A MATCH which had spent much of its time under cloud ended in bright sunshine yesterday evening as a draw, so bringing an end to a sequence of 18 definite results at Lord's.
It was going to be a day which tested England resolve to the limit. With an overnight lead of 136, and the prospect of a damp morning for his bowlers to exploit, Mark Taylor had no hesitation in declaring his first innings closed and letting slip his dogs of war. Without question he and his side expected to win equally, had he been faced by the England side of a few years ago, he might have found them expecting to lose.
England now though are made of different stuff. With the pitch if not perfect then certainly kinder than at any stage in the match, Mike Atherton and Mark Butcher, tentatively at first and then gloriously later, compiled an opening partnership that had wiped off the lead by mid-afternoon.
It was England's first century opening since that between Atherton and Alec Stewart against India at Trent Bridge 10 Test matches ago.
Atherton had made 77 when he trod on his stumps while working Michael Kasprowicz for leg-side runs. However, Atherton has passed 50 on 44 occasions now in Tests and will do so many more times again.
Butcher on the other hand was a young man under intense scrutiny. After yesterday he is heading for another match at Old Trafford. He was tested to the full early on, and Taylor missed him at slip off Reiffel when he had made just two.
However, Butcher's confidence grew visibly, and with it his foot-work and shot selection. So by the time Shane Warne found the perfect spot in the rough created by Glenn McGrath from which to rip a legbreak through his drive, he had hit 14 boundaries in making 87.
A small collapse that saw the back of Stewart and Nasser Hussain was ended by an unbroken fifth wicket stand of 64 between Graham Thorpe (30 not out) and John Crawley (29 not out). A declaration, which finished the game, came at 5.20 p.m., with England 266 for four. The odds at start of play on that particular scenario would have been long.
