Giles: This is the high point of my career
Anand Vasu - 13 December 2001

© CricInfo

On the eve of the second Test at Motera, Ahmedabad, England skipper Nasser Hussain told reporters that England's strategy would be to put runs on the board and bring Ashley Giles into the game.

On the first two days they piled on 407 runs and Giles repaid his skipper's faith with a career best haul of 5/67 . The left-arm spinner took England to victory in Pakistan, scalping 17 wickets in three Tests. Yet, this game is the highlight, says Giles. Excerpts from his conversation with reporters.

Is there a good game on for England now?

Yeah, the game is on now. I haven't thought too far into this game yet. It's just been a fantastic day for me personally. I think we've done well to come back after losing the first Test. We have to play well again tomorrow and then sort out things on the last day.

Was it a bit of a gamble going into the game after a long lay- off?

I didn't think it was that big a gamble going into this game. Obviously I've not had a lot of practice out in the middle, but the foot felt fine after the injection and I was bowling pretty well in the nets. There's always a risk going into a game where you have to bowl quite a few overs when you're just recovering from injury but I thought I had to play.

Was he nervous when he began to bowl?

I was a bit dry in the mouth for the first couple of overs. I haven't played for a while and was up against some very good cricketers on a good wicket. So I was obviously nervous and wanted to do well. I couldn't have imagined I would do this well.

On Sachin Tendulkar…

He's am awesome cricketer, an awesome man I think. It's a pleasure to play against him and interesting just sitting in the background and listening to him speak. There have not been too many cricketers of his calibre.

On the restrictive tactics the England team used…

I just tried to bowl over the wicket to Sachin (Tendulkar) quite a bit and tried to tuck him up. You might say it is a negative tactic, but the idea was to dry up the runs and it worked. He didn't get overly frustrated because he's that good a player. He's a class act and has all the time in the game. He looks the kind of player who picks his moments. He makes up his mind, comes at you and then goes back to defending for a bit.

Did he have doubts that he would never play Test Cricket again?

Whenever you're injured, these doubts creep in. Even here, when I had recovered from the achilles tendon problem and then picked up an unrelated niggle, it was quite frustrating. I owe a lot of thanks to Nasser (Hussain), Fletch (Duncan Fletcher) and Dean Conway, who've got me through this. I didn't come here to sit on my backside. I wanted to play and the frustration of this other injury was getting me down a bit. I was desperate to play Test cricket again.

What does this performance mean to him?

A Test five-fer is what you are here for, I guess. It's what you dream about and I've got one before. But to come back like I have today after what I've gone through with my fitness in the last year makes this the high point. I just hope I can carry on playing like this for as long as I can.

© Cricinfo Ltd.