'To Get to Play Would be a Dream Come True'

Briggs could become Hampshire's youngest ever England debutant at 20 years old

Hampshire spinner Danny Briggs talks to rosebowlplc.com about potentially becoming the Club's youngest ever England debutant.

While all who know him back at The Rose Bowl are jumping through hoops over Danny Briggs’ call-up for both England’s One Day International and Twenty20 squads to play Pakistan this month, the man himself is keeping his feet on the ground, as rosebowlplc.com found out when they caught up with him via a phone interview yesterday.

The Hampshire spinner was given the nod following his impressive performances for the England Lions over the last few months, where he picked up 16 wickets in matches against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka A-sides.

But despite his fantastic achievement, Briggs is just trying to take everything as it comes, and not let it get on top of him.

“Obviously it was a good feeling, getting the nod and getting into the squad, but at the time [of hearing about it] it was the beginning of a Lions game so, obviously, we had to concentrate on that,” he said.

“But I’ll take it in my stride and go from there really.”

The 20 year old left-armer could become the first cricketer from the Isle of Wight to represent England, and also the youngest Hampshire player to ever play for his country – the previous record holder being Chris Tremlett at 23.

And Briggs hopes he can do both accolades justice if called upon.

“They’ve [the Isle of Wight] been good to me in my past and through my development in cricket as well, so it would be good to repay something to them, and to get to play would be a dream come true,” he revealed.

“It’s a good place to be at my age and the best thing I can do, so hopefully I’ll train well out there and go from there.”

Briggs has been getting used to the pitches he should face in Abu Dhabi during the series whilst featuring for the Lions.

Team-Afridi-Briggs-T20-Field-Durham-RoseBowl-Zee-1-410

And despite the success he’s enjoyed so far, the Ventnor-born bowler insists it’s about keeping things easy and then letting the pitch do the rest.

“It will be nice to bowl on the wickets and I’ve bowled in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka before, so it’s gone well so far and hopefully I can carry on this form,” he said.

“I think there’s always been a bit of assistance for the spinners out here as opposed to other countries we’ve been in and I’ll just be trying to concentrate and keep it simple really and let some pitches do the job for you.

“You have to keep a clear game plan and go from there.”

Briggs has drawn lots of plaudits for his all-round game, but particularly for his Twenty20 peformances for the Royals over the past few seasons, finishing as the Friends Life t20 tournament’s leading spinner [in terms of wickets taken with 31] in the 2010 campaign.

It’s been proven that pace off the ball can play a big part during the middle overs in slowing down a team’s momentum and, with spin set to play a pivotal role in these forthcoming matches, the youngster could get his chance to shine.

Of course, he’ll face competition from Graeme Swann and Samit Patel but Briggs insists being a part of the squad will be a wonderful experience on its own and any playing time is an added bonus.

“For me it’s great to get in the squad, and I’ll go from there. If the chance comes it will be amazing, but it will be great just to get to know the squad and go from there,” he said.

“But obviously you never know. It’s just good to get recognised and get into the squad and now I’ve got to try to train well and see what happens from there.”

If he plays Briggs will come up against last season’s Royals team-mate and fellow spin-bowler, Shahid Afridi [pictured together above left]. And whilst he’ll be trying to get one over an old friend, the Hampshire hot-shot will also just be looking to catch up with the Pakistani all-rounder while he’s there.

“It will be nice to bowl against him and have a chat with him when we’re out there as well,” he admitted.

“It says how well Hampshire have done in the last couple of years too, with players in both squads!”

Click on the audio file below to hear the interview in full or press the downward-pointing arrow to download and listen on your mobile device.