A man-of-the-match performance on his England debut and Manchester City’s Capital One Cup win ensured Lancashire spinner Stephen Parry had a day he will never forget.
Parry, 28, took three wickets as England beat the West Indies in Antigua while his beloved City triumphed over Sunderland at Wembley.
The Lancashire left-arm spinner says things just went his way, both in The Caribbean and London.
“It is a day I will never forget,” Parry told ecb.co.uk.
“I didn’t think it would go like it did – I was just trying to go for as few runs as possible, but I managed to pick a few wickets up.
“Things went my way and it was a really enjoyable day. With Man City winning it tops it all off.”
Parry, who made his first class debut for Lancashire in 2007, admits the football was on his mind while he was in Antigua.
“I had my iPhone out in the field,” he joked.
“No, when I was bowling I forgot about it, but when I was in the field I kept wondering how they were going on.
“I was really happy when we managed to win – it topped the day off.”
Parry has made his name with Lancashire in the one-day formats while seeing his first class opportunities limited.
He earned his first call up to the England set-up, primarily for the ICC World Twenty20 which starts in Bangladesh on March 16.
After defeat in the opening One-Day-International against West Indies, Parry was called into the side and returned impressive figures of 3-32 from his ten overs.
“I was just happy with the debut to be honest but to get the man of the match award, I was obviously over the moon,” Parry said.
“I have very proud parents and it was nice that I have managed to reward them for the efforts they have put into me over the years.
“I was nervous. I just kept telling myself it’s no different to any other game I have played.”
Image courtesy of gun and moore cricket, via YouTube, with thanks.
