Former Australia bowler Dan Worrall has reiterated his desire to represent England this year, including in the Ashes.
Worrall, 33, appeared in three ODIs for Australia in 2016. But he qualifies for England next month, before the first Test of the summer against Zimbabwe. He took 184 wickets for South Australia during a distinguished career in Sheffield Shield cricket, and has expertise bowling with the Kookaburra ball.
If selected by England, Worrall would become the first international cricketer to represent both Australia and England for 126 years. The last man to do so was Albert Trott, in 1899.
“Yeah, of course,” Worrall said when asked if he would like to play for his adopted country. “I haven’t thought about it. 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. It’s just one of those things where as a professional athlete, there’s always someone with an opinion and someone that wants to get the next headline or they want to see, they want to try and figure out the next thing that’s going to happen in their career.
“But I think as a player, as soon as you start thinking about that and letting that enter your thinking, it just detracts from your potential as a player and a professional and as a person. So as far as I’m concerned, I’m not that bothered. Whatever happens will happen. I’ll try my best wherever I am.”
Worrall on England’s radar?
Worrall is yet to have any contact with Rob Key, England’s managing director. But Key has name-checked Worrall as a candidate for Test selection on multiple occasions.
“You can’t not notice Dan Worrall,” Key said after the end of the last County Championship season. “He’s highly skilled, and he looks like someone who is completely in control of his game. He is probably one of the best bowlers in the country playing domestic cricket.
“He probably could make the jump. He’s got brilliant attributes to be an international bowler.”
In three Championship seasons for Surrey, Worrall has taken 139 wickets at 21.2, helping the club win the title each year. In a stellar 2024 summer, he snared 52 wickets at just 16.2.
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“The most fun I’ve ever had playing cricket is playing county cricket,” he said. “I’m very lucky to be in this position and I’m glad that I got to really enjoy the back half of my career playing in England.”
Worrall, whose father originally hailed from Nottingham, grew up in Melbourne but then moved to Adelaide to forge his professional career. After thriving for Gloucestershire as an overseas player, he then retired from Australian domestic cricket in 2022 – enabling him to take advantage of his British passport and play as a local in county cricket.
“I always thought I’d be getting the tube to work in London – I never thought I’d be coming to a cricket ground, but to have that opportunity is amazing,” Worrall said about living in England with his wife and two children.
“We just thought it was a great challenge to take on to have a bit of life experience and kind of just challenge ourselves a little bit on the other side of the world with no family around. So it’s been rewarding on that front.”
Worrall is Boland-like and a compelling option for England
At 6ft 1, with masterful control, both swing and seam movement and pace around 83mph, Worrall has strikingly similar attributes to Australia’s Scott Boland. During the recent Australia-India series, Boland took 21 wickets at 13.2, taking advantage of the extra assistance that pitches down under have offered seamers in recent years.
With England building a bowling line-up based around pace, Worrall is effectively competing for one spot in the attack reserved for a more controlled bowler. Since James Anderson’s retirement last July, the position has been occupied by Chris Woakes or Matthew Potts. Essex’s Sam Cook is another candidate for this role. Worrall’s knowledge of Australian conditions and stellar recent record makes him a compelling option.
“Maybe there’s a job to do as a sweatband swinger, but we’ll wait and see,” Worrall joked. “We saw Jimmy for 20 years, go for numerous Ashes series. And naturally, as a swing bowler, you’re not going to perform that role in every test because, naturally, the conditions change with a Kookaburra ball. But there are opportunities we’ve seen in the last couple of years in Test matches in Australia has been a bit more seamer-friendly.”
Worrall suggested that England’s new emphasis on pace in their attack was the right approach to win down under.
“When you’re in Australia, there’s not a lot of variables to play with. It’s more about being tall or fast or accurate.
“I think the way that the English cricket are setting up their fast bowling cartel is the way forward to win in Australia. We’ve seen success from Gus, Brydon Carse, Mark Wood. I think they’re trying to get Jofra [Archer] up and about for that Ashes series. There is the necessity for pace and bounce in Australia. I don’t think that’s a secret for anyone.”
