Odds swing for Cork

ENGLAND are praying that Dominic Cork's love affair with Lord' s will blossom again this week.

The sometime swing bowler and w ould-be all-r ounder seems certain to face Australia in Thursday's Sec ond Test, despite the return of Chris Silverwood among a squad of 14.

Cork has been a disappointment to England for most of the last two months.

He managed only one wicket during the Test defea t by Pakistan at Old Trafford, failed to sparkle at all during the triangular limited- overs tour nament and was an obvious choice for 12th man at Edgbaston a for tnight ago when the selectors decided to open the Ashes series with spinner Ashley Giles in their side.

Cork seems to have temporarily lost the knack of swinging the ball and, without that principle weapon in his armoury, has become an inviting proposition f or batsmen while generally bowling at below 80mph.

But if anywhere is likely to bring out the best in the 29-year old then it is Lord's.

Cork did okay at HQ in May, helping England to win the season's first Test by taking three for 41 during Pakistan's second innings.

And it was on the same stage where he played a huge part in reshaping last summer. Figures of seven f or 52 and a crucial, undefeated 33 earned him the man-of- the- match award as the West Indies were beaten by two wickets .

Cork's record includes an even m o re impressi v e indi vidual performance at Lord's. He took se ven wic k -ets in an innings there, also a g ainst the West Indies, on his T est debut, bac k in 1995.

But it is the pr esent that concer ns England as they try to recover fro m their First Test mauling by Australia.

Captain Nasser Hussain and backup seamer Matthe w H o gg ar d have joined pre-Edgbaston casualty Michael V aughan on the injury list. At least Graham Thorpe looks r eady to r etur n and Mark Ramprakash is about to relaunch his inter n a tional car eer after a f alse star t at Birmingham.

The two Surrey batsmen appear to have recovered from calf and hamstring problems respectively, although playing Thorpe at Lord's after more than six weeks out of the game is an obvious gamble

England are left with little choice, how ever.

Stand-in skipper Mike Atherton will need all the experience they can muster, which partly explains their decision to stick by Cork.

Martin Bicknell, who could still swing the ball if he bowled in his sleep, was considered for the umpteenth time, only to be discounted yet again.

England would deny the suggestion but one wonders whether they dare not now pick Bicknell in case he makes them look silly for ignoring his claims so many times before.

Alex Tudor was nearer to selection than his fellow Surrey paceman, only k ept out of the squad because of fears he might not last a five- day match after bowling only 10 overs in 10 days because of a side strain.

That leaves Silverwood to press Cork for a place if , as seems likely, England opt to do without a specialist spinner a t Lord's.

"People immediately thought that because we were looking f or another seamer whoever we picked would play ahead of Dominic," said chair-man of selectors David Graveney.

" That is not necessarily the case.

"Dominic had a tough Nat West Series but you have to look a t his record at Lord's."

Squad: M Atherton (ca pt), M T rescothick, M Butcher, G Thorpe, I Ward, A Stewart, M Ramprakash, U Afzaal, C White, D Cork, A Giles, D Gough, A Caddick, C Silverwood.

ED GIDDINS was bound to be noticed during the Benson and Hedges Cup Final at Lord's.

But the three key wickets that contributed hugely to Surrey's well deserved 47 run success over holders Gloucestershire meant the seamer stood out for something other than his newly bleached blond hairstyle.

Most spectators assumed that game for a laugh, Giddins had decided to turn his brown barnet a whiter shade of pale as par t of some curious ritual to mark Surrey' s big day out.

In f act, Giddins had no choice after losing an argument with team- mate and man of the match Ben Hollioake.

"I had a difference of opinion with Ben a couple of days before the final - and I'm afraid my opinion was wrong," confessed Giddins, whose dismissals of Kim Barnett, Ian Harvey and Matt Windows destroyed Gloucestershire's hopes of challenging Surrey's 244 all out.

"All I can say is tha t I made a state-ment about something that happens when a plane comes into land. Ben disagreed, he was right and the price of me being wrong was to have my hair dyed blond for the final."

Between them, Giddins and Hollioake scuppered Gloucestershire's bid for a fifth consecutive Lord's triumph.

Hollioake scor ed 73 after his side had been struggling on 118 f or fiv w hile Giddins followed up a fine opening burst from new-ball pair Martin Bicknell and Alex Tudor.

The B&H Cup was their sixth piece of silverware in as many summers and they believe a seventh title can be added before this season is over.

Surrey ar e 42 points adrift of leaders Yorkshire in their bid f or a thir consecutive Championship but believelast Saturday's success will give them just the boost they need.

Copyright 2001
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.