David Willey is back in love with cricket and loves his return to England in the spotlight

David Willey is reveling in the second chapter of his England career after rediscovering his lost love with the game.

Willey played a key role in setting Sunday’s Royal London Series decider against India, scoring a vital 41 with the stick and capped a tight bowling period with Virat Kohli’s prize. when the home team scored a 100-time win at Lord.

He was deemed important enough to be retained ahead of the ODI final at Emirates Old Trafford, rather than being fielded for the Yorkshire captain at Vitality Blast the days of the final, a seemingly fanciful situation. when he was eliminated on the eve of the 2019 World Cup victory.

Willey was named in the provisional 15-man squad for the tournament, only to be ruthlessly expelled for Jofra Archer to be available, and spent the next year outside as England celebrated their world championship title. . But since reclaiming his spot in the summer of Covid 2020, he has found his smile again.

He admitted: “I had a bit of a hard time playing unsuccessfully, around the time of the World Cup, and I loved the game.

“But I found my joy and love again. Once you have that, you’ll be hungry to keep improving, expanding your game, growing as a player. If you stand still, you go backwards. I think I kept trying to improve and my love for the game helped with that.

“This is a great dressing room to be in, win or lose. Everyone loves the dressing room because it’s a great place to stay and that is reflected in the performances over the years. It’s a pleasure to be a part of the white ball for England, the way we play our cricket”.

At 32, Willey has passed his younger years and is less involved in on-field disputes than in his early days.

He can still cause quite a stir, as he did earlier this summer with a strong statement marking his impending departure from Yorkshire, but is largely focused on what he can contribute in between.

“I’m getting older, I just go out and enjoy my cricket, trying to do the best job I can,” he said.

In ODIs, I have more experience but try to do the same job as when I first entered. At Lord, it’s about doing the simple things well and as a team we have done it.

“A lot of the time in England we played very well on the pitch, with over 300 points and it was hard to be a pitcher. But the important thing is if there is a little bit of support we get up, get the ball into the right area and make the most of the power of the pitch.”

England can name a team unchanged for a third straight game as they look to hand Jos Buttler their first win since taking over from Eoin Morgan as limited captain. Willey’s Yorkshire team-mates Harry Brook and Lancashire, Matt Parkinson and Phil Salt, are all due to head to Edgbaston for the final day of play on Saturday, but Surrey’s Sam Curran has been retained by England as a possible option. for the whole game.