Read shocked by England recall

14 April 2012

Chris Read was as shocked as anyone to win back the gloves for England for the third Test against Pakistan.

Wicketkeeper Read, 27, plays at Headingley on Friday more than two years after Geraint Jones, the rival he has now ousted, displaced him in the national side. It is his third life as an international cricketer, having first been called up in 1999 and recalled upon Alec Stewart's retirement four years later.

"I was pretty surprised but delighted," admitted Read, whose hundred for England A against the Pakistanis last month increased the pressure for the number seven spot.

"At the beginning of the season my first thought was nowhere near international cricket, it was just trying to replicate what I did with Nottinghamshire last year.

"Since that match at Canterbury I have had half an eye on this winter, which is a phenomenal winter to be involved in - an Ashes tour away and a World Cup is the stuff of dreams really.

"But it was a surprise because after someone has played 31 consecutive Tests they are part of the furniture, a little bit. Okay, Geraint hadn't scored the amount of runs the selectors demanded but they stuck with him and supported him for a long time and I didn't necessarily see any change coming midway through a series, particularly after a victory."

History has repeated itself in that regard as Jones was handed his debut in the Caribbean after England opened up an unassailable 3-0 lead and a first away series win over West Indies since the 1960s.

England have not shied away from ruthless decisions in selection over the past few years, in fact, and Read suffered for his lack of significant contributions.

Suspicions also lingered that he lacked a mean streak, a theory blown away perhaps by his fiery exchange with Sussex's Mushtaq Ahmed earlier this season which resulted in a reprimand from Lord's.

"I am portrayed in a certain way and my Nottinghamshire team-mates, who have known me for eight years, would no doubt rubbish everything that is said about me and tell you I am totally different," said Read. "Maybe a few people changed their viewpoint on my personality."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in