I can fix England’s problem at No 3, says Borthwick
SCOTT BORTHWICK is in no doubt about his desire to play for England again. ‘I’m desperate,’ he says. As luck would have it, salvation may be at hand. With the selectors set to call time on Nick Compton’s faltering Test career, Borthwick, the next cab on the rank, has been revving up his engine. He has been churning out runs for the last three seasons at Durham, who he joined in 2009, and a date next month with Pakistan at Lord’s — Mohammad Amir and all — could be the prize. A recall would at least ensure he does not finish his playing days as the answer to an obscure quiz question: which English leg-spinner appeared in only one Test but boasted a bowling average of 20? The question itself reveals how far he has come. When he was chosen for the final game of the 5-0 whitewash in Australia in Sydney in 2013-14, Borthwick was regarded as a bowler who batted. He picked up four Australian wickets, made one run from No 9 in the first innings, four from No 8 in the second, then faded back into the county game. Since then he has turned into a reliable No 3, but one whose leg-breaks are good enough to have earned eight wickets in a recent Championship match against Nottinghamshire. The wickets came either side of an unbeaten 188. It was the kind of performance that turns heads. The idea of resuming his Test career at first drop, a position that — with the exception of Jonathan Trott — has felt like English batting’s poisoned chalice, is one that excites him. ‘I’ve spent the last three seasons at No 3 so it feels natural,’ Borthwick told
Sportsmail. ‘If the chance came, I’d be really excited. Having had a sniff of Test cricket, I want another one. I’m desperate to do it again.’ A compact left-hander, the 26-year-old has topped Durham’s batting averages for the past three seasons and this summer is at it again, averaging 82 with three hundreds. England have noted with pleasure his transformation into a top-order compiler of serious innings. ‘The most pleasing thing is I’ve got a couple of big hundreds,’ he said. ‘Last year my downfall was that I was getting a number of starts. I got four nineties and 11 fifties so it was pleasing to get 180-odd at Trent Bridge. It’s nice to be scoring runs and to be talked about. ‘I know my game a lot better now. I know my strengths and my weaknesses. Sydney feels like a long time ago.’ Soon, it may recede even further into the memory.