KENT spin bowler James Tredwell flies off to New Zealand with England's One-Day International squad on Saturday keen to make an impression on his first senior international tour.

Though the off-spinner from Ashford has captained both England Under-19s and England A, this will be his first taste of 50-over cricket at the highest level. Though the 24-year-old was deemed the surprise selection in party, he is very much excited by the challenges ahead.

He said: “My confidence has gone pretty much through the roof in this past year. I’ve been involved with the ECB performance squads and the A teams for some time now, so I’d like to think I’ve been doing things right for them and for Kent to get this call.

"If we’re realistic about things, Graeme Swann (England’s other spinner in the ODI squad) enjoyed a pretty good tour of Sri Lanka and will start as first choice, so my goal is to play alongside him or ultimately push him out of the side."

Tredwell made his county debut in 2001 after coming through Kent League and county age group ranks as an off-spinner, potential top-order batsman, agile fielder and fine close catcher.

He won his county cap in 2007 having played 14 of Kent’s championship games, scoring 450 runs and taking 36 wickets.

England’s One Day squad to tour New Zealand: Paul Collingwood (Durham) captain, Tim Ambrose (Warwickshire), James Anderson (Lancashire), Ian Bell (Warwickshire), Ravi Bopara (Essex), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Alastair Cook (Essex), Dimitri Mascarenhas (Hampshire), Philip Mustard (Durham), Kevin Pietersen (Hampshire), Owais Shah (Middlesex), Ryan Sidebottom (Nottinghamshire), Graeme Swann (Nottinghamshire), James Tredwell (Kent), Chris Tremlett (Hampshire), Luke Wright (Sussex).