CHURCH will be looking ahead to their EW Cartons Lancashire League campaign with added confidence after their new professional Neil McGarrell returned career-best figures against England.

The left-arm spinner took 7-71 in England's first innings as Guyana secured a draw with the tourists in Georgetown yesterday.

And McGarrell also captured Mike Atherton's wicket in England's second innings as he put himself in the frame for a Test call-up should the West Indies look to spin for the fourth Test on his home ground.

McGarell's achievements have been well received at Church, whose recruitment is looking increasingly shrewd.

Club chairman Tony Marsden said: "We're quite delighted. Neil bowls a lot of overs, which he has shown in this game, and got a lot of his wickets either bowled or lbw which he also does in the Red Stripe competition.

"It's good for the spectators to read about him and last night at the nets there was a buzz about the place. All the lads were talking about him which is great.

"When we have had slow bowlers they have always done well for us and so we decided to go for a slow left-armer. Of course the proof of the pudding will come when he plays in the league."

Afterwards Atherton admitted England have some tough selection decisions to make before Friday's Test - his 50th in charge.

Captain Atherton was delighted with England's overall performance against Guyana, despite the failure last night to reach a 15-over victory target of 77 following brilliant work from spinners Phil Tufnell and Robert Croft on the final day of three in the tour match. At 33-3 from 10 overs, with run-scoring desperately difficult on a turning pitch, England called off their chase. But Atherton had already got what he wanted from the fixture, Mark Ramprakash batting himself into Test contention with 77 and his two spinners providing a timely reminder of their potency as a pair.

Atherton said: "It's always nice to have selection problems, and both Croft and Ramprakash have now put their names to the fore for the next Test.

"We will need to have a good look at the pitch at the Bourda Test venue, of course, before we make any selection decisions. I personally have not been there to look at it for the past couple of days.

"I always felt that we would play both our spinners at some stage in the Test series, and before we arrived here you thought the Guyana and Antigua Tests might be the ones.

"But the seam on the balls that are being used for this series are very prominent and that has become a factor. If we play two spinners then we have to be pretty confident that our third seamer is not going to do much work.

"We are confident anyway following our victory in the third Test in Trinidad, and you have to keep it in your minds about how well those players performed last time.

"But then again, if you think you can improve the team for a particular match then it would be foolish not to do so."

Any pride Atherton feels about reaching his personal landmark on Friday of becoming the first England captain to lead in 50 Tests - and he is notoriously diffident about acknowledging such things - is quite rightly submerged beneath the desire to follow up the series-levelling win in Port-of-Spain with another display of passion and determination.

The West Indies are expected to reinforce their fast bowling armoury by recalling Franklyn Rose and, possibly, Mervyn Dillon. Atherton has ordered a day off today but then two practice sessions on Wednesday and Thursday.

Tufnell's second-innings 5-42 against Guyana was an important wicket haul for the Middlesex slow left-armer. He has been bowling well all tour, but not until now getting the tangible rewards for his toil.

Off-spinner Croft added 5-51 to his first-innings 6-50 and can do no more to press his claims. Between them England's spinners, bowling together for the first time in a first-class match since the Christchurch Test victory against New Zealand 11 months ago, reduced Guyana from 71-0 to 131 all out.

Atherton, Mark Butcher and Jack Russell then sacrificed themselves in a token effort to get the runs - the latter pair in suicidal run-outs - before England settled for being moral victors.

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