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AAP
AAP
Ian Chadband

Focus on Anglo-Aussie Worrall as county season opens

Surrey's Anglo-Aussie quick Dan Worrall will be in the spotlight as England's county season begins. (Richard Wainwright/AAP PHOTOS)

Dan Worrall is the man of the moment in English cricket, about to embark on a county season that could lead to him making history as the first player in 126 years to represent both Australia and England.

But amid all the fuss, the modest quick shrugs he's really "not that bothered". 

Worrall's rather more preoccupied in making history for his county team Surrey as he sets out to bowl them towards a fourth consecutive championship title.

Surrey's bid begins at Chelmsford against Essex on Friday with Worrall's Oval-based crew seeking to emulate their famous mid-1950s side who completed four in a row in 1955 en route to an unmatched run of seven successive titles.

It's a landmark, the 33-year-old Worrall shrugs, that interests him rather more than all the hoopla surrounding whether this could be the summer he gets an England call-up, nine years since he featured in three ODIs for Australia, and becomes the first to play Test cricket for both countries since Albert Trott in 1899.

It's certainly on the cards, with the Ashes on the horizon later this year, if Worrall maintains the superb form that's delivered Surrey 139 wickets at an average of 21.2 over their three title-winning summers.

"Once he left for England, I think a lot of us opening batters were licking our lips going, 'thank god we don't have to face him'," reflected David Warner recently.

"Besides Jimmy Anderson swinging that pink ball around at Adelaide Oval, there hasn't been a guy that can get the ball to talk off the wicket there like Dan Worrall could."

But while admitting he'd like to play for his adopted country, it's not the be-all-and-end-all for the unassuming bloke who just shrugs that he's enjoying getting on the London tube to go to work playing cricket.

"I haven't thought about it," says Worrall, when asked about all the England conjecture. "Everyone else keeps talking about it, I'm just going to go out and do my best for Surrey and hopefully enjoy another successful season at The Oval.

"It doesn't faze me too much. Whatever will happen will happen."

But his bowling will doubtless continue to faze batters around the country, with Surrey installed by most British bookmakers as 11-10 strong favourites to prevail again.

Bancroft
Cameron Bancroft hopes to bring his Western Australia success to western county Gloucestershire. (Richard Wainwright/AAP PHOTOS)

Worrall will be just one of probably a dozen Australian players who'll be in action at the start of the county programme, with two second-division sides now being captained by experienced former Test batters -- Cameron Bancroft, at Gloucestershire, and Peter Handscomb, at Leicestershire.

Bancroft, a 10-Test veteran, has been tipped to bring the success he's had at Western Australia, where he's won three Sheffield Shield titles, to the west of England county.

And he'll get a bit of early-season help from star allrounder Cameron Green, who'll join the team later in April as he gets back to action following his back surgery, with an eye to making Australia's World Test Championship final team as a batter.

Handscomb, who's already captained Durham and Middlesex, now takes the first-class reins at Leicestershire after overseeing their T20 Blast campaigns the past two seasons.

The 33-year-old will be hoping to keep piling on the runs, having already scored 2872 for Leicestershire across all formats.

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