England’s Dawson to seek Warne advice
LONDON: England’s Liam Dawson plans to get in touch with former Hampshire teammate Shane Warne in a bid to help cement his Test place.
By his own admission, left-arm spinner Dawson accepts he may not be the most naturally talented player.
But he believes he can compensate with hard work and cricket intelligence, a view shared by England coach Trevor Bayliss.
Dawson, who took the winning wicket in England’s 211-run First Test win over South Africa at Lord’s, and Australia leg-spin great Warne played a handful of matches together for south coast county Hampshire.
Dawson, with just two Tests behind him, is keen to re-establish contact with Warne, who is commentating on the series for Sky television.
“I will try and catch up with him over the course of this series and have a chat with him about bowl- ing,” Dawson said Tuesday. “That would be brilliant to do.
“Someone who is that good, been that successful and a legend of the game, you can only pick their brains.
“You might pick up something that might give you a little edge when you are out there.”
Dawson’s two Tests have had their share of ups and downs, with an an unbeaten half-century, then three ducks, and six wickets at 38 runs each in one huge defeat by India in Chennai in December and the victory at Lord’s.
“People probably watch me and think ‘you know, he is not the best cricketer’ but I have got to use my cricket brain,” said Dawson
“That has always helped me for Hampshire,” the 27-year-old added.
Dawson accepted he’d made a nervous start at Lord’s but was pleased by his second innings performance with the ball to help fellow spinner Moeen Ali bowl England to a win that put them 10 up in the four-match series.
“I pride myself on being smart and clever ... I’m always trying to get into a battle and enjoy it,” Dawson explained.
“Test cricket is suited to that. It is hard.
“I have only played two Test matches, and it is extremely hard, but it is so rewarding when you get a win.”
Dawson, who will hope to retain his place for the Second Test at Nottingham’s Trent Bridge starting tomorrow, was annoyed by his failure to deal with some unaccustomed nerves at Lord’s.
“That is what disappointed me most about the first innings, when I didn’t do that well at all,” he said.
“I was very annoyed. It did frustrate me.
“I usually deal with nerves pretty well.”
He added: “But this time I was just too nervous and I have got to handle that better next time — and I think I will be better for it.
“It is natural, but I think it did have an impact on the way I bowled in the first innings.
“I was nowhere near my best there, but I like to think I bowled well (in the) second innings. If selected for the next Test, I hope I can continue that on.”