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A World Cup is but a day away, and English grounds will soon be vibrating to the throb of brilliant young men. Some of the greatest players ever to lace a boot are here: Tendulkar, Wasim, Donald, Warne, Lara, McGrath, a pair of Waughs and (not to be forgotten, though he tends to be) Azharuddin. Then there is Ian Austin.

No, missus, don't titter. 'Oscar' Austin, 'Bully', the metronomic medium-pacer from Haslingden, will be in the England side to play Sri Lanka tomorrow and even the grandest batsmen must pay attention. The competition is being played in the wet and wind of a northern land, where summer comes briefly, if at all. It is one reason, the most compelling, some might say the only, why the host country cannot be discounted.

What will those expansive strokeplayers, Jayasuriya and Jayawardene, be thinking as the 32-year-old Austin lumbers up to the crease in the manner of a blacksmith on his day off? ``This chap's got to go,'' they may say to themselves. ``He can't bowl to me. I shall make a hundred, or eat my hat.''

Others have said as much and lived to eat their words. In his deceptively understated way, Austin has made himself a regular at Old Trafford; indeed, a match-winner. ``I've played in six winning sides at Lord's and been man of the match in both the one-day finals,'' he can tell doubters. ``Show me your medals.''

It does the heart good to see a man like Austin going as far as he has, for his presence binds international cricket with the roots that nurture it, in the club sides up and down the country. Matthew Engel, the editor of Wisden, acknowledged that when he selected Austin as one of the five cricketers of the year for this summer's almanac.

'Club cricketer', actually, is patronising and misleading. Angus Fraser is a club player, who turns out for Stanmore every now and then when he hasn't got a game for Middlesex. But nobody scoffs at 'Gussie'. There are those who look at Austin, who carries a pound or two round his waist, and wonder if he hasn't somehow wandered on to the wrong field.

It is precisely that quality, drawn from the old-fashioned world of England, Their England, that makes him stand out. Austin is the Common Man as international sportsman, and people can identify with that. Although he is a professional, and expects to be judged by the highest standards, there is something innocent about his play, untainted by the gimmickry of modern fads and fancies. Other cricketers model clothes and appear on chat shows. This is a man who used to work in an abattoir.

Austin, like Jack Simmons before him, was weaned on league cricket. In his case it was also, like Simmons, the Lancashire League, whose clubs are based in and around the towns of Burnley and Blackburn. It is not a sentimental part of the world and folk there don't use two words when one will do.

That is one way of describing Austin's bowling. There is nothing unnecessary about it. He simply runs up, like a schoolmaster in the nets, and pings it down on a good length, on or around off stump. On flat pitches, this can be a gentle offering but - and this is a big but - it is never quite as gentle as you might think. It has fooled many a batsman who imagined he had the measure of it.

And now it's ``Oscar of England!'' Brought into the side at the back end of last summer, for the triangular Emirates Trophy, he has been retained for his expertise in English conditions. Looking briefly at the pitch for Sri Lanka, he said, rather like Nico Ladenis admiring a plate of truffles: ``It's not rock solid. It takes a spike at the moment and I hope it doesn't dry out too much by Friday.'' Translated roughly, that means: ``Can't wait.''

The last year has been a boon for Austin, who thought that winning cups for Lancashire (eight so far) was the summit of his career. ``When you go past the age of 30, and you haven't had international recognition, then you don't expect it.'' Having had a winter to digest it, even though he missed the one-day bunfight in Australia, he feels up to the challenge.

``Some people get worked up by the big occasions, particularly young players. But I did not play international cricket until I was in my thirties, and I have played quite a few games at Lord's for Lancashire. Having had that experience I am not overawed by any occasion. I am quietly confident in what I can do.''

In the heart of every battle-hardened pro, however, lurks a secret romantic yearning, an unimaginable goal. ``Everybody wants to play for their country,'' said Austin, sounding as if he meant it. ``It is a schoolboy dream.'' Don't wake him, anybody.