Chris Jordan will relish the chance to be put on the hottest spot in cricket if he is asked by England.

And he reckons he is better equipped than ever to deal with the pressure after experiences with the national team and in India.

Jordan is in the England squad for a five-game ODI series and a one-off T20 match against Sri Lanka. That will mean another absence from his county, who have already had to cope without him during a spell with Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL.

Jordan reckons that experience proved worthwhile, especially in one of his specialities – bowling late in the innings.

He told The Argus: “It was a little bit tricky to go to the IPL and miss Sussex matches. I had to go through the correct channels and figure out what would best benefit both Sussex and Chris Jordan, if you like.

“Having spoken to the relevant parties, which is Sussex and England, they felt it was probably best I go and experience something like that.

“It’s a situation where you can move your game on in a very short space of time. I feel as though I have done that. I’ve got a lot of confidence from doing it and I just hope to go from strength to strength.

“Even in that short space of time I was at the IPL, I learned a bit and felt like a made a little bit of a move in my game, which was the whole aim of going to experience that tournament.

“I went in the IPL dressing room and I didn’t really have time to take it in because I had to get in the game. But then you take a step back and realise you are in the same dressing room as AP De Villiers, Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle, Shane Watson – all high class performers. Some very good Indian players as well and Dan Vettori as your coach. The list goes on.”

The Argus:

Chris Jordan in full cry for Sussex. Picture by edwardthomasphotography.com

Jordan has been in good form of late, taking a five-for against Middlesex on Sunday and hitting 55, a career-best List A score, from 60 balls at Guildford on Tuesday.

There are plenty of strings to his bow. And one he relishes is bowling at the death when all eyes are on him. A bit like stepping up in a penalty shoot out, most of the battle is being willing to put yourself forward.

He said: “Being selected for the World Cup, the late overs was always going to be one of my roles. I have been doing it for a little while now.

“The IPL helped, adding one or two tricks to it, not being too predictable. I think that is a part of the game you have got to want to do and I really enjoy bowling at the death.”

Jordan is back in T20 action for Sussex against Middlesex at Lord’s today (6.15pm), followed by a trip to the Rose Bowl tomorrow. He has heard all the talk about the possible introduction of franchise cricket and has been a part of it overseas.

The Argus:

But he also cites England’s run to the ICC World T20 final a few months ago as evidence that the NatWest T20 Blast is in decent shape.

He said: “We made it all the way to the final in a world competition. That shows the domestic competition can’t be all that weak. Whether it stays or goes, I think the current competition is strong.

“If it goes, it might mean fewer teams and the standard might rise slightly, who knows? But you have some high quality performers coming out of the current situation. These are decisions for bigger brains than mine!”