Ross Whiteley said he was "happy and relieved" after scoring his first half century for England Lions in their 49 run win over Pakistan 'A' in the second 50 over match in Dubai yesterday.
The Worcestershire all-rounder raced to his half century off 30 balls as the Lions reached 314-5 and then bowled Pakistan 'A' out for 265 to lead 2-0 in the best of five series.
Whiteley admitted the knock will do wonders for his confidence after playing in the five T20s against Pakistan 'A' last month and the opening 50 over game on Tuesday.
The former Derbyshire all-rounder and his New Road team-mate Joe Clarke plundered an unbroken 66 from the final 5.1 overs of the innings with the latter hitting 25 off just 13 deliveries with three sixes.
Whiteley said: "I'm pretty happy and relieved as well to get a few runs. As time goes on without getting runs you start to doubt yourself a little bit.
"Sometimes it’s tough to gather your thoughts. It was one of those situations where I didn’t need to think about nudging it around. I just played my natural game, and thankfully it came off.
"You feel like you’re hitting it well in the nets and you take it out to the middle and don’t necessarily think you’re getting the runs you should.
"I’ve just spoken to Bumpy (Steve Rhodes) now and said how relieved I was that I’d got some runs, but how much I’d learned personally on the tour pre-Christmas and again now.
" Sometimes it doesn’t pay off straight away, it might be down the line when I go back to play for Worcester. But thankfully today I got a few runs and I’ll get a bit more confidence back."
Whiteley added: "It’s one of those things being on a Lions tour. You’re always keen to impress, and cricket is pretty tough sometimes.
"You go through dips of form for no apparent reason, you’re almost working too hard in the nets.
"But you’ve just got to stay confident in your own game and go out there and express yourself, and that’s what we both did."
Whiteley was full of praise for the knock of Clarke and his big hitting.
He said: "Joe is a smaller lad than me and not really known for his power hitting but he took a lot of pressure off me.
"He came in and struck the ball really well. I was struggling to hit it down the ground and he was clearing the ropes which put me to shame a little bit.
"But it was great to see him flourish as another Worcester player."
