the headline ‘IT WAS DAFF-T TO AXE PHILLIP’ Illingworth revealed why Atherton did not want Phillip DeFreitas in his side:
Boycott to Illingworth: ‘What about Phillip DeFreitas? He’s become the invisible man. He was England’s best bowler last year [1994 against South Africa and New Zealand].’
Illingworth: ‘Yes.’
Boycott: ‘He played in the first Test this year and disappeared. He’s not going to South Africa and he’s not in the configuration for the World Cup.’
Illingworth: ‘We’ve had discussions about Phillip and feel he’s better in England than overseas. But he’s not ruled out of the World Cup. DeFreitas has a problem – Mike [Atherton] and him didn’t get on well at Lancashire.’
So there we had it. Atherton didn’t want DeFreitas in the side because he didn’t like him.
The next day’s offering was even more revealing. Under the headline ‘TUFNELL? HE’S SIMPLY TOO MUCH TROUBLE FOR ATHERTON’, Illingworth revealed the reasons why Phil Tufnell, the talented but mercurial left-arm spinner, had been left out of the squad for the tour to South Africa. Readers would have been left in no doubt that Atherton’s decision not to include Tufnell was based on the fact that he didn’t trust him to behave himself on or off the field. Whether this was true or not, what gave Illingworth the right to speak on behalf of his captain over such a sensitive issue? And what effect did that have on future relationships between Atherton and Tufnell? Not surprisingly Tufnell was extremely upset to discover that Atherton felt this way about him; and Atherton was simply stunned that Illingworth should be so indiscreet.
I saw this as blatant undermining of Atherton’s position as captain of the side. And the same message was contained in Illingworth’s words, widely quoted in the national press the day before England departed for South Africa, regarding the picking of teams in South Africa. Illingworth announced that the selection committee, formed by the combined brains of the team and tour managers, captain and vice-captain, would no longer be utilized. He would do the job himself. Having announced that he was going to have full and final say over who played and who did not, Illingworth justified his actions by harking back to what he perceived as Atherton’s selectorial errors during the previous summer. He said, ‘I have been in the game a long time and would back my judgement of players against anyone’s. Against the West Indies last summer there were a couple of times when I felt I was persuaded not to follow my gut reaction. For instance, I wanted to play leg-spinner Ian Salisbury at Old Trafford, and I was not happy using Robin Smith as an opener. I don’t think I will make those mistakes again.’
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