“I remember walking up to the Pavilion and I just had tears in my eyes” – Aussie leg spinner Nathan Sowter on the death of Shane Warne

The Middlesex CCC players gathered at Lords today for the annual media day. There was a decent crowd of journalists and all the Middlesex squads were available for interview and photoshoots.

There were two big cricket stories over the winter. Australia once again thumped England in the Ashes which caused the traditional outpuring of blame in the English media.

However the whole cricket world was brought together on March 4 when news of the tragic death of Australian leg spinner Shane Warne broke.

One person present at Lords today who was affected more than most was Middlesex leg spinner Nathan Sowter. Sowter is a New South Walian and his decision to become a leg spinner was largely influenced by Warne as he explains in the video above.

Sowter largely bowled slow medium until he was introduced to the ‘Shane Warne’ ball; a product created by Cricket Australia with two dots painted in to simulate Warne’s grip.

From then on, he was hooked on leg spin and followed Warne’s career.

Naturally Warne’s death hit Sowter very hard and he was at Lords the day the news broke:

“I remember walking up to the Pavilion and I just had tears in my eyes,” the 29-year-old admitted.

To add to the natural emotion, he actually had to walk past the portrait of Warne on his way to the dressing room.

In the second part of the interview to run tomorrow, Sowter talks about his career and his hopes for the season, with a shock revelation about his international ambitions.

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