Ashes 2021-22: Sam BiIlings ‘100 per cent ready if required’ to make his Test debut
Sam Billings has made it clear that he is ready to take the opportunity if he is handed a debut in the upcoming fifth Ashes Test in Hobart. The 30-year-old was recently added to the England squad as a cover for injured wicketkeepers Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow. Billings has played 25 ODIs and 33 T20 internationals for the English side but is yet to make his debut in the longer format of the game.
Buttler has been already been ruled out of the final Test due to the finger injury while a call on Bairstow is yet to be taken. Both could not keep in the fourth Test at Sydney and Ollie Pope filled in for them doing a good job behind the stumps after coming in as a substitute.
However, the chances of Billings making his Test debut in the final Test are blooming up as the visitors will play for their pride in the fifth Test with the series done and dusted already.
My game is in a good place, feels Sam Billings
Billings is quite confident about giving his all in the fifth Test if he gets picked and explained how his game in a better place at the moment. He noted that he has done the job for his county side Kent in the last three years and does see himself making a big impact in whatever way possible.
“I am 100 per cent ready if required, and I will give absolutely everything I can. My game is in a good place. It has been in the longer format for the last three years for Kent. I have been playing consistent cricket and scoring runs. It doesn’t really matter what format it is, it’s more about rhythm, confidence, and mindset,” Billings said on Monday according to India Today.
“Like any side I go into I will try to make a positive impact on and off the field, in any environment I am put into,” he added. Billings also credited Bairstow, Buttler, and Ben Stokes for coming out to bat in the second innings despite their injuries to save the Test. Bairstow scored the first century for England in the ongoing Ashes in the previous Test and the in-form batter will look to recover soon.
“The three guys who came out to bat in Sydney with injuries, that’s incredible courage. It’s exactly what everyone involved in English cricket is about — playing for each other and that resilience. There’s a lot of inspiration we can take from that as a group, that character and over-my-dead-body attitude.” Billings added.
