Yabsley is walking tall for England

MARTIN YABSLEY has been selected for the full England team. The Guernseyman, who is back playing with the Birmingham Bullets in the British Basketball League, was notified of his selection at the end of last week and will join up with the squad next month for a training camp culminating in an international fixture.

'It is everything I have been working for,' said Yabsley yesterday.

'I only found out on Thursday. What we have got is a training camp from 20-22 December and then a game against Belarus. They have two players who play in the NBA so I will be up against them.

Yabsley, who starred for Guernsey in the NatWest Island Games last year, has obviously impressed Peter Scantlebury, the head coach of the England senior men's team, despite playing for a struggling Bullets side.

The Sarnian is the youngest player in the squad.

'I had spoken to the England coach previously and he was coming to games regularly, just as Sven Goran-Eriksson does with the football team, scouting the English players,' said Yabsley, who wants to cement a regular spot in the national set-up.

'Now I am looking towards the Commonwealth Games in 2006 in Australia and being part of it. Retaining my place is definitely something to work on, especially with the Games coming up.

'The national team works more or less the same as football. There will be no games for six months and then you get four or five in a couple of months. It is just a matter of getting a firm position in the team now.'

The call-up is another step for Yabsley towards his dream of playing in the NBA.

He plans to move on from British basketball next year to a more high profile league, probably in continental Europe, but for now he is happy getting experience in Birmingham.

The former Grammar School student first went to the club at the beginning of last season, but he returned to the island for personal reasons after a few months. He signed on for the Bullets again in September and is playing under new coach Charlie Adams.

The Midlands outfit is in a transitional period at the moment and has won just two of their opening 12 fixtures, but Yabsley's ambitions are far from being hindered.

'Things are going well. I am back in Birmingham now; as a team we are not having the results we want, but, from a personal point of view, that allows me to get exposure. It benefits me in a way because I am getting plenty of court time, which at 23, I need to get,' he said.

'I had offers from Sheffield, Brighton - the top teams in Britain - but I did not want to go somewhere and just blend in. I need to stand out, prove to people what I can do and they can see me moving forward.

'We have had a lot of tight games but our problem is that we have had just seven players for most the time - although we have just got a new Gambian international. A lack of players means that we compete for 35 minutes but in the last five fatigue sets in.

'Our realistic goal, though, is to make the play-offs and then it just comes down to on the day,' added the 6ft 9in. star.