ADAM HOLLIOAKE did not look like a candidate for the England captaincy. Standing at wide mid-on, he appeared weary, a forest of stubble around his chin, his flannels stained from countless dives and hands pushed in pockets to protect them from a freezing wind. His Surrey team were on the wrong end of a scoreboard reading 500-odd for four. So much for strolling to another championship.

Hollioake will not be appointed England’s new one-day captain this week, persuasive though the argument in favour of his returning to the job may be. Instead, the post will go to Michael Vaughan or Marcus Trescothick — almost certainly Vaughan. The selectors, while happy for the Test and one-day leadership to be split in the short term, want to reunite them as soon as Nasser Hussain leaves the Test post.

Though Vaughan is the right man for the job, the burden of both positions is too much for one man. When Vaughan gets the Test job, he should hand care of the one-day side to Hollioake. There is one problem with this: despite his swag of county silverware, Hollioake does not like being in charge. He estimates that he has tried to hand in the Surrey captaincy “at least half a dozen times” in the past six years without success.

The urge to jack it in may have resurfaced in bleaker moments yesterday as Lancashire treated his threadbare attack — missing Martin Bicknell and Saqlain Mushtaq, who trod on the ball on Friday — with disdain. Alex Tudor has no chance of an England summer contract; only two may be awarded and those will go instead to Jimmy Anderson and Steve Harmison.

Just before Lancashire were all out for 599 at tea, Hollioake brought himself on to bowl but, taking three attempts to deliver his first ball, looked in need of a session with England’s new specialist fast-bowling coach, Troy Cooley, another Australian import to the English game.

Stuart Law, the most prolific Australian in county cricket in recent years, pushed on hungrily when Lancashire resumed on 391 for two, as well he might considering how ordinary he looked for Queensland during the winter.

After Law and Mal Loye had fallen in the same over for 169 and 126 respectively, Andrew Flintoff contributed an entertaining 43, largely at the expense of Ricky Clarke, but it was a typically frustrating display by the England allrounder, who despite wielding a tapered bat that mirrors his new slimline figure seemed fatally attracted to the big shot and out was tamely to Ian Salisbury. Ian Botham without the subtlety.

Surrey, who face a testing couple of days, were prevented from batting in the third session by poor light.

Not only the skies were gloomy over The Oval. The pavilion’s Union flag hung at half-mast following the death of Sir Paul Getty, who contributed to the ground’s redevelopment. Straitened cricket awaits his will with restrained interest to see if it may be the recipient of a final act of largesse.