Injured seamer confident of regaining place for winter showpiece
Durham and England pace bowler Graham Onions has told Sky Sports News he is still hopeful of making the plane for this winter's Ashes series.
The 27-year-old has missed the entire domestic season after suffering a stress fracture in his back during England's winter tour of Bangladesh.
Surgery on a knee cartilage problem then delayed his comeback further and he is now running out of time to prove his fitness ahead of the trip Down Under.
The injuries to Onions, who has taken 28 wickets at an average of 31 in his eight Test matches to date, have enabled promising seamers Steven Finn and Ajmal Shahzad to press home their claims for an Ashes spot.
Desperate
But the Gateshead paceman is confident he can force his way back into contention ahead of the first Test match at Brisbane on November 25.
But he told Sky Sports News: "I'm a lot more positive, the knee is coming on really well and the fitness instructor is putting me through my paces.
"If I had no motivation and was just thinking 'how do I get myself ready for next season?' then maybe I wouldn't be training as hard as I am now.
"Being a professional cricketer, you want to play against the best. I want to play against Australia and get the England shirt on, but first I've obviously got to get the Durham shirt back on.
"I just desperately want to play, that's definitely at the back of my mind when I'm on the treadmill."
