Lancashire bowler Glen Chapple flies out with the England A squad next week for their tour of Australia. BRIAN DOOGAN visited him at his new home.

DISREGARDING the dirty dishes which Glen Chapple had disregarded the night before, I slipped through the kitchen and into the living room of the comfortable cottage in Kelbrook he has recently bought.

"I'm a little lazy sometimes," he said sheepishly - perhaps, when disregarding the kitchen sink's contents, I had been as discreet as a slug in a sock.

"I've got bills lying on the sideboard waiting to be paid and, even though I've got time on my hands today, they'll probably still be there tomorrow.

"Most of my clothes are still in my parents' house - I haven't yet brought them over.

"And I have still to buy a suite of furniture but I'm in no particular rush."

Relaxed about everything he does off the cricket field, Chapple has always seemed a man in a hurry whenever he dons his whites.

A second generation cricketer (dad Mick was a highly respected practitioner in local leagues), the native of Earby starred for England Under 17s at the age of 15 and a year later was selected for England's Under 19 squad. At 17, he debuted for Lancashire and two years ago, when just 20, played for England A on a two-month tour of India and Bangladesh.

Perhaps the greatest example of his eagerness to get things done took place this year at Lord's when he wreaked devastation on the unfortunate batsmen of Essex in the Nat West Trophy final.

With all the panache of a wrecking ball levelling a condemned building, he claimed six victims for 19 runs in a sensational six-and-a-half over spell which transformed a hopeless exercise for Lancashire into a procession.

Chapple's efforts earned him the man of the match award and recognition as a potential candidate for future rescue missions with England.

"That's what I'm aiming for long-term but if you set your sights on it too soon ... you don't want to get carried away," he insists with typical humility. While some of his exploits on the cricket field, particularly his contribution on that day at Lord's, merit entry in the record books, publishers aren't tripping over one another to do a book on him.

Honest and pleasant he may be but, in an age where sport has become ruthlessly commercialised and its greatest personalities endorse products ranging from herbal shampoo to fast cars, Chapple is not the most enterprising commodity out there.

"Quite pleasing" is how he described his dramatic intervention against Essex in September.

"I'm looking forward to the style of cricket they play" is the nearest he came to issuing a battle cry prior to jetting off for the England A tour of Australia next week.

And even before our interview got under way, he wondered whether he should have sought permission to speak to me from the TCCB.

I'm from the Lancashire Evening Telegraph, I assured him, not MI5.

On the flip side, his blatant modesty is a refreshing trait. Uncorrupted by success, and he was successful in cricket from an inordinately young age, he is comfortable projecting an image which makes it impossible to imagine him ever trying to paint anyone's town the colour of his hair.

Like most people involved in his sport, he enjoys the occasional social drink.

But cricket, or work (as he likes to call it), does not have to mount much of a struggle to assume precedence.

He is as committed to the sport as he is to his family (after fulfilling his obligations here, he was off to his gran's to take her dog for a walk).

"As much as it's an ambition to play for Lancashire and one day for England and however much you enjoy it, this is your career as well," he said, proving that the pragmatism which was persuading him as a teenager to complete a university degree has not been diminished.

"And in any career you want to be ambitious, to get ahead.

"I treat my cricket career as I would any clerical or manual nine-to-five job.

"It may be more glamorous but the same commitment is required.

"Whatever you do, you've got to look to do as well as you can." He applies this maxim to his golf as well. A member of Ghyll, he plays to a handicap of six despite not being a regular frequenter of the course.

Taking to the fairways is about as close as he comes, however, to living life on the edge.

"I'm really not the type to go out seeking a rush," he said.

"There's things I wouldn't do because of cricket and there's things I wouldn't do anyway, bungee jumps and the likes being among them!"

As team games go, cricket may be unique for the extent to which it accentuates the performance of the individual.

On a football field the ball might not fall to a player for nine tenths of the game.

But when it is your turn to contribute in cricket, whether with bat or ball, you do so in isolation.

Chapple insists his desire for personal excellence, however, would never be at the expense of the overall cause. "When you're going out to bat, there are still nine others in the dressing room actually with you and you have to remember you're playing for them as well," he said.

"Responsibility to the team comes first."

Chapple is naturally looking forward to contributing to England A's cause over the coming weeks.

Two years ago in India, he recalls being poised on the boundary, steadying himself for a catch, losing sight of the ball and then heading it beyond the rope for a six. Ouch!

He wants no repeat of that.

"This is a challenge for us and we're determined to do well," he assured me.

As I was leaving, he pointed out some work which needed to be done to his expansive back garden and I asked if he will do this himself.

"Will I heck. . ."

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