Tredwell Turns Full Attention To Kent After Loan Spell

JAMES TREDWELL tells MARK PENNELL why he is looking forward to Royal London One-Day Cup action…

England’s first-choice one-day international spinner James Tredwell is hoping to play a big part in Kent’s Royal London One-Day Cup campaign, having bowled himself into some form while on championship loan with Sussex.

The 32-year-old off-spinner, who has 36 ODI caps and a Test appearance to his name, took 4 for 7 in Sussex’s victory last week against Warwickshire at Horsham, where he admitted that playing on new outgrounds was proving an unusual experience.

“Having been in the Kent dressing room all my cricketing life I am finding it a little strange to be honest,” said the former club captain. “Different dressing rooms, new team-mates and strange grounds – it’s a completely different environment.

“It was tough to start with and it’s not an ideal scenario, but it’s one that is serving a purpose in that I’m playing first-class cricket. I’ve had situations where I’ve been with Kent one day and Sussex the next, so it has made for some inventive packing when it comes to going away with kit and clothes.”

Now, Tredwell hopes his international experience in the limited-overs format will help the Spitfires’ cause at the start of this re-vamped 50-over competition.

He said: “The argument for 50 overs is a sound one to me because that’s what we all play at international level, and it’s right to mirror it because it gives the players experience of the format and our selectors more opportunities to see what people are achieving in that length of game.

“It’ll be interesting to see how teams go about having those extra 10 overs, after last year. It may not sound a lot, but it is a huge amount in a one-day game. I think, with the rule changes, the power-plays, the use of different balls at either end and the advancement of T20, we could see a very different style of 50-over cricket this season.

“Batters have an array of shots for T20 nowadays, so we could either see some huge scores in 50 overs, or conversely, teams being shot out for next to nothing because they went at it too fast, too soon. Either way, there is a balance to be found but it may take some teams a while to find that balance.”

Tredwell also believes that, because the Royal London One-Day Cup is to be played over the second half of the summer, spin will have a bigger part to play.

He added: “We’ll be playing on some used pitches for one-day cricket and that should make a difference because sometimes those surfaces can be a bit grippy and not the easiest to play shots on.

“If the weather stays good it’ll be great for us spinners to be bowling on some pitches that offer a bit of help and bring spin into play. That gives batsmen a few headaches maybe, but it also opens up the game a little for the spectators, too.

“Having different white balls at either end can be good or bad for the spinners. It can mean you can get a little more bounce than usual, but on the other hand, a harder ball tends to ping off the bat a little more sweetly. Either way, it enhances the spectacle and I for one am looking forward to the challenge.”