MORGAN: I’LL BE WELCOMED BACK
DEBUT BOY HIT ON HEAD BEFORE STRIKING BACK
ENGLAND coach Trevor Bayliss has always said there is a little something about Liam Dawson – and yesterday he was proved right.
Hit on the head second ball by a fearsome bouncer from Umesh Yadav, the spinning all-rounder could have been excused if his introduction to Test cricket was all a bit much for him.
Instead he gave his helmet a check, had a word with the physio and got behind the line of the next ball, and the one after that.
By the time the England innings was over he was still there unbowed and unbeaten on 66. And by virtue of his last run before Jake Ball was bowled he claimed the record score by an England No.8 or lower on Test debut, beating Darren Gough’s 65 against New Zealand in 1994.
“It’s nice to do well on debut,” said Swindon-born Dawson. “It was an interesting first few balls for me in Test cricket but I was glad to get through them.
“It was a good bouncer. I tried to watch it as hard as I could, but that is part of the game. I was pleased to come through that.
“It hit me somewhere, I was alright, it must have hit a good part of the helmet. I pride myself on my fight and character, and thankfully today it paid off.”
Together with Adil Rashid, eOIn MOrGan will return to captain england’s one-day squad without any regrets over ditching them in Bangladesh.
Morgan skipped the tour as he did not feel comfortable being in the first team to tour Bangladesh since a terror attack in July targeting westerners.
the trip, which was also missed by batsman alex hales, passed without a hitch and Morgan is confident he can take the reins back from Jos Buttler and pick up where he left off without an who made 60, they added 108 for the ninth wicket in a lower order stand that India have made their speciality in this series.
Having started his cricket journey as a 14- year- old at Chippenham, he has now ticked off Chittagong and Chennai this winter in what is rapidly becoming a tour de force.
With an ODI and a T20 cap under his belt, Dawson was playing in the Bangladesh Premier League when he got the call to be a like-for-like replacement for Zafar Ansari ahead of Somerset’s Jack Leach. And he admitted Test honours were not the priority.
“I never thought I’d be a Test cricketer by the end of this winter,” he added. “When I went out to the Bangladesh Premier League, Test cricket didn’t even cross my mind.
“This is very special. There is no question you’re going to be up for it, you only make one debut and I was extremely excited.” Thanks to Dawson and Rashid, England were able to build on the efforts of Moeen Ali who finished with 146 when he was caught hooking to deep square leg.
A total of 477 all out should mean England are safe in this game, but their chances of forcing the consolation win on a sluggish pitch and outfield still look some way off. issue. “I’ve no regrets, I’m still comfortable with the decision,” said Morgan. “I tried to imagine all the different circumstances and didn’t feel comfortable enough in my mind to go and be able to perform.
“having been in circumstances where security has let me down, if there is ever a risk or doubt in my mind about travelling somewhere I have to reconsider my options.
“I’m absolutely confident of having the support of the players. We’re a tightly-knit group who back each other’s decisions no matter what the case and in particular in this case.”
Morgan is in australia where he will play five games in the Big Bash for sydney thunder, starting off as captain due to an injury to shane Watson.
and ironically he played a warm-up match against Bangladesh, scoring 33 on Friday.
there were a few eyebrows raised at Morgan pulling out, although not publicly from the squad, along with some confusion as to why he went to India after a bombing, but not Bangladesh. he added: “I think one thing that had changed from 2010 in India was that other teams had travelled there and security had increased.
“also since then there had been no terrorist attacks or sightings or threats in regard to either a tournament or a national team.
“I think going to Bangladesh and being the first western team to travel there since the terrorist attack and the fact that australia pulled out even before the attack happened, was another reason.”