Stevens Heads to Hong Kong

Kent all-rounder Darren Stevens heads to Hong Kong today, looking to attract the attention of the England selectors.

The 35 year old will be part of the England sidewhich will take part in this weekend’s Hong Kong Sixes tournament, and Stevens is hoping to use the games to see if he can finally win a place in the England One-Day set up.

With a game against Bangladesh on Friday, along with matches against Ireland and Australia on Saturday, Stevens is hoping to see his side progress to Sunday’s Quarter Finals and possibly win the tournament later that day; “We’re going out there to win the tournament. We’ve got a good group of players with a blend of youth and experience so there is no reason why we can’t do well out there.

“Having been out there before, I know what it’s like with short boundaries, so hopefully with the type of players we’ve got in our side we should be able to clear the rope.”

Stevens is joined in the squad by former England internationals Chris Read and Rikki Clarke, with Surrey captain Rory Hamilton-Brown skippering the side.

They are joined by former Kent all-rounder Peter Trego, Leicestershire batsman Josh Cobb and Lancashire opener Tom Smith, with Stevens admitting he knew little about the latter; “I can’t say I know Tom too well, so it’ll be good to get to know him and see what he can do. With youngsters like him in the side I can pass on my experience of having played there before.”

With England falling to a 5-0 whitewash in the One Day Internatonal series against India, there must still be a chance for Stevens to stake a claim in the 50 over side and he admitted that he hasn’t given up hope of playing for England; “All the time I am still playing I will still believe I have got a chance of playing for my country. Until the day I retire, I will keep working hard and doing all I can to show what I can do and prove to the selectors that I want to represent England.”

The coach for the series is Surrey’s Chris Adams, who Stevens joined on a charity bike ride last week – The Big Cricket Ride.

Darren Stevens was talking to Steve Wolfe of KSN.

Photos by Sarah Ansell: SarahCanterbury.com