(MANCHESTER) Alec Stewart approaches another England milestone this week insisting he would rather concentrate on the challenge facing him in the final Test against Sri Lanka than look back on his illustrious career.

When Stewart walks out at Old Trafford on Thursday for this 118th Test he will equal the England appearance record set by Graham Gooch on the same ground where he marked his 100th cap with a memorable century against West Indies two years ago.

It is a stunning achievement, particularly for a player whose Test career seemed finished just months ago when younger rival James Foster was given a central contract and was clearly favoured by the selectors as England's first choice wicketkeeper.

Not for the first time in his career, though, Stewart has confounded predictions and will have played in all three Tests in the current series by the end of this week after an arm injury sustained by Foster gave him an unexpected chance.

He has not set the series alight, scoring only 40 runs in his three innings, and failed to make the major score he would have wanted to put pressure on the selectors both for the forthcoming one-day triangular tournament and the opening Test against India at Lord's on July 25.

But he has not disgraced himself either, and Stewart is certainly not in a mood to reflect on past glories while there is still a chance of retaining his place in the current England side.

``Goochie was a great player, the one England player I respect more than any other that I've played with in my time,'' he explained. ``It's an achievement to have England's equal leading Test appearance record and it shows that you can perform over a length of time.

``But I'm not a big one for saying I've played more than anyone else - I'm more concerned with playing now and playing well. To have had a career spanning from 1990 until now and hopefully a bit longer is a good achievement.''

Just how long Stewart, now 39, can continue will depend very much on the will of the selectors and whether they have been swayed enough by Stewart's recent displays to persevere with him rather than recall Foster at the first opportunity.

Stewart has set no deadline on his retirement, which would have come much sooner had he not had an operation during the winter to cure problems with his elbow tendons, but is equally not looking too far ahead.

He admitted: ``I've always set myself goals. Two years ago I wanted to be involved in the Ashes series last year which I was and I would now like to be involved up to and including the World Cup.

``There's always a next goal and if I'm in then I'll be really happy and if not then I can look back on a good career. I always said when I started off that I wanted to play 25 Tests for England because if you do that then you can say you've had an England career.

``To have actually got to 118 means that I've done a bit better than an alright career - if I get more than great and that's what I'm aiming to do.''

He is also refusing to view this week's Test as a final opportunity for him to secure his place in the near future, stressing: ``I'm not feeling the pressure in any way. It's a bonus that I've played since the start of this series through James' misfortune and I have approached it just like any game I've played and I have looked to enjoy every game I've played.

``It's nothing to do with me - it's all down to what the selectors do. When you bat down at six or seven, sometimes you get in when they're four down for not many and you have time to build an innings and other times the innings is set.

``The only chance I've really had of batting was at Edgbaston when I batted for an hour and then got a good delivery and was caught at short leg. Talking about my age is easy, but it should be more about how people perform - if you look at David Seaman, he is 38 and there are younger goalkeepers pushing him, but he's the best so he plays.''

Stewart faces a pitch which may not suit him as much as he would have hoped, with groundsman Pete Marron admitting the heavy rain over the last few weeks slowing up a wicket which he had expected to be much harder and faster.

``We've been hindered in our preparations by the rain,'' added Marron. ``It's rained virtually every day for the past three weeks and we've also had a semi-final in close proximity to the Test.

``The pitch is not as hard as I would have wanted, but I'm hoping that it will behave in a similar manner to last year's Test against Pakistan which most people were pleased with.''

11 Jun, 2002