Dillon Pennington has paid tribute to Nottinghamshire Assistant Coach Kevin Shine for aiding his rapid development, whilst admitting his current involvement with England Lions has given him extra hunger to be back in the international fold. 

The 25-year-old is currently touring South Africa with the Lions, having earned his maiden Test call-up earlier this year for the series against West Indies. 

That followed an eight-game stint in the County Championship in which he claimed 31 wickets at an average of 24, to be amongst the leading bowlers in the country. 

Whilst Pennington’s season ended prematurely due to a hamstring injury sustained in The Hundred, the trajectory of the young seamer’s career is clear to see, and he credits Shine for much of the growth achieved over the last 12 months.

“I have formed a really positive relationship with Shiney,” Pennington said. 

“He cares so much about the individual, and one of his main strengths is being able to read people and knowing how to work with them. I completely understand what he is talking about; I feel like we have similar personalities and he understands how to get the best out of me.

“I trust him with anything, and that was the case as soon as I joined. I basically left him to tell me what I needed to do to get to the next level. With how it has gone so far, I feel like the decision to place that trust in him has paid off.”

Looking back, Pennington describes his England selection - which could have seen him make his Test bow at Trent Bridge - as being “special for a lot of people,” not least because of the leap of faith he made to join Nottinghamshire from his native Worcestershire. 

Injury proved a bitter blow, preventing a debut in the summer, but Pennington believes he is finding his form again with the help of England Lions. 

“Of course, when things pay off it is rewarding,” he said, “It was a cool time for me personally and my family when I got selected for England.

“Then the months I was injured were difficult because others were getting the opportunities. I love the fact that [Olly] Stoney got his chance and took it, but it is hard because you feel like you go back to the bottom of the pile again, and you have to do the work to get back to the top. 

“For someone like me it takes a bit of time to get back to full rhythm and flow. Thankfully, I’ve found that over the last few weeks and I feel like I’m back somewhere near where I was in the summer, which is a nice feeling.”

Pennington has also enjoyed rubbing shoulders with some of the country’s brightest prospects, as well as greats of the game in the Rainbow National. 

The tour of South Africa is Andrew Flintoff’s first as Head Coach of the programme, while former Proteas seamer Dale Steyn has been working with the group, too. 

“You learn loads from working with different people,” Pennington stated. 

“For the last couple of days we’ve had Steyn with us and he has been incredible to learn from.

"He is an incredible character to get to know and you can get so much from him. He gets his points across really well - there are definitely things I’ll be able to bring back with me.

“And I got on well with Freddie at Northern Superchargers in The Hundred, but I was only there for a couple of days so I was really excited to work with him again. He is down to earth and extremely knowledgeable.”

In the next few months Pennington will be concentrating on his winter work at Nottinghamshire, with a domestic goal of helping his club climb the Division One table. 

It is an ambition he feels is within reach, with Trent Bridge offering “a good place to play cricket, and a brilliant group of people.”

He is buoyed, too, by the emergence of high-ceiling players, including Lions teammates Farhan Ahmed and Freddie McCann.

“I have absolutely loved my time at Notts so far,” he says. 

“On a collective level, hopefully in the next couple of years we can compete at the top of the table and push for the Championship.

“This group of players all have that mindset, and, ultimately, we all play this game to be the best we can. The squad is evolving and changing and it is a really exciting time to be at Nottinghamshire.”

At the back of his mind may well be England’s next home Test Match - against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge next May - but little will distract Pennington from his focus on Notts and putting his best foot forward until the England call comes again.