Nottinghamshire’s Jake Ball has outlined his determination to win back an England Test place – and says his ‘frustrating’ Ashes campaign this winter has taught him a lot.

The 26-year-old seamer was thrilled to be picked for the prestigious tour Down Under, only to suffer an ankle injury that hampered his preparations for the first Test.

Mansfield-born Ball proved his fitness in order to line up against the Aussies at the Gabba, taking the prized wicket of David Warner.

But he was not picked for any of the subsequent matches as England lost the series 4-0.

“It obviously wasn’t how I planned or I wanted it to go, but it’s professional sport and things like that can happen.”

“It obviously wasn’t how I planned or I wanted it to go, but it’s professional sport and things like that can happen,” he said.

“I had a couple of days before that first Test match and the ankle was fine. Looking back and reflecting on it, perhaps the match fitness wasn’t there.

“I think I had only bowled 15 match overs going into the Test, so I was probably a little bit under-cooked that way.

“But it was an Ashes Test and you are going to go in and give it your all. I felt like I would have been in a good position from that game, but it wasn’t to be and that was my only chance of the tour.

“It’s frustrating it happened that way, but decisions have to be made and it’s quite a ruthless place to be at times.

“You have to deal with it and it’s how you do that and come back from it which can be how you are judged.

“There is always that determination whenever you get dropped from a side to get back into the team. The only way I’m going to do that is by some good performances at Notts – that’s my way back into the England team.”

Ball went on to play in a solitary One-Day International against Australia, where things went better for England as they won the series 4-1.

“The way the Australians went about their cricket and the aggression that they showed… I definitely learned a lot for that.”

But he returned home after that leg of the tour as some of his team-mates, including Notts’ Alex Hales, have gone on to play a T20 and ODI series in New Zealand.

Stuart Broad will fly out towards the end of the month as England contest a short Test series against the Kiwis.

Ball added: “It was a tough tour for everyone out there for the Tests. The Australians played some outstanding cricket and sometimes you have to hold your hands up and say well played.

“Watching the likes of Starc, Hazlewood and Cummins and how they go about their business was really good for me, if not so good for our batters at the other end.

“The way they went about their cricket and the aggression that they showed… I definitely learned a lot for that.”

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