Born On This Day: 1st March

We start the new month with two fine Hampshire cricketers who share a number of similarities. Nigel Cowley (1974-1989) and Liam Dawson (since 2007) are spin-bowling all-rounders who came to Hampshire from our neighbouring counties, Nigel from Dorset and Liam from Wiltshire – and both enjoyed some particularly fine days in what we now call Hampshire’s ‘white ball’ sides.

Liam Dawson was born in Swindon in 1990 he bowls slow-left-arm and is a fine fielder, especially in the slips. He played for Hampshire’s age group sides from his early teens, and has played for Hampshire in first-class and limited-overs matches since 2007, and T20 since 2008.

His first match, a limited-overs game, was at Northampton when he was just 17 years and six months old, and in September 2008 he scored 100* at Trent Bridge, the youngest man to score a first-class century for Hampshire.

He represented England under-19s in all three formats and has played for England in all three formats since 2016, with Test Match bests of 66* v India and 2-34 v South Africa, while in six T20 matches he has a best of 3-27 v Sri Lanka.

In 2019, he was a member of the England squad that won the World Cup. In limited-overs and T20 cricket he was a member of the Hampshire sides that won the ‘double’ in 2012 and also played in Hampshire’s winning Lord’s Finals in 2009, and 2018 and in their T20 success in 2010. In first-class cricket his highest score is 169 v Somerset (Southampton) 2011. And his best bowling 5-29 v Leicestershire (Southampton) 2012.

Off-spinner Nigel Cowley, born Shaftesbury in 1953 played first in 1974, the finest Hampshire side not to win the Championship after rain wrecked their final two games.

He played a couple of games in 1975 as Hampshire won the Sunday League for the first time and two years later impressed in the 1977 B&H semi-final when following a Procter hat-trick and Hampshire 18-4, he added 111 with David Turner, top-scoring with 59, albeit not quite enough to take Hampshire to Lord’s.

He contributed to the next two Sunday League titles in 1978 (when he was capped) & 1986. His highest first-class score of 109* came at Taunton in 1977, with a second first-class century v Leicestershire at Southampton in 1982, to which he added a career best 6-48.

In 1988 he played in Hampshire’s first Lord’s final, making a significant contribution with 1-17 in his 11 overs, and executing the throw from deep to run-out Derbyshire’s most threatening batsman, John Morris.

After one first-class match in 1989, he left Hampshire and joined Glamorgan for one season, then became a first-class umpire, retiring in 2017.

Also today: William Light, Sidney Olivier, JD (Dan) PIachaud, AE (Sam) Pothecary, Ralph Prouton, Shahid Afridi, Henry Smoker, Robert Thorne, Phillip Thresher, Francis Turner