Spinner Ashley Giles is not used to acclaim but in the first Test against West Indies at Lord's he was transformed into England's main strike bowler.
He seized his chance ruthlessly.
Five wickets in the West Indies second innings to go with four in the first helped England to a 210-run victory and put his name on the Lord's honours board.
However, the 31-year-old man of the match, so often the target of derision, is well aware he will be back at square one in Thursday's second Test at his home ground of Edgbaston in Birmingham.
"I understand that wicket is going to start very differently from this match," he told reporters after taking five for 81 on Monday.
Giles, usually no great turner of the ball and who has sometimes lost confidence and resorted to bowling a defensive line outside the right-handers' leg stump, would be the first to accept he is no Shane Warne or Muttiah Muralitharan.
But he has bristled at some criticisms, which included being likened to a "wheelie bin" -- a refuse bin on wheels -- by respected broadcaster Henry Blofeld. Blofeld duly apologised for the joke in Tuesday's Independent newspaper.
The slow left armer, who removed Brian Lara with a fine delivery through the gate to claim his 100th Test wicket on the final day, remains the best spinner in England and he rose to the occasion by exploiting a wearing surface at Lord's.
"I am just chuffed with how it has gone," he said, while accepting he was helped by the pitch, adding: "The wicket had rough and they had lots of left handers."
His performance, following six wickets as well as 81 runs without being dismissed in the win over New Zealand at Trent Bridge last month, moved him up to 19th in the Test bowling rankings.
"Some crowds can be quite fickle...but I can feel the support coming back. Everyone likes an underdog and the dog has come good," Giles added.
ENGLAND CONFIDENCE
England captain Michael Vaughan, meanwhile, thought his team needed a longer rest before the second match of the four-Test series, which starts on Thursday, but believed they could exploit their psychological edge after their crushing victory.
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Flintoff bowled only 11.3 overs at Lord's because of an ankle spur but Vaughan said his reasons for not bowling him more were simple: "He is fit but I have an eye on the future as well."
West Indies captain Brian Lara, despite a fourth defeat in five Tests against England, was looking forward to returning to Edgbaston where he was a huge hit for county side Warwickshire in the mid 1990s. His exploits included a first-class record innings of 501 not out.
"I have very good memories there. Hopefully the pitch will be a bit different from Lord's," he said. "The performance in this Test improved after the first day and we have just got to focus on the job we have to do."
