Matthew Dunn Aims for World Cup

17 November 2009

Surrey and England U19 star Matthew Dunn has high hopes of being selected for the Under 19 World Cup squad after impressing on the recent tour to Bangladesh.

Dunn, 17, a fast bowler who has played age group cricket for Surrey throughout his career and has now progressed to the Pemberton Greenish Surrey Academy, was part of a sixteen strong squad that recently played on the sub continent, taking part in five One Day Internationals and taking eight wickets on the tour.

He was in squad alongside fully contracted county players such as Yorkshire off spinner Azeem Rafiq, Leicestershire seamer Nathan Buck and Durham all rounder Ben Stokes – who shocked Surrey fans earlier this month when he took the wicket of Mark Ramprakash on his One Day debut in the Friends Provident Trophy.

The teenager is now back at the PG Surrey Academy, working hard on his strength and conditioning ahead of two days of gruelling fitness tests at the National Cricket Performance Centre in Loughborough, after which the squad for the World Cup, which takes place in New Zealand and kicks off for England with a game against Hong Kong on Saturday January 16th, will be announced.

Speaking to Surrey TV Dunn said: “It was my first time going to Bangladesh and it was such a great experience playing with all the top players in the U19s. I was the youngest player there and I learned loads from it.

“The pitches in the sub continent are very different to what I play on here – they don’t have the bounce or anything so I had to develop more slower balls and things.

“It was brilliant being involved with an England setup because it’s a lot more professional. Everything is done for you – you don’t have to get your drinks! – so you can just relax and play.

“Most of the guys in the squad are already contracted at their counties and that is what I am trying to do here at Surrey, so it is great talking to them and hearing what they’ve done. It was also great to talk to Mick because he’s at Notts coaching there. It was brilliant just listening to what they said and learning everything I could.”

Growing up on the seamer friendly pitches of Clubs around Surrey gave Dunn little preparation for the slow baked tracks in Bangladesh, but he was happy to experience sub-continental conditions and adapt his game accordingly.

“I was very happy out there”, he revealed. “The first game I played in there was actually on a quite quick pitch so I was able to get some pace and bounce out of it. The next four games I played, the pitch wasn’t really offering much so I had to use my slower balls, use my variation – it was just a great learning experience.

“Something I hadn’t done in England was bowl a lot of slower balls and in the first practice out there I just tried a few and they ended up working out. I worked with David Payne and Nathan Buck who showed me how they bowled their slower balls and hopefully they came out well!”

The nascent England prospect also spared a word for the Surrey coaches that have helped move his game on over the last few years adding: “All the work I did with Richard Bedbrook and Micky Powell last year – especially on slower balls – really helped me and really helped get my action right.

"I struggled with injury last year and worked with Matt Church who probably did a lot more strength and conditioning which really put me in great stead.”

PG Academy Director Gareth Townsend added: "I've been very impressed by Matthew's performance and progress over the past six months and his involvement in the Bangladesh trip was a great achievement and the feedback received from the ECB has been very encouraging.

"Matthew has had to juggle his commitment with England U19s along with fulfilling his A-Level education and this has proved challenging. However, Matthew is keeping on top of his academic commitments whilst also fulfilling his ambition to progress as a cricketer.

"Selection for the World Cup is a goal he is aiming for and I am confident that over the next few weeks he can impress the selectors enough to fulfill that ambition."

Click on Play Video in the top left hand corner of the picture at the top of this article to see a full interview with Matthew Dunn.