'I'm desperate to play against India' says Ian Blackwell

Somerset all rounder Ian Blackwell, who along with James Anderson and Paul Collingwood has been one of the success stories of the winter for England, spoke about the frustrations of missing out on the dramatic World Cup victory against Pakistan at the weekend.

He told me: "The game was absolutely fantastic, it was probably more tense for me being on the sidelines because I couldn't do a thing to influence the result. Albeit a resounding victory but I genuinely turned into a spectator watching from the outside."

He continued :"I must admit I really hope that I play on Wednesday as I haven't got any finger nails left, and that was after a comfortable win!"

Regarding his injury he said: " I had a fitness test on Saturday morning and I honestly would have said that I was around 80% fit. I felt as if I could have got through the game and I was bowling pain free during warm up. Dean Conway the physiotherapist and the captain chatted about my situation and thought that an extra four days recovery and treatment would be far more beneficial than risking me in the match."

He continued: "I was gutted not to play and watching on the sidelines in such a big game the atmosphere just made me realise why we play this game in the first place. There must have been 15,000 people barracking for England. The ground had a real buzz to it, very similar to the atmosphere of the Lords Final two years ago when we beat Leicestershire."

What about afterwards I asked him. "After the game I was delighted that we won but I found it hard to join in all the celebrations. I had a couple of beers and a glass of wine and went to bed while most of the other guys went out. I just couldn't get worked up, the normal adrenaline rush of a win eluded me. Not like me I hear people cry" he said.

Looking ahead to Wednesday's game he said: " Everyone in the camp has a real sense of victory for the India game. They are a similar side to Pakistan, very talented but sometimes don't fire."

He went on: "Maybe someone is smiling on us after the fiasco of Zimbabwe and who knows it could be fate that we qualify. I'm not that superstitious but there seems to be that funny confident air about the team that was lacking in Australia."

Did `Blackie' think that he would be in the line up to face India in Wednesday's crucial match. He told me: "I knew that giving up my place to Ashley Giles would possibly cause the management a few headaches and such an emphatic win will make it hard for them to change a winning side and that would hurt me. Giles didn't put a foot wrong, he did what was asked and that is going to make their decision that little bit harder."

He concluded: "I'm desperate to play against India and resume normal service. I don't want to feel that bad after such a great win ever again."

I'm sure that all Somerset readers will want to thank 'Blackie' for all the information that he has sent back for website and will be hoping that he is in the team on Wednesday and wish him every success in the match.