JAMES Foster’s England mission has been stuck on the launch pad for too long – not just for him, but for the vast majority of his Essex team-mates and supporters.

However, his tremendous Twenty20 form this season has thrust his image straight into the eyes of the national selectors who gave him eight Test caps in the early part of the decade.

Meanwhile, scouts from the Indian Premier League (IPL) are also sure to have taken notice of the wicket-keeper’s fine displays with both bat and gloves.

And the 28-year-old, who has also excelled as Essex’s vice-captain this summer, is desperate to enhance his image still further at Finals Day.

“Finals Day is a huge occasion and a chance to perform. If you can do so, it’s going to be on TV all over the world, so it’s a chance to get recognised,” he told the Echo.

“I’m really pleased with my Twenty20 form, so playing in the IPL is something that I feel I could do. I feel I could not just be there, but also perform in it.

“It’s one of those things where you cannot get too wrapped up in the possibility of getting involved in an IPL team.

“It’s for the elite players and if it happens, it happens. I firmly believe that if I was to be there, I could do a pretty good job.”

While an IPL contract would guarantee Foster financial riches, the player himself insists the prestige of being able to perform at the very highest level is incentive enough.

“There’s a huge financial benefit of being involved but, for me, it’s not the money that is an incentive – it’s the possibility of appearing on the big stage in India with the best players in the world,” he said.

“If I was to perform in such an environment, I would have a great chance of being involved in one-day cricket for England again.”

Despite his fine 2008, Foster knows he faces stiff competition to get back into the England side “To get back into the England set-up, I’ve got to be ahead and above the rest of the competition and scoring a hell of a lot of more runs than anyone else.

“I’ve scored runs, but probably not as many as I need to. The likes of Matt Prior has scored loads in four-day cricket. I’m not too worried about it. My goal is to perform well in one-day cricket and I feel I have done that.”

And Foster’s fine Twenty20 performances have been echoed by his team-mates as the Eagles have soared into the last-four.

“Twenty20 came at a fantastic time. We had just lost badly to Middlesex at Lord’s and we mentioned at the time that it was a good time for Twenty20 to come round,” he added.

“We’re playing some really serious cricket at the moment.”