IAN Blackwell was delighted to find yesterday that neither his loss of weight nor loss of sleep have affected his ballstriking ability.

There was just enough play before the rain set in at Lord’s for Blackwell to complete a century on his Durham debut as he and Will Smith advanced the score from the overnight 244 for four to 311.

While the watching England selectors are more interested in the MCC players, Blackwell hopes his 102-ball century will have prompted a few jottings in their notebooks.

Having played one Test and 34 one-day internationals, he has been ignored since 2006 but hasn’t given up hope of representing England again.

His determination to impress has prompted him to train extra hard over the winter, resulting in the loss of weight, while the loss of sleep has followed the birth of his eight-week-old twins.

“They are our first children and with a boy and a girl we’ve got it all over with in one go,”

he said. “It’s hard work, but it’s great.

“It hasn’t stopped me training hard. I’ve been running twice a day in the winter – some interval running and some 45-minute jogs along a canal towpath near my Taunton home.

“I’m also eating a lot better and I’ve lost about 10kg. I’ve always been fit enough to bowl 25 overs in a day or play a long innings, but my fielding and agility seem to have been an issue with some people.

“At the highest level they want athletes as well as quality cricketers. Samit Patel has been made a scapegoat by England recently – they want people to look right.

“I want to challenge and improve myself and I hope a new start with the champion county will propel me back to the top.

“Gareth Batty got another chance with England recently.

I went to the National Academy with him and we get on well, so I don’t begrudge him his success. These things go in cycles – he has been out of the reckoning for a few years, so for him to get back in gives people like me fresh hope.”

Born in Chesterfield, 30- year-old Blackwell played for Derbyshire until he moved to Somerset in 2000. It was against Derbyshire at Taunton that he made his top score of 247 not out in 2005, when his last 204 runs came off 94 balls.

It seems unthinkable that such a powerful striker should be unable to get into the Somerset one-day side last season, which was what prompted him to seek a move with two years left on his contract.

“It frustrated me because I felt I should be playing in every game. I had the statistics to back up the fact that I was better than some of the players in the one-day side, but they wanted to stick with the team they had picked.

“I just want to play in all forms of the game and Somerset said they wouldn’t stand in my way if I wanted to go. To be wanted by the champion county is great.

“ I have been very excited about coming to Durham and my parents will be coming up regularly from Chesterfield – they love the North-East.”

Blackwell played his Test against India at Nagpur in 2006 just at the time when a shoulder tear was starting to trouble him.

“I had just got back into the one-day team and done quite well in Pakistan. Then it got worse in India,” he said. “The timing was unfortunate for both my England and county careers.

“I was Somerset captain in 2006 but after playing the first few games I needed surgery to sew up the shoulder. Justin Langer arrived later that season and he wanted to come as captain. I had no issue with that because it was great to play under someone of his calibre.”

After nine seasons at Taunton, Blackwell feels he has been pigeon-holed as someone who makes runs on flat wickets, but points out that his four championship centuries last season were all away from home.

He also recalls making 80 and 48 on an early-season pitch at Stockton in 2005 when other batsmen struggled.

“I concentrate harder when I know there’s a bit in the pitch,” he said. “That’s something I’ve worked on for the last few years.

“I’m happy to bat at six for Durham in the championship, and possibly a little higher in the one-day games. I have opened in 40-over and Twenty20 cricket, and in T20 I think you have to get your best strikers of the ball in for as long as possible.”

As for his left-arm spin bowling, he isn’t worried about Riverside’s reputation as a spinners’ graveyard.

“It can’t be any harder than bowling at Taunton,” he said.

“At least with the bigger boundaries I can bring more of my skills into play.”

How much opportunity he gets to bowl at Lord’s will depend on the weather over the next two days, but as usual the MCC v Champions curtainraiser seems destined to fizzle out into a draw.

Play began ten minutes late yesterday and lasted for 75 minutes, just long enough for Blackwell to advance from his overnight 63 to 102. Durham will hope he hasn’t used up all his beginner’s luck as he edged two successive fours through the slips to move into the 90s. On 98 he went for a big drive off Kabir Ali and failed to make contact, but he then pushed Tim Bresnan just in front of square on the off side to complete his century.

He had hit 16 fours, most of them with an authority which should assure Durham fans that they are going to enjoy watching him bat.

Smith played some lovely shots off his legs in advancing from his overnight 43 to 71.

Scoreboard

MCC v Durham At Lord’s

MCC Won Toss

Overnight: Durham 244-4 (I D Blackwell 63 no, M J Di Venuto 53).

Durham First Innings Close W R Smith not out ............................71

I D Blackwell not out ......................102

Extras (b2 lb12 w3 nb2 pens 0) ..................................19

Total 4 wkts (89 overs) ........311

Fall: 1-104 2-113 3-128 4-141.

To Bat: P Mustard, G Onions, L E Plunkett, M E Claydon, C D Thorp.

Bowling: Kabir Ali 20-2-69-0. Mahmood 18-3-68-1.

Bresnan 25-6-56-2.

Woakes 20-2-76-1. A U Rashid 6-0-28-0.