JON Lewis may have been elevated to the full England ranks, and on the brink of a first Test start this week.

But having now reached these dizzy heights, the Gloucestershire paceman intends to keep both feet firmly on terra firma.

Lewis, the former Swindon cricketer and Churchfields School pupil, is in the reckoning for a start against Bangladesh, in the first of two Tests, at Lord's this Thursday.

His selection for the full England squad has followed a couple of impressive seasons with the ball for his county, when he finished as England's leading wicket-taker.

Previously unheralded, those performances gained Lewis recognition at a higher level and with it the rewards a winter place at the England Academy in Loughborough, a call-up as cover for Steve Harmison in the final Test against South Africa, and a pre-season England A tour to face their Sri Lanka and Pakistan counterparts in warmer climes.

The 28-year-old certainly warmed to the task in hand in Colombo, and further enhanced his growing reputation with a series of impressive spells.

Rocky, as he is known in the Gloucestershire dressing room, has since starred with both bat and ball in the early county campaign and looks to be competing with Glamorgan's Simon Jones for the seamer's spot.

The pair, though, may well yet play in tandem as Ashley Giles is now rated doubtful for the first of England's Ashes warm-ups.

The Warwickshire spinner is struggling with an injured right hip, which required an injection at the end of last week, and a decision on the final starting eleven will not be made until the morning of the first day.

It is certainly heady stuff for the Swindonian, but whatever the outcome, he knows there is still plenty of work to be done before realising his ultimate ambition a start against Australia in an Ashes Test.

Speaking before taking to the field for Gloucestershire's totesport one-day league game with Middlesex yesterday, Lewis said: "I'm not in the team yet, so I'm not getting carried away.

"And if do get selected, it will still be a case of keeping both feet on the ground.

"There's a job to be done, and if I am picked, then I have to put in a performance and make sure I'm picked again for the second Bangladesh Test (at the Riverside on June 3-7)."

For now, Lewis is pleased to be earning the recognition that his wicket-taking ability has long demanded.

"Over the years, I haven't been talked about a lot," he said. "That can be frustrating but you just have to get on with the job.

"I supposed the current call-up is the accumulation of the pressure I have been putting on the selectors. If you do keep putting in the performances then people can't ignore you.

"And once you are picked, you get talked about a lot more, and that's always nice.

"It doesn't change anything, though, and there's still the work to be done."

Since his selection, Lewis has been offered a few encouraging words from chairman of selectors David Graveney and the message is simply keep up the good work.

"We had a chat and basically I was told to keep doing what I'm doing it's got me this far and not to change anything.

"Obviously the mechanics are just the same, it's just a case of putting it together at a higher level."

Whether that higher level happens to be the exalted turf of Lord's this week, only time will tell.

In the meantime, Lewis joins the England party at Lord's today and, after a dinner hosted by sponsors Vodafone, it's down to training tomorrow and Wednesday.