Cometh the hour, cometh the man

Staff and Agencies

December 12, 2000

Last winter Ashley Giles went through the entire one-day tournaments in South Africa and Zimbabwe without bowling a ball.

What a difference a year makes. In England's victorious series in Pakistan, the Warwickshire slow left-armer send down 1,092 deliveries and finished as the tourists' leading wicket taker with 17.

But you're only as good as your last performance and Giles knows from bitter experience that his name is not yet secure on the team sheet as England's prime spinner.

"I don't think you are ever owed anything. You have to prove it when you are given the chance," said Giles.

"Hopefully I've proved I can bowl [but] you've always got to re-prove that every time you go out there.

"It's just fantastic to be part of a winning side in my first full series, to play a major part and to win in somewhere like Pakistan, in fortress-like Karachi, where they've never lost.

"There was a time in Nairobi when I could have come home [because of a calf injury]. It could have been the end of my trip. But as it turned out I got back, they kept faith in me and hopefully I've repaid that trust.

"Things go for you. I've worked pretty hard on my game, but you also need lucky breaks and you need things to go for you, and that's what's happened.

"My cricket's improved in the last couple of years and I felt from ball one that I was back and I was supported by Nasser Hussain and coach Duncan Fletcher."

That fateful final day in Karachi where England clinched the series is an experience Giles is unlikely to forget.

"Everyone was a bit shocked after the way the day went," he said. "Mentally it was a very tiring game, everyone was shell-shocked. I don't think it has yet hit home that we won the match and the series.

"We worked really hard out there, put a lot into the tour and now I've come out personally doing well. I'm definitely going to enjoy this Christmas.

"They were six down at lunch and we knew we had a chance. They were panicking a bit and we thought they'd slightly played it the wrong way. The came out and played quite negatively. They don't play like that and that played into our hands. They are a better side when they come at you.

"We could see they were nervous, they'd never lost in Karachi and we put them under pressure. We'd been under pressure and played well and got out of it.

"We gave it everything and it paid off. Nasser is a good leader of men, a good brain, willing to try things. I've felt he's had a lot of trust in me, and let me get on with it. Nasser plays the game tough and takes great pride in captaining his country."

Now Giles will be hoping that more strong personal performances in Sri Lanka in February and March will secure him a coveted place for the Ashes series in England next summer.

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Series/Tournaments

England tour of Pakistan

Teams

England