‘Amazing place to be’ – Dan Worrall has been a serial County Championship winner at Surrey
BY MARCUS HOOK
Since joining Surrey three years ago, Dan Worrall has not known anything other than winning the County Championship.
The latest accolade to come the Aussie seamer’s way is being one of Wisden Almanack’s five cricketers of the year, along with team-mates Gus Atkinson and Jamie Smith.
Worrall’s haul of 52 first-class wickets at just 16.15 runs apiece in 2024 prompted the managing director of England cricket Rob Key to suggest the 33-year-old was being looked at in terms of performing a Jimmy Anderson-type role in this winter’s Ashes down under.
But when I asked Worrall, who also holds a British passport, precisely when he qualifies by residency to play for England at Surrey’s media day last month, he claimed he didn’t even know.
Perhaps it should not have come as a surprise because despite being one of the most consistent bowlers on the county circuit, Worrall is the first to admit there has never really been much of a master plan underpinning his career. Even when there has, injuries and other events, like the Covid pandemic, have dictated its direction.
Even growing up in a country where cricket is the number one sport, Worrall didn’t start playing until the age of 14 – his first loves being rugby and football. It explains his angled approach to the wicket.
Anomalous or not, the pivot it creates is how he gets the ball to swing more than most, especially in English conditions.
“It’s always something people comment on because it’s a bit different,” said Worrall. “I didn’t really have much coaching as a youngster. It was just whatever felt natural. It’s a quirk that never got coached out of me.”
The biggest change in Worrall’s career came in 2021, during his second stint as Gloucestershire’s overseas player.
“I was playing against Surrey at The Oval on the flattest pitch you could possibly imagine,” said Worrall. “I bowled to Hashim Amla all day and he made 173. The ball just didn’t miss the middle of his bat.
“We got bowled out twice and lost by an innings. But I saw Alec Stewart in the car park afterwards and he said: ‘Do you want to be a Surrey player, because Hashim Amla’s just signed you?’
“There was me thinking I’m never going to impress anyone at Surrey ever again, but after speaking with Alec and the direction he wanted to take the club it seemed like a natural fit.
“Now I’m having the most fun I’ve ever had playing cricket, getting to come to The Oval, even just to train or to come in for breakfast.
“We play in front of great crowds and it’s something that I never thought would happen to me when I was playing as a 20-year-old, not showing up to training and going to uni four days a week.
“As soon as I walked into the Surrey dressing room it felt like everything I’d been missing in my career. With this group I’ve never seen anything like the cohesion that runs from the first pick to the last man on the roster.
“I just think it’s an amazing place to be. In all the time I’ve been with Surrey, there’s not been one day when I’ve walked in and wished I was somewhere else.”
Asked whether he would answer the England call if it ever came, Worrall’s response was: “Of course I would but, honestly, I haven’t even thought about it.
“Everyone else keeps talking about it, but I’m just going to go out and do my best for Surrey.”
PICTURES: KEITH GILLARD
