For years, keen followers of county cricket said of Stuart Law: "If only he were English, he'd walk into the England team." Law played one Test for Australia against Sri Lanka in Perth in 1995 |
At the age of 36, and on the eve of his 10th season in England, the Australian-born run machine has finally granted them their wish.
Or has he?
For even though he is now qualified for England, if David Graveney does happen to give the veteran all-rounder a call in the coming weeks, his answer is likely to disappoint those fans again.
"I'll tell him he's got the wrong number!" Law quipped to BBC Sport.
"Everyone has made more of it than I have. I never made the move over here to play for England. If I wanted to do that it would probably have been 10 years ago.
"I'm just looking forward to playing, and if anything else comes my way it's a bonus. I'm looking to have an injury-free season and doing things for Lancashire to get us where we belong."
On the immediate agenda for Law is making amends for last season's embarrassing relegation from the top flight of the Championship.
Among the pre-season favourites for the title, the Red Rose county only won two out of 16 games. Even Law, by his own lofty standards, scored "only" 867 runs.
 |  I'd desperately love England to beat the Australians |
"There was a lot of expectation on our shoulders, but even when we were playing well we weren't quite as sharp as the previous year and didn't have the spark," admitted Law, who will be new captain Mark Chilton's deputy this year.
"We've been honest about it and said: 'We had every right to feel humiliated because we had a poor season.'
"Hopefully it's sinking into everyone that we have to out-perform everybody else by 10% to come away with what we want.
"I've had six months off and I'm sick of training and waiting for the season to come around. I'm just dying to play - I love the game.
"I would like to take a few of the younger guys to Lord's who haven't been there. It would be nice to hold up a trophy again on the balcony."
Law has done that a few times in this country and the land of his birth: NatWest Trophy and Benson & Hedges Cup wins with Essex, and three successive championships with Queensland.
| STUART LAW'S COUNTY CAREER Clubs: Essex (1996-2001), Lancs (2001-) Champ runs: 12,242 Champ 100s: 41 Honours: NatWest Trophy (1997), B&H Cup (1998) |
It is no surprise, then, that his enthusiasm for the domestic scene is undiminished.
Indeed, after almost a decade of first-hand experience, the prolific right-hander is well-placed to assess the changes in county cricket.
"The standard has gone up, whether that's down to the split divisions or more professionalism. People are raising the bar and wanting to emulate the England team," Law explained.
"Even the so-called weaker teams have improved. You have to beat the opoositon and can't just turn up expecting easy wins.
"People who win trophies really deserve that accolade and have to play really well to do it."
But surely things have not changed that much for a proud Australian to support England during an Ashes series?
It appears the influence of his English wife and the winter's snowfalls have got to a man brought up on the sunshine of the Gold Coast.
"I'd desperately love England to beat the Australians just because it would do so much for the game over here," he insisted.
"It would generate so much interest, which would make the county game buzz again and make people desperately want to turn up to watch cricket."
| I've been a loyal person all my life and I'd like to finish my career here |
After the initial red and white mist has passed, however, realism sets in.
"As much as I'd like to see England do really well, I can't point out a weakness in the Australian side.
"There's always someone there to dig them out of trouble. They've been together a long time and they trust and believe in everyone else's ability.
"Once you do that, life becomes so much easier."
Law does not plan to take the easy life himself for a while yet.
"As long as the body allows me, I'd like to play another three to four years - maybe longer," he added.
"It depends on what Lancashire want to do, but I don't want to play for anyone else if I don't have to.
"I've been a loyal person all my life and I'd like to finish my career here. I want to play for as long as my skill allows me to play at the top level."
Whether that includes a Test cap for England to add to the one he picked up for Australia almost 10 years ago, remains to be seen.
But, having suffered at the hands of the Australians for 16 years, it would be a sweet irony if England enlisted one of their number to finally wrest back that precious little urn.
MMIX
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