WORCESTERSHIRE'S Vikram Solanki is confident he will resurrect his England career in the NatWest Challenge starting today and the ICC Champions Trophy next month.
Solanki, renowned for his fluent strokeplay, found himself left out of the England squad after the tour of Bangladesh last winter when he managed only 11 runs in three limited overs internationals.
It was a disappointing chapter in Solanki's career after he had scored a century and a 50 against South Africa in the 2003 one-day series.
But he came back to Worcestershire determined to restructure his technique and approach to batting and has reaped the benefits this summer.
The latest demonstration of his growing maturity came in the C&G Trophy final against Gloucestershire when he scored a superb 115 to rescue Worcestershire from a dreadful start. That followed on from 127 in the semi-final against Warwickshire.
Solanki said: "I was disappointed with the way things went in Bangladesh and pretty disappointed in losing my place.
"I had to deal initially with that disappointment but after that it was about making the changes I need technically and working with Tom Moody at Worcestershire over the winter.
"I also worked hard on the consistency side of things. I knew that I was going to be playing a role at the top of the order in one-day cricket and in the middle in championship cricket and that was first and foremost in my mind."
Solanki added: "I didn't think too much about whether I would get another chance with England but I'm pleased that is the case and I would hope that I have learnt from the previous experiences.
"I think I have learnt from my mistakes in the past, and I've made plenty of them, in terms of technically and the whole idea of one-day batting.
"In the past I've got carried away with wanting to make the best use of the first 15 overs. For Worcestershire this year, I've also thought beyond the first 15 overs, going onto get a score and putting some partnerships together."
Worcestershire captain Steve Rhodes believes that Solanki is ready to establish himself on the international stage and even challenge for an England Test spot.
He said: "This guy has worked his socks off with Tom Moody. He has worked technically at his game and is far more organised from that point of view.
"His temperament is also excellent now. Maybe it was questionable before but you wouldn't say that now.
"Is he an international player? I'm positive that he is. Marcus Trescothick jumped into the Test side from one-day cricket and hopefully there is something there along those lines for Vikram in the future. I think he can go onto play Test cricket."
Solanki emerged as one of the contenders to replace Ben Smith as Worcestershire skipper after signing a new three-year contract but he is playing that down and insisted: "I haven't given that any thought."
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