James Tredwell blogs from Australia

Read the personal thoughts of Kent all-rounder James Tredwell, who is in Australia with the England Performance Party.
I’m writing this piece shortly after we’ve finished our games here on the Performance Camp in Perth and a week after the victory in the second Ashes test.

I“m really enjoying watching the series unfold, here in Australia, and it was brilliant to see the lads wrap up a well deserved win on the last day. Every player seems to have raised their game a notch on this tour. This, coupled with the buzz surrounding the trip, has increased the motivation for the lads on our part of the trip. We know that if we keep improving then, hopefully, we have a chance of being part of what“s going on in the main team.

While in Perth, we initially had a few days training at Hale School – a place of obvious quality, with fantastic facilities. We then moved to Rockingham Mandurah, a little out of Perth, for a one-day and four-day match against a Western Australia U23 eleven; similar to that we played against in Brisbane. These games were both successful for the lads. In the one-day match we bowled the opposition out for 98 and knocked them off for the loss of just one wicket. The four-day match proved a little tougher but we won it by seven wickets, chasing down 248 for victory. The good thing about the tour is that everyone has had an opportunity and has made an impact during the games we have played. Danny Briggs, the left-arm spinner from Hampshire, was the real standout from the games in Mandurah. He bowled really well in what was really tough conditions (probably the windiest ground in the world) and looks like a really good prospect.

The tour here, as part of the Performance Programme, is not just about the games but about development and improvement and instilling the way things need to be done in order to give us the best chance of not only reaching the next level but performing when we get there. A number of the players now in the main team have been through a Performance Camp so maybe it is now starting to pay dividends.

We now only have a few days left of our trip and no games left but we will continue to train. The Test squad have arrived in Perth, following their game against Victoria, so the bowlers are helping them prepare for the third Test by bowling in the nets, while the batters will work at Hale School, under the watchful eye of Graham Thorpe. There is a Lions tour post Christmas so it is a continuation of the time to impress before that gets announced.

I found out earlier this week that I’ll be part of the one-day squad in Australia and what an opportunity that will be. With the World Cup just around the corner, there may be a thought to play an extra spinner in that environment so this trip will be a continued effort for me to show what I have to offer to push for continued selection. As our programme will come to an end at the start of the next Test, I think a few of the lads will be going certainly to the first day and I am definitely looking forward to that to soak up a bit of Ashes fever first hand.

Tredders

Picture: Getty Images