England Lion Simon Kerrigan is looking to grab his one-day opportunity as Lancashire Lightning get their Yorkshire Bank 40 campaign underway against Durham Dynamos at Emirates Old Trafford.
Despite being a mainstay in the longer format of the game, the left-arm spinner only managed three 40-over matches for the Red Rose last season.
And after spending the winter Down Under on a one-day tour with the England Lions, Kerrigan is now looking to force his way into the Red Rose’s limited overs reckoning.
“I had the winter with the Lions where I played more one-day cricket,” he told Lancashire’s official website.
“With Gary Keedy leaving, it’s what I’ve been looking at over the winter and thinking ‘if I can get in that 40-over and Twenty20 side, that’s what I want to be doing’.
“I want to be progressing in those formats as well.”
Lancashire enjoyed a positive 40-over campaign last season before being dumped out the competition by Warwickshire at the semi-final stage.
And the 23-year-old – who has 19 career List A appearances to his name – hopes a productive one-day summer will see the Emirates Old Trafford club thrive in all forms of the game.
“We didn’t get the momentum in the Championship last year like we did the year before,” he added.
“We got it in the CB40, and we want to get it going in all competitions. We’ve got a great squad this year, and we can be competitive in all formats.
“We’re certainly not going to be slackening off in the 40-over competition.”
If selected, the Preston-born spinner will hope to sign off in style before joining up with the England Lions squad for a tour match against New Zealand next week.
Kerrigan – fresh from a five-wicket haul against Glamorgan – will miss Lancashire’s LV=County Championship clash with Essex, but is thrilled to receive international recognition and remain in the selectors’ minds.
“If you look at the side they’ve picked, it’s a very strong side,” he said.
“I’m delighted to get the call-up, and hopefully I can show what I can do and put my name up there.
“All I can do is stick to being consistent and not go away from that.”
Lancashire have named a 14-man squad for the Yorkshire Bank 40 showdown with Durham Dynamos, with Simon Katich set to captain the side in the absence of rested Glen Chapple.
Lancashire squad: Simon Katich (capt), Karl Brown, Jordan Clark, Steven Croft, Gareth Cross (wkt), Kyle Hogg, Paul Horton, Simon Kerrigan, Stephen Moore, Oliver Newby, Stephen Parry, Ashwell Prince, Luke Procter, Wayne White
Image courtesy of ESPN, via YouTube, with thanks
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