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| | Monday, 12 November, 2001, 18:27 GMT New kid on the block  Dawson (R) with fellow England new boy Martyn Ball New England spinner Richard Dawson is interviewed by BBC Sport Online's Oliver Brett. Unlike one or two young spinners who have been selected for winter tours, Richard Dawson stands a very good chance of playing in a Test or two out in India. If he does really well in the warm-up games, he might even play in all three. But the player himself, who wears spectacles when not actually playing, still seems fairly bewildered by the prospect of playing for England in India. "I've been training down at my local gym in Doncaster trying to get ready. "But other than that I don't really know how to get ready for a tour in another country because I've never been on one."
It's a fair point, and though Dawson has known since August he would be part of the squad, he has had little guidance about how to prepare for the six-week tour. The England and Wales Cricket Board has declined to send a bowling coach up to south Yorkshire to make sure his spinning fingers are still well oiled. And, like a few other cricketers in the squad, Dawson has never played cricket anywhere on the subcontinent. "I played in South Africa last pre-season with Yorkshire and also with British Universities," he says. Unknown territory "And I've been to New Zealand with the England under-19s. "But I don't know what it's like out there in India. I suppose I'll have to have a good look around once I'm there and listen to all the advice I get. "I wouldn't say I'm guaranteed a Test place or anything. In fact I've got to go out there and prove myself. "I'm not expecting anything. I'm going to go out there and what I did with Yorkshire in the summer."
Dawson is just 21 and the season he has just spent at Yorkshire saw his debut in first-class cricket. It all began so badly as well, when he had the misfortune to break his hand back in April doing 12th man duties at Kent. Out of action for nine weeks, he then did as well as could be expected when given the chance to play - with the 30 wickets he took in those nine first-class games, helping Yorkshire win the Championship. He is tall, at 6 foot 4 inches tall, and unlike James Foster who is still fitting his studies around his cricket, Dawson's university career is now finished. He knows he may soon be bowling at some of the best batsmen in the world. But it certainly doesn't seem to phase him. "It was a big eye-opener when I had to bowl at Michael Hussey of Northamptonshire in my second game. He got a century against us. "But it's not just him. There are a whole lot of good players in county cricket - and others like Craig White, Darren Lehmann and Michael Vaughan at Yorkshire. "I certainly think that helping Yorkshire win the Championship does breed confidence. "I have been part of a squad who have become confident after winning games and hopefully I can carry that on with England." | |
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