That was the promise from Derbyshire's captain yesterday as he admitted to being ``very pleasantly surprised'' about his return to the England squad for this week's first Test against the South Africans at Edgbaston.

``You can't change your character but you can listen, learn and take a look at yourself and make improvements where necessary,'' he said. That's what I've been doing and I see myself as a calmer, more relaxed and focused cricketer now.

``Captaincy has certainly helped me a great deal. I'm thoroughly enjoying being at the helm and I'm sure that the experience of taking responsibility for other people as well as for myself has had a beneficial effect on my overall attitude to the game.

``I've put in a lot of effort to strengthen those areas of my body which have caused me problems. I've had a lot of help from Kim Barnett and Karl Krikken in getting my action and pace right and my rhythm back. As a result I feel 100 per cent fit and have got the old away-swing working well again.''