A return to the England one day side this Tuesday seems to be on the cards for Chris Tremlett, and even better for Chris and Hampshire cricket fans alike, that return will be at The Rose Bowl. It’s a prospect he finds very exciting.

“It will be an amazing experience playing at my home ground. All the extra seating has been put in and it looks incredible – it will be one of the greatest days of my career so far, playing in front of a full Rose Bowl crowd for my country.”

Chris’ development as a cricketer has run in parallel with the ground’s. “I made my debut at Northlands Road, and then played one of the first ever games at The Rose Bowl for the Seconds – there wasn’t even any seating here then. Obviously the wicket has improved over the years too, but The Rose Bowl can still be hard to bowl on – it can be very interesting pace-wise, flat and slow.”

The latest highlight in Chris’ career was playing Test matches for England, and I asked him how big a step up it was from the County Championship.

“It was a big step – especially bowling against one of the best batting line-ups in the world. But it made me concentrate a bit more – you can’t afford to switch off at all. The media attention and the huge crowds were a big factor too.”

Chris will no doubt be keen to add to his tally of six ODI wickets, four of which were taken during his first international game against Bangladesh in 2005. On Tuesday he will not only have the confidence of knowing he took no fewer than thirteen Indian scalps in the recent Test series, but also that he is on his own turf, and the packed Rose Bowl crowd will be rooting for him.

Tremlett, Pietersen and Dimi warm up during Monday's practise session (Photo - Robin Jones - The Digital South)

Dimi, Tremlett and Flintoff  (Photo - Robin Jones - The Digital South)

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