Shah: I'm ready to take my chance

Owais Shah has fielded in front of 100,000 shouting fans and learned plenty during the relative peace and quiet of England's practice sessions.

But now, outwardly philosophical though he remains, the 23-year-old Middlesex player must be silently praying for some heat-of-the-moment batting action to make his three-week journey around India complete.

Shah, like the considerably more experienced Andrew Caddick, has yet to appear in a one-day series that sees England two games down with only two more to play.

There is no guarantee either of them will survive the cut here tomorrow, or even in Bombay on Sunday, where this leg of the tour ends and thoughts start to turn to fresh challenges in New Zealand.

But, given England's desire to get as much as possible from these two winter trips with next year's World Cup in mind, Shah, especially, ought to be accommodated in order to allow comparison with the likes of Michael Vaughan and Paul Collingwood.

"I would love a game before we leave India," he says. "But whether or not I'm in the side, it's all part of the learning curve. The same applied when I started with Middlesex. I was in and out of the team then, trying to make an impression.

"It's no different with England. I've had a few chances and it's up to me to take my opportunity when it comes along."

That is the only attitude worth having.

Shah's chances, though, have been limited to just the one since last summer's triangular tournament.

After reaching 28 not out on his debut against Australia and then making a high-class contribution of 62 during the match with Pakistan at Lord's, Shah's form tailed off to the extent of 14 runs in three more innings.

As for the autumn trip to Zimbabwe, his only entry on the scorebook was a second-ball duck.

But England clearly believe there is more than enough about Shah's game to make him a World Cup candidate. Otherwise, he wouldn't be here. And Shah will never forget the experience of fielding, as a substitute, in front of 100,000 spectators at Eden Gardens, Calcutta.

"The atmosphere was absolutely awesome," he said. "It's particularly electrifying when Sachin Tendulkar comes out to bat. If the whole stadium erupts when you set foot on the field then you must be doing something pretty special. I wouldn't mind a bit of that!"

Nor would Darren Gough, who hopes to play his 100th one-day international tomorrow.