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U-19
W/Cup Hattrick Taker Lawson |
"In a (WICB-initiated) camp in Antigua in 1998 (where he was a member) I set a target of making the Test team by the year 2001," he said, during the 'B' team's recent stay in Trinidad.
An approachable and easy-going individual, Lawson, one of three children, was born on January 13 1982 in Spanish Town, in the eastern parish of St.Catherine.
"My family are always in attendance when I play at home, and they are totally supportive," he added.
The lanky and loose-limbed pacer began his career, as a fast bowler, in Spanish Town Primary. "I followed the other guys where were playing and I eventually took up the game."
Lawson continued playing during his time at Waterfort High School, where he was the team's key player during the prestigous Sunlight Cup (the Jamaican school's cricket league). He earned a call-up to the Jamaican national team for the Carib Cement Under-15 tournament in St.Lucia in 1997, and he progressed to their Under-19 team for the Northern Telecom competitions in 1998 (in Trinidad), 1999 (in Barbados) and his final year, 2000 (in Guyana). But Lawson raised a few eyebrows in the 1999 event, not only for his pace and haul of 27 wickets, but for his bowling action which was queried by onlookers. It was stated that Lawson delivered from a straight, instead of a bent-arm action, but he rebuked, "I was not thinking about it too much."
A member of the West Indies Under-19 team for the World Cup in Sri Lanka last year, Lawson became the first bowler in the tournament's history to claim a hat-trick.
In the opening match of the Cup, West Indies against Zimbabwe, he took the wickets of Travis Friend, bowled for 39, G Ewing, caught by Narsingh Deonarine for a duck, and H Masakadza, caught by wicketkeeper Greg Francois without scoring.
"It was good for me, especially as it took place in our (the West Indies) first match." In all, he was the team's leading wicket-taker with nine scalps.
Commenting on the Busta International Series, he said, "I enjoyed it, and playing at this level is something I wanted to do, even though the preparation was tough."
Lawson, who spends his spare time relaxing and hanging out with his friends, is presently a student at the GC Foster College, where he is pursuing a course in sports therapy.