It still cannot be too late for Yorkshire's Anthony McGrath to renew his association with Somerset's Marcus Trescothick which five years ago marked them out as England's outstanding pair of young batting prospects.

McGrath and Trescothick were regular openers for England Under 19s for the three matches against South Africa Under 19s in the summer of 1995 and the two youngsters performed incredibly well together.

In the first 'Test', at Taunton, McGrath plundered 187 and Tescothick 136, their first wicket stand being worth a monumental 247.

It exceeded by 39 the previous best opening stand for England Under 19s which was set by Mike Atherton and Mark Ramprakash in 1987.

In the second 'Test', at Worcester, the pair again caught the eye by starting England up with a 166 stand, McGrath hitting 75 and Trescothick 88.

In the third 'Test', at Headingley, their stand was worth 51 before McGrath was out for 22, Trescothick going on to make 98.

The dynamic duo were just as effective in the two one-day internationals against South Africa which preceded the 'Test' series.

McGrath hit 89 not out and Trescothick an unbeaten 84 as England romped home by ten wickets in the first match, at Canterbury.

In the second game, at Chelmsford, both batsman weighed in with a century in another big England victory, this time by nine wickets.

It was almost unbelievable consistency by the two teenagers.

Later that year McGrath notched his maiden first class century while playing for England 'A' against PCB Combined XI in Lahore on the tour of Pakistan.

McGrath and Trescothick then found it difficult to move any further forward and each has gone through several lean patches since.

The fact that Trescothick has emerged from the wilderness to become one of England's stars against the West Indies should be enormously encouraging for McGrath.

Although he is still a long way short of gaining England recognition, McGrath has shown in recent weeks that few batsmen in this country can hold a candle to him when he is at the top of his form.

Missing the first half of the season with a knee injury was exactly the sort of start to the summer that was not wanted by McGrath who was Yorkshire's player-of-the-year in 1999.

On his return, he made steady rather than spectacular progress until Yorkshire arrived at Taunton - one of his favourite grounds - where he looked a class act in top-scoring with 74.

But it was in the National League game on the ground that McGrath really came into his own with a county league career best 85 not out, which contained seven fours and a six and came off only 77 balls.

Once McGrath is in full flow he can be almost impossible to bowl at - as Somerset Sabres' bowlers discovered that day. He was in the same thrilling form last weekend when he blazed his way to 104 for his Bradford League club East Bierley in their Priestley Cup final clash with Hanging Heaton.

McGrath is at the crossroads of his career and his future is delicately poised for he might still soar to the heights or sink into oblivion.

With so many youngsters pressing hard for first team recognition with Yorkshire, McGrath must maintain his good form for the remainder of the season, otherwise he could be struggling again next year.

If the runs flow regularly, however, McGrath may still step back in time, so to speak, and stand side-by-side once again with his old sparring partner Trescothick.