Date-stamped : 31 Aug96 - 06:34 England recovery on the right track By Christopher Martin-Jenkins Bowling deficiencies were cruelly exposed SMALL mercies being better than none, English cricket will take some comfort if Pakistan are beaten again in one or both of the remaining Texaco Trophy matches, at Edgbaston today and Trent Bridge tomorrow. Both games are sold out and the weather forecast is optimistic, despite heavy rain for much of yesterday in Birm- ingham. There is reason to feel better, not only about the improved per- formance of the home team at Old Trafford on Thursday, but also at their overall record against Pakistan in this form of the game: England have now won 14 of their 18 one-day internationals in this country and 24 of the 38 such games overall. After that peculiar-looking pitch at Old Trafford and the prob- lems with the Edgbaston square in the last two Tests, Warwickshire`s chief executive, Dennis Amiss, was crossing his fingers yesterday as he looked out at a soaked ground, deli- berately unprotected by the `Brumbrella,` and predicted that a firm, lightly-grassed pitch should have plenty of runs. This is the `old` Test pitch, on which the West Indies fast bowlers wrought such havoc in 1995 when England were bowled out for 89 in 30 overs in their second innings. "For the time being we`re aiming to produce batting pitches rath- er than the harder, faster tracks - the `good cricket wickets` we had been seeking. We`re rolling less, letting more natural mois- ture get to the turf and experimenting with different grasses for reseeding," Amiss said. "We`re employing Ron Allsopp [the out- standing Trent Bridge groundsman, who retired last year] as a part-time consultant to help Steve Rouse, who works tremendously hard and deserves success." "My fingers were so cold that I hardly tried to spin the ball in my first five overs," said the little wizard, who took 17 wickets in the Tests but none for 54 in Manchester. Edgbaston`s appearance, even in yesterday`s rain, was a good deal more pleasing to the eye than Old Trafford`s. England read the conditions better in Manchester and bowled with a discipline which had been lacking in the three Test matches. They will not want too warm a day today, judging from Mushtaq Ahmed`s re- marks which followed Pakistan`s five-wicket defeat on Thursday. "My fingers were so cold that I hardly tried to spin the ball in my first five overs," said the little wizard, who took 17 wickets in the Tests but none for 54 in Manchester. It made one wonder what might have transpired this summer if Pakistan and not India had been the first to tour. Might England, bowling with a spring- time zest and catching every edge, have caught Pakistan cold, as they did the Indians, on that unreliable Edgbaston pitch in early June? Doubts nag below the surface, however, especially the painful truth that five Test series in succession have been won by Pakis- tan. To claim the one-day trophy now would be a little like win- ning the lottery the day after hearing that you have a terminal illness. It would be more encouraging, perhaps, if these games could be seen as part of a progression towards the major objective of beating Australia next season. Leaving out Nasser Hussain and John Crawley just when they were successfully back in the fold was hardly a move in that direction and there is no indication yet of finding bowlers to take 20 wickets in Tests or an all- rounder other than Alec Stewart to balance the side. Today, tomorrow, or perhaps on both days, Adam Hollioake will be the third new all-rounder to be given a chance by this season`s England selection panel. To Hollioake, Ronnie Irani and Mark Eal- ham you could, at a pinch, add the names of Graeme Hick, Chris Lewis, Phil DeFreitas, Mike Watkinson and Craig White as crick- eters with pretensions to bat and bowl well enough to justify selection for their country in either role: all of them have played in the last year. White`s recent batting form for Yorkshire has brought him back into contention for another winter tour and by catching the eye this weekend Hollioake could press his claim for the senior tour to Zimbabwe and New Zealand rather than the A tour to Australia, which he is more likely to make. Source:: Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.uk) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)