Cricket: Such touch adds class to farce: Simon Mann reports at mid-term on England A's testing Australian tutorial

AS ALLAN Border would say, the England A team 'copped some stick' in Adelaide over the last few days. They will be relieved, for the time being, to have escaped to Sydney. It was not that they lost to Australia's weakest state side by seven wickets, it was more the manner of the defeat.

'England A in yawn at the Oval,' was the headline in the city's daily newspaper on Monday morning after their batsmen had taken 76 overs to score 126 runs the previous day.

The cricket had been as bleak as the weather - it was Adelaide's coldest February day since 1954 - and after the match South Australia's captain, Jamie Siddons, reportedly described England's approach as 'ridiculous'.

The England team manager, Norman Gifford, has not found it difficult to keep the defeat in perspective. 'We're out here to learn,' is his catchphrase. He has now added another: 'It's not all doom and gloom, gentlemen'. And he is probably right.

His problem is the absence of international matches after the Australian Cricket Board decided that the state sides were strong enough to take on England's second-string squad. In one sense, it is hard to disagree after watching Hills and Cox put on 202 in Tasmania and McIntyre take a career-best 6 for 42 in Adelaide: but it is an argument that misses the point of A tours.

Evidently, the tour has not been high on the Australian Board's list of priorities. Peter Such is still waiting to learn from the ACB whether his 11 for 144 in the victory over the Australian Cricket Academy will count as a career-best. It would be an injustice for Such if the match is not classified first-class. The find of the tour seems an inappropriate way to describe Essex's shy, intense, unathletic off-spinner but it is accurate.

'He doesn't bat and he doesn't field. So what does he do?' was the uncharitable question posed by the scoreboard operator at the Adelaide Oval. Such gave his answer by taking three wickets in 16 balls on the final afternoon.

He has taken 19 wickets so far and conceded his runs at under two an over. John Emburey was not best pleased when it was suggested last season that Such is the country's leading off-spinner, but the England selectors may confirm it this summer.

Five of his dismissals have been aided by Jack Russell, who is returning to his best form. His record so far reads four stumpings, nine byes, and no missed chances. He can even reveal how many times he has dropped the ball here - eight at the last count - and if you asked him politely he could probably tell you how many runs Richard Blakey scored in India.

But while Russell's ability behind the stumps has rarely been questioned, his batting has, and he admits that his form so far has been 'very average'. 'I've got a game plan and I feel in control,' he said. 'It's just that I'm not getting the big scores.' Apart from centuries from Mark Lathwell and Grahame Lloyd, it is a problem besetting the whole team.