James Vince has returned to form for the England Lions in Dubai.
The Hampshire captain stroked a 93-ball 88 as United Arab Emirates were beaten by five wickets in the tourists’ opening warm-up match, ahead of next week’s 50-over series against Pakistan A.
Vince, who struggled for runs in the T20 series against Pakistan A, having been named man of the series in England’s victory over the full Pakistan team, enjoyed the change of format.
“In Twenty20 you don’t necessarily have a chance to get in, you always feel under pressure to score,” explained Vince, who handed the captaincy to Sam Billings.
“This was quite nice, 50 overs chasing 200, you could assess the wicket, and we weren’t under a huge amount of pressure to score straight away."
Vince added: “It was different not captaining. I was trying to help Sam when he needed it but not thinking about who’s bowling and things like that, it does mean you can just concentrate on your fielding a bit more.
“But hopefully I’ll get the reins back when the series starts.
"That was the advantage of being captain in the T20s. You feel like you can still have some sort of influence on the game even if you don’t score runs."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here