Mike Yardy reflected on his successful introduction to international cricket this week and revealed: "I felt as though I belonged at that level."

The 25-year-old was the eighth player to be given his one-day debut this summer as England tried to find a winning blend.

But he jumped in front of some of his rivals after two promising performances as England fought back from 2-0 down to square the series against Pakistan last weekend.

The selectors were sufficiently impressed to name him in a 14-man squad for next month's Champions Trophy in India. He will also go to Australia as cover for the Ashes party along with Sussex team-mate Matt Prior.

Some good performances and he could find himself staying after Christmas for the VB Series against the hosts and New Zealand.

Then there's the World Cup in West Indies which is now less than seven months away. The possibilities are endless and no one will appreciate the opportunities more than Yardy.

Less than three years ago he was getting up in the dead of night to get to a sports shop at Gatwick Airport in time for his 6am shift.

Knocking out trainers and swimming trunks to holidaymakers must have seemed a lifetime away last Friday when he made the sort of debut he could only have dreamt of in the fourth ODI at Trent Bridge.

On a slow, stopping pitch tailor-made for his left-arm spin, Yardy removed Mohammad Yousuf with his 13th ball in one-day international cricket and Shoaib Malik with his 15th - two players with nearly 350 ODI appearances and 16 hundreds between them. Not bad for starters.

He finished with 3-24 from his ten overs after having Kamran Akmal caught at slip in his seventh over.

Two days later Yardy got Akmal again during a spell of 1-22 before guiding England to victory with Saj Mahmood after they had been seven down in danger of messing up a fairly straightforward run chase.

Yardy admitted he found it hard to come to terms of what was expected of an England cricketer when he played for Peter Moores' A team in West Indies last winter.

But the experience he gained and the presence of seven team-mates from that tour in the ODI squad helped make the settling-in process easier this time.

So, too, did the spectacular boundary catch he took in the Twenty20 international at Bristol when he pulled on an England shirt for the first time.

" I nearly made a mess of it," he laughed.

"Shahid Arfridi was flying and he hit the ball miles into the air. I ran round thinking I had half a chance of getting it and to be honest I did mis-judge it but I managed to dive back which is why it looked so spectacular. It was a great moment though."

After missing out on selection for the first three ODIs, Yardy finally got his chance in Nottingham - and took it with both hands.

"I was amazed how much the ball turned," he admitted.

"To bowl eight overs with a slip and sometimes silly point in and both mid on and mid off up meant I could apply some pressure. It was different to what I had planned might happen that's for sure!

"The first wicket relaxed me so much, especially as it was Yousuf who is a worldclass player. I knew that whatever happened I had contributed to the team.

"Then on Sunday the atmosphere at Edgbaston was unbelievable. I have never experienced crowd noise like it with all the Pakistan supporters. When I went out to bat I was pretty nervous but I tried to just concentrate on each ball. Sajid Mahmood came in and played brilliantly and I was just happy to stay in and make sure I was there at the end."

Just as importantly as runs and wickets, what will have pleased Yardy - and his many supporters at Hove - is that he looked as if he belonged at that level.

He made the transition from county cricketer to international almost as seamlessly as that of second XI player to first team regular at Sussex.

And remember that two years ago he had not made a first-class hundred and was still bowling innocuous left-arm seamers.

He added: "I felt quite comfortable in the environment even though there is a lot more pressure. There's more going on because every mistake is exposed by the TV cameras and you've got 20,000 people in the crowd supporting their team as well.

"But you want to be in the spotlight. I've worked hard to get there and it's where I want to be again."

The adjustment back to county cricket should be just as easy, especially with so much at stake when Yardy goes back to Trent Bridge this weekend for Sussex's Pro40 and Championship deciders against Nottinghamshire.

Yardy could not bear following the county's tortuous but ultimately successful run chase at Canterbury last week.

But his return will bring some stability to what has looked a flaky top three in his absence.

"You couldn't wish for a better climax to the season," he added.

"I'm really looking forward to going back to Trent Bridge. It's a special ground for me now and hopefully I can have more success there."