days, that's all. Trends are when something happens all the time. I'd be disappointed if the whole thing was suddenly torn up."

If the fighting talk is typical of Hollioake's style, he is clearly oblivious to England's appalling record abroad, a consistent trend now close to becoming universal law.

But if that malaise had been apparently addressed by identifying and picking seven or eight mobile "bits-and-pieces cricketers'', surely the odd specialist, particularly amongst the bowlers, would have been a handy acquisition as well. After all, it was Nixon McLean and Merv Dillon, two pedigree fast bowlers, who did the damage on Sunday.

"The balance is right, the West Indies have proved that. Brian Lara has gone the same way as us by picking batsmen who can bowl. He's copied our ideas. It's just that they have done it better than us over the last three games. Although I maintain that the defeat in Barbados was a game that could have gone either way."

It's an interesting tack. If Hollioake's experience out here has taught him anything, it is surely that England's bowlers need decent totals or slow, low bouncing pitches like those in Sharjah to be effective. Slow asphyxiation may work when you have runs to play with, but when there is a little spice in the pitch you need people who can force the issue by taking wickets.

Dougie Brown is a persevering level-headed cricketer, but there is not an opening batsman around who would not rather face him than Dillon or Curtly Ambrose on a pitch with some bounce in it.

England may claim to be happy with their herd of medium pacers, but the inclusion of Angus Fraser, discarded for three years, suggests otherwise and Darren Gough's absence here was sorely missed.

Having played in a few successful England one-day sides myself, there are signs that Hollioake's squad are still prey to the weaknesses of old: namely the inability to think on their feet and improvise effectively once plans A and B have been sabotaged.

It is probably no coincidence that England have been beaten in every World Cup final they have participated in, always by sides not adhering to strict formulas.

It is an observation Hollioake agrees with to a point. "We must be more adaptable, but not necessarily with our players. It's more the ability to respond quickly to different conditions, as well as the changing match situation, that we need to improve on."

After the romping success of Sharjah, Hollioake appears genuinely nonplussed by England's sudden loss of form. For once, though, there are no claims of fatigue, or excuses for being under prepared. In fact, in a throw back to the days when Ted Dexter was chairman of selectors, the moon has even been blamed, though it was surely an attempt by Hollioake at some post- modern humour, rather than a bona fide explanation of events out in the middle.

"The pride is still there - we just haven't played well. The fundamentals have been flawed. You can't peak when that happens. There are people we'd have liked to have here. Ashley Giles would have played as a second spinner in St Vincent, and we've missed Graham Thorpe in the middle order."

For Hollioake, the plaudits heaped upon him after his early successes before Christmas must seem like a distant memory. All of a sudden he probably understands why his predecessor wore an almost permanent scowl of displeasure.

"It's a test of character, no question," Hollioake said of the captain's dilemma. "It's easy to skipper a side when you are winning, anyone can do that. But when you lose you can either hide or you can take it on the chest. I can tell you that it will be the latter and that the fight certainly hasn't gone out of us."

Fourth one-day international scoreboard

England won toss

ENGLAND

N V Knight c Jacobs b Dillon 3

(27 min, 17 balls

A J Stewart c Lara b McLean 1

(9 min, 4 balls

B C Hollioake c Jacobs b McLean 2

(3 min, 4 balls)

G A Hick b McLean 22

(27 min, 23 balls, 2 fours)

*A J Hollioake c Hooper b Dillon 23

(68 min, 39 balls, 2 fours)

R C Russell b Dillon 21

(62 min, 39 balls, 2 fours)

M A Ealham st Jacobs b Hooper 17

(54 min, 45 balls)

D R Brown c Jacobs b Lewis 19

(35 min, 35 balls, 1 four)

M V Fleming b Simmons 7

(25 min, 21 balls)

R D B Croft c Jacobs b Simmons 12

(39 min, 37 balls)

A R C Fraser not out 12

(24 min, 29 balls, 1 four)

Extras (lb2,w8) 10

Total (191 min, 48.5 overs) 149

Fall: 1-7 (Stewart), 2-9 (B Hollioake), 3-17 (Knight), 4-33 (Hick), 5- 79 (A Hollioake), 6-83 (Russell), 7-115 (Brown), 8-120 (Ealham), 9-126 (Fleming), 10-149 (Croft).

Bowling: McLean 10-1-44-3 (one spell), Dillon 10-0-32-3 (w3) (7-0-20- 1 3-0-12-2), Hooper 10-1-24-1 (2-0-7-0 8-1-17-1), Simmons 9.5-0-26-2 (w2) (5-0-15-04.5-0-11-2), Lewis9-1-21-1 (5-0-9-1 4-1-12-0).

Progress: 50 in 63 min, 80 balls. 100 in 126 min, 164 balls.

WEST INDIES

C B Lambert c Ealham b Croft 52

(68 min, 62 balls, 6 fours)

P A Wallace b Fraser 4

(22 min, 9 balls)

S C Williams c Knight b Ealham 19

(81 min, 41 balls, 3 fours)

P V Simmons lbw b Croft 1

(10 min, 4 balls)

*B C Lara b A Hollioake 51

(75 min, 64 balls, 7 fours)

C L Hooper c Fraser b Fleming 15

(35 min, 23 balls, 1 four)

R D Jacobs not out 0

(24 min, 14 balls)

K L T Arthurton not out 3

(10 min, 11 balls)

Extras (lb2,w1,nb2) 5

Total (for 6, 166 min, 37.4 overs) 150

Fall: 1-18 (Wallace), 2-66 (Lambert), 3-67 (Simmons), 4-104 (Williams), 5-137 (Hooper), 6-145 (Lara).

Did not bat: R N Lewis, N A M McLean, M V Dillon.

Bowling: Fraser 6-0-27-1 (nb1), Brown 4-0-20-0, Croft 9-2-41-2, B Hollioake 4-0-18-0 (nb1), Ealham 4-0-19-1, Fleming 5.4-1-11-1 (w1), A Hollioake 5-0-12-1 (one spell each).

Progress: 50 in 55 min, 77 balls. 100 in 99 min, 132 balls. 150 in 166 min, 228 balls.

Lambert 50: 67 min, 61 balls, 6 fours. Lara 50: 73 min, 61 balls, 7 fours.

West Indies won by four wickets.

Umpires: S A Bucknor and B Doctrove.

TV Replay Umpire: G T Brown.

Match Referee: R S Madugalle.

Man of the match: B C Lara.

Adjudicator: Lance John.