Kabir Ali waiting for an England recall

Jul 25 2008

Worcestershire paceman Kabir Ali believes he is bowling well enough to earn an England recall after two years in the international wilderness.

Kabir has taken 44 wickets in the LV County Championship this season to propel the Royals to the top of Division Two after three wins in the last four games.

But he has been frustrated by his lack of recognition from the England selectors since last playing for his country in two one-day internationals against Sri Lanka 2006 when he believes he was made the scapegoat.

The 27-year-old even failed to make the provisional 30 for the Champions Trophy in Septemmber - unlike his county colleague Simon Jones who has 36 championship victims to his name this season.

Kabir, who made one Test appearance against South Africa five years ago, said: "The selectors have got a job to do and they've got to pick the best 15 or 16.

"To be honest I'm disappointed not to get in the squads because I can't see many bowlers that are better than me.

"I'm confident, I'm taking wickets and my stats are pretty good. I'm not saying I should be in the 15 or 16 but I definitely think I'm in the best 30 in county cricket.

"I don't know why I keep getting overlooked. I played in one Test against South Africa five years ago and took five wickets. Apart from two one-day games against Sri Lanka, when they were seeing the ball like a football, I thought I played well for my country.

"It could have been any other bowler on those two occasions who could have been smashed out of the park and I was disappointed to get dropped after two bad days out of 14 one-day internationals.

"I think I should be playing. I've got the stats and I know I'm good enough to play for England and take wickets."