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Butcher, Hussain dig in

By Ted Corbett

PORT OF SPAIN, MARCH 20. When Sir Donald Bradman laid it down that "you must play your best batsman at No.3," it is unlikely that he was thinking of either Mark Butcher or Nasser Hussain. (In fact, if some rumours are true The Don had very little time for any batsmen save for one D.G. Bradman until he got a glimpse of Sachin and his wife told him that young Tendulkar was so like her husband 60 years earlier).

But on Saturday, as the tropical showers hammered down on the capital of Trinidad during the second day of the second Test between West Indies and England, they were both fitting to perfection the classic design for a No. 3 as portrayed by another tough Australian captain, Ian Chappell.

Butcher, small, neat and decisive holds the place just after moving into fifth spot among all the distinguished England Test batsman who have padded up at the same time as the openers for the last 127 years. When he went to the wicket England had just lost its captain Michael Vaughan in the first over as it set off to head the West Indies total of 208 on a pitch that might have been at its best on the first day. Although he does not give the obvious signs of loving a fight, as Hussain does, Butcher allows little to daunt him. He has played 37 consecutive Tests since Geoff Boycott, in his role as consultant to the selectors, nudged him back into the team during an injury crisis in the 2001 Ashes series when he gave England its only victory almost single-handed with 173 at Headingley.

Before this Test he had 2356 runs batting at No.3, the fifth highest aggregate behind such obviously greater batsmen as Walter Hammond (3440), Ted Dexter (2798), Ken Barrington (2626) and David Gower (2619).

His stickability was under severe trial throughout his two hour innings split in half by stormy weather and almost unhinged on half a dozen occasions by West Indian pacemen convinced they could make up the ground lost by their batsmen. He had been in only three overs when Marcus Trescothick departed after mistiming a hook in his desire to make his first worthwhile runs of the tour but I guess that wicket meant nothing to him.

Hussain began his innings with 2352 runs at No.3 but as he is more likely to move down - or even out of the side altogether than go back to No.3 - Butcher can only strengthen his claim to fifth spot. Nevertheless the determination quotient produced by the pair must be beyond measuring. What Hussain lacks in elegance he more than makes up for in his refusal to admit that he ever made a mistake; watch him hang around if his middle stump is uprooted.

Together they dug in, accepted the raps on the thigh, the gloves, the pads and the acute pain that follows concerted, prolonged appealing. Hussain proved the luckier. He tipped a pull just above square leg; survived lbw appeals from Corry Collymore's first two balls and some of his defensive shots were so crablike that you thought he should be fishing not batting.

But in 16 overs they pushed the score to 54 for two at the close giving England the hope that it and Graham Thorpe might create a platform from which the mighty Andrew Flintoff might find an innings lead.

Any one of half a dozen old time West Indies bowlers might have pushed England further towards defeat but the game is far from finished. Cloud, a dodgy pitch and the stigma left by the 47 all out will bring it further success. Pedro Collins, on a return trip from the wilderness, had an impressive nine over spell for 15 runs and the enthusiasm of Tino Best ought to be worth a wicket a spell.

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