Bears Around the World – Danny Briggs at the Abu Dhabi T10

Team Abu Dhabi have made a flying start to the Abu Dhabi 10 with four wins out of four and Bears spin king Danny Briggs has been at the heart of it. His combined figures so far - 5-0-44-4 - are excellent in the most frenetic format of all and he has also starred with the bat. Chasing 97 to beat Deccan Gladiators, T.A.D were 51 for six before Briggs and Jamie Overton added an unbroken 46 which culminated in Briggs hitting the last ball for six to secure victory. Here, Danny reports in from Abu Dhabi.

Hello to all Bears fans back home. I hope you are all keeping safe and well.

I am out here in Abu Dhabi where I’m fortunate enough to be playing for Team Abu Dhabi in the T10. It is a crazy, fast-paced game which is great fun and we have made a really good start, winning our first four games.

I have been pretty happy with the way I have bowled. You are going to go for some runs in this format (I haven’t seen one defensive shot yet!) but you just have to keep your wits about you and concentrate on the next ball, never mind what just happened to the last.

I did enjoy the game against the Gladiators when Jamie Overton and I put on a few runs. It was the sort of game where we had it won and then lost several times and in the end it came down to the last ball. I top-edged it but got enough on it for it to go for six which got us over the line.

It’s all very different to bowling with the red ball for the Bears in the championship but it’s a great experience and also really nice to have a couple of fellow Bears out here…Farby as coach and Chris Benjamin as a batter.

Chris has played a couple of games but not faced many balls. That is one thing about this format – sometimes you can play and not do a lot. I didn’t bowl in the last game because we have a lot of bowling options and, with it being a night game and the dew falling, we stuck with the seamers. For Chris to be here is fantastic for him as a young player because there are so many high-quality coaches and players out here to talk to and watch and learn from.

Four wins from four games is a strong start so now we just have to keep that momentum. There is a sense that teams are finding their rhythm now, so early points on the board could prove vital later in the group. In such a volatile format, games are very easy to lose, they can get away from you in a couple of minutes, but we have some world-class players in our squad so hopