The Cricketer Magazine – June 2018

BELOW

Dawson with

England spin

consultant Saqlain

Mushtaq

Harry Trump/Gare

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For Liam Dawson, 2011 was Year Zero.

His bowling had stagnated, so he went

out to Zimbabwe to play in the Logan

Cup competition. He played one

game – 110 not out and 7 for 51 – then

returned home feeling homesick at the

isolation in Mutare, four hours drive out

of Harare on the Mozambique border.

Dawson, then 21, spent that winter

grafting in the Ageas Bowl indoor

school. The hard work transformed

his left-arm spin, and led to England

caps in all three formats.

“I was more of a natural when I

started – I’d just bowl and see how

it goes,” said Dawson at a Chance

to Shine event. “My action wasn’t as

consistent as it should have been. I

was quite closed off with my feet.

“Tony Middleton [then Hampshire

academy director] and Raj Maru [spin

consultant] gave me simple drills

to do for six months. If you do work

hard on technical aspects, then your

mind and body are clever things, and

it works itself out. So I lined my feet

up, and it seems to have come back

ever since then. Especially in one-day

cricket, I’ve done a pretty good job.

I like to think I’ve contributed to a lot

of Hampshire wins with the ball.”

It surely helped that, on a Lions

tour, Dawson caught the eye of

Andy Flower, who still carries

considerable soft power, despite

having no official vote on selection.

“His bowling was canny and

accurate,” said Flower of Dawson.

“He could sense when batsmen

were going to have a crack and

seemed a step ahead. You can field

him anywhere too. That made for a

very strong package.”

Dawson considers that to be his

great strength as a bowler: “I think

batting in the top order gives

you a little bit of a helping hand

sometimes, having a feel for what a

batter’s going to do. That’s something

I pride myself on. Also, keeping it

simple – looking to hit the stumps

with most balls.

“In T20, if you bowl one or two

dot-balls, you know they’re going to

try to look for a boundary virtually

every time. So it’s limiting the

number of boundaries you go for,

and knowing the areas you want to

get hit to on different grounds, as

the shapes of the grounds change for

each game. So it’s knowing where,

and executing that plan.”

In first-class cricket Dawson has a

tougher lot, especially with so many

Championship matches crammed

into April and May.

“Your job is just to keep an end

tight, almost give the seamers a rest.

Accuracy is quite a big thing. Unless

you have something technically you

need to work on, then in England it’s

about learning how to get people out

on wickets that don’t turn.”

Dawson found himself down the

Hampshire T20 pecking order in

2015, which led to a loan spell at

Essex. But his rival spinners have

since moved on, and opportunities

have emerged for Dawson in global

T20. Last winter he was a surprise

high-flyer in the Pakistan Super

League and the T10 in Sharjah.

“I wasn’t sure what to expect at the

start of the T10. But the standard

was really good. There were some

excellent players. You were under

pressure every single ball – even

more than in T20. Thankfully I

managed to do fairly well in it and it

gave me a big confidence boost.

“I still don’t know if there will be

a different tactical element to it

compared to T20. It’s too early to

say. But teams might have their own

way of going about it this winter.”

Dawson’s PSL team, Peshawar

Zalmi, reached the finals at

Lahore: “Playing in the PSL was an

incredible experience. The standard

was the best I’ve played in. The

quick bowling was highly skilful.

And the way that Pakistanis bat,

they’re very naturally talented.

“To experience the passion for

Pakistani cricket, going to Lahore for

the finals, was something I’ll never

forget. We had a lot of information

about the security. It was made a

little bit easier by [ECB security

adviser] Reg Dickason. That put my

mind at rest, that he was in charge

of it. We never felt in danger at

any point, and we were there

for a week. For the PCB and

their government to put that

level of security into it just shows

how much they love cricket, and to

experience the atmosphere in the

stadiums... it was the best I think I’ll

ever play in.”

Here, though, there is a danger

that Dawson might be typecast for

his short-lived Test experience. He

came in for the 2016/17 India series

after Jack Leach was ruled out for

breaching the 15-degree flexion

limit in testing at Loughborough.

Then, during last summer’s South

Africa Test series, head coach Trevor

Bayliss declared that Moeen Ali –

the established spinner in the side –

was “the second spinner” to Dawson.

Dawson says: “That was their

opinion. It wasn’t unhelpful for me.

You just get on with it.

“To be picked for Test cricket was

a big surprise for me. Against South

Africa I didn’t have the series I’d

wanted to. Obviously I was nowhere

near good enough. From my own

expectations, I could have offered

a lot more. That’s part of cricket

• when you make these steps up
  you are going to fail sometimes.
  I think I did underperform. It was
  frustrating for me, but it’s not
  something I’ve looked back on in
  regretting. I gave it a crack.”
  After those two Tests – two lbw
  dismissals of Hashim Amla, but a
  disappointing second innings at
  Trent Bridge – Dawson was omitted
  even from the Lions tour of the West
  Indies, then had his finger broken by
  Notts’ Harry Gurney in May.
  “[A Test recall] is not something
  I’ve really thought of, if I’m honest.
  I’ve always thought white-ball
  cricket is my strength. If you look at
  my career, my stats shows that.”
  And yet, Dawson is surprisingly
  cautious about his prospects of
  playing a part in either the 2019
  World Cup or 2020 World Twenty20.
  “If you look at that England one-
  day side, it’s settled. Look at the job
  Moeen does as an allrounder – it’s
  pretty good. I’m realistic about my
  chances. All I can do is perform
  in white-ball cricket... the
  lads that are playing are
  match-winners, and it’s a
  joy to watch them when
  they’re going well. I’ve
  loved when I’ve played, but
  I’m realistic. I’m not going
  to always play or be in
  a squad.”

Liam Dawson

was taking part

in a Chance

to Shine street

cricket game

ahead of

the NatWest

Test Series

#NoBoundaries

against

Pakistan

Batting in the top

order gives you a

feel for what the

batsmen will do

IntervIew | COunty

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