Vince ready to roll with Thunder

CRICKET: James Vince hopes he will not be ridiculed by new Sydney Thunder teammate Usman Khawaja and the rest of the western Sydney Big Bash squad after the Ashes hammering.

“We don’t know each other that well, but I’m sure I’ll get some stick the next few weeks off him,” said Vince, who will still be chasing his first win on Australian soil this summer at Spotless Stadium tonight.

“They might also think I’m a bit fragile at the minute, so they might ease up on me. Hopefully.”

The England No.3’s inclusion in the Ashes squad came as a bit of a surprise after Thunder officials had banked on him being available for the entire BBL campaign.

Available for the final four matches, Vince made two half-centuries and averaged 26.88 in the Ashes series, often throwing his own wicket away cheaply, and too often nicking.

By contrast Khawaja, Australia’s No.3, posted a big ton at the SCG and averaged 47.57.

Mitchell Johnson, one Aussie quick who was never a fan of the Poms, will no doubt try to get Vince flashing outside off stump tonight when he steams in for the Perth Scorchers.

“I think I made good progress from when I last played (Test cricket),” Vince said. “There are still areas I’m trying to improve on and need to iron out. If I can get a big score, I can give myself confidence and hopefully kick on and become a regular.

“I think it’s (a case of ) trying to limit the amount of times it’s a soft dismissal and making the bowlers work hard for my wicket.”

Vince will look to make the most of his Thunder stint before returning to the England T20 team for the series against Australia and New Zealand.