Mike Atherton and his dodgy back are on course to make the English side for the first Test beginning at the Gabba on Friday. The outcome of the opener's encounters with the Australia pace bowler Glenn McGrath is viewed as one of the key factors in the Ashes series.
Doubts had arisen about Atherton's fitness when the back trouble that caused him to break a sequence of 62 successive Tests at the end of the summer manifested itself at the start of this tour. Graeme Hick was due to join the squad today as cover.
But yesterday Wayne Morton, the England physiotherapist, said he was optimistic that Atherton would be fully fit for the Test, after the former captain had seen a specialist who administered an anti-inflammatory injection.
"The injury is to the bottom joint on the right side of his back," Morton said. "Mike had treatment in Adelaide when it first flared up. It included an injection that we hoped would clear things up.
"In Cairns I was slightly disappointed with the way the injury responded, but I am considerably more hopeful now. The treatment here is stage two of the process which began in Adelaide and which we hope will not just alleviate the symptoms but knock the thing on the head permanently."
Atherton had already stressed his own confidence that he would be fit, although he has played many times when in discomfort. Now that he is no longer captain, with the extra commitment that involved, he will be keen to establish that there is no risk of the injury cropping up during the game before being satisfied he can play.
He took no active part in training at the Gabba yesterday evening, but was due to have a full net and fielding practice earlier this morning.
John Crawley was able to train despite the superficial cuts and bruises to his face sustained by what Morton called the "shoeing" he received while walking back to his hotel in Cairns on Sunday night.
Crawley, who was on his own, was set upon in an apparently indiscriminate and unprovoked attack and knocked unconscious. Graham Gooch, the tour manager, confirmed yesterday that although he had received a call from the Cairns police, Crawley wished to forget the incident and concentrate on cricket. The management and the police respected that wish and no contact had been made with Lord's regarding the incident, said Gooch.
The latest addition to the injury-list is Morton, who slipped while "mucking about" and dislocated his right shoulder. On the last tour here Dave Roberts, the physio then, broke a finger in fielding practice, needed hospital treatment and had to be substituted for a day, during which time Alec Stewart also broke a finger. There is no call yet for the A-team physio Dean Conway to fly out as cover. Finley Brooker and Wendell Bossenger led a defiant display by Griqualand West as they made West Indies settle for a draw in the opening first-class match of their South Africa tour. Brooker hit 111, his maiden first-class century, as the hosts scored 435 for nine in their second innings. They started the final day in Kimberley on 123 for five, still needing 72 to avoid an innings defeat.
Tour Match
Griqualand West V West Indies
Griqualand West: First innings 271 (PH Barnard 58, FC Brooker 46, MV Dillon 4/70)
West Indies: First innings 466 (BC Lara 101, S Chanderpaul 42, D Ganga 50, CL Hooper 109, RD Jacobs 40, MV Dillon 44, GJ Kruis 3/113, PL Symcox 3/102, AJ Swanepoel 3/101).
Griqualand West - second innings J Arthur run out (Williams) - 46 M Gidley c Wallace b Hooper - 4 L Bosman c Williams b Dillon - 8 P Barnard st Jacobs b Chanderpaul - 76 W Dry c Lara b Chanderpaul - 4 A Botha c Lara b Rose - 5 F Brooker run out (Williams) - 111 P Symcox lbw b Hooper - 50 W Bossenger c Wallace b Rose - 102 G Kruis not out - 12 A Swanepoel not out - 0 Extras (b4, lb4, nb8) - 17 - Total (9 wkts, 136.4 overs) - 435
Fall Of Wkts: 1-17, 2-46, 3-79, 4-86, 5-99, 6-193, 7-258, 8-406, 9-435.
Bowling: Rose 25.4-6-85-2 (8nb), Dillon 307-90-1 (1nb), Hooper 32-10-63-2, Chanderpaul 32-5-126-2, Ganga 13-4-45-0, Lara 1-0-8-0, Lambert 3-0-10-0
Match drawn.
