“If I can have a good winter then it’ll be great to cement myself”

Image courtesy of: Zimbio

The phrase “winter is coming” has spread like wildfire as a result of the resounding success of the Game of Thrones TV series, but for England batsman Gary Ballance, that phrase will have a whole different meaning as it presents him with a golden opportunity to cement his place in England’s Test squad.

Ballance was recently recalled for the four-Test series against Pakistan, but failed to stamp his authority as he scored 195 runs, which included a lone half-century, at an average of 27.85.

Despite this, Ballance admitted that he felt good at the crease, but added that he should have converted his strong starts into bigger scores.

“I thought I wasn’t out of place, I felt good in most innings. It would have been nice to kick on and get a big score to cement myself in that middle order,” he said. “I took a lot of positives from that experience and I can definitely build on that.”

Ballance has been given another chance to prove his worth as he has been included in the Test team for the upcoming two-Test series against Bangladesh.

Having been handed another lifeline, the 26-year-old knows that the tour of Bangladesh could be make or break for him.

“If you keep thinking ‘I’ve got to score runs to stay in the side’… you can’t think like that, you’ve just got to play each day as it comes, play the situation of the game,” he said. “If I can have a good winter then it’ll be great to cement myself but there’s a lot of work to actually do that.

“There’s going to be a lot of spin, I think we know that. I’ve done a few weeks before we came out facing a lot of spin.

“I know my method now, I’ve just got to put it into the games and if I can get a decent score early on, it gives you so much confidence for the rest of the trip.”