England hopeful Chris Tremlett believes he is earning his wickets more than ever as he adapts to an improving pitch at the Rose Bowl.

Tremlett - who took five for 67 as Hampshire bowled Surrey out for 278 on Wednesday on day one of their County Championship match - is hoping his consistent performances so far this summer will keep him in the frame to regain his international place.

As for his home venue, there was a time when wickets fell too regularly - to some minds - for otherwise startling figures to be given great credit.

That, however, is no longer the case according to Tremlett.

"You can't help where you play," he reasoned.

"You play for Hampshire and over the years the Rose Bowl has had a reputation of being a bowler-friendly wicket.

"But my personal opinion is that these days it's a very good wicket - one of the best in the country.

"The wickets here have improved over the last few years - they're not seaming about as much.

"The uneven bounce which we had for the first couple of years has pretty much been eliminated."

The result for pace bowlers is often a lot of hard work for scant reward.

"Bowling here, it is sometimes hard work - when it's slow and doesn't bounce," Tremlett added.

"As a 6ft 8ins bowler, that doesn't make it easy."

But Tremlett has been heartened by the sunny weather of the past two weeks which has helped liven up surfaces and bring his height into play.

"The main thing is the wickets have hardened up over the past two weeks," he said.

"Certainly when we went out there this morning, the spikes didn't go in like they normally do, and you think 'it's going to be soft and slow'.

"Generally it is very slow here, and it can be quite depressing as a tall fast bowler when it's not bouncing over stump height."

Many have contended the west end of the Rose Bowl square tends to favour the seamers - but Tremlett believes that is all in the mind.

"People talk about 'this side of the square might do a little bit more, bounce a little bit more'," he said.

"Reputation-wise, it probably does.

"But I don't turn up and think 'yes - we're going to be playing on that side of the square'."

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