Mills sets sights on T20 leagues

Tymal Mills, the left-arm fast bowler, is hoping to secure deals to play in T20 tournaments around the world following the season where he made his England debut.

A congenital back condition means that Mills, 24, is restricted to T20 cricket and is set on forging a successful career in the format. He has signed a new one-year deal with Sussex after claiming 15 wickets at 19.73 in the 2016 NatWest T20 Blast campaign including a televised spell where he troubled Chris Gayle and Mahela Jayawardene.

His county form earned him a maiden international call-up for the T20 against Sri Lanka at the Ageas Bowl where he impressed with his pace, regularly passing 90mph during his four overs. He was retained in the squad for match against Pakistan at Old Trafford this month but did not make the final XI.

England's only T20 in the next nine months is a three-match series against India in January but Mills is hopeful of finding a place in the various overseas leagues before the next English season rather than risking an attempt to play 50-over cricket again.

"I've just turned 24 so hopefully have quite a few years left in me," he told the Sussex website. "For the next couple of years I'll try to just do T20, if I can get the gigs around the world in the winter playing T20, I have a few things lined up, if I can do that well then I want to do that. The risk-reward of 50-over cricket may not be great because if I get injured again I could be struggling to come back."

One of the challenges for Mills with just playing a single format is keeping himself match-ready between T20 outings. Next season's T20 Blast is moving to a block in July and August which could aid him, but he is also eager to experience the atmosphere of the global tournaments.

"If I'm only going to be playing T20 I want to do it right," he said. "I want to play for England, I want to challenge myself in the big games, against the best players with big crowds. That's where I want to be moving forward and hopefully I get the chance to do so."