Meet the Australian who wants to play for England in the Ashes! Dan Worrall, 33, explains the main reason behind the late career rise that could see him turn his back on Australia as their biggest rivals

Dan Worrall is prepared to turn his back on Australia and proudly don the Three Lions when England come calling next year.

Melbourne-born Quick celebrated winning his third Division One title in three years with Surrey last week and has had nothing but success since arriving at the Oval in 2022.

The British passport holder has made three ODI appearances for Australia but will complete his qualification process to make the switch to England in April 2025.

And with the Aussies looming in the Ashes next winter, he says he would jump at the chance to play international cricket again.

“Ultimately it’s out of my control, but if the opportunity arises next year I’d love to take it,” Worrall told Mail Sport in his thick Aussie accent. “I will do my best to perform and what will be, as long as Surrey is not a permanent fixture!”

Dan Worrall is prepared to turn his back on Australia and proudly don the Three Lions if England come calling

The British passport holder has made three ODI appearances for Australia

He (left) celebrated winning his third Division One title in three years with Surrey last week

His form at Surrey has not gone unnoticed by Brendon McCullum. And England chief Rob Key confirmed in these pages last week that Worrall, 33, is on his radar to become the first Australian-born player to represent England since batsman Sam Robson in 2014.

Opener Robson was born in Paddington, New South Wales, to an English mother and an Australian father, Jim, and represented Australia in nine Under 19 ODIs.

He made the move to England in 2008 after his progress with New South Wales was hampered by the presence of Usman Khawaja and the late Phillip Hughes, both of whom went on to play Tests.

Robson qualified to play for England in 2013 and made his Test debut against Sri Lanka at Lord’s the following year. He scored his only Test century in the next match at Headingley, but played only five more times.

While Robson slipped back into the grind of the county circuit and then failed to claw his way back into Test contention, Worrall’s performances were too good to ignore.

Over the past three seasons he has taken 139 wickets at an average of just 21 as the Brown Caps dominated Division One.

As well as his pace and movement, it is Worrall’s trademark diagonal approach to the wicket that is turning heads. It’s a run forged in Victoria when he was a child – based not on technique but on necessity.

“As a kid, if you wanted to bowl something faster than spinning, you had to run around this tree at the bottom of the garden,” he says. “I didn’t really have much bowling coaching when I was young, so I was just lucky. It all seems to have gone well.

In the last three seasons he has taken 139 wickets at an average of just 21 as the Brown Caps dominated Division One

His form at Surrey has not gone unnoticed by England coach Brendon McCullum

And England boss Rob Key confirmed on these pages last week that 33-year-old Worrall is on his radar

And with the Aussies looming in the Ashes next winter, he says he would jump at the chance to play international cricket again

“That probably wouldn’t happen now. The boys who are coached in the academy from their early teens, such idiosyncrasies would be coached by them. And that’s probably for the best: I wouldn’t recommend kids come in with the run-up I have.

‘But many players still have a natural approach to the way they play. You stick to that and just tinker with the pieces around it. Also, no one has ever tried to change my run-up.

“By the time I got into the professional setting I was 21, so it was kind of set in stone at that point. The angle isn’t as big as it used to be, and is probably still three-quarters of the length it used to be!’

It’s a quirk that has served him well, and one that is about to attract a much wider audience when Worrall is capped by an England side looking to combine the outright pace of Mark Wood with some of the more subtle arts of bowling. as they prepare for the twin challenges of India and Australia next summer.

Worrall himself looks at the way he was born on English surfaces, after growing up on unforgiving Australian pitches at home. And it’s clear which he enjoys more.

“It’s infinitely easier to bowl in England than in Australia,” he says. “It’s not just one factor, it’s not just about the Kookaburra or the Dukes ball. It’s the hardness of the outfield, the different grass; the fields are rock hard in Australia and it is 40˚C.

‘It’s a combination of factors, but in England it’s so much easier on the body.

‘Even though you play so much more cricket, because in England there are so many more variables you can use to your advantage – one day it might swing, one day it might sip, you might get more attention on the field by slowing down your pace – and you’ll get more value for your skills in England than in Australia.

‘In Australia the best bowlers have natural qualities such as height and pace and can bounce steeper. If you look around England you will see that the best bowlers are much more skilled.’

Worrall himself looks at the way he was born on English surfaces, after growing up on unforgiving Australian pitches at home

He would become the first Australian-born player to represent England since batsman Sam Robson (pictured) in 2014

The England side may want to combine the pure pace of Mark Wood with some of the more subtle bowling skills

However, those talents can only get you so far in an Ashes battle Down Under. Regardless of whether Worrall is on the plane next October, he believes McCullum and Ben Stokes need to find a bowling combination that can be successful in a country where England have won just two series in 45 years.

“England are finding out who their best fast bowlers are,” says Worrall. ‘Maybe you have the pink-ball game in Adelaide where you need a different attack, but if you look at the Australian attack, all these guys are 6ft tall, bowling at high speed (80 or 90mph) , and they don’t miss a spot. It’s a total pace.

‘If England are going to compete it would be useful to have guys who can do 90mph.’