Atherton, England ready for battle

A first Test in Jamaica always brings a hint of tension to the air. But for the past two days in Kingston the edginess has been more apparent than normal as the England team complete their preparations.

Will he be taking part or not? Well, if the arrival on the scene of Geoff Boycott has superseded news of the state of the Test pitch, or the ongoing saga of Jack Russell's titfer (about to play his 50th Test, he is still trying to get dispensation to wear his battered old sun hat rather than team issue), then in its way it has served to divert a modicum of attention from the England team, who completed their preparations yesterday and barring an unanticipated adverse reaction in Adam Hollioake's right shoulder this morning can be expected to name the same team that played in the opening match of the tour in Montego Bay when Mike Atherton walks out to toss with Brian Lara.

Apart from Hollioake's injury last week and the interference of El Nino in the pre-tour warm up in Antigua, the England preparations have gone as smoothly as can have been expected. Both matches - the one played on a dreadful surface, and the other on a belter - more than served their purpose.

Against Jamaica in Montego Bay, conditions were so bad that had the top fast bowlers been playing, then life and limb might have been threatened. Instead, there was some battling batting and clinically efficient bowling. Against the tougher opposition provided by West Indies A, batsmen, notably Nasser Hussain, spent good time in the middle. The bowlers, particularly a young rookie like Ashley Cowan as well as a more experienced man such as Andy Caddick, discovered, or was reminded of precisely what standards are required of an international bowler in stifling heat against good players.

This is Atherton's second tour here, and he knows the value both of experience and of the need to get the series off to a good start. Eight years ago - when Atherton was not in the touring party, but Alec Stewart, Russell, Hussain and Angus Fraser were - England got off to an unexpected flier and had it not been for subsequent ill-luck with injury, the weather and some shady delaying tactics might well have carried off the series.

Four years ago, on the other hand, with a largely inexperienced outfit, England had the advantage of a morale-boosting century opening partnership snatched away and lost by eight wickets. To win the series - a tough prospect, make no mistake - England must adopt the strategy of the Australians here which, in a nutshell, was to keep West Indies in the field for as long as possible, to deny them the big shots with the bat and finally (and this is where the young Glenn McGrath was magnificent) to knock seven bells out of what can be a dangerous tail. It will require extreme discipline by bowlers and batsmen. The deciding factor though will almost certainly be the 22 yards of rolled clay that passes for the Sabina Park pitch. The time was when the groundsman's final preparation involved damping the surface and spinning the roller so that the pitch took on a mirror finish. But this offering, lurking in wait, is different, and not ready for Test cricket. It looks, and very likely is, corrugated, so that batsmen on both sides can expect uneven bounce from the start, exacerbated as the game goes on and according to the speed of the bowler.

If the pitch has any pace in it, it could get nasty. But there is more: from the top end, a right handed batsman is faced with the disconcerting sight of a crack, shoots of grass protruding, perhaps an eighth to a quarter of an inch wide, running down the pitch on a fast bowlers' length and just outside off-stump. With few other apparent scars, it will look like the Grand Canyon, and be desperately hard not to become a focal point.

Playing each delivery on its merit rather than its potential becomes an absolute priority. While runs will be at a premium so too will be the toss, for if it is difficult at the start, it will not get easier as the game progresses. If the game goes five days, there will be general surprise all round.

The Reggae Boyz evening match against Sweden might provide a counter attraction but if not, a noisy crowd can be expected, not least on the Red Stripe Mound - a special entertainment enclosure started when the Australians visited three years ago - where for £25 per day, punters get free drink, disco music from Leroy Sibbles, Goofy and Red Rat, and a sandy beach and swimming pool beneath the scoreboard (really).

And, best news of all, Carlene, the nightclub dancer with the shimmering outfits, will be there to provide the Jamaican lunch-time alternative to the Band of the Grenadier Guards. Caribbean cricket may have lost its way, but not its sense of humour.