Shahzad eyes England chance

Manchester:

Ajmal Shahzad believes he is ready to make his mark for England if he is handed his Test debut against Bangladesh at Old Trafford this week.

Shahzad has made just one England appearance to date and that came in a Twenty20 match, but an injury to Tim Bresnan has put the Yorkshire pace bowler in contention to feature in the second Test.

Captain Andrew Strauss and coach Andy Flower will choose between Shahzad and Ryan Sidebottom ahead of the start of the match on Friday and the 24-year-old, who was left out as England won the first Test at Lord's, says he will be ready if called upon.

"I hope I can make my debut on Friday," he said. "I have been back at Yorkshire and got a few overs under my belt, 29 of them in fact, and I am looking forward to it.

"I think I am ready to go if I get the nod and make my debut. I am desperate to be involved and I just want to play cricket."

After labouring to bowl out Bangladesh twice at Lord's, Flower was critical of England's performance with the ball, but Shahzad expects an improvement this time around.

"We have just come off the back of a one-day competition so it will always be difficult to adjust," he said.

"I found I was rusty during a county game so I know how the guys felt. But with overs under their belts they will have a rhythm and I'm sure it will show at Old Trafford.

"There has not been a lot of red ball practice, but we saw Jimmy (Anderson) coming into a rhythm at the end of the first innings at Lord's and Finny (Steven Finn) burst onto the scene and did very well.

"Bresnan had a bit of trouble but when he comes back from his injury he will be better for the experience."

Shahzad, the first British-born Asian to play for Yorkshire, also believes his experience of touring Bangladesh and being part of England's World Twenty20 success has prepared him for a potential debut.

"I have learnt a lot," he said. "I have taken it upon myself to work on my batting and bowling and I have enjoyed being among some of the best players in the world.

"I know which areas I need to improve on and it makes me want it even more. The best thing for me now is to keep bowling in the middle, do my best, put in good performances and hopefully if I get the chance I will take it."