Famous fan: Johnny Borrell

Johnny plans to fly out to watch the Ashes this winter

Johnny Borrell is the singer and songwriter for leading indie rockers Razorlight - and, whisper it quietly, he is a cricket obsessive too.

Mick Jagger added some rock 'n roll glamour to cricket in the 1960s but can Johnny - famous for his tight, white stage gear akin to cricket whites - make it cool?

With the band's anticipated second album "Razorlight" released this week on Vertigo, Johnny took a break to talk cricket to BBC Sport.

What is your first cricketing memory?

Back in 1997, I was in a band and unemployed and one summer day I was sitting at my girlfriend's house with nothing to do.

I turned on the TV and the first Ashes Test between England and Australia at Edgbaston was on.

If cricket is good enough for Mick Jagger then it's good enough for me

I thought getting into cricket would be a brilliant way to make the time pass. Boredom was a big issue for me as a teenager.

I'm an Englishman so the rules are in my blood but this was the first time I started watching it seriously - and literally I fell in love from the first ball.

I remember the procession of Australians coming to the crease and being bowled out. I was absolutely hooked.

I didn't miss a single ball of an England Test match home or away for the next four years.

Did you play cricket at school or for a club?

No. I used to play it in the park with my friends and family when I was much younger.

But I never played as a teenager. The music came first and the cricket came later.

Which current player do you most admire?

Hoggard's spirit and determination make him Johnny's top pick

Matthew Hoggard has a lot of spirit and seems to play the game in the right way.

It is not just his bowling either. When he and Ashley Giles were at the crease during the Ashes last summer there was no doubt that he would get the job done.

It is the way Hoggard walks out onto the pitch - there is no messing.

Have you been to any cricket matches this summer?

I stick to the same tradition every year where I go down to watch Middlesex in the first County Championship match of the season.

England have a lot of catching up to do when it comes to one-day internationals

I'm a member of Middlesex, they're my team and I really like going down to watch cricket at Lord's.

When the stadium is empty there is a kind of quiet about it that is absorbing.

The World Cup took over my head space this summer but I definitely want to go over to Australia and see some of the Ashes this Christmas.

Test match, one-day game or Twenty20?

Test match, definitely. Give me the whole thing, I need something to get my teeth into.

One-day matches always seem a bit contrived to me whereas in Test matches the excitement builds.

England have a lot of catching up to do when it comes to one-day internationals.

In India and Pakistan one-dayers are more popular than Test cricket, it's just huge.

In this country we still view it as the poor cousin of Test cricket. We need consistency of selection and tactically we need to start getting it right.

Do you think England's form looks ominous ahead of the Ashes?

No, I think it will be a stunning series. I expect it will be very close, probably even closer than the last one.

England are saving their best game for the Ashes. We drew a Test series against Sri Lanka that we should have won but that's not the end of the world, is it?

You cannot really take one-day form into account for the Ashes so with our full team out we are a match for Australia.

Band-mates Bjorn and Carl are Swedish - have you ever tried to get them into cricket?

Yes, one of the first things I did was take them to Lord's to watch a cricket match.

Johnny (second right) took his band Razorlight to watch cricket at Lord's

Carl and Bjorn had no understanding of the rules or the point of cricket but it was one of those great days.

We sat in the stand with a load of beers. It was a great introduction to the English psyche.

Carl and Bjorn were just getting into it, when suddenly all the players walked off because of bad light.

They couldn't understand it because they could still see - it was the perfect introduction to cricket.

If you could play one Razorlight track in England's dressing-room to inspire them what would you choose?

Something upbeat and positive from the new album, "Razorlight."

Our first single "In the Morning" is quite inspiring so that will do.

Cricket is not very rock 'n roll so why does it appeal to you?

What do you do if you're in a rock 'n roll band?

You tour and there are long periods of boredom interspersed with short bursts of incredible excitement.

In that way cricket is similar to being in a band. And if it's good enough for Jagger then it's good enough for me.

Can I make cricket cool? I think there is a great misconception here because cricket cannot be cool.

It is the otherness of cricket that makes it so appealing.

The poetry of the game and the theatre of it, there is no other sport like it in the world.

There is good reason why a Test match lasts five days - that's how long it takes for the theatre to unravel. It's a wonderful, wonderful thing.

Interview by Sarah Holt