BBC SPORT | ENGLAND | A return to action

England wicket-keeper James Foster, in his exclusive column for BBC Sport Online, reveals he will be playing against Canterbury in the final warm-up match after a long absence from the side.

We arrived in Christchurch today at about two o'clock in the afternoon and really we've just been chilling out.

We had a bit of a bite to eat, did some fitness training and then went out for another meal. There's a lot to choose from here. Christchurch has a 'strip' of restaurants and bars and we just dive in.

Some people like going Chinese, others Italian, and there are some really good Japanese and seafood restaurants around.

We don't generally all go out in one big group, and now the wives and girlfriends are here, there are just a few of us going out together.

It's so nice wandering around the town rather than sitting in a hotel watching TV or hitting the Playstation like we had to do in India.

Hopefully my performance in India will count - they might still be thinking about that, but we have to wait.

James Foster

I only really read if I'm travelling on planes, I don't really sit down in front of a book. I've also got some work out here for my studies at Durham but that seems to be on hold at the moment!

The good news is that I've been told I'm playing in the warm-up match against Canterbury starting on Thursday.

The last time I played was in the first one-day international, also in Christchurch, on 13 February.

In Queenstown, I had a nice break from cricket while the others were playing the first warm-up match.

The idea was to get my mind right.

If I play in the Tests, it will be good to know I've had a complete break from cricket and travelling for a few days.

Craig White may get a rest in the final warm-up

I heard the wicket was quite sporting in Queenstown. But I think we are looking forward to a good challenge against Canterbury.

It's always important to have a tough game going into a Test series but I wouldn't have thought we will necessarily be playing our first-choice Test eleven.

Some of the guys who played in all the one-dayers, like Andrew Flintoff and Chalky (Craig White), will probably get a chance to rest.

I'll be batting in my usual spot - seven, eight, nine, something like that.

In the longer form of the game I just go in and play my normal game - even if there's a chance of having to bat with the tail.

Nothing's really been said to me about the management's thinking for the make-up of the Test side.

But I don't think anything's been decided - it's not black and white - I'm just looking forward to playing in the next match.

Aftab Habib - my new colleague at Essex

Form is always a factor when you go for selection. Hopefully my performance in India will count - they (Duncan Fletcher and Nasser Hussain) might still be thinking about that, but we have to wait.

On a different note, it's great news about Aftab Habib. I got a phone call from him because we toured together with the last A tour to the West Indies.

He told me he's now going to be an Essex Eagle. He's a fantastic player and I'm sure he's going to score a lot of runs.

When you see his record, once he gets in he goes on to score heavily. He's very much a flair player, naturally talented and can score quickly without pressing the panic button.

Obviously having someone like Graham Gooch as coach will be something he can feed off. Goochie's knowledge as a player and captain of England will be absolutely invaluable.

We've got a good batting line-up now at Essex.


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