Tymal Mills admitted he was surprised at being namechecked by Eoin Morgan as a potential bolter for a spot in England's Twenty20 World Cup squad but the left-arm paceman hopes he has made a compelling case in The Hundred.
A number of injury issues have derailed Mills' career since he made the last of his four England appearances in February 2017 but he was labelled an "outstanding bowler" by limited-overs captain Morgan earlier in the summer.
Mills was challenged to state his claims for a trip to the United Arab Emirates later this year when featuring in the inaugural edition of The Hundred, where he was instrumental as Southern Brave became the first men's champions.
He will now shift his attentions towards helping Sussex in the Vitality Blast but Morgan's remarks did not go unnoticed by Mills, whose chances of T20 World Cup selection could be boosted by the absence of Jofra Archer.
"I'm sure I can make myself available," said Mills with a smile. "I saw what he said and it caught me off-guard a little bit but it was nice to hear from Morgs.
"I'm just really pleased that I played every game of The Hundred, I bowled my allocation in every game that was available.
"I always back myself to do well when I'm fit and it's just a case of staying fit and proving fitness. What will be will be after that, I'm just really happy with how the last five weeks went."
Mills took eight wickets and had an economy rate of 1.11 throughout the first season of the 100-ball competition, while he took a combined four for 21 in 36 deliveries across Friday's eliminator and Saturday's final.
Mills, a T20 specialist in recent years owing to a congenital back condition, is set to be involved for Sussex's Blast quarter-final against Yorkshire on Tuesday, where victory can send them through to Finals Day next month.
"I just played those back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday and I'm really happy with how I came through," added the 29-year-old, renowned for his ability to bowl in excess of 90mph and mix it up with subtle changes of pace.
"I've got a big game for Sussex then hopefully I'll have a couple of weeks off and then we'll have Finals Day after that."
