RICHARD JOHNSON, England's nearly man for the last eight years, has vowed to "make his mark" if he is finally given his Test debut tomorrow.

Somerset seamer Johnson has been included in numerous England squads since 1995 but is yet to win his first cap.

He even toured India in 2001 but made just one appearance, in a warm-up match in Jaipur.

Now, however, he faces a straight fight with James Kirtley to replace Matthew Hoggard - who misses out with a knee injury.

Johnson said: "It feels great to be in the squad again. It's been a while - almost two years - and I hope to get the chance to make my mark.

"I had a few injuries last year which kept me out, but when I bowled I did well. I knew that, if I bowled as well as last year, I had a chance.

"I changed my action a bit over the winter and it's about 90 per cent right now.

"It's every cricketer's dream to play for England, and the reason I'm making adjustments is I want to play for England."

Johnson is the only man still playing first-class cricket to have taken ten wickets in a Championship innings.

He pulled off the remarkable feat for Middlesex against Derbyshire in 1994, but he admits to having been blas about the record.

"It didn't feel that big to have done it at the time. I was quite young and it didn't seem such a great achievement," he said.

"But as you get older and look back on your career, it means more."