Cricket / Texaco Trophy: England fail to live up to the promise of Hick: Australia shade the one-day verdict with one ball to spare as the final pair are run out of it

Australia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .258-9

England . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .254

(Australia win by four runs)

THE FORM book in one-day cricket is about as reliable as a weather forecast, so when the home team were written off by the bookmakers, and the Met Office decreed that the umbrella capital of England was in for its customary dollop, nothing seemed more certain than the home team winning the first Texaco international in glorious evening sunshine.

However, while we got the sunshine, the result went - just - to Australia, by the nailbiting margin of four runs with just one ball remaining. England's faint consolation was that, in direct compliance with the Test and County Cricket Board's blueprint for the revival of English cricket, they were at least involved in a close shave.

The pivotal moment came when Graeme Hick, whose partnership of 127 with Neil Fairbrother had turned England's desperate start (44 for 3) in their chase for 259 into a viable proposition, had his off stump removed by Paul Reiffel attempting to work the ball away on the leg side. Such is the way of one- day cricket, although Hick's 85 had been made with such a straight bat, it hardly seemed necessary even in the context of this sort of game.

Fairbrother had earlier been beautifully caught by Reiffel, running in from the midwicket boundary, and after Hick's departure, England did not quite have enough batting depth to cope with an asking rate of five runs an over off the last 17.

Graham Thorpe, the Surrey left-hander making his first senior appearance, did well enough to suggest a longish term future, at least in one-day cricket, but, ironically, one of his better strokes probably finished England off. His straight drive was fingertipped on to the bowler's stumps by Steve Waugh, and Chris Lewis, yards out of his ground, was run out.

Thorpe himself chipped a catch to mid-off in the middle of a throttling second spell from Craig McDermott, although England, with the last pair at the wicket, were still in with a faint shout when Merv Hughes ran in to bowl the final two balls with six runs required. Andy Caddick wanted two for his onside clip, Richard Illingworth did not, and if televison replays for run- outs had been in operation here, Illingworth would not have been in the frame even with a wide- angled lens.

Graham Gooch, who looks so gaunt nowadays that, in these sponsor-orientated times, one half suspects a lucrative deal with Ryvita, probably lost a few more pounds in nervous energy yesterday, not least during the first session of play.

The morning was overcast enough to persuade Gooch to insert the opposition, and despite a pitch good enough to back up the groundsman's pre-match assertion that no sort of total would be fireproof, something in excess of 300 was not the sort of total the captain would have had in mind.

However, when England went in for lunch bearing a suspicious resemblance to the bestubbled rabble that ended the winter losing four consecutive one-day internationals in India and Sri Lanka, it was any odds you wanted on an Australian total of monumental proportions.

Australia were 161 for 1 from 36 overs, and Mark Taylor and Mark Waugh had put on 101 for the second wicket without breaking sweat. Taylor, who failed to get a game in this competition on the last tour before going on to score 839 runs in the proper stuff, played the prosaic anchor man, while Waugh responded to his captain's pre- match comment about going in to bat 'half asleep' by playing England's attack with his eyes closed.

However, a post-prandial doze of epic proportions then followed, precipitated by Waugh nodding off when confronted by a Paul Jarvis long hop, which he hoiked straight to Neil Fairbrother at midwicket. It was the start of a period of cricket that made the lunchtime kiddies' exhibition look like a Test match, and the corporate clients would still have been on the strawberry course in the time it took the tourists to dissolve from 168 for 1 to 186 for 5 in seven overs.

Whatever master plan it was that England had hatched over lunch, it could scarcely have been to bowl the rubbish they did for the next half-hour or so. As occasionally happens, however, every time a bad ball came along, the Australians managed to find an even worse shot to get out to. He was not, to his publicly voiced displeasure, on the scorecard, but the Botham ghost hovered again over Australia yesterday.

David Boon, curiously relegated to No 4 in the order, cut a long hop from Richard Illingworth to backward point, and, suitably encouraged, the Worcestershire spinner decided to attempt another to Allan Border, which the Australian captain pulled to Lewis at midwicket. By way of variation, Illingworth slipped in a half-volley to Taylor, which resulted in a top- edged sweep. We will not see a more appalling passage of cricket all summer.

England's early problems with the ball had something to do with picking bowlers - such as Caddick and Paul Jarvis - who try to get people out, a quaint old-fashioned notion that will never catch on when fielders are stationed closer to the crowd than the outside edge.

