Giddins earns place in Lord's honours

Ed Giddins runs along the wicket in celebration

Ed Giddins was still unsure of his place in the England team to face Zimbabwe until just before the start of the match.

No wonder he was delighted to justify the selectors' faith in him by taking five wickets on his first Test appearance at Lord's.

The Warwickshire fast bowler claimed five for 15 as England rolled over Zimbabwe for 83 in 30.2 overs, the first time they have bowled out a side for under a hundred since India were dismissed for 96 in 1979, also at Lord's.

The small crowd of 10,000 made it easier for communication. He heard Darren Gough laugh from a distance away about a delivery which showed only 75mph on the speedster following some light-hearted banter over pace statistics.

I got some unfair criticism about being a county plodder but I hope I can put some of those phrases to bed

England bowler Ed Giddins

Giddins managed a quicker one next time, bowling into the wind. "I came back after a spell, and you know what Goughy is like with his 93mph stuff," he said.

"He was telling me about how quick he was in the interval, and I came out and bowled my first ball at 75mph. He was about a hundred yards away, and I heard him laughing - so I managed to get the next one to about 81mph.

"People have written about my pace, but my style of bowling is to move the ball around. If the conditions do suit then I can run in a bit quicker. I got some unfair criticism about being a county plodder but I hope I can put some of those phrases to bed."

Giddins was quite prepared at the start of the day to find himself on the sidelines, as England mulled over the options between him, Durham paceman Steve Harmison and Lancashire leg-spinner Chris Schofield.

There is the physical aspect of it, but the more important thing is the mental aspect of getting yourself ready

Ed Giddins

"I found out I was playing at 9.38am," he said. "The way I looked at it was that they had a hard decision for the selectors to make.

"I've spent the last few days planning for five-to-eleven. I knew there was a chance I wouldn't be playing. That would have been a huge disappointment. I told myself I would be playing, basically.

"There is the physical aspect of it, but the more important thing is the mental aspect of getting yourself ready. There is a lot of mental visualisation.

"I'll recreate images of pitching leg and hitting off, that kind of thing. I think about my run, getting to the wicket, following through; that is the most important thing because that is where you get your extra nip off the surface."

Giddins' effort has earned himself a place on the Lord's dressing-room honours board - Derbyshire's Dominic Cork recorded the last two five-wicket entries.