Tymal Mills eager to grab England chance against Sri Lanka
Monday 11 July 2016 10:42, UK
Tymal Mills feels his hard work will have paid off if he gets the chance to make his England debut against Sri Lanka on Tuesday.
The left-armer is part of England's squad for the Twenty20 international at the Ageas Bowl which will bring Sri Lanka's disappointing tour to a close.
Live International T20 Cricket
For Sussex bowler Mills it marks an incredible turnaround from the days early in 2015 when he was told he had an incurable spinal issue that could mean him never playing top-flight cricket again.
Mills was rated one of the fastest, if not the fastest, bowler in the county game, and although he can no longer play in four-day matches, he was able to return to white-ball cricket and did so with a deal of success.
That led to an England Lions call at the end of last year, the chance to bowl against England's batsmen in the nets during their tour of South Africa, and more recently promotion to the senior squad.
"It was a very good call to receive," Mills told ECB.co.uk. "I can't wait to hopefully be involved.
"There's been a lot of drills, a lot of arduous stuff. But I feel good out on the pitch at the moment, my run-up feels nice and smooth and when that happens, more often than not I bowl well.
"It was a long winter, but bowling at the England boys in Johannesburg was a nice way to finish it off. Then I had a long pre-season with Sussex as well, because I had to wait for the start of the white-ball cricket."
Mills' diagnosis came not long after he joined Sussex from Essex and he says retirement from all forms of cricket never really crossed his mind.
"I'm not looking for a sob story," he added.
"I was never going to take that option - I was always determined to play again. That meant I had to sign the necessary legal documents in terms of liability - and then I just got on with it. I played a game at Gloucestershire about a week after all that which was really good for me, to get straight back into it.
"I got a knee injury soon after which hampered me for the rest of the season, although I still managed to get through the year. Then I had six weeks off in August and September, and then I started with England."
Captain Eoin Morgan is keen not to put too much pressure on Mills ahead of his potential debut.
Morgan says it is exciting to be able to think about including a bowler who can still reach 95mph but feels there has to be some caution given Mills' injury history and his lack of experience.
"I am excited, but at the same time you don't want to get so excited you put the guy under pressure," Morgan said. "It's quite a relaxed atmosphere within the changing room and we want it to continue like that.
"Yes, we want to see him play for a long period of time. But you want to stay relaxed and calm so that he's in the same frame of mind as you are at the time.
"I've faced him before, and I know exactly what he can do. If he lives up expectations he'll be pretty dangerous."
