BATSMAN OF THE MONTH - JUNE AWARD

Date: 21st July 2010

A Paul Edwards copyright exclusive for L&DCC Official Website.

CONGRATULATIONS TO DANIEL BURNS

Australian all-rounder Daniel Burns admits that scoring runs "has never come easy" to him - but that hasn't stopped him being named the Bridging Finance NW Liverpool Competition Batsman of the Month for June.

The Liverpool cricketer earned the accolade with innings of 38 not out, 129, 22 and 118, and he regards the honour as the reward for some serious graft over the past few years. "In Australia, I've always been picked primarily as a left-arm spinner," said Burns, who has nevertheless scored 398 league runs this summer. "I've worked hard at my batting over the last 18 months and taken every chance to improve my skills. "But it's been really hard this summer, because I want to play my shots but the wickets are slower over here and I've had to adjust. I'm starting to get there though."

And it's not only the 21-year-old Sydneysider's batting skills that have been tested this year. Many spinners may regard 19 wickets as a reasonable return at the season's halfway point but Burns is not really satisfied with his tally. "I've not taken as many wickets as I'd have liked," he said. "In fact, for the first six weeks of the season, I struggled bigtime because I had to learn to pitch it up and bowl a bit quicker. It's been a real learning experience because the Merseyside wickets are slower than those in Surrey where I played for Camberley on my previous visit to the UK."

When he returns to Australia this autumn, Burns will be playing for Blackdown having moved there from Bankstown at the end of last season. It will be a fifth season of first grade cricket for a player who has also represented Australia Under 19s and New South Wales Seconds. "I do intend to come back to the UK but I'm not sure where," he said. "I want to play the game in as many different parts of the country as possible."

But if this is Burns' only summer on Merseyside, it's looking as though he will leave his team-mates with plenty of positive memories. "Daniel's a good lad to have around the dressing-room," said the Liverpool skipper Andy Rogers. "He's very keen, he works very hard and he's really enjoyed himself over here. "He struggled in both departments at the start of the season but while he may have wanted to more wickets, his batting's really come on."