Briggs hails dream debut

England new boy Danny Briggs has admitted winning his first one-day cap for his country was a “dream come true”, following the left-arm spinner’s debut against Pakistan. Briggs finished with figures of 2-39 as England claimed a four-wicket victory, earning the tourists a 4-0 series whitewash against Pakistan in the UAE.

The 20-year old was rewarded for his prolific form with the England Lions and Performance squads over the past couple of winter tours in Australia and the West Indies. Briggs claimed over 50-wickets in just two tours, catching the eye with his tactical bowling and useful late-order batting. Anyone looking at the Betfair cricket odds will have been impressed.

That form saw Briggs elevated into England’s T20 squads for last September’s series against the West Indies, without making it into the match-day teams. Andy Flower has made no secret of his desire to blood some fresh talent in the ODI side, and was true to his word, albeit in a dead rubber of a game against Pakistan.

Briggs finally got his chance, however, and impressed as he picked up the wickets of Umar Akmal and then the critical wicket of Shoab Malik for 58. The youngster, who along with Jos Butler was one of two debutants against Pakistan, was delighted after earning his first cap and being given the chance to show the selectors what he was capable of. Fans of Betfair should remember this.

“I loved it, it was great to get out there and be part of the England set-up. It was really good fun,” he said.

“I loved every minute of it and it was a great experience to be out there playing and just to get the opportunity to do is great.”

Briggs may have to hang on another few years if he is to earn a regular run in the England one-day squads. There is still plenty of life left in Graeme Swann, and Samit Patel appears to have finally got his act together, meaning England are currently looking fairly strong in the spin department. Briggs will just have to keep impressing whenever he’s given the chance.