LOCAL cricketer Liam Dawson played a crucial role in Hampshire’s T20 Cup final win on Saturday, and the Goatacre star is tipping his village team to emulate his successes when they bid for promotion from WEPL Premier Two this weekend.

All-rounder Dawson claimed 1-21 from his four overs as Hants beat Yorkshire by 10 runs in Cardiff to help his county side become T20 champions for the second time in three years while, down the M4 in Wiltshire, Goatacre moved within a whisker of elevation to Premier One following their washout against Glastonbury.

With Dawson’s brother Brad a key part of Goatacre’s team this term, there could be plenty to celebrate come Monday morning.

“All Goatacre need is a point and I’m sure that they’ll get that on Saturday,” he said.

“I’ve got my own game to concentrate on but I’m sure that when I switch my phone back on afterwards, I’ll have a bunch of text messages come through saying that they’ve been promoted.

“It would be a great achievement for them and they deserve it because they’ve played some fantastic cricket.

“Hopefully both Hampshire and Goatacre can celebrate on Saturday and maybe we can organise a decent party together.”

Dawson, who is quickly becoming an integral cog in Hampshire’s cricketing machine, was delighted to have been a part of the Rose Bowl outfit’s successes in south Wales.

“Playing in front of 20,000 people and winning is what you dream of as a professional cricketer and to come out on top was great,” he said.

“I think that we were underdogs coming into finals day and a lot of commentators had written us off because we didn’t have as many big international players as some of the other teams.

“But we felt that we were the best side there and we proved it on the day by winning our semi-final and the final.

“I think a lot of the lads were more nervous before the semi-final because they knew that a place to go and play in the Champions League in South Africa was up for grabs.

“David Miller had a great innings for Yorkshire in the final and I should have had his wicket earlier on but the TV cameras got it wrong – thankfully, that wasn’t crucial.”

Meanwhile, Wiltshire posted 142-8 in their MCCA Knockout Cup final against Cum,berland at Wormsley yesterday.

The match, which did not start until mid-afternoon after persistent rain, will resume today.