Lawson pleased with comeback

KINGSTON: West Indies paceman Jermaine Lawson is delighted with his return to action after nine months out of the game due to a back injury. “I feel really good,” stated Lawson after the Jamaica/England three-day practice match ended in a draw on Wednesday. “I felt no pain in my back and I had no problems with my action throughout the game. I was a bit nervous because I had not played cricket for a long time and I just wanted to start well.”

He added: “I’m very anxious to do well because I know that I have a lot to prove in terms of my action and my fitness.” Lawson took seven wickets against the Australians last year at Antigua, including a Test match hat-trick. However, the match officials reported the 22-year-old for a suspect action and the young bowler has been on the sidelines since. Now Lawson is back and, after working with experts, he hopes his new refined action will help him reclaim his place in the Windies line-up.

“I am not concerned about pace at the moment,” he explained. “I am only interested in bowling a good line and length, getting myself back into the thick of things and gradually the pace will return. The most important thing for me was to finish the game in good health and bowling to a plan and I think I did that.” Lawson will come up against the England team again when he plays for the University Vice-Chancellor’s XI today in the tourists final warm-up match before the first Test begins on March 11.