Michael Carberry believes he completed only “half the job” with his maiden one-day international half-century, which helped England level the NatWest Series against Australia.
Carberry combined with captain Eoin Morgan in a stand of 104 as England recovered, after Clint McKay’s hat-trick, to pull off a chase of 227 all out.
The three-wicket victory in Cardiff owed even more perhaps to Jos Buttler’s second consecutive ODI fifty – but either way, opener Carberry’s reward for his effort is the opportunity to push for a 2-1 series success in front of his home crowd at the Ageas Bowl.
The Hampshire left-hander, whose sole Test match came against Bangladesh in Chittagong three-and-a-half years ago, had hoped to make his Twenty20 international debut in Southampton earlier this month.
England stuck with former Hampshire batsman Michael Lumb and Alex Hales for that match – but after a sticky start to his ODI career, 32-year-old Carberry will have his chance in his most familiar surroundings after all on Monday.
Carberry’s first three ODI innings had brought him just 15 runs.
After adding a crucial 63 in Wales, he said: “I was pleased I got myself in, still my first ODI series, and got a few runs in a winning cause.
“I still think it was half a job done, though. So I’ve something to work on to make sure, if I get in, I can be finishing it off next time.”
Carberry had to contend not just with McKay at the SWALEC Stadium but the fearsome pace of Mitchell Johnson, who sent down one delivery which was too hot to handle at 151km/h and lobbed high above his head off his glove and then safely to ground before wicketkeeper or close fielders could converge.
That dicey moment, on eight, was one of very few.