WORCESTERSHIRE director of cricket Steve Rhodes is relishing the prospect of a T20 series decider for England Lions against Pakistan A in Dubai tomorrow.

Lions fell 2-1 behind before Sam Billings and Liam Dawson held their nerve in a low-scoring match at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

Now the teams return to the ICC Global Cricket Academy, where Rhodes has spent plenty of time over the last month.

It is Rhodes’ first involvement with a senior England squad and he said: “It’s been good fun, I’ve enjoyed it.

“I’ve learned a lot and hopefully I’ve managed to contribute some things to the team environment and touring party generally.

“For the county coaches to see what the England coaches do and how they go about doing things is great for their own learning to take that back to county cricket.

“If there’s any extra little things that we might be doing in county cricket that we could expand to England level, then that’s great too.”

Lions head coach Andy Flower said: “It’s been great having him here with us. He’s a very experienced cricketer and coach.

“He was always a fierce competitor. I also know he’s always been, as a player and a coach, a huge influence on the people around him in a very positive way.

“He’s outstanding at creating the right sort of environment for both training and competition. All in all, it’s been really successful having him here.”

Rhodes has kept a close eye on Worcestershire players Joe Clarke and Ross Whiteley.

He said: “As a guy with only one year under contract, Joe’s selection was a bit of a shock to some people.

“But a lot of the players have come to me and said that, in the camp leading up to the games, he was the outstanding batter.

“For somebody so young, 19 years of age, to impress battle-hardened county players is a real feather in his cap.”

Clarke played in the first match but a quad injury ruled him out of the series.

Whiteley has been an ever-present and hit six sixes in four innings, as well as fielding athletically.

Rhodes added: “The team meetings often talk about setting a platform for someone like Ross to come in and do some damage.”