GARETH Batty is concentrating on what he can do to help Worcestershire achieve their double-promotion dreams, convinced that a successful county season can reignite his international career.
The County vice-captain has fallen behind Monty Panesar and Jamie Dalrymple in the England spin bowling pecking order, but has vowed not to get caught up in worrying about his international career.
The off-spinner admits his England ambitions caused his domstic form to suffer in the past, but he is now firmly focused on the task in hand at New Road.
The 28-year-old said: "At the moment, I just want to carry on bowling like I did in the first half of the season and I am not looking further ahead than the next four-day game.
"I'm confident that if our results stay good and I keep taking wickets I will remain in the England shake-up.
"In the past I got caught up with worrying about getting into the England side, which put undue pressure on myself and I did not perform as well as I could have because of it.
"But now I am concentrating on what Worcestershire want me to do and what I can do for them and hopefully the results will look after themselves.
"There is a very positive mindset throughout the club at the moment and we go into every game looking to win it.
"Hopefully we can end the season with some silverware and a couple of promotions."
A club like Worcestershire should be playing in the top divisions of domestic cricket, according to Batty, and he believes promotion in the County Championship and the Pro40 is a realistic aim.
He added: "We went pretty well towards the end of the C&G Trophy, we are still going well in the County Championship and we want to hammer home that advantage to get promotion. Worcestershire is the sort of club that should be in division one and we are well on course to put ourselves in a position where we could win the title.
"In the Championship, we are not worrying about what Surrey are doing, we will be concentrating on doing what we did in the first part of the season -- getting big scores in the first innings and bowling sides out twice -- and the results should look after themselves."
"With the Pro40, the shorter form of the game can go one of two ways for the spinners. You can get on early and make a real impact or it can go against you when you have to bowl in the first 15 overs or at the death.
I am looking forward to the challenge though and hopefully we can achieve promotion."
Batty admits that he gave his technique an overhaul during the closed season, but he feels the hard work is paying dividends now. He said: "Over the winter, I went back to basics and worked on getting my alignment right, spinning the ball and getting good shape -- I am working on a couple of different deliveries too.
"Same with my batting, I went back to basics before the season and I think that has worked quite well, especially with getting a 100 against Essex.
"I've been bowling well all year and the C&G, where I picked up 12 wickets at an average of 15, was my best one-day competition ever, which is pleasing.
"Also I have been performing in the four-day game and I fully expect to get more wickets and more hundreds. Things are on a good run at the moment, but I still feel like I can improve."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article