'I am very optimistic about the season' says Ian Blackwell ahead of championship opener

The last twelve months has been a momentous period of time in the life of Somerset all rounder Ian Blackwell whose rise to the top in cricketing circles has been meteoric.

This time last year the twenty four year old was itching to get the season started after spending the winter of 2001-2 working in the office at the County Ground in Taunton.

During the past winter `Blackie' spent time with the England Academy in Adelaide, made his One Day International debut and played in the World Cup in South Africa, and has come a long way in a short space of time.

The former Derbyshire player reflected on the past year when I spoke to him recently. He said: "I was disappointed not to go on the Academy in 2001-2 but I worked very hard during the winter and was determined to make up for it, which I am pleased to say has happened."

He continued: " I started the 2002 season very well, and got a hundred against Yorkshire in the opening championship match here, which was watched by Duncan Fletcher, and I think it was that which led to me being short listed for the Academy last winter, and then I had a very successful season, scoring 900 runs at an average of almost 40."

`Blackie' went on: "I got my England chance when Andrew Flintoff got injured, so you could say that his injury was a blessing in disguise for me. I was very pleased to go to Sri Lanka and get runs against India, and then to be selected for the one dayers in Australia."

I asked how he felt playing for England."It was strange experience really because I wouldn't say that I felt nervous, in fact I feel worse when I go out to bat in front of the Taunton crowd. It felt kind of surreal to be playing against names that I had only seen on the television. It was a great eye opener, and you have to experience it to appreciate how big a step it is up from county cricket. At that level there are no `gimme' bowlers, you are made to work hard for ever run you get. It's much quicker, and the fielding is much sharper," he told me.

Looking back over his eventful winter he told me; "It was a valuable experience for me, and I was one of the best one day bowlers for England. I was very pleased with the way that I adapted, although there is still some work to do, but I didn't do myself justice with the bat."

With regard to 2003 he told me: "Hopefully I played well enough to suggest that there is a place for me in the England squad and that I will get my chance in the triangular tournament during the summer. There's nothing like walking out in front of a crowd of 50,000 it gives you a real buzz, and it's why we play cricket. It's an experience you can't buy."

On the eve of the championship opener how did he think Somerset would fare. "I am very optimistic about the season. Everyone has worked very hard during the winter and in the early season matches and everybody knows exactly what is expected. Let's hope that we can get straight back up to where we belong and that is in the top division, but there are a lot of good teams in Division Two. We need to play well in the early matches and give ourselves a good platform to work from," he told me.

Judging by his early season from with both bat and ball Ian Blackwell is primed and ready for the first championship match at Bristol that starts at the end of this week.