‘You want to play in the big venues’: England debutant Richard Gleeson looks ahead to the T20 World Cup in the fall after a stunning international berth against India in Edgbaston
Richard Gleeson sacked three of India’s best players from Edgbaston
Former factory worker looks ahead to further exploits with England
Bowler says England wasn’t on his radar after taking three wickets on debut
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Richard Gleeson had a bittersweet debut in England that left the former boiler factory worker dreaming of performing in the heat of a World Cup.
Gleeson, who at age 34 became England’s oldest debutant since Paul Nixon in 2007, returned excellent figures of 4-1-15-3 in the 49-point loss to number one in India that his Lancashire team-mate, Jos Buttler, in his first run as regular cue captain.
India’s stellar triumvirate of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant were the victims in a four-ball spell that showed the fast bowler of the former minor provinces could rise to challenge the best on the world stage.
Richard Gleeson took three wickets – including Rishabh Pant’s – on his England debut
His call-up came just three months before the World Cup in Australia and at the prospect of making it to that tournament, the Blackpool-born bowler said: ‘You want to play on the big occasions, don’t you? So yes, why not?
“I’ll just look at the next game and assume that, I guess.”
Such an event would be a new chapter in Gleeson’s astonishing story – until 27, when he made his first-class debut against Australia as a trialist with Northamptonshire, he had not played professionally. At the time, he combined matches with Cumberland in the summer by making money at a boiler factory in the winter.
Gleeson also removed Virat Kohli and captain Rohit Sharma to finish with figures of 3-15
“England was not on my radar, it was just trying to get to the highest level I could and I’ve come here so far,” Gleeson said.
Until March, when Lancashire offered him a Twenty20 contract for this season, there were fears a stress fracture of the back would force him into retirement.
But he has come back strong, being the leading England wicket taker in this year’s Vitality Blast at 23 wickets, opening talks at Emirates Old Trafford over a new deal and continuing his form on the biggest podium with his elimination of India’s top trio.