LONDON: Essex batsman Tom Westley will hope to follow in the footsteps of his “role model” and county colleague Alastair Cook when he makes his England debut in next week’s third Test against South Africa at The Oval.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced on Thursday that Westley, 28, would bat at number three after Gary Ballance was ruled out with a finger injury.

Ballance suffered the injury while batting during England’s crushing 340-run defeat in the second Test at Trent Bridge as South Africa levelled the four-match series at 1-1 in emphatic fashion.

Westley has been in good form for County Championship leaders Essex so far this season, scoring 478 First Division runs, including two centuries, at an average of 53.11.

Significantly, he also made 106 not out against a strong South Africa attack for the second-string England Lions at Worcester last month.

Opening batsman Cook, still a key member of the Test side and England’s all-time leading run-scorer in the format, was among the first to celebrate Westley’s call-up.

“Cooky called me this morning, just to say congratulations, the usual stuff between team-mates,” Westley told the ECB’s website.

“If he could help in any way, he’d be on the end of a phone. He was in the car with his daughter Elsie actually, so she said congratulations to me as well.”

Westley added: “I’ve learnt so much from Cooky over the years. One of the big things is his demeanour, not just as a batsman but also as a person.

“He’s an unbelievable role model, and after seeing him close-up with Essex for so long I’m looking forward to seeing him with England.

“We’ve had quite a few good partnerships with Essex, so hopefully we can do the same for England.

“I appreciate everything in Test cricket is going to be another step up in intensity, but I can take confidence from having faced the majority of their bowlers a few weeks ago and scored some runs,” Westley added.

After taking calls from national selector James Whitaker and Cook, Westley spoke to someone else who has been a key influence -- his father.

“My dad has been the most influential person in my career. He was the first person I spoke to after the news came through,” Westley said.

“He’s a builder, and he’s not known for being very emotional. But he told me he was very proud, and said he might have to nip around the back of the scaffolding to shed a tear — in a monotone way, obviously.”

Published in Dawn, July 22nd, 2017