Liam Dawson sees a lot of promise in Rehan Ahmed but cautioned against expecting too much, too soon from the teenage leg-spinner.
England’s dismal World Cup seems set to usher in a changing of the guard for the ODI side and Ahmed may have more of a role to play, even if Adil Rashid remains the country’s premier white-ball spinner.
Ahmed has impressed in seven appearances in national colours across all formats since last December and joins Rashid in being named in the ODI and T20 squads for next month’s trip to face the West Indies.
The 19-year-old links up with England after a lean domestic summer but Dawson is a huge admirer of his fellow spin bowling all-rounder and is certain he will flourish if England persevere with him.
“Rehan’s very young so you’ve got to give him a bit of time – he’s nowhere near the finished article,” Dawson told the PA news agency.
“I played with him last winter and I think he’s a very good bowler. You’ve just got to be patient with him. Spin bowling isn’t easy in England, you don’t get conditions that suit very often.”
Dawson subscribes to the notion spinners get better as they grow older and he has the numbers to back it up after taking 49 wickets at 20 to go with 840 runs at 40 in this year’s County Championship.
His form for Hampshire – where he was an ever-present for the matches in which he was available – warrants an England recall with a five-match Test series against India to come, starting in January.
Dawson has long since stopped worrying about his fringe status for England in all formats but the 33-year-old believes he is a superior player than when he earned the last of three Test caps in July 2017.
“Without a doubt,” he said. “I was only 27 then. I certainly think I’m a better player now. I’ve played a lot more cricket and in a lot more pressure situations. I understand that side of the game more.
“In red-ball cricket my bowling has improved every single year. I’d say that’s a huge thing that has improved. It’s going to be very hard to beat what I’ve done this season.
“There’s not much more I can do than what I’ve done this year. I’ll keep trying to work hard, keep trying to improve but I’m very realistic that the season I’ve just had doesn’t come around too often.”
A difficult conundrum awaits Dawson if England do make overtures for him as he has already committed to a lucrative stint in South Africa’s SA20, which overlaps with a couple of Tests of the India tour.
The canny slow left-armer would be a valuable inclusion on the turning tracks of India but any England return would likely be brief and he does not have the safety net of a central contract to fall back on.
Dawson is a regular in the high-paying T20 franchise leagues and, with England’s blessing, he was among a group of players to miss a tour of Bangladesh to play in the Pakistan Super League earlier this year.
“Don’t get me wrong, everyone’s desperate to play for their country but it also gets to a point where financially, you have to take that into consideration,” he added.
“As a player, for someone in my situation who hasn’t got a central contract – I certainly didn’t expect one – I’m not getting younger now, you have to make money.
“There’s so many competitions now you can play in. It’s brilliant to be a player now and hopefully I can play for a few more years and try to continue to perform.”
West Indies Academy secures first win of the season with 22-run DLS method victory over CCC
The West Indies Academy recorded their first win of the 2024 CG United Super50 Cup season with a 22-run DLS method win over the Combined Campuses and Colleges at the Sir Frank Worrell Memorial Ground in St. Augustine on Monday.
CCC, who were also seeking their first win of the season, were first dismissed for 174 in 39.5 overs after winning the toss and batting first.
Experienced opener Kieran Powell top scored with 46 off 42 balls including eight fours while Shaqkere Parris made 40 and Johann Jeremiah hit 33.
Jediah Blades continued his good form with the ball this season with 3-23 from six overs and was well supported by Zishan Motara who took 3-31 from his 10 overs.
Joshua Bishop also bowled well with 2-25 from 6.5 overs.
In reply, the Academy were 167-7 off 40.5 overs, 22 runs ahead of the DLS par score when the rain brought an end to proceedings.
Andrew Rambaran and Johann Layne put together a crucial eighth wicket partnership, helping the Academy recover from 118-7 in the 29th over.
Rambaran finished 37* while Layne finished 25* off 28 balls including two fours and two sixes.
Earlier, Rivaldo Clarke top scored with 38. Romario Greaves was excellent with the ball for the CCC with 5-45 from his 10 overs while the other two wickets were split between Akeem Jordan and Abhijai Mansingh.
Full Scores:
Combined Campuses and Colleges 174 off 39.5 overs (Kieran Powell 46, Shaqkere Parris 40, Johann Jeremiah 33, Jediah Blades 3-23, Zishan Motara 3-31, Joshua Bishop 2-25)
West Indies Academy 167-7 off 40.5 overs (Rivaldo Clarke 38, Andrew Rambaran 37*, Johann Layne 25*, Romario Greaves 5-45).
Smith not pinning blame on Ford for England loss
Marcus Smith does not blame England's narrow defeat to New Zealand on Saturday on George Ford, despite his late missed kicks.
Ford replaced Smith, who had scored 17 points and set up England's only try in their 24-22 loss, hitting a potential match-winning penalty against the post before narrowly missing a drop goal.
England had held an eight-point advantage when Smith left the field, but Mark Tele'a's 76th-minute try before Damian McKenzie added five late points proved enough to get the All Blacks over the line.
The hosts' autumn series got off to a losing start as Ford struggled to find his clinical edge in the dying moments, but Smith does not lay any blame at his team-mate's feet.
"Sometimes that's the life of a kicker, we've all experienced that. It's part and parcel of the job," said Smith.
"I've learned so much off George. He's an unbelievable kicker, both off the tee and out of hand. It was one of those days.
"It's nothing to do with him why we didn't win the game. It's a team effort. Every kicker in the world has experienced that.
"We practise [drop-goals] as kickers every single day, but sometimes it doesn't go for you. We're all human and people miss."
Saturday marked a third consecutive narrow loss to New Zealand for England, with their last win an emphatic victory over Japan in June.
Despite that run, Smith remains confident that England can take lessons from these defeats to set themselves up for success in the future.
"International rugby is very different to the Premiership and the experiences we're experiencing now are very painful, but we'll be better for them," Smith added.
"Keep the faith. We've fallen again on the wrong side of the result, but we'll learn from it 100%.
"These experiences will tighten us as a group, and it will be worth it in the long run. We will be better for it."
Molineux stars with 64 as Melbourne Renegades Women win second match in a row
Hayley Matthews and Deandra Dottin’s Melbourne Renegades Women got their second win in a row in the Women’s Big Bash League thanks to a brilliant batting display from captain Sophie Molineux against Adelaide Strikers Women at the Junction Oval in Melbourne on Sunday.
The Renegades, chasing 158 for victory, found themselves 52-5 in the ninth over when Molineux came to the crease to join Dottin.
The pair put on a crucial 79 runs before Dottin fell for 20. Seven runs later, Molineux fell for a match-winning 32-ball 64 including nine fours and three sixes.
Eventually needing six runs off the final over, Nicole Faltum and Sarah Coyte guided the Renegades to victory.
Darcie Brown, Amanda-Jade Wellington and Jemma Barsby took two wickets, each, for the Strikers in their efforts to defend what looked like a match-winning total.
Earlier, captain Talia McGrath led the way with 64 off 44 balls including eight fours and a six while Orla Prendergast supported well with 31 as the Strikers made 157-5 from their 20 overs after winning the toss.
Molineux took 2-39 from her four overs while Georgia Wareham and Alice Capsey split two wickets. Matthews and Dottin when wicketless in seven overs between them.
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