Cricket: One-day results vital to England cause: West Indies threaten to take psychological strangehold as limited-overs series concludes

THE enduring appeal of limited- overs cricket means that you can name your price for a ticket to both of this weekend's matches between the West Indies and England at the Queen's Park Oval here, although anyone fancying a bet on England to win either of them could probably name their price as well.

Even in the who-does-it-on-the- day nature of these contests, England's performance in the third one- day international in St Vincent was so paralysingly inept that a ground which very nearly perforated the eardrums while the West Indies were batting could almost have been hosting a meeting of the noise abatement society when England were batting.

Outside of World Cups, and matches between India and Pakistan, the 888 one-day internationals that have been staged since 1971 have not had much of an effect on suicide rates, but such was the

nature of England's defeat on Wednesday that in the context of this tour, their next two results have an importance over and above the usual transient pleasure of winning.

The most crucial element will be to lift the morale of the side at a time when their attack seems barely capable of bowling a hoop downhill. Any more of the same this weekend and the West Indian batsmen, having made their customary cold start in the first one-dayer in Barbados, will gain a psychological stranglehold that England would find

almost impossible to break.

Not everyone appears to think they have it in them, judging by a conversation with the former West Indian fast bowler, Andy Roberts, now a Test selector, in the hotel

yesterday. 'Haven't you got any other bowlers in England?' 'Well, yes, one or two.' 'Are these the best ones available?' 'Well, you might get a few mild arguments, but on the whole, just about, yes.' 'Mmm.'

Roberts, whose picture would hang in any Hall of Fame, said: 'When West Indians play in county cricket, they learn. I'm not too sure the same applies to a lot of English professionals.' His point is that, in international cricket, merely operating on auto-pilot is not enough.

Desmond Haynes, for example, is well aware that his Middlesex team- mates, Angus Fraser and Philip Tufnell, both have temperaments that do not stand up well to rough treatment, and the way he launched into both of them on Wednesday was almost certainly premeditated.

In the same way, the West Indian fast bowlers have learned from previous encounters with Robin Smith, and are giving him little of the short of a length, wide, 90mph stuff that Smith largely destroys.

It is important for England to realise that the opposition's own morale can be punctured if they can get their act together. The West Indies is not a single country, but a collection of separate islands, with different cultures, currencies, governments, rivalries and jealousies, and the local newspaper here yesterday launched a bitter attack on the Caribbean's most respected cricket journalist, Tony Cozier, for daring to suggest that Trinidad's Phil Simmons might not be selected for the second Test.

Media criticism has also got to one of Wednesday's umpires. Lloyd Barker, who successfully sued the BBC commentator Christopher

Martin-Jenkins for remarks made when he took an interminable time to give out Rob Bailey during the 1990 Test in Barbados, says he is thinking about packing in the job

after Geoff Boycott informed Sky TV viewers on Wednesday that Barker's decision to give out Alec Stewart caught behind had been somewhat elongated. Barker may be overreacting, but if he thinks it is a little rich for someone like Boycott to criticise anyone for taking his time during a game of cricket, he should not be without sympathy. Barker said that the reason for the was because the West Indies did not appeal immediately for a catch behind.

Positive Adams, page 25

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