Bowler Brydon Carse insists it has “always been a number one focus” to play cricket for England after his key performance in the first Vitality T20 International against New Zealand.
The Durham quick took three wickets for 23 runs as England charged to a seven-wicket victory in the first game of their white-ball series.
Dawid Malan and Harry Brook chased down the 140 target, scoring 54 and 43 respectively to give England the advantage going into the second T20 at Old Trafford on Friday.
Carse was a late replacement in the 20-over squad for the New Zealand series, replacing the injured John Turner, and despite dealing with injuries himself in recent times, he insists that playing for England remains a priority.
“Over the last year I’ve had massive ambitions to play for England,” Carse told a press conference.
“I was unfortunate in the winter to pick up an injury and it’s always been my number one focus to try and play for England again.
“With the amount of white-ball cricket in all the different leagues around the world at the moment players have got a lot of opportunity to play a lot of cricket.
“I think it just comes down to what your ambition is, what you want to do as a cricketer. I’ve still got a lot of ambition to play red-ball cricket and to play Test cricket for England.”
It was a welcome homecoming at the Riverside for Carse, who earned his first T20 international scalp for England after bowling Finn Allen.
He struck again in the final over, picking up the wickets of Ish Sodhi and Adam Milne and Carse admitted there was plenty of excitement when he found out he had been selected to play on home turf.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better start,” Carse added. “When I got the news from Jos (Buttler) yesterday afternoon that I’d be playing there was a lot of excitement to play at Durham, where I’ve played my cricket over the last nine years.
“So a lot of familiar faces and a lot of familiar surroundings, it probably just made me that little more relaxed coming into the game.”
Unphased by his omission from the provisional 50-over World Cup squad, Brook played a key part alongside Malan in getting England over the line with 36 balls to spare and Carse admitted the Yorkshire batter is “a joy to watch”.
He said: “I’m glad I haven’t had to play against him in the last 18 months because he’s either been for England or in the Hundred with me – so far it’s been okay!
“He just seems to be hitting it all around the ground and the tempo he’s batting at, it’s great for him and for English cricket to be honest.
“He’s been unbelievable, I’m fortunate enough to spend quite a bit of time with Harry on and off the field as well, I get on well with him.
“To see him go about his business over the last 18 months has been a joy to watch, he’s such a laid back character in and around training, he loves batting.”
Asalanka leads Sri Lanka to ODI series win over West Indies
Sri Lanka wrapped up the ODI series against the West Indies with a five-wicket victory in Pallekele.
The hosts successfully chased down their opponents' total of 189, giving them an unassailable 2-0 in the three-match series.
Sri Lanka controlled the early powerplay - Asitha Fernando (3-35) and Maheesh Theekshana (3-25) took two wickets apiece to leave the tourists at 31-4 in the ninth over.
Wanindu Hasaranga (4-40) then claimed three of his four wickets as Roston Chase, Romario Shepherd, Hayden Walsh and Alzarri Joseph were all dismissed in the space of 14 balls.
However, Sherfane Rutherford (80 off 82 balls) and Gudakesh Motie (50 not out) steadied the ship to take the Windies from 58-8 to 189.
Although Joseph claimed Avishka Fernando (9) in the fourth over, Nishan Madushka and Sadeera Samarawickrama both chipped in with contributions of 38 to get the hosts to 112-4.
Skipper Charith Asalanka (62 not out) led the charge thereon, while Kamindu Mendis (11) comfortably got them over the line with 34 balls remaining.
Data Debrief: Rutherford-Motie historic stand proves academic for tourists
West Indies were looking to level the series, but their hopes were not aided by Sri Lanka's impressive bowling.
Rutherford and Motie did their best. Their partnership brought 119 runs, which is their nation's highest ninth-wicket stand in ODI history, breaking the previous record of 85 between Yannic Cariah and Alzarri Joseph.
However, it ultimately proved in vain as the hosts secured the series with a game to spare.
'I was a tired, grumpy old man' - Stokes apologised to England team-mates after Pakistan defeat
Ben Stokes says he apologised to his England team-mates after his frustrations were evident during the second-Test defeat by Pakistan.
The hosts levelled the three-Test series on Thursday after wrapping up a 152-run win in Multan.
However, it could have been a different story but for fielding errors at crucial stages for the visitors, Jamie Smith and Joe Root notably dropping catches to dismiss Salman Agha, whose subsequent knock of 63 helped Pakistan seal victory with a day to spare.
Stokes, who returned to action following a hamstring injury, could not hide his frustration during a difficult day for England, but insisted he would not let his emotions get the better of him again.
"No one means to drop catches, but it just proves how important catches are in these subcontinent conditions, they don't come along that often," he told Sky Sports.
"I actually apologised to the group last night. It's the first time in my captaincy that I've let my emotions and how I was feeling with the way the game was unfolding show in my body language.
"I owned up to that and was very annoyed at myself for letting that out. It's something that I don't want to do or be seen to be doing, so I apologised to the group about that.
"Poor old me, I was a tired, grumpy old man last night! You won't see that happen again."
However, England coach Brendon McCullum defended the actions of his skipper.
"We all know how passionate Ben is, how much it means for him to play for England," he said.
"We've seen that through his bloody-mindedness to get back from injury, which was significant, and to do so in a nine-week timeframe and to have his first TM [Test match] in extreme conditions, 40 degrees, and be able to give what he gave to the side.
"I think, maybe, that's where some of that frustration led to - certainly, it wasn't directed at any of the players. It was more about trying to assess the rhythm of the game, and to impact on it."
Sri Lanka breeze to series win over West Indies
Sri Lanka cruised to a nine-wicket victory over West Indies to seal a T20I series triumph.
With the series delicately poised at 1-1 heading into the final match on Thursday, Sri Lanka started with intent in Dambulla.
Maheesh Theekshana (2-19) and Wanindu Hasaranga (2-24) led the charge as Sri Lanka skittled through the Windies' top order.
Rovman Powell's stubborn 37 and a contribution of 32 from Gudakesh Motie steered West Indies to a reasonable total of 162-8, but it was one well within reach of Sri Lanka.
Pathum Nissanka clipped seven fours and one six in a 22-ball 37 to get Sri Lanka's chase rolling at pace, before he was bowled by Gudakesh Mottie (1-31).
Yet the damage was mostly done, with Kusal Mendis powering his way to an unbeaten 68 and Kusal Perera plundering 55 from 36 balls to get the job done with the minimum of fuss.
Data Debrief: Perera closing in on Sri Lanka record
Perera is now just nine runs away from surpassing Tillakaratne Dilshan (1,889) as the leading scorer in Sri Lanka's T20I history.
His efforts, combined with those of Nissanka and Mendis, saw Sri Lanka win for a fourth time in their last six T20Is at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, although this is the first time they have won at the venue in that run when batting second.
The Windies' miserable record in Asia has continued, meanwhile. They have won only one of their last 11 T20Is in Asia (L10), with that victory coming in the first match of this series. They have now lost 33 T20Is on the continent in total, with only Ireland (35) having lost more.
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