JON Legg feels he has blossomed as a player after earning a recall to the senior Dorset side, five years on from his debut.

Dorchester captain Legg took a magnificent 6-58 on debut against Shropshire in 2018 before drifting out of contention.

However, a series of solid performances for his club, and while on Dorset Seconds duty, have propelled him into the reckoning once more.

He resumes his National Counties career against Cornwall at Truro tomorrow (11am) in the Durant Cricket National Counties Championship.

Speaking to Echosport, Legg said: “It feels great to be given another chance, a few years on from when I played first.

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“I feel like I’ve grown more as a player with bat and ball from my first opportunity.

“Hopefully we can put in a good performance and come away with a good result.”

Dorset head coach Paul Lawrence hinted Legg’s left-arm spin could come into play in the three-day format.

He said: “He was twelfthers for us, and actually played, in our seconds when we went over to the Isle of Wight.

“Also, with the three-day format, spinners are going to come into play as well.

“He’s scored a few runs for us, so we’ve got a fairly good idea of what he can do. He’ll add depth with the ball and bat.”

With Dorset knocked out of their T20 group and then suffering defeat by holders Berkshire in the 50-over NCCA Trophy last weekend, Lawrence must retune his players to the longer format.

Asked how difficult that assignment can be as a coach, he said: “It is quite a big mindset shift.

“They’ve been playing quite a lot of red-ball cricket anyway with their clubs. Using the red ball, batting and bowling, they’ll get used to it.

“There’s a lot of time in the game, so we’ll emphasise that to them. Patience with the bat and ball, as well.”

Dorset have tended to be more successful with the white ball in recent years and Lawrence is now keen for his team to make strides forward with the conventional red cherry.

He said: “We have been more successful. Our squad does lend itself to white-ball, but I’d like to develop and get us back to winning more games of red-ball cricket.

“The biggest issue for us is availability. It’s really difficult for players to get time off work, especially when we’ve got three three-dayers back-to-back.

“You’re asking players to get Monday-Tuesday off three times in a row. Not all employers are able to do that.

“It is going to be tough, we know that, but we’ll do the best we can.

Dorset: Bartlett, A Eckland, J Eckland, Ellis, Huns, Legg, Scott, Smith, Tripcony, Webb, Young.