ATHERS TO ASHES AND DUST TO BUST

MIKE Atherton's batting misery dragged on as England's dreams of Caribbean glory disintegrated in the dust of Guyana's treacherous Bourda Oval wicket.

Atherton and his gutsy side were brought to their knees as the jubilant West Indies threatened to inflict fresh humiliation by the end of the second day of the crucial fourth Test in Georgetown.

Atherton, leading England for a record 50th time, failed yet again, leaving the West Indies in total control. The struggling skipper was the first to fall before bad light thankfully ended play two overs early with England 87-6 still 165 runs adrift of the West Indies first innings total of 352 - and more importantly 66 runs away from avoiding the follow on.

Now Atherton has gone 14 Test innings without a half century. Since he made 77 against Australia last summer he has stumbled from one disaster to another.

In his six Test innings in the West Indies Atherton has only been able to muster 95 runs.

Atherton and his team would have known that their chances of saving the match on a crumbling strip were slim to say the least.

From the first over of the day the ball had been going through the top of a dry, fragmented surface and once the West Indies had posted what seems sure to be a match-winning score, England could only look forward to the daunting prospect of blunting Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh.

If ever England had needed a monumental effort from their longest- serving captain it was here but Ambrose, almost inevitably, put paid to those hopes.

In just the fourth over of the innings the big man found a little nip and bounce to catch the edge of Atherton's bat and Brian Lara scooped up the catch at first slip.

Alec Stewart and Mark Butcher saw England through to 26 for one by tea but shortly after the interval recalled paceman Ian Bishop made another crucial breakthrough. This time he trapped Butcher lbw in front for 11 to leave England reeling at 37-2.

Four runs later Stewart went as well, caught low down by keeper David Williams off Walsh for 20.

By now England must have feared the very worst but Nasser Hussain could count himself desperately unlucky to be given out leg before by local umpire Steve Bucknor as Walsh caught him on the hop with a rising delivery that would have surely gone over the stumps.

Dinanath Ramnarine, playing in his first Test, got into the act as he lured Graham Thorpe into an injudicious sweep. The ball seemed to catch Thorpe's glove as it ballooned to keeper David Williams.

Ramnarine's delight was soon doubled as Jack Russell was trapped plum lbw. England were 75-6 and struggling for survival.

By then the events earlier in the day must have seemed light years away. Resuming at 271-3 on the crumbling track, Dean Headley removed Carl Hooper and the out-of-form Williams.

The ever-reliable Angus Fraser got rid of centurion Shivnarine Chanderpaul, caught by Thorpe at first slip, to become the leading wicket taker of all time in the Caribbean.

Chanderpaul's dismissal gave him his 22nd wicket of the series and took him to 49 in his 10 Tests here - one ahead of Pakistan's Imran Khan.

Spinners Croft and Phil Tufnell finished the job with two wickets apiece to mop up the tail but that considerable total was always going to be good enough on a deteriorating pitch.

England coach David Lloyd had confirmed before the start of the innings: "The wicket does look very bad. There are holes in it but we have to try and put that out of our mind.

"Our players must just get on with the job of batting and try not to worry about what the wicket might be doing."

Easier said than done, Bumble. Ambrose and Walsh are a handful on any wicket but as this game goes on they will become increasingly unplayable.

The spinners, too, are sure to thrive on a wicket that was starting to break up even as the first over of the day was suspended for 12 minutes while ground staff feverishly repaired damaged bowler's footholes.

They should have also done a bit more work on the playing surface but by then it was far too late for England.

Atherton will have known that the moment he lost the toss for the first time in the series his troubles were only just beginning - but even he cannot have anticipated England's batting shambles.

SCOREBOARD

FOURTH TEST (Georgetown)

WEST INDIES.- 1st Inns

Campbell c Russell b Headley 10

S Williams c Thorpe b Fraser 13

Lara c Thorpe b Croft 93

Chanderpaul c Thorpe b Fraser 118

Hooper c Hussain b Headley 43

Adams lbw b Tufnell 28

Williams c Croft b Headley 0

Bishop c Butcher b Croft 14

Ambrose c Headley b Tufnell 0

Walsh not out 3

Ramnarine c Russell b Croft 0

Extras 30

Total....................................352

Fall: 1-13, 2-38, 3-197, 4-295, 5-316, 6-320, 7-347, 8-349, 9- 352.

Bowling: Headley 31-7-90-3 (nb-6), Fraser 33-8-77-2 (nb4), Butcher 3- 0-15-0, Croft 36.1-9-89-3 (nb2), Tufnell 25-10-63-2.

ENGLAND.- 1st Inns

Atherton c Lara b Ambrose 0

Stewart c D Williams b Walsh 20

Butcher lbw b Bishop 11

Hussain lbw Walsh 11

Thorpe c D Williams b Ramnarine 10

Ramprakash not out 13

Russell lbw Ramnarine 0

Croft not out 5

Extras 17

Total (6 wkts)........................87

Fall: 1-1, 2-37, 3-41, 4-65, 5-73, 6-75.

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