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Go slow is the way forward for Phoenix

Slow bowlers are supposed to be scared of Twenty20 cricket, but Yorkshire spinner Richard Dawson is warming to the idea.

Slow bowlers are supposed to be scared of Twenty20 cricket, but Yorkshire spinner Richard Dawson is warming to the idea.

On a hiding to nothing, the spin merchants are viewed as cannon fodder in a game where batsmen aim to hit the ball as hard and far as they possibly can. But when Yorkshire took on Lancashire on Wednesday, it was the slow bowlers who dispelled the myth that they are merely only there as easy pickings.

While Lancashire's normally reliable opening bowler Glen Chapple served up four overs of buffet bowling and Yorkshire's England star Matthew Hoggard took a battering he would rather forget, the slow men proved the toughest to get away and were by far the most economical bowlers of the night.

Lancashire trio Muttiah Muralitharan, Andrew Crook and Brad Hodge all tied down Yorkshire, while Dawson snuffed out the visitors with a tight four-over spell. Elsewhere, Leicester's Jeremy Snape took three wickets against Nottingham and Sussex spinner Mushtaq Ahmed claimed 5-11 as his side skittled Essex for 108.

Dawson was Yorkshire's only orthodox spin bowler and, given the praise he received afterwards, Phoenix may look to take the pace off the ball more when they head for Notts on Sunday. Dawson finished with 2-27 from his four overs and was pleased with how things went.

"I was pretty happy with how I bowled, but when you finish on the losing side that counts for naff all," said the Yorkshire off-spinner. I just tried to stick to my game plan and keep mixing things up. I'd had a chat with Darren Lehmann before the game about what he thought, and things went okay."

Dawson claimed the scalps of chief destroyer Mal Loye and Andrew Crook, and coped well with the prospect of bowling at Hodge, one of the most destructive batsman in the competition.

"Brad Hodge is hard to bowl at," conceded Dawson. "I bowled medium pace at him and didn't try to turn any. You have to think on your feet, but if you stick to your plan and someone has a go at you then there isn't a lot you can do about it. It's one of those games where if it's your day, it's going to be your day. If it isn't ...

"From a personal point of view I was quite happy and I hope I can maintain that now when we go to Notts."

Nottinghamshire will be hoping for a big crowd on Sunday after more than 14,000 piled in to see the Roses battle at Headingley and the game gave Dawson and his team-mates a reminder about a big match atmosphere. Dawson played in the C&G Trophy final in 2002 and has represented England, but Wednesday's crowd was the biggest he has performed in front of for a routine county match.

"The atmosphere was amazing," he said. "I was stood at point and I couldn't hear what Craig White was saying to me."

"It was disappointing that we couldn't win for the crowd but we were probably 30 or 40 runs short with the bat. It showed again that two people can win a game but the effort was there from everyone and we'll be looking to do well on Sunday."

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