Ismail Dawood of Batley has set his sights on achieving two goals as he busily prepared himself for his first full season with his native Yorkshire.

The first was to make sure he was in the side when the campaign began and the other was to hold on to his place throughout the summer.

The wicketkeeper-batsman soon realised his first ambition and if he continues like he has started then he will be a regular not only this season but for the next few years.

Dawood is fitter and leaner than when he joined Yorkshire so unexpectedly in the middle of last season, his glove-work has improved and some of his batting has been a joy to watch.

He may not yet have stolen the headlines in the same way that Ian Harvey, Phil Jaques and Anthony McGrath have, but even so his contributions have played a real part in Yorkshire’s successful start to the season.

When Yorkshire’s other wicketkeeper, Simon Guy, made little real impact last spring, the club needed to be able to call upon someone else and director of cricket David Byas decided to give trials to Dawood, who was playing for Bradford-Leeds Universities’ Centre of Excellence.

Dawood had already attracted Yorkshire’s attention by scoring a century off them in the three-day match at Bradford Park Avenue the previous year, and just before they took him on he weighed in with another century * against Lancashire at the same venue.

It is true that Yorkshire needed to convince themselves that Dawood really did want to play first-class cricket again and also to stick at it because he had already seen service with Northamptonshire, Worcestershire and Glamorgan after graduating from the Yorkshire Academy.

Dawood said that he had not appreciated how much he had missed first-class cricket until he was suddenly without it and that he now wanted to play county cricket more than at any time previously.

He soon proved his words to be true and he quickly fitted into the Yorkshire dressing room and has been a model professional ever since.

Last year Dawood’s batting managed to save Yorkshire on at least a couple of occasions, but this season he has played an active part in all three of their championship victories to date.

He said: “I am really enjoying my cricket and I am delighted to have been able to put in some performances which have helped to win matches. It is important that as a wicketkeeper-batsman I do well in every aspect of my game and I am always looking for ways to improve.

“When I first joined Yorkshire I was not familiar with how the bowlers operated, but towards the end of the season I got used to them and now I know what they are trying to do.”

Courtesy: Bradford Telegraph and Argus