Liam Dawson's World Cup call-up celebrated in small Wiltshire village where he learnt his trade

SAM MORSHEAD: Dawson is not just a former Goatacre player done good, he is a genuine part of a tightly-knit community. His dad played for the club, his brother has captained the first team and his mum is still making the teas for the over-50s

They enjoy their ale in Goatacre, and a few jars of local brew will be raised tonight as the small Wiltshire club celebrates seeing one of its own in an England World Cup squad.

More a junction than a village, Goatacre sits on a bend in the A3102 between the towns of Wootton Bassett and Calne; a leafy outpost of the rural West Country, lined by trees and set against the grind of combine harvesters and humming birdsong.

The cricket club is the heartbeat of the community and the very antithesis to the modern story of the grass roots game, with its four Saturday teams, a prestigious history in the National Village Cup, a thriving youth section and a membership base large enough to form its own political party.

Here in its tight, compact little ground, surrounded on three sides by brick walls, a young Liam Dawson first got his hands on a cricket ball.

Members of the club who were established first-teamers back then recall an energetic toddler with a natural action and an absolute love for the game, from a very early age.

^{Liam Dawson is in the England World Cup squad}

“I remember him as a three-year-old with baggy trousers running into the nets all day bowling, non-stop while we were playing,” says John Wilkins, now club chairman.

“He’d never stop, that’s all he ever wanted to do.

“I remember I took an under-13 side to Devizes for a tournament, which we won, and he was player of the tournament. He was seven. In an under-13s against much bigger lads. The class was there from the start.

“He’s got a great cricket brain and he’s calm under pressure, and I think that’s why England have picked him. He’s dependable.”

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No wonder, then, that there was elation among the ranks when news began to filter through of their boy’s elevation to the national setup for this summer’s home spectacular, following on from his fine form in the Royal London One-Day Cup and mild concern over the strength of Adil Rashid’s shoulder.

Yet Dawson is not just a former player done good, he is not a figure from the past. Instead, the 29-year-old is a genuine part of a tightly-knit community. His dad Andy played for the club, his brother Brad has captained the first team and his mum Bev is still making the teas for the over-50s team on a Thursday.

Even now, despite his commitments to Hampshire and international recognition, he returns to play for his boyhood side as and when he is given permission (he has made 1,393 documented runs at an average of 45 for Goatacre, and taken 59 wickets at 12s), and is always eager to help with fundraising.

“This call-up is a great thing for the club,” Wilkins says.

“Liam comes back and plays for us when he can, he’s forever donating kit for auctions, he’s so humble and down-to-earth and true to his roots.

“He is a big part of our club and our youngsters look up to him.

Dawson grew up learning the game at Goatacre

“This will be big news for our kids.”

At one end of Goatacre’s petite ground sits the Village Hall, which depending on the time of year acts as a pavilion, theatre, youth centre and community pub.

Come July 14, the day of the World Cup final, there will be one heck of a party. If Dawson is among the cast at Lord’s, you can expect the bar to be drunk dry.

And the allrounder can call on a lifetime of experience of Lord’s finals should that prove to be the case.

He was just a babe in arms when he attended his first - Goatacre’s 1990 National Village Cup triumph. His dad played a part in victory that day, holding up an end while Kevin Iles completed one of the most extraordinary hundreds that famous ground has seen.

Nearly three decades on, there is every chance son will have a chance to outdo father.

“It’s almost gone full cycle, but on a bigger scale,” says Wilkins.

“We shall be looking for a ticket or two.

“I failed hopelessly in the ballot and tickets are scarce, but now that Liam might be playing we will have to do something about that.”

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