PAUL TERRY has called on England to select "dynamic" Dimitri Mascarenhas when their one-day squad for the NatWest Series is announced tomorrow.
Terry paid tribute to Mascarenhas after the all-rounder's brutal 55 off just 31 balls helped Hampshire to a 28-run win against Warwickshire and second place in the totesport National League.
"Dimi can only keep on performing and if we continue to compete at the top level people will have to start taking notice," said the Hampshire manager.
Terry added: "He fields well, bats well, he's a dynamic batter - we haven't played against many as dangerous - and he's pretty steady with the ball.
"People say he lacks a bit of pace but that's not the most important ingredient in a bowler, it's how you adjust to to conditions and he does that pretty well.
"They obviously have in mind who they're going to go with but hopefully they'll pick him. He's doing pretty well at this level and he needs to be tested at the next one."
Mascarenhas was promoted to bat at number five yesterday. "We tried to give him a few more overs to play himself in and he's very dangerous when he is in, he hit the gaps and hit some good cricket shots," said Terry. "He brings a lot of energy to us when he bats because he runs hard between the wickets as well.
"You always think 200-plus is competitive here but Dimi's innings was obviously exceptional.
"John Crawley and Michael Clarke, two of our better players, had struggled a little bit to time the ball but Dimi came in and timed it straight away."
Mascarenhas helped Hampshire to 241 for 7, the perfect response to the two-day thrashing at home to Nottinghamshire and the exit from the C & G Trophy against Gloucestershire a week earlier.
"It was good to bounce back," added Terry. "We batted well after a pretty slow start and we bowled exceptionally well, we took wickets at crucial times. If you lose momentum, which we did last week, it's always important to get it back very quickly."
Hampshire are now second behind Glamorgan, who beat Gloucestershire yesterday, but Lancashire's loss against Kent at Tunbridge Wells was a further boost.
Hampshire will take a squad of 14 to Chelmsford for tomorrow's day-night match against Essex and the championship match, which starts at 12pm on Wednesday.
Hampshire (from): Kenway, Hamblin, Crawley, Clarke, Prittipaul, Pothas, Mascarenhas, Warne, Udal, Tremlett, Mullally, Taylor, Kendall, Brown.
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