England Lions may have ended their winter in the desert with disappointment against Pakistan A, but even in defeat Nottinghamshire’s Jake Ball offered tangible evidence of the lessons he has learned.
Ball has impressed the Lions coaches sufficiently to earn selection in nine of the ten matches in the two series against the Pakistanis – missing one T20 match before Christmas and being ever-present in the 50-over contests this month – and he signed off with figures of 8-2-17-1.
“It would have been nice to get the series win but on a personal level I’m really happy with the way I’ve bowled over the five games,” said the 24-year-old. “Picking up wickets here and there, and keeping the economy down which is also important.
“That was a really subcontinental type of wicket. There wasn’t a tremendous amount in it for the bowlers, you just had to keep sticking it in the same area and hope the batters would make a mistake, and I did that ok.
“I see it as a big achievement for myself first to be selected for the Lions - and then to play nine out of ten games, and perform well in them, I’ve really enjoyed my winter.”
Conditions at the ICC’s Global Cricket Academy in Dubai could hardly be more different to those Ball can generally expect at Trent Bridge in April, but he has adjusted impressively to those new challenges.
Ball’s six wickets in the series have cost just 25.83 with an exemplary modern game economy rate of 4.30 runs per over.
“Bowling on these wickets, it is very different,” Ball added. “The different fields you have to set, and also the different players you come across - they get balls in different areas, they tend to play a lot squarer than English players.
“Being away with the Lions also gives you the chance to work with and learn from other players too - the likes of Tom Curran who I didn’t know before, and all the other seamers who were in South Africa and then here in Dubai.”
Ball will not have long to readjust to the East Midlands winter before he is returning to the UAE with a Notts training camp in February, as they step up preparations for the 2016 campaign.
The pre-season tour to Barbados will follow and a close season of globetrotting would be extended still further, should Ball be selected to play for the MCC in the county season curtain raiser against reigning champions Yorkshire in Abu Dhabi.
The 2015 season saw dramatic last-gasp four day victories, thrilling limited-overs contests and an historic Investec Ashes Test, all in the unique surroundings of Trent Bridge.
Next season, we’d wager, will be no less enthralling and frankly we’d hate for you to miss out.