At 21, an age when many an uncapped (and sometimes untalented) youngster is arguing over the colour of his second sponsored car, he was still playing as a professional in the Bolton Cricket Association.Lancashire were aware of him, a 6ft 1in seam bowler who could also strike the ball cleanly and vast distances. But they knew and he knew that he was some way from maturity and he was happy to carry on learning his trade by bowling 25 overs every Saturday afternoon and working out how to winkle out batsmen.A season of Minor Counties cricket with Cheshire helped the learning process, then Lancashire gave him the occasional game as an amateur. He first appeared in 1982, bowling seam up and batting at No 10, but it was the decision to add slow bowling to his repertoire, made in 1986 after lengthy discussions with Jack Bond, the team manager, and Peter Lever, the coach, that was to change his life.He had two built-in advantages, long, concert pianist’s fingers which enabled him to give the ball a genuine grip and his height, which enabled him to make it bounce The rest was up to him. He worked hard at maintaining a good off-stump line, talked to any other slow bowlers up and down the country who would give him the time of day and developed the art of bowling round the wicket which was something that even a craftsman like Lance Gibbs never quite mastered.Nowadays the quicker stuff is mostly confined to one-day games and, with an astonishment he does not attempt to conceal, Watkinson finds himself bearing the mantle of Jim Laker, Fred Titmus, David Allen and all those other high class off-spinners at a time when, deep down, he appreciates more than anyone that he is still learning.For all that, David Lloyd, the current Lancashire coach, regards him as the best in the country. “Because he started life as a seam bowler, like Eddie Hemmings and one or two others, he tends to get more body into his action which can only be a good thing,” Lloyd says.”He is a late developer and he’ll get better and better as an off-spinner. He’s learned how to bowl a good line depending on conditions and when everything is right he bowls at a pace which makes him hard to attack, like bowlers like Derek Underwood and Don Shepherd. He is a bit of a dry bugger, doesn’t say a lot, just gets on with it but he’s always willing to listen and learn.”For Watkinson the learning process should continue this week at Trent Bridge, a ground where England have never beaten the West Indies.

It would make sense, therefore, for Ron Allsop, the master craftsman groundsman there, to produce a pitch similar to Old Trafford – dry, even mainly grassless, turning sooner rather than later – and with it an opportunity for Watkinson to cement his place in the side.Wisely, Watkinson makes no predictions for this Test but says: “At Manchester the conditions were perfect. The ball turned and in all honesty we wouldn’t have minded it turning a bit earlier in the match. Something similar at Nottingham will do us and if it happens we’ll be content to let the West Indies pick the bones out of it.”. MARTIN JOHNSON

Cricket Correspondent
At this stage of the cricketing equivalent of a long distance steeplechase, the opposition is usually being quietly unsaddled in the winners’ enclosure, while England are normally to be found upside down in the water jump, awaiting the arrival of the screens and a vet.Not since 1985 have England managed to win a major Test series, home or away, and not since 1969, man on the moon year, have they beaten the West Indies.

This summer, however, their customary response to an early trip to the canvas – jump up at the count of 11 – has been replaced by an uplifting determination to slug it out.The result has been one of the most riveting series of modern times, with the sides locked together at 2-2, and if it were not for one of the less agreeable aspects of modern times – avarice – the stage would now be set for the grand denouement.However, as there is still a maximum of 10 days cricket to be played, rather than five, the prospect of a 3-3 draw remains an unsatisfactory possibility. Not so long ago, England would conclude such a summer with a visit from Sri Lanka (and this year had the chance to offer Zimbabwe a one-off Test) but the marketing men were unable to resist the extra swag on offer from one more match against higher-profile opposition.While six matches against the West Indies rather than five will probably create a new series record in terms of visits to the X-ray department, just for once the West Indies also have injury problems. Carl Hooper is still not fully fit after breaking a finger, and Jimmy Adams is – like Robin Smith – sidelined with a fractured cheekbone.The replacement for Adams here is Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who, for Michael Atherton, will bring back uncomfortable memories of the third Test match in Trinidad on England’s last Caribbean tour.Among the many reasons that made the West Indies nigh on unbeatable for two decades was an honours degree in escapology, and while the Trinidad game will be forever embedded in the memory for Curtly Ambrose’s devastating second-innings bowling, and England’s descent to 46 all out, England would probably still have won the game but for a remarkably mature half-century from the 19-year-old Chanderpaul in only his second Test.The Guyanan came in with his side only 60 runs ahead with five second- innings wickets standing, and England’s collapse was undoubtedly triggered by the psychology involved in having a potential doddle of a victory target turned into an uncomfortable 194.Graeme Hick will also remember dropping two routine slip catches, when Chanderpaul was on 4 and 29, with as much pain as he felt when Atherton informed him at Old Trafford that he was surplus to requirements. Hick’s public persona is that of a detached, clinical individual, but he apparently became quite emotional when he was dropped from the last Test match.This subsequently spilled over into an eve of Test meeting with Raymond Illingworth complaining about being made a scapegoat, and a rare press interview in which he largely blamed the press for writing rubbish about him. This is a bit rich coming from someone who averages 23.7 in 22 outings against the West Indies, and if Hick thinks he has been badly treated in his Test career, he ought to consider putting a T in front of his surname.Players have been hoofed out and yo-yoed up and down the order to accommodate him, and if he truly believes he should be an automatic choice to face the West Indies with his record, when it is 2-2 and all to play for, good luck to him.He has consistently been found out against fast, short-pitched bowling, and to pretend otherwise is a masterpiece of self-delusion. Illingworth said the other day that he wanted people who would “die for England”, and it was probably because the chairman feared that Hick’s technique gave him a better chance of achieving this than most that he dropped him.However, if Hick’s uncharacteristic public outburst (something which should more appropriately have taken place in private, in the opinion of his captain yesterday) is indicative of a passionate intensity behind the shy exterior, then it might at least help the public warm to him a little more.Hick’s survival in the final XI this morning depends, first, on whether England decide to play six batsmen, and secondly, should they opt for Craig White at No 6, whether Alan Wells is considered a straight replacement for the injured Smith.Hick also has a back niggle, although it is mostly concern about Atherton’s long standing back injury which has prompted England to call up the Yorkshire opener, David Byas, as emergency cover. Atherton said yesterday that he felt “OK”, and his presence is vital in an England side already short on experience.The pitch, not surprisingly, is dry and cracked, and will tempt England into playing both Mike Watkinson and Richard Illingworth.

