But while beating Australia in thrilling fashion at The Oval was undoubtedly a boon the real reason

But while beating Australia in thrilling fashion at The Oval was undoubtedly a boon the real reason Atherton wanted to remain as captain was to lead an England side to triumph in the Caribbean.Indeed, until he wins a five-match series against the big three (Australia, the West Indies and Pakistan) he knows his will be a career unfulfilled.He also knows, as his predecessor Gooch did, that you need disciplined and strong-willed cricketers to combat the mercurial brilliance of a team, which if ridden with inconsistency, can still produce match-turning performances with both bat and ball.Fortunately, Gooch is now on hand as a selector and his voice, along with that of Atherton, is likely to be the dominant one shaping this winter's touring party.With 16 places to fill, most of the discussion will probably centre around the early-order batting. It may not please the traditionalists, but in some ways it is more important for the popularity of the game in this country that England win the World Cup rather than a hard-fought Test series abroad.For most, however, winning in the West Indies is only second to taking the Ashes for an England captain and his team. Instead, while Adam Hollioake leads an athletic and versatile side, in what amounts to early preparation for the 1999 World Cup, England's Test captain will be spending his time in the nets with Gooch, honing both his technique and mindset after a mediocre summer.Hollioake's challenge will be to turn around England's miserable one- day record abroad - currently three wins against 15 defeats in the last two years. It will not be easy against Pakistan, India and the West Indies. But, with hungry players like the two Browns, Alistair and Dougie, as well as the younger Hollioake, Ben, to complement Alec Stewart, Graeme Hick and Mark Ealham, England should provide a force flexible and energetic enough to be reckoned with. During the 1980s, expectations of an England success were virtually non-existent, a fate that only changed seven years ago when Graham Gooch's inexperienced team came a downpour away from overturning accepted orthodoxy - that of West Indian invincibility - by winning a Test series in the Caribbean. So far such a victory has eluded all but Australia, who won there two years ago, a situation that this winter's touring team - selected tonight and announced from Lord's at 10am tomorrow, along with the one-day squad for Sharjah and the England A team - will be hoping to emulate early next year.Before that England play in a one-day tournament in Sharjah without Michael Atherton.

With a fiery battery of fast bowlers, and pitches to match, touring the West Indies was a test that often went beyond mere sport. Essex won at 5.19pm.Prichard's 50: 55 min, 40 balls, 7 fours.S G Law's 50: 68 min, 39 balls, 7 fours.Bowling: Welch 5-0-34-0 (2-0-20-0, 3-0-14-0); Brown 4-0-29-0 (w3) (2- 0-14-0, 2-0-15-0); Small 7-0-43-0 (4-0-29-0, 3-0-14-0; Donald 6-0-36-1; Giles 4-1-20-0; Penney 0.3-0-4-0 (one spell each).Man of the match: S G LawUmpires: M J Kitchen and P Willey.TV Replay Umpire: J H Hampshire.. It was not so long ago that selecting a team for the West Indies involved little more than picking the pluckiest players, arming them with chest guards and medical insurance, and wishing them good luck. 150: 215 min, 337 balls.ESSEX*P J Prichard lbw b Donald 57(60 min, 45 balls, 7 fours, 1 six)S G Law not out 80(109 min, 71 balls, 10 fours, 1 six)N Hussain not out 25(48 min, 43 balls, 4 fours, 1 six)Extras (b1, lb4, w4) 9Total (for 1, 109 min, 26.3 overs) 171Fall: 1-109 (Prichard).Did not bat: R C Irani, A P Grayson, D D J Robinson, D R Law, R J Rollins, A P Cowan, M C Ilott, P M Such.Progress: 50: 25 min, 31 balls 100: 57 min, 78 balls 150: 99 min, 142 balls Tea: 152 for 1 (S G Law 65, Hussain 25) 25 overs.

With the final played so late in the season this may never be quite possible but, if the NatWest Trophy was cut to 50 overs a side, which would save an hour and a half, the final could start at 11.30 when the side bowling first would not receive such a decisive advantage.This is one solution. The other would be for those who schedule the fixtures each year to arrange for this final to be played at least a week earlier or maybe even on the Saturday between the fifth and six Test matches.This way, it could be kept as a 60-over competition although it would not, of course, allow the NatWest final to come as the big end-of-season jamboree.My own feelings, for what they are worth, is that the first of these two suggestions would be the best solution and the sponsors would then have to look for another way of singling their competition out.NatWest Trophy final scoreboardEssex won tossWARWICKSHIREN V Knight lbw b Cowan 0(2 min, 3 balls)*N M K Smith c S Law b Cowan 5(26 min, 18 balls, 1 four)D L Hemp run out (Grayson) 21(85 min, 68 balls, 3 fours)D P Ostler c D Law b Irani 34(127 min, 108 balls, 3 fours)T L Penney c Rollins b Cowan 5(45 min, 35 balls)D R Brown c D Law b Ilott 37(85 min, 65 balls, 1 four)G Welch c and b Such 2(12 min, 12 balls)A F Giles run out (Grayson-Rollins) 21(43 min, 28 balls, 2 fours)K J Piper not out 15(22 min, 17 balls, 1 four)A A Donald not out 3(12 min, 7 balls)Extras (b5, lb15, w5, nb2) 27Total (for 8, 234 min, 60 overs) 170Fall: 1-1 (Knight), 2-12 (Smith), 3-45 (Hemp), 4-75 (Penney), 5-90 (Ostler), 6-96 (Welch), 7-147 (Giles), 8-156 (Brown).Did not bat: G C Small.Bowling: Cowan 12-3-29-3 (w2) (7-2-13-2, 3-1-4-1, 2-0-12-0); Ilott 12- 3-29-1 (w2) (7-3-7-0, 2-0-7-0, 1-0-8-0, 2-0-7-1); Irani 12-4-22-1 (nb1) (9-3-15-0, 3-1-7-1); S Law 12-4-38-0 (w1) (7-4-19-0, 5-0-19-0); Such 12- 1-32-1 (10-1-25-1, 2-0-7-0).Progress: 50: 98 min, 148 balls Lunch: 75 for 4 (Ostler 28, Brown 0), 35 overs 100: 174 min, 273 balls. It was a match which was won by the toss, which is a farce on such an important occasion.In ideal circumstances, one would like to see a pitch for a one-day showpiece final which is the same for both sides - and for any other limited-over match as well. Anyone who has a lawn to mow will know how heavy the dew is at half past ten at this time of the year.It is this that makes batting such a problem in the morning, especially in the first hour of the day and if it is a cloudy morning too.

The result is that yet again we have had to suffer a poor final which was over far too early. At this point it was more or less identical, but then an extraordinarily inept batting display by Essex caused them to be bowled out for 57 even though the sun had largely taken away the surface moisture.This situation is not the fault of the head groundsman, Mick Hunt, but of the early starting time of 10.30 so late in the season when the summer is already giving way to autumn. If the Essex new-ball bowlers had been more accurate in the first hour yesterday Warwickshire would have been hard pressed to reach 120. It was different in last year's final, when Essex put Lancashire into bat and bowled them out for 187. Having torn a rib muscle in the semi-final three and a half weeks ago, Irani was given little chance of being fit. Undeterred, he hauled himself twice weekly to Munich to see a specialist who has treated, among others, Jose Maria Olazabal and Jurgen Klinsmann. It was a gamble that paid off, a gutsy effort with which to cap Essex's return to the big time..

It may be the desire of the sponsors to keep the NatWest Trophy as a 60-over competition in order to market it as something different from the other competitions, but the evidence of recent finals, including this one, is against them and suggests they must find some other way. Each year, at the start, there is too much moisture in the pitch which gives the side bowling first an unfair advantage. It was a journey he did not survive as Paul Grayson's underarm throw from close range found timber. Later, he sent in an inch- perfect return coming in from the boundary at square leg to run out Ashley Giles as he dawdled taking a second run.Realising the enormity of his error, Ostler settled down to play the anchor, a role he then handed to Dougie Brown (37) after skying Ronnie Irani to Danny Law at midwicket for 34.In many ways Irani's return of 1 for 22 from his 12 overs epitomised the Essex effort. His ability to both swing the ball and get bounce is a handy asset to have and his performance here may have convinced the three wise men that he deserves his chance to go on England's tour of the West Indies next January.If the capricious conditions made batting something of a lottery though - far more balls passed the bat's edge than hit the middle - the demise of David Hemp, Warwickshire's star batsman of the previous two rounds, was nothing short of doltish.Having stroked his way to 21, Hemp found himself being called through for a quick but entirely fictitious single to short extra cover by his partner, Dominic Ostler. Neil Smith, the Warwickshire captain and a rustic version of Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya, was rendered almost strokeless for nearly seven overs before his patience got the better of him and he edged an outswinger from Ashley Cowans to the wicketkeeper.Cowans, a tall 22-year-old opening bowler, kept a full length and was rewarded with the impressive figures of 3 for 29. His six overs cost 36 runs and his only consolation was the wicket of Prichard, lbw to one that nipped back sharply to the right-hander.That success apart the Midlanders rarely looked like making a game of it, although had three difficult half-chances not gone to ground they might have forced Essex to abandon their gung-ho approach.Indeed, it was Warwickshire, consigned to bat first, who were forced to change their normally aggressive approach, particularly after Nick Knight was out lbw, padding up to the third ball of the match.With the ball moving extravagantly under leaden skies few dared to attempt the power hitting of their earlier games.