Three hungry Lions

That is not to say they did not mix with the rest of the party. Far from it. They played their full part in fostering excellent team spirit, Afzaal assuming the role of dressing-room joker. It was just that as representatives of the growing number of talented Asians in the county game they saw themselves as a fraternity, a family within a family.

"We're like three brothers basically," Habib mused on the eve of his early departure home after the Jamaica match due to a long-standing shoulder injury. As if to reflect the traditional and well ordered nature of Asian society, Afzaal, the junior member of the triumvirate, admits he calls his two seniors Affy Bhai and Vikky Bhai. "In Urdu or Hindi, that means brother," explained Afzaal. "It's like how I'd talk to my older brother. If I don't say that, they'd give me a clip round the head. I really feel they're like my brothers anyway. They help me a lot, and I think they're fantastic cricketers."

There is a healthy respect among the trio for each other's ability. "I'd pay to watch Vik bat - he's very exciting," says Habib. "Uzzy's a lot different. He's improved a hell of a lot. He used to be a little too tight in his game, but he's freer now, plays his shots more. He's very, very good against spin.

"Those two could make a great middle order for England one day. I didn't really know Uzzy before the tour but I certainly do now, having roomed with him. The three of us talk together about cricket a lot - in fact, we love the game so much, we never stop talking about it."

All three had their moments in the Busta Cup without actually producing an eye-catching performance. For the first two matches they did form the middle-order, batting at three, four and five.

Habib's participation was restricted by his injury, but in his three matches he still averaged 84.5 with two fifties, one of them an accomplished, unbeaten 87 in 284 minutes at the crease against West Indies B.

Solanki averaged 43 in his six Busta Cup games, and held a remarkable 22 catches on the tour, all of them at slip. He dropped only two chances, testament to his brilliance in that position.

Afzaal, a southpaw, averaged only 23, but he was the victim of some bad umpiring decisions as well as a silly run-out. His combined bowling analysis of 76-26-121-8 with his left-arm spin underlined his all-round usefulness.

Habib was missed, particularly later on in the tour, but by catching an early plane home he hoped to be fit for the start of the season. Now 29, he is too good a player to be a Test discard after his two unproductive appearances against New Zealand in 1999. He has the temperament for long stays at the crease, and there is no doubt he has tightened up his technique after being bowled neck and crop in two of his three Test innings. He laughs off David Lloyd's claims that the experience of Test cricket had a detrimental effect on him.

"I wasn't at all traumatised. It was a big buzz and thrill." Habib recalls. "It was a time when we didn't have a coach, there was a new captain and other new players. It's always going to be difficult for them to come in and excel. Things didn't turn out the way I wanted them to, unfortunately. There was no one to blame; it's just the way it was.

"You're always going to be nervous in your first two Tests, a bit tentative and wary of a few things," he adds. "Hopefully, I'll have another go, as there's no reason why I can't do well at that level. The most important thing is to show that you're consistent at county level, and if you manage that, year in, year out, then you've got a good chance of being selected again."

His strength against spin will give Habib a decent chance of being picked for the autumn tour of India if he scores heavily for Leicestershire. For Solanki, it would be a dream fulfilled if he tours the land of his birth. He was eight when his parents emigrated from Rajasthan to England in November 1984, and many of his relatives still live in India.

Solanki's uncle is lobby manager at the Lake Palace Hotel in Udaipur, where England can expect to stay if they play a match there. It was at another celebrated hotel, the Frangipani Beach Club on the idyllic island of Anguilla, that Solanki, a richly talented stroke-player yet to realise his potential at senior international level, mused over his career to date.

"I've been pleased with the way I've been batting over the past two to three years. I'd have loved to score more runs but, in essence, I'm happy with the way I'm playing. Going on three A tours has certainly been very valuable. I played quite well on the last one to Bangladesh and New Zealand (on which he scored nearly 700 first-class runs), although not as well on this one.

"But what all A tours give you is continuation, the chance to become a little bit better than the season before. And if I can become a slightly better cricketer with each passing year, then hopefully I'll get a go at Test level.

"What has disappointed me has been my one-day form for Worcester. I really don't know why it's not been better, as I really enjoy one-day cricket. The fact remains I've had more success in the longer game." In his eight One-Day Internationals so far, Solanki has a top score of 24, against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo. "That really was a chance I let slip away," Solanki sighs. "I should have seen us home. In hindsight, you can look at a lot of things, but I don't have a tremendous amount of regrets."

