ASHLEY GILES has told Jade Dernbach to put playing for England this summer to the back of his mind and concentrate on taking wickets first for Surrey now the new season is underway.
The 27-year-old began the year by featuring in four of England's five one-day matches in India in January and then the three Twenty20 internationals with New Zealand a month later.
However Dernbach was not part of the one-day squad in New Zealand, with James Harris favoured instead, although the Middlesex seamer wasn't to make his England bow.
Dernbach isn't out of England's one-day picture though, according to limited-overs coach Giles, with eight 50-over matches scheduled for this summer as well as the ICC Champions Trophy on home soil in June.
But what Giles wants to see foremost is Dernbach hit the ground running with Surrey rather than worry about whether or not he'll get picked for England again.
And he has made a decent start this morning, taking two wickets on the opening day of Surrey's first LV= County Championship Division One fixture of 2013 against Somerset.
Giles said: "Jade was involved with us in India and he came to New Zealand for the Twenty20s and he has good skills in the limited-overs format and will be discussed.
"He will want to go back to Surrey and fill his boots with lots of wickets. County cricket for all the guys in contention is important.
"What you want from all of the players is for them to take their eye off selection and just do their jobs with their county.
"If your job is to get runs and keep wicket or bowl and get wickets just do it because the rest will take care of itself.
"But if you are stuck thinking about selection you can trip yourself up."
Dernbach has made 43 appearances across the one-day and Twenty20 formats for England with 56 wickets in total although his 50-over average is just a shade under 40.
However Giles, who was appointed England's limited-overs coach in November, believes Dernbach's variation and continued desire to bowl at the death is unparalleled.
"The variations he has are very impressive. The slower ball he has and the yorkers he can bowl are great and the other impressive thing about him is that he is not frightened of a challenge," he added.
"He bowls a lot of overs at the death and just takes it on. It is a very difficult job to do at times, particularly in the sub-continent, but he gets on with it, doesn't moan and that is a good attribute."
See the best eight teams in one-day international cricket take part in the ICC Champions Trophy from 6-23 June at The Oval, Cardiff and Edgbaston – tickets are available now at icc-cricket.com or call 0844 249 2013
