Sussex star: Playing for England has always been my No1 goal

International cricket is now officially back and one Sussex player who is hoping to get his shot at stardom is Laurie Evans.
Laurie Evans bats in the England ODI training group warm-up game at the Ageas Bowl earlier this week / Picture: GettyLaurie Evans bats in the England ODI training group warm-up game at the Ageas Bowl earlier this week / Picture: Getty
Laurie Evans bats in the England ODI training group warm-up game at the Ageas Bowl earlier this week / Picture: Getty

The explosive batsman has been involved in England’s one-day training camp squad this week ahead of a three-match one-day series versus Ireland.

Ahead of the camp, which started on Thursday at the Ageas Bowl, Evans talked about how he had been getting on during lockdown, that potential England call-up and what cricket is going to feel like in the near future.

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Evans finally caught the selectors' eye for a potential white-ball call-up after two superb campaigns in the T20 Blast, finishing among the top English run-scorers in the tournament in 2019 and as the top run-scorer in it in 2018.

It’s this constant determination for betterment that has perhaps partly led to Evans’ call-up.

“I’m always pushing, striving to push for more, playing at the highest level, and all my decisions have led to me trying to push for a spot,” said Evans.

“It (England) has always been on the agenda, rugby or cricket, since I was young, its always been my number one goal,” said Evans.

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Evans, like people all around the world, has had to adapt his profession to a home environment during the Covid-19 pandemic, which some have found tricky - but not the Lambeth-born batsman.

“Overall the preparation’s been pretty good, I didn’t find it too tough,” said Evans. “I had to make sure I had got an idea about what I was going to do, make sure I had a routine, mentally and physically, both are equally important.”

“I bought a bike, drew up a training plan, Sussex were kind enough to give us some weights, there’s been lots of things to keep me busy which has been helping me mentally.”

The Test series in England is leading the way on how cricket will run during post-lockdown but there has yet to be any announcement from global franchise T20 leagues about whether they will still go ahead this winter under quarantine rules.

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Despite the uncertainty, Evans, who took part in competitions in Bangladesh, the Caribbean and Abu Dhabi last winter, is confident about travelling abroad.

Evans said: “I wouldn’t find it unsafe, not any more than here. For me, it’s more a question to whether it fits in with the schedule and government rules. Some places you still need to quarantine and some you don’t.

“At the moment there’s not a load of flights, so it’s difficult to hop on a plane and make a quick exit if you need to. I would need to plan it, it’s not as easy as before.”

It is not just abroad where cricket competitions have been cancelled: the controversial Hundred competition was set to launch this summer, with Evans involved, scooping a £40,000 contract with Oval Invincibles, but unfortunately, Covid-19 has forced it to be put off until next year.

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There have been many questions to whether the competition will have the same impression after its lengthy delay but Evans feels the event will be bigger than when it was first announced.

“I think it (The Hundred) will be even bigger, the suspense has been pushed and people are dying for summer to return to normal and for there to be a summer of cricket,” said Evans. “Cricket will be back on the radars and kids will be able to watch and will want to watch it,” said Evans.

“It’s also a great opportunity for sponsors to pump back money into the game, after what has happened."

If Evans does receive an England ODI call-up he will be playing in conditions that no player will have a comfortable understanding of, with no crowds, constant testing and bans on saliva and handshakes, but despite these changes, the 32-year-old says it’s still the same game.

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“I love playing in front of big houses, absolutely love crowds, it brings out the best in me, love to be able to show off my skills.Having no crowd is naturally going to be different, and it takes away some of the fun, but it’s still the same game, still as much to gain, still got a job to do.”

Evans has been joined by Sussex teammate Phil Salt in the 24-man training squad, which will bde trimmed to a squad of 14 ahead of the series which starts on July 30.

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