Sam Billings has been appointed the vice-captain of the England T20I team for their tour to New Zealand.
Billings made his highest international score of 87 runs against West Indies in a T20I. After that, he had missed out on a lot of international cricket for the next five months due to a shoulder injury. He is now fit to play after a long gap and has been given added responsibility to be the deputy to Eoin Morgan.
“It's great to get some recognition and it's a huge honor. It's a great opportunity to be recognized as a developing leader. And there's an element of personal development about it, too. I captained the England Lions last winter and my county for the last two years,” an excited Billings said.
“Eoin gave me a call a couple of weeks ago and said he'd love me to do it. I suppose he must see something in me. I'm looking forward to learning to form him and implanting what I've done at Kent. But I'm in the side as a batsman first and foremost and then as a keeper. You have to be able to perform at that top-level consistently in those roles firstly. The captaincy is an added bonus and one I really enjoy. It makes you take responsibility for yourself and other guys,” he added.
He appreciated the environment in the dressing room and how the players are given the freedom to express themselves. Each and every player can play the way that helped him get into the squad.
The 28-year-old said, “One great thing that's been created around this group it that's it's so easy for people to come in and express themselves. You're encouraged to play the way that got you here. Tom Banton, for example, had a brilliant summer and will be encouraged to play exactly as he has been. Pat Brown is another with a few tricks up his sleeve who has impressed over the last couple of years. It's great that we have that culture where people can really go in and excel.”
Billings also stated the fact that England has a lot of talented players in the fray. So he needs to keep performing well for the next 12 months if he wants to cement his place in the squad for the T20 World Cup 2020.
“I've been on the fringes for the last four or five years. I've made some performances along the way, but we have such depth in our squad in terms of batsmen and keepers. The last innings I played was that 87 in the West Indies. But then I got injured and missed a lot of the year. So even though that innings in the West Indies was a long time ago, it's about continuing that momentum in an England shirt. For me, it's about enjoying it and it's good to be back playing. The injury has given me some perspective. I just have to make the most out of every opportunity. For me, as a player, my focus is on being in that T20 World Cup squad,” he said.
(Source: ESPNCricInfo)
