The giant desperate to roar

Chris Tremlett made an impressive international debut in 2007. At the start of the new season he spoke to Cricinfo on his goals for 2008, proving his detractors wrong, stepping up the aggression, and life after Warne

	'I've not heard from the selectors so I guess it's just down to me. That's the way it is. If you're not a centrally contracted player that's the way you get treated' © Getty Images Enlarge

You were ignored for the Sri Lanka tour and left New Zealand early with a side strain. How frustrated are you that Stuart Broad, for example, can make such an immediate impact in your absence?
Well, it doesn't piss me off. Broady bowled really well in the ODIs. Obviously it's frustrating not to get picked, especially after I'd bowled really well against India. I felt unlucky not to go on the Sri Lanka tour or the original [squad for the] New Zealand tour, but that just makes you more hungry to prove them wrong. I've worked hard since getting back from New Zealand: it's just a matter of trying to get some good overs in domestic cricket, lots of wickets and force my way in.

How do you remain motivated when you keep getting injured?
I got a taste of Test cricket last year and that's where I want to be. I really enjoyed my time in the side in both forms of the game, but probably more in Tests, and I didn't do myself too much harm. Hopefully I can find the form I showed last summer, get some good performances under my belt. But in terms of motivation, even playing for Hampshire gets me going: I love playing for them and still get nervous going out to play. I still get butterflies - that's motivation enough. All I want to do is play cricket. That is my motivation.

How do you respond to the detractors who question your passion for the game?
Yes, well, those people don't know me. Or at least they don't know me very well. Cricket has been my life and has always been my motivation - there's never been anything else I wanted to do. Sometimes it might look like I'm not trying or that I might not care, but I do, deep inside. I guess it's the way I carry myself, maybe the way I'm perceived from the outside. But the way I feel on the inside is that I'm trying my hardest. It might not show, but that's just the way I look. I'm laidback, I guess, but I always try my hardest.

Your former captain, Shane Warne, spoke of his wish to find a more aggressive Chris Tremlett. Have you found him yet?
I think I have definitely got more aggressive over the years, certainly. The quicker I've got over the years - I've gained a bit of extra pace - which makes you more aggressive when you know you've got that in the bank when you need it. But it's a balance. I find that if I'm over-aggressive, then I can't concentrate, so it's about trying to find a balance between being aggressive and being myself, and not trying to be someone you're not. People have said I should be aggressive, but if I went out there and acted like a lunatic, I don't think people would believe it was me and they'd probably laugh at me, or not take me seriously. I think I've got a good enough presence these days. It's about making people aware of your presence, making them realise that you're there and not going to back down to the batsman at the other end.

Didn't it hurt that your captain should have made such a public declaration?
It didn't nark me, no. It's just Warne's way of getting the best out of people I think. When I first started playing with him in 2003 I was very shy and still a young bowler in the county scene. I hadn't played for England and he saw potential in me. I was naturally quite shy and laidback and he wanted to get the best out of me. Having a more aggressive approach is probably what you need, especially in Tests. There's nowhere to hide. If you're hit for four, you've got to find something else - you can't back down and you need to give off the impression that you're in a fight. You've got to fight as a bowler in the good times and the bad.

I think it's the way you go about your cricket, the way you think about your bowling, which matters; trying to be more in a contest with the batsman and trying to hate the batsman more. When I first started playing, I didn't really think like that. I just wanted to bowl well. But now my thinking is more "Right. I want to get this guy out. What's he doing?" It's me versus him - almost a personal battle, instead of running up and bowling willy nilly. It's about ensuring I don't back down and that he knows he's in a battle.

Are Geoff Miller and the selectors in regular communication with you?
No. I've not spoken to anyone (in the England management) since I've got back. I've just been back with Hampshire, and I guess the England physio keeps an eye on me, fitness-wise. But I've not heard from the selectors so I guess it's just down to me. That's the way it is. If you're not a centrally contracted player, that's the way you get treated. That's always been the case as long as I've been involved - not had too much communication with people when I've been out of the set-up. Maybe that's a bit wrong, I don't know. Hopefully when the selectors come down - it's still early season - I can find out what I need to do to get back in the England team.

How is Hampshire life post Warne?
It's pretty good. It wasn't a huge shock that he didn't come back - we weren't really expecting him to, so we were prepared for the post-Warnie era. It's a good thing for us as we need to move on. We've had that stage of learning from Warnie who has been absolutely brilliant, but there's always going to be a time when he has to retire and move on. We just need to keep doing what we were doing, but so far the atmosphere's been great and everyone's really keen to get going. It was pretty relaxed with Warnie around, as it is now, apart from the odd occasion ... obviously Warnie's fairly passionate and wants to win, and he made us fight all the time. But we're quite relaxed, while trying to be aggressive at the same time.