WORCESTERSHIRE spinner Gareth Batty today issued an 'I won't let you down' message to England after being included in the Test and one-day squads for the forthcoming tour of the West Indies.
The 26-year-old is off to the Caribbean on the back of his winter exploits for England in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
He said: "Obviously I've done something right somewhere and just the buzz of the selectors and people saying 'we are backing you again' is just brilliant. I'm not going to let them down."
Batty will arrive in the West Indies with four Test appearances to his credit following his debut against Bangladesh at Dhaka in October. He has also played in three one-day internationals.
He said: "I sat down after the Bangladesh and Sri Lanka tours and had a real think about how I'd gone about things. I thought I'd done myself justice with both bat and ball but I think looking at the stats they probably suggested I'd not had a brilliant time, just done OK.
"There were a few catches went down and a few decisions not gone my way, but I was reasonably as happy as I can ever be. I'm always searching for perfection. But the feedback was reasonably good from the management and captain and I would have been disappointed if I hadn't been selected.
"I felt we fought extremely well in Sri Lanka. Alright we lost the series there is a lot to be taken out of it and I just think if we can get that big man Lara out we can apply an awful lot of pressure. I wouldn't like to put my neck on the line, but I think the boys would be disappointed in both one-day and Tests if we didn't come away with a victory."
With the tour spanning from early March to early May, Batty will miss the start of Worcestershire's campaign.
He said: "That can be a plus and a minus. Whoever plays instead of me might come in and do brilliantly, but even if not it might be someone gaining a bit more experience. Then I'll come back with a few more ideas and hopefully give the team another lift if selected."
Batty's County team-mate Vikram Solanki has been left out of the one-day side after scoring just 11 runs in three innings in Bangladesh.
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