The only 'proper' wicket all day was the ball from McDermott to Gooch, which lifted and cut away off the seam, and occurred early enough in the innings to travel to a strange fielding position known as second slip. Still, these matches are all about swinging the bat and tight finishes, and this one certainly had that.

OLD TRAFFORD SCOREBOARD

(England won toss)

AUSTRALIA

M L Hayden c Stewart b Lewis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

(61 min, 55 balls, 4 fours)

M A Taylor c Fairbrother b Illingworth. . . . . . .79

(162 min, 126 balls, 6 fours)

M E Waugh c Fairbrother b Jarvis. . . . . . . . . . . . .56

(79 min, 63 balls, 5 fours)

D C Boon c Fairbrother b Illingworth. . . . . . . . . .2

(4 min, 6 balls)

*A R Border c Lewis b Illingworth. . . . . . . . . . . . .4

(20 min, 14 balls)

S R Waugh c and b Lewis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

(42 min, 30 balls, 4 fours)

] I A Healy c Thorpe b Caddick. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

(20 min, 21 balls, 3 fours)

M G Hughes b Lewis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

(23 min, 13 balls, 1 four, 1 six)

P R Reiffel run out (Stewart). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

(0 min, 3 balls)

C J McDermott not out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

(3 min, 2 balls)

T B A May not out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

(1 min, 1 ball)

Extras (b1 lb8 w2 nb4). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Total (for 9, 55 overs, 219 min). . . . . . . . . . . .258

Fall: 1-60 (Hayden); 2-168 (M Waugh); 3-171 (Boon); 4-178 (Taylor); 5-186 (Border); 6-219 (Healy); 7-237 (S Waugh); 8-254 (Reiffel);

9-255 (Hughes).

Bowling Caddick 11-1-50-1 (6-1-26-0 3-0-11- 0 2-0-13-1) (w1 nb1); Pringle 10-3-36-0 (7-3- 11-0 2-0-9-0 1-0-16-0) (nb1); Lewis 11-1-54-3 (6-0-24-1 5-1-30-2) (nb1); Jarvis 11-0-55-1 (5- 0-36-0 6-0-19-1) (nb1); Illingworth 11-0-48-3 (1 spell); Hick 1-0-6-0 (w1).

ENGLAND

*G A Gooch c M Waugh b McDermott. . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

(13 min, 14 balls)

] A J Stewart b Hughes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

(37 min, 20 balls, 2 fours)

R A Smith c and b McDermott. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

(37 min, 26 balls)

G A Hick b Reiffel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85

(144 min, 102 balls, 8 fours, 1 six)

N H Fairbrother c Reiffel b S Waugh. . . . . . . . . .59

(102 min, 89 balls, 5 fours, 1 six)

G P Thorpe c Taylor b McDermott. . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

(65 min, 38 balls, 3 fours)

C C Lewis run out (S Waugh). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

(13 min, 12 balls)

D R Pringle c Taylor b Waugh. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

(11 min, 10 balls, 1 four)

R K Illingworth run out (Healy). . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

(26 min, 14 balls)

P W Jarvis c Reiffel b S Waugh. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

(7 min, 4 balls)

A R Caddick not out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

(6 min, 4 balls)

Extras (lb8 w9 nb2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

Total (239 min, 54.5 overs). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .254

Fall: 1-11 (Gooch); 2-38 (Stewart); 3-48 (Smith), 4-171 (Fairbrother), 5-194 (Hick), 6-211 (Lewis); 7-227 (Pringle); 8-240 (Thorpe); 9-247 (Jarvis).

Bowling: McDermott: 11-2-38-3 (7-2-23-2, 4-0-15-1) (nb2 w3); Hughes 9.5-1-40-1 (6-1- 20-1, 3-0-19-0); May 11-2-40-0 (one spell); Reiffel 11-0-63-1 (4-0-31-0, 7-0-32-1) (nb1); M Waugh 2-0-12-0 (one spell); S Waugh 10-0-53-3 (one spell) (nb1 w3).

Umpires: B J Meyer, D R Shepherd.

Man of the match: C J McDermott.

AUSTRALIA WON BY FOUR RUNS

Bishop's back trouble, page 38

Scoreboard, page 39

(Photograph omitted)