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So Ronnie Irani, the tall Essex all-rounder, is to bring new fire into the England dressing room at the age of 28. It sounds optimistic, but perhaps the national side have found their man.

The Essex club and Nasser Hussain, England's captain, know all about him. When the public address at Chelmsford announces Irani as the next batsman or bowler, the home crowd give him a special cheer.

This buzz is not in anticipation of Bothamesque fireworks but for a man who is passionate on the field but courteous to the public. Essex, crowd and players alike, have learnt to appreciate him as a fighter to the very last.

A good example of his intensity occurred during Essex's NatWest Trophy semi-final against Glamorgan at Chelmsford two years ago. Darren Thomas won an lbw decision against Irani, who, with his eyes on the ball not realising he had been given out, started on a single and ran past Thomas at the very instant the bowler, unaware of his presence, punched the air in triumph.

By freakish timing Thomas's fist clattered into the batsman's jaw. A frenzied Irani was convinced there had been deliberate fisticuffs. The incident was amusing, like a Norman Wisdom scrape, but at the time Irani looked ready to go to war, just as England will be hoping when he wins his third cap, at the Oval on Thursday.

Mark Ilott, his Essex colleague and an England bowler, said: ``Ronnie's a winner. Some people are lacking that extra edge. Ronnie's got that. We have thought for a long time he's a far better player than others who have been picked for England.''

Ilott added: `` To him, the higher the competition the more fired up he'll get. He won't be out of his depth at all against New Zealand.''

Five years ago, in his first summer with Essex after moving from Lancashire in search of greater opportunity, Irani drove more than 200 miles from Southend to Manchester to congratulate John Crawley when he was selected for England. It was a spontaneous journey to share the joy of his former Lancashire team-mate.

Irani, who is also a good footballer and basketball player, made his Test debut against India in 1996. He played twice in that series but, surprisingly, they are his only caps to date apart from 10 one-day internationals.

A stress fracture of the back in 1994 knocked his career sideways, and lumbar problems occurred intermittently until he was cured by injections from a specialist in Munich two years ago. It was during his visits to Germany that Irani discovered smart suits. An Essex team-mate said: ``Ronnie found that Hugo Boss suits were quite cheap in Munich, so he used to buy a few. He has gone from having the worst taste in clothes to being quite well dressed. ``

So England have called on a fighter, who is dapper with it. It could be a smart move.