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Kent and England spinner James Tredwell says loan spell with Sussex is serving its purpose

James Tredwell admitted he endured a tough first week on loan at Sussex, with the added complication of facing his new team-mates in a T20 the day after playing alongside them in a Championship match.

The spinner bowled 59 overs in Yorkshire’s first innings at Arundel, taking a respectable 3-158 in the Championship draw, before returning to Canterbury to bowl against his new colleagues on Friday night, taking 2-20.

The 32-year-old said: “No doubt it’s tough. I guess it was always going to happen – that (my first game back) would be against them.

“They’re a great bunch of lads. I knew a few of them from playing with and against them over the years. I have toured with Luke Wright, even played youth cricket with a couple of their coaches.”

He added: “It’s serving a purpose. I’m helping them as much as they’re helping me, I’m filling a hole for them.

James Tredwell. Picture: Barry Goodwin
James Tredwell. Picture: Barry Goodwin

“I got the overs in I wanted and it was good fun but it was nice to come back and pull on a Kent shirt again and put in a performance in this form of the game.”

The former Kent skipper was dropped from the four-day team after the opening game of the season at Worcester in favour of youngster Adam Riley and Tredwell admitted: “I felt if there was an opportunity to play First Class cricket, I had to take it – not just to be picked again for Kent but I want to stay in the England one-day set-up so the more your name is out there (the better).

“(This loan) is serving a purpose, hopefully I can put the overs in and who knows where that will take me from there?

“I want to keep putting in performances, everyone keeps saying there’s a space for a Test spinner up for grabs – you don’t know what might come from it, hopefully something like that is the result.

“It would be nice to be that frontline England spinner but two or three of us are in the same boat at the moment. The only way to get in there is through performance.

“I might be ‘England’s James Tredwell’ in one-day cricket but arguably my four-day performances have not been up to scratch in the past year or 18 months so I needed to get some overs in.

“It came out nicely for 59 overs this week. I know they’re for Sussex but I want to do it for myself so I can feel proud of my performances again.”

Tredwell has also backed team-mate Riley to represent his country – though he says the 22-year-old would rather not be the centre of attention this early in his career.

Tredwell said: “Adam has done well – 30-odd wickets in six or seven games is good in anyone’s book. He’s a fine bowler, he’s got a great temperament and a good cricket brain, plus he’s getting a few runs.

“He’s got every chance (of playing for England) but he would like the pressure of that off his shoulders for a little bit and continue taking wickets for a few more games yet. He keeps saying to me ‘I’ve only played five games’ but you never know.

“Shane Warne was in the Australian side after two First Class games, something like that, so it’s happened before and there’s no reason why it couldn’t happen again.”

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