Payne eyes Lions call after playing part in ODI squad
DAVID Payne has sights set on a Lions tour this winter following the boost of his recent selection for england’s oneday squad.
At the age of 30, the Gloucestershire left-arm seamer admits time is running short to achieve a burning ambition to represent his country in white or red ball cricket.
But Payne says his call-up to the ODI squad for the three-match series against Pakistan in July has “sparked a fire” to make the next couple of years the most successful of his career.
He told me: “I am clinging onto a hope that I will get selected for a Lions tour and, speaking to my agent, there may also be an opportunity to play in one or two tournaments abroad.
“I feel I have a couple of years left to crack playing at a higher level. I have goals to achieve in all formats of the game, rather than simply settling for playing county cricket.”
Although david was not selected for any of the games against Pakistan, he found being around established england players such as captain Ben Stokes a rewarding experience.
“I went into the series with the mind-set that I probably wasn’t going to play,” he said. “So my aim was to enjoy the experience as much as possible, which was certainly the case.
“When england went two up with just the one game left, it did enter my head that I might get a chance. But the set-up is very clinical, which is what has made us so good at white ball cricket, and they just want to keep on winning.
“There were no hard feelings. I was able to meet head coach Chris Silverwood and have a few decent conversations with him over what I need to do to keep knocking on the door.
“He wouldn’t have seen too much of me in my career, so it was good that he was able to watch me bowl in the nets and find out a bit more about me.
“The Lions are going to Australia in early November until middecember ahead of the Ashes Tour. The possibility of being in the squad is certainly an added motivation for me over the remaining Championship games.
“england are so strong as a white ball side that you have to be really special to get into the side. But I feel like my efforts in county cricket have been noticed.
“The call-up has really sparked a fire in me. I think I am close to further recognition and all I can do is keep taking wickets for Gloucestershire.”
Payne’s career took another step forward with selection for the
Welsh Fire team in The Hundred, his best figures being three for 38 against Birmingham Phoenix.
He said: “The Hundred was a great experience for me. It felt like a step up in standard, bowling to world class batsmen, and the way we were looked after as players was first class.
“It was as close to international cricket as I could get, without actually being involved.
“At this stage of my career, it was exactly what I needed to prove myself. In all honesty, I thought my performances were average, but I learned a lot.
“Now I am hoping to use that knowledge during the winter and hopefully emerge better and stronger to play in The Hundred again P next year.” eter Trego’s involvement in professional sport will not end with hanging up his cricket boots at the end of this season.
At the ripe old age of 40, the former Somerset all-rounder, from Weston-super-mare, will be leaving Nottinghamshire in the coming weeks to concentrate fully on his new career as a golfer.
Interviewing Trego during his two spells with the Cidermen was always a pleasure. His answers to questions were invariably colourful, opinionated, humorous and often surprising.
When we chatted at the County Ground last week, where Pete was doing 12th man duties for Notts in the County Championship clash with Somerset, I found nothing had changed.
I knew he was a good enough at golf to have attempted to qualify for The Open last year, but had no idea of the commitment he was about to make to his second sporting passion.
He told me: “I will be trying to play some tournament golf at whatever level I can qualify for.
“I have made one appearance on the euro Pro Tour, but didn’t make the cut.
“That’s the way it often goes for players starting a golf career and I have a lot of things I need to work on.
“I didn’t realise what a difficult environment tournament golf is, how long the rounds are and how good you have to be.
“It is giving me a new challenge I have two home clubs at the moment, The Nottingham and Weston-super-mare, where I have played for 20 plus years.
“If I can make a few cuts on the euro Pro tour next year, I would take that as a win because it’s going to take a couple of years to get my technique right.
“I turned pro two weeks ago before my first euro Tour event in Northern Ireland where I very much enjoyed the experience.
“Because I have been involved with cricket I have secured a few invites to a few events that sit below the professional tours.
“I don’t foresee ever making it to the top level, but I am going to be doing all my coaching qualifications.
“I would rather fail over the next 18 months than to look back in ten years’ time and wish I had done it.”
Trego has taken a job at Mendip
Spring Golf Club, helping to custom fit clubs for members and visitors.
He capped his cricketing career last summer by helping Notts win the Vitality Blast and will retire from the game with a host of happy memories.
“My Somerset days were ended with winning the royal London Cup in 2019,” he said “That was a very special moment for myself and James Hildreth, a great mate of mine.
“We had shared so many second places together that it was nice to have that moment in the sunshine.”
Pete produced many a swashbuckling innings as a Somerset player and found last week that they had not been forgotten.
“The wonderful thing about returning to Taunton as an opposition player has been the number of people wanting to say hello and welcome me back.
“Your stats and figures will be forgotten in time, but the way I have made people feel about cricket is more important for me.”