Hartley: Life won’t be the same for me
TOM Hartley believes his Test tour of India could be a “life changing” experience as he plots a path from international newcomer to England regular.
The Lancashire spinner was a gut-feel selection for the trip, with his high release point, brisk pace and skiddy trajectory trumping a thin first-class record.
Despite losing the series 4-1, Hartley more than justified the call. Ending the series as the second-highest wickettaker with 22, beaten only by the masterful Ravichandran Ashwin, the left-armer also sent down more overs than any other bowler as Ben Stokes sent him into action on 250 occasions.
There was an unforgettable high in Hyderabad, where his second-innings haul of seven for 62 delivered one England’s greatest ever overseas victories, and the 24-year-old is beginning to adjust his own ambitions as he targets more of the same.
“I know that game will be remembered for a very long time. I think it probably will be life changing,” he said.
“Every so often I’ll see a clip and I’m still surprised. I almost have have to pinch myself like, ‘Wow, that’s what I did!’. The more time passes the more it settles in. My mum went out the day after and bought every paper going, so I’ve got a little folder which will be nice to look back on one day.
“But doing what I did has changed my perspective on what sort of player I can be. I’ve got a long way to go and I can still get a lot better but I know my ceiling has got a lot higher.
“I enjoyed it so much and now I just want to want to keep playing Test cricket. It’s a great environment and a great dressing room to be in. Everyone wants to be part of that and so do I.”
Hartley was turning out for Ormskirk as recently as July 2022 and hopes his rapid rise through the ranks can motivate more to make the same journey. He said: “What happened to me was so amazing and I hope that is an inspiration to other cricketers out there, it shows things can happen fast if you keep believing. It’s a great story and I hope people see that and keep on going.”
England, meanwhile, have slipped to the bottom of the World Test Championship standings after Sri Lanka completed a 328-run thrashing of Bangladesh inside four days in Sylhet.
Although England have prevailed in three of their 10 Tests, with Sri Lanka gaining a first triumph in three fixtures in the 2023-25 cycle, teams are ranked according to the percentage of points won.
Hindering England’s progress was a 19-point deduction for slow over-rates in four of last year’s five Ashes Test in a thrilling series which finished 2-2. England have just been beaten 4-1 in India.
Had that not been applied, England, third in the International Cricket Council Test rankings behind India and Australia, would sit in fifth place in the the nine-team World Test Championship.
Ben Stokes’ side have a dozen matches remaining before the final at Lord’s in June 2025, starting with three-Test series at home against both the West Indies and Sri Lanka this summer and winter tours to Pakistan and New Zealand before the year is out.