The West Indies may not have Hooper available to bowl his off spin even if his right index finger allows him to bat, which might in turn lead them to consider their leg spinner, Rajindra Dhanraj. However, history suggests that Dhanraj will be twiddling his thumbs rather than his spinning finger over the next five days.Atherton confessed yesterday that he had never seen the trophy that these two sides play for – “what is it, the Wisden Trophy?” – which is understandable given that his current chairman of selectors was the last English captain to get his hands on it, 26 years ago. England have never beaten the West Indies in seven Tests on this ground, but as we saw at both Lord’s and Old Trafford, they are currently in the business of ending unhappy sequences.. Sailing

The waiting game that has been the 1995 Fastnet Race was in its last stages yesterday evening as the Champagne Mumm Admiral’s Cup fleet made its way into Plymouth, with the Italians still threatening to snatch the prize from the United States, writes Stuart Alexander.
The saving grace for Britain was the continued top placing of its generously- handicapped big boat, Group 4 Seahorse. They, like the 40-footer Group 4 Astro, had cut the crew by two for what was always expected to be a light airs test of endurance, but the 40-footer was a long way last in its class, a position shared with the Mumm 36, Group 4.The American class one boat, Blue Yankee, which has been struggling throughout, had lifted two places to sixth, two behind its Italian rival, Capricorno. The battle between BravaQ8 and David Clarke’s Pigs in Space had the Italians leading by an estimated 10 minutes, but the clincher was the 36ft Mumm a Mia! holding a four-place lead over America’s No Problem as Corum joined Sansui Sprinter and Jameson III between the Italian and the American.. England’s senior clubs have announced their support for pay-for-play rugby.

The National Clubs Association, which represents the 40 clubs in the top four divisions of the Courage League, is backing the Rugby Football Union’s efforts to reach financial agreement with the England players. “We recognise the inevitability of open rugby and we are looking carefully at the implications,” the NCA secretary, Alwynne Evans, said.
Twickenham officials will resume talks with England players next week in an attempt to forge a deal which will keep the proposed Kerry Packer professional circus at bay.There is speculation that the pounds 16,000-per-man the England squad earned last year will be at least quadrupled next season and there could be spin- off benefits for non-internationals, Evans said. “We’re exploring all the options, but at the moment we’re waiting to see what happens at the International Board meeting next month.”The Scottish Rugby Union has said that it will push for the sport to become professional at the Paris meeting.The Wallaby Test players, Jason Little and Pat Howard, signed contracts with the Australian Rugby Football Union yesterday, rejecting offers from the Packer organisation. The remaining Australian players are expected to meet in Sydney today to discuss the ARFU and Packer offers.The Ireland players Terry Kingston, Brendan Mullin, Nick Popplewell, Philip Danaher and Denis McBride have denied that any of their squad members have signed for Packer.. Mike Tyson, who makes his return to the ring on 19 August in Las Vegas after serving a three-year jail term, has revealed his strategy for the comeback contest with Peter McNeeley. “I am going to do my thing, and you know what my thing is,” he said at his first major news conference since the promoter Don King announced a six-fight, $35m (pounds 22m) deal for the former heavyweight champion.
Tyson, 26, jailed in March 1992 for the rape of a beauty pageant contestant, insisted he has not been humbled by his experience “I’m just more secure in what I do,” he explained..