 The demands of county cricket often meant that injuries would deny Atherton key players and when compared with Australian cricket, it was seen as antiquated by many.Performances of great excellence would often crop up, amid the rubbish.These included two centuries in a test match at Port of Spain by Alec Stewart, nine wickets in an innings from Devon Malcolm against South Africa, seven wickets on debut by Dominic Cork against the West Indies and Michael Atherton and Jack Russell batting for ten hours to salvage a draw in Johannesburg.