WHILE still pinching himself in disbelief that he has made it, Graham Onions is full of gratitude as he prepares to board the plane for South Africa with the England squad today.

Top of his list of people to be thanked are his parents in Gateshead, Richard and Maureen, plus his partner, Emma, closely followed by everyone who has shown faith in him at Durham.

“I remember being thrown the ball at an important stage of a game at Scarborough a few years ago and Phil Jaques hit me for four successive fours. I was thinking ‘I’m not sure I can do this’,” said the 27-yearold paceman.

“But you have to learn from all those experiences. Otherwise I could not have done what I have in Test cricket this year.

“I often went for 15 to 20 runs in my first three overs but always came back strongly.”

Onions could not even get into the Durham team at the end of the 2008 season, having seen a good start to the campaign cut short by a heel injury, which kept him out for six weeks.

“Not being part of the celebrations when they won the title down at Canterbury really hurt,” he said.

“I got very frustrated and after being in the England setup a year before not hearing anything from them hurt as well.

“I had to prove to them that I could take my game to the next level, so I trained really hard last winter. I didn’t bowl a ball until after Christmas because there’s so much more to improving your game.

“You can’t get through a tough English season unless you’re fit enough and I worked hard on my strength. Fast bowlers need to have a strong core and legs.”

Onions again missed Durham’s title celebrations this year because he was with the England one-day squad at the Champions Trophy in South Africa and less than a month later he’s now heading back there.

In the meantime he’s been to Mexico for a holiday with Emma, but he was in the gym every day.

“I know what worked for me last winter, so I want to keep that going,” he said. “My gym sessions are 45-50 minutes, and I spend 30 minutes on the treadmill.

“Emma didn’t mind me doing that on holiday. She’s very supportive, like my parents.

I can’t thank them enough for everything they’ve done for me.

“We live quite near them.

The first house I bought was in Washington, but I couldn’t wait to get back to Gateshead.

I have strong roots and we’re a very close family.”

It could almost be Steve Harmison talking, but unlike his Durham colleague Onions has no qualms about leaving home for three months.

“We’re not back until January 20,” he said. “The longest I’ve been away before is six or seven weeks with England Lions in India, but I’m really excited about this trip. It’s something I’ve always wanted.

“I’ve been to South Africa a few times and it’s a great place to tour. Hopefully Emma can get some time off work to come out for a while.”

Harmison played in the Ashes-clinching Test, while Onions was left out. It could be that a choice had to be made between them for the tour, so Onions is understandably reluctant to get involved in the controversy surrounding Harmison’s omission. He merely said: “Steve has helped me massively and I have a lot of respect for him.

“I don’t feel I’m anywhere near the finished article and I have a huge desire to keep improving.

I feel I have a lot to give to Durham and England.

“I will never forget where I’m from. I’m very passionate about that. I started at Gateshead Fell and it was through them that Geoff Cook spotted me. He’s shown great faith in me and I’ve learnt so much from Durham.

“Ottis Gibson was a big help when he played for us and I’ve worked hard with him in his England role this summer to develop an in-swinger.

“My stock ball is slightly back of a length, hitting the seam, but I bowl the in-swinger slightly fuller and it’s a big wicket-taking ball, especially against tail-enders.”

Onions’ Test debut against the West Indies at Lord’s had an inauspicious start when he was out for a golden duck then conceded 22 runs in his first four-over spell.

But when he returned for another go he immediately had Lendl Simmons caught at first slip and took two more wickets in the over, finishing with five for 38.

His other highlight was taking wickets with the first two balls of the second day of the Edgbaston Test against Australia.

“I’ve always believed you have to test the batsman from the very first ball,” he said. As a fast bowler you’re going to bowl a limited amount of overs so I treat every ball as though it’s my last. Two wickets with the first two balls of the day in an Ashes Test was something I wouldn’t even dream about.

“We always talk about our bowling plans for each batsman the night before, but I can’t claim to have bowled Mike Hussey first ball because I had spotted a weakness.

When he played with us at Durham I thought he was absolutely unbelievable.

“He was the nicest man you could meet, but he also came in and changed the club. It’s such a great honour and a challenge to play Test cricket against people like him. Now I’ve got the chance I’m desperate to hang on to it.”