Sometimes Solanki's shot selection has let him down. Blessed with such a wide array of strokes, he admits he has worked hard on that aspect of his game. "But you've got to score runs somewhere. If you keep getting out to a certain type of shot, then sure, you must do something about it. I believe that you've got to express yourself at the crease.

"Technically, I haven't worked on much recently apart from playing spin. I've just tried to keep things pretty simple. What really helped me with my whole approach to batting was having to open the batting for Worcestershire a couple of seasons ago. I had to learn how to play like an opener, although ideally I prefer number four."

New Road pitches have generally been unsatisfactory to bat on recently, causing John Bracewell, the Gloucestershire coach, publicly to express his sympathy for Solanki, whom he identified as the outstanding young English batting talent. But the player, who is 25 on April 1st, takes a philosophical view.

"If I was to assess my dismissals last season, I'd be very reluctant to blame the wicket at Worcester for that many. Too many people don't really give themselves a chance before they go in there. You can too easily let the pitches go to your head. I've seen Graeme Hick play well on them, and if they're good enough for him, they're good enough for me.

"What is a touch more important than pitches is practice facilities and surfaces, which are substandard at Worcester as they probably are throughout the country with a few exceptions, such as Taunton, Leicester and Southampton.

"You've got to practise your technical skills on top-class surfaces, otherwise you're facing an uphill struggle. We've been pressing the powers-that-be at Worcester to improve the practice facilities. It was good to have Glenn McGrath to buff our arguments up."

Ah, Glenn McGrath. Both Solanki and Afzaal have plenty to say about him. Solanki, who stood at first slip to the Australian all summer, confesses that McGrath made him realise what top-class cricket is all about. "I remember thinking quite often how good Test players must be to get runs against him. He always gave us 100 per cent but I'm sure he ups himself another gear at Test level."

It was against McGrath that Afzaal played what he considers his finest innings, 152 not out at Trent Bridge last summer. The 23-year-old takes up the story. "The pitch was a green seamer and I had come into the game with only 60-odd runs in the previous seven matches. But I always have a positive attitude when I go on to the field.

"I was on about 50 when our number 11, Andy Harris, came out to bat, but we added 130 together. I scored runs all round the wicket against McGrath, although to be fair I left a lot of balls until I felt I was really in. I just had to be disciplined against him and farm the strike. He had men back on the boundary, so it was quite a challenge and he gave me lots of verbals. I said nothing back, I was just so focused."

A few weeks later, Afzaal made 87 against McGrath on a much flatter wicket at Worcester before running himself out. "This time, McGrath went below the belt and I said a few things back to him. But afterwards, while I was sitting down in the dressing-room, he came over and said a few nice, positive words like 'keep going, you were fantastic, you've got balls'.

"It's what you love to hear from a top cricketer and Saqlain Mushtaq said the same things." Afzaal's hundred on an Oval turner in 1999 greatly impressed the Surrey players. "I just went very positive against Saqlain, although I stayed within my crease. After a while I could pick his wrong 'un by watching the way the seam came down. I tried to cover my off stump by getting outside the line."

Once a bowler who could bat, Afzaal is now a batsman who bowls. He is, in his own words, a `fantastic' player of spin (self-confidence is not a problem), and also a good puller and happy off either foot. "I worked very, very hard on my batting, putting in hours and hours in the nets. It was then a case of opportunity, and when I got it I took it.

"Clive Rice has been a huge influence on my career. He's been at Trent Bridge for two years, but has improved me ten times. I've got so much confidence in him that if he told me to run through a brick wall because I'd come out stronger, I'd do it. His philosophy is always to try and dominate, which I agree with.

"Shoaib Akhtar also helped me quite a lot when he came down to Trent Bridge last year. He gave me an insight into the mentality of top Test cricketers."

They are a happy few, this band of Asian brothers. Determined and single-minded too. The religious Afzaal, who takes his prayer mat and shalwar kameez on tour, tries to pray up to five times a day. Habib admits he prays less than he would like to. The `spiritual' Solanki, as Afzaal labels him, is a practising Hindu although equally wedded to his laptop. On the last two A tours he has habitually emerged from the hotel computer room in the early evening. All three like their routines, and it is their dedication, not to mention their talent, that may lead to further international recognition.