DAVID LLOYD talks so animatedly about English cricket that he should go the whole hog and paint his face with the flag of St George. While the depressive tendency was debating whether an anxious drawl in the second Cornhill Test against India was cause for concern, England's coach was banging the drum for a "brilliant" performance.
England lost an important toss ink the first Test at Edgbaston and still won with ease lost the toss again at Lord's and were playing catch up from the moment they collapsed to 107 for five on the first afternoon. The fact that they remain 1-0 up in the series, with only one to play was enough for Lloyd to display the art of positive thinking.
"We were absolutely brilliant," he said. "India will be desperately disappointed not to win this one. We had to play really well just to stay in the game.
Lloyd, echoed by his captain, Atherton, was adamant that circumstances had not worked in England's favour. In the first innings, the movement generated by the Indian bowlers was "alarming." In the second innings, they benefited from a low and uneven bounce. In between, when India batted, the pitch played as benignly as at any time in the match.
It would be simple to dismiss this as little more than fan-speak, if it was not for the fact that even England fans with painted faces rarely muster such optimism.
Imagine what Raymond Illingworth's conclusions would have been. The chairman of selectors would have grumbled that England's top order did not get enough runs and that much of the seam bowling lacked energy. He would have concurred that Stewart's place was precarious, that Hick and Atherton look out of form, and that Mullally did not swing it.
No one could have fairly questioned his judgment. What Lloyd intent on challenging is the mood.
Change the emphasis and it is possible to discover all sorts of positives. Lewis really was a marvel in dismissing Tendulkar in his first spell in both innings, Russell did bat a resolution that deserved the-man-of-the-match award, and Irani, a mid-order thumper, coped with a tense situation.
To view life this way, requires considerable optimism, and in a week when English sport is awash with it, Lloyd deserves to get away with it. England's players need some cheer a fine for slow overrates approaching £1,300 per man, amounting to 45 per cent of their match fee.
The most courageous decision, was made by Mohammad Azharuddin. The last time he inserted England at Lord's, six years ago, Graham Gooch made 333. Pilloried in Indian newspapers ever since India's World Cup failure, last Thursday he dared to do it again.
