Graham Onions looks ahead of this county season for Ashes return
Onion is more concerned about fortunes of his (Durham) team
England’s pacer Graham Onions desire to tune for the Ashes as he is looking ahead of the county season starting on April 16. He had been the leading wicket taker in the LV = County Championship, that ultimately earned him a place in the squad for the tour of New Zealand in the shorter-format of the game only.
Graham Onions looking for Ashes debut would like to impress the selectors with a splendid performance in the county season, which would even be a significant boost for himself. He’s so eager to play for England in the Ashes series. “For me personally, the first month (of the county season) is going to be a big one. “I’ve played one Test here against West Indies, my second Test match, and that was fantastic.
“To put an England shirt on anywhere in the world is great, but to potentially have a chance – it’s kind of in my hands – to play an Ashes Test on your home ground (would be even better).
“It would be great to walk down the steps and take some wickets and beat the Aussies. That’s the goal, but if you look too far ahead that can be quite dangerous. It’s a little bit of a dream in the future.”
He was also very particular about this county season as he would look to make use of this season as a come-back platform to the international side. “I’ve carried a lot of drinks over the last few months, so it’s slightly different from my point of view to the (other Durham) lads,” he acknowledged.
“They haven’t netted outside and of course I’ve been frustrated because I’ve been doing a lot of netting and haven’t played a lot of cricket.
“You just have to try and prepare as well as you can and do everything that you can to perform to the best of your ability.
“I look towards Durham’s games coming up as important ones for myself. I feel pretty confident; I’m raring to go; I feel fit and strong, and it’s just a case of getting that ball in your hand in English conditions – we know it’s going to be cold – and dealing with that.”
The Durham seamer was more concerned about his team as they managed five victories after fading to win opening 10-four day matches last summer. “To help Durham win things, that’s the main goal really.”
He continued: “You always want to better the season that you’ve had. Taking as many wickets as I did last year would be fantastic.
“But there were obviously times last year when I was doing well personally and the team was struggling a little bit. I’d sacrifice my results to have a successful Durham side and win trophies.”