It is a great pleasure to welcome the current Gloucestershire CCC Head Coach to the Society.
Richard Kevin James Dawson was born in Doncaster and played for his native county of Yorkshire as a tall off-break bowler and lower order right-handed batsman and, post-playing career, also coached their second eleven immediately prior to taking up his current position at Gloucestershire.
Richard made his first-class debut in 2000 when he captained a British Universities team, that also contained Mark Hardinges and James Foster, against the visiting Zimbabweans. Then in 2001 he made his debut for Yorkshire, and he played his last first-class match, for Gloucestershire, in 2009. Starting in 2001, he also played in 7 test matches, against India and Australia, all away from home. In addition to Yorkshire and Gloucestershire, Richard played one season with Northamptonshire.
Richard’s bowling action was a high-stepping delivery using his height to get bounce as well as turning the ball more than most modern spinners. He was also a handy out fielder and courageous batsman.
Apart from Richard’s test appearances, highlights of his playing career included helping Yorkshire to their first championship title for more than 30 years in 2001, and personal bests for them in first-class cricket of 87 with the bat vs Kent in 2002 and 6-82 bowling against Glamorgan.
Richard’s career at Gloucestershire began in 2009, where he started as Spin Coach and player, then became the second team coach, followed by a spell in 2014 in a similar role at Yorkshire. Following John Bracewell’s departure, he was appointed head coach in early 2015. A successful first season followed, crowned by the county’s first trophy for 11 years in the form of the Royal London One Day Cup (50 overs) with a memorable narrow win over Surrey at Lord’s last September.