Atherton feeds off adversity

Stephen Brenkley watches England's opening batsmen build a solid platform

For Michael Atherton, the game was rarely easy yesterday. He was beaten regularly early on and intermittently later; often his timing was not impeccable; and he was dropped before the long, arduous task of ensuring England's safety had truly begun.

Over six dedicated hours, the England captain mostly looked uncomfortable, but typically he stuck at it, adhering rigidly to the job in hand, one for which he was obviously born: batting and batting for England, and if necessary batting some more. He later denied suggestions of a bad run of form. "One poor Test match at Lord's," he said, "that's all. I had a good match at Edgbaston. Where all this talk of poor form has come from, I don't know." The break from cricket immediately before this Test had, he said, done him the world of good. Mental freshness was important. "To go out and play at your best, you have got to be right in your mind. I think I know what's best for me. It's not something we intend to abuse. Batsmen need time in the middle."

The bald figures show, however, that since his epic 185 in Johannesburg last winter, which secured his place in that section of the game's history which is allotted to miracles, times have been lean. Such a judgement is invariably relative in the case of a player of Atherton's pedigree, but 249 runs in nine visits to the crease suggests that form has not constantly accompanied him.

They should not have worried. Atherton, as he has done so frequently, absorbed all his difficulties. It must have entered Atherton's mind at some point in the past two days that he might not have had to bat England out of this particular hole had he not dropped Sachin Tendulkar before the great Indian batsman had scored. Nobody would suggest that the debt was as great as the 177 runs Tendulkar eventually acquired, but Atherton's sense of purpose is such he would not be prepared to give them the chance.

On Friday night he edged perilously close to slip and yesterday, when he was 34 and England were but 62, the ball flew off the bat's shoulder - the excellent Javagal Srinath being responsible - to Mohammad Azharuddin at third slip, where the Indian captain could only parry the chance above his head.

Atherton had a little walk round, stared into the distance, gave his trademark grimace and went on. The shot which brought him his fifty came off the top edge, but that, at least, briefly transformed him. A pull soon afterwards was as good as anything all day. In this vibrant new England establishment, it may be too much to say that when Atherton goes England fold, but you would be foolish to risk it when you need 322 to save the follow-on.

Atherton has 10 Test hundreds from 109 innings - this was only the second century by an England batsman at Trent Bridge, following that of Peter May - and he is only two centuries behind his peculiarly high number of ducks. The stand of 130 with Alec Stewart, only their third above a century in 32 opening partnerships, provided England with a solid platform.

It allowed Nasser Hussain to come in and show a flat pitch in its true light. Here was a man in majestic form, but it was the fellow at the other end who made such a performance possible. England are now talking of winning. As Atherton said, it is all in the mind, and who knows how India's psyche has been affected.