Lancashire batsman Josh Bohannon hoping to get an England call up after channelling his anger

When attention finally turns to which players England will pick, not who will pick them, Josh Bohannon is sure to come up in conversation.

The Lancashire batsman was top scorer in Division One of the Championship last season, amassing 853 runs at an average of 53.31.

That earned him a call-up for the Lions tour Down Under, where he struck a half-century against an Australia A attack that included England’s Ashes nemesis Scott Boland.

Josh Bohannon has a ‘simple’ technique which should help him in international cricket

Now Bohannan has his sights set on being part of the full Test team this summer, whoever new managing director Rob Key appoints to select it. 

‘If I keep racking them up, then the chance should hopefully come my way,’ says the 25-year-old, who batted at No 3 in Lancashire’s 10-wicket win over Kent last week. ‘I can only try my best and keep knocking on that door.

‘The one thing that is blatantly obvious is that when people do get in they get given a chance.

‘Whenever I get a chance, hopefully I can stay in and prove I’m good enough to bat in that top order for England.’

The Lancashire batsman has his sights set on being part of the full Test team this summer

Until that call comes, though, Bohannon will not take anything for granted. He has learnt that the hard way after a false alarm in February, when he was tipped off that he would be in the Test squad for the tour of the West Indies only to be left out.

‘There was a lot of chat on the Monday before the squad got announced,’ recalls Bohannon.

‘I did an interview for Sky on the Tuesday and the reporter rang me saying, “Congrats” and I said, “What are you congratulating me for?”. He said, “I’ve heard you’ve been picked” and I said, “Well, you know more than I do”.

‘It was a really awkward conversation and then the news broke that I wasn’t in it. It was gutting, but it was at least nice to be spoken about.’

The 26-year-old struck a half-century for England Lions against Australia A in December

The right-handed Bohannon describes his technique as ‘simple’ with ‘not a lot of moving parts’, which he hopes will stand him in good stead in international cricket.

But what has really taken his batting to a new level, he says, is the work he has done on the mental side of the game.

‘A lot of stuff on the field gets in my head,’ admits Bohannon. ‘I’m quite a fiery bloke, so it’s about being able to channel that anger when it’s needed and pick a battle in the game, as opposed to just always being angry. Working on that has let me really enjoy my cricket.

‘Last year was the best state of mind I’ve been in playing cricket and I had some success, so hopefully it’s the same again this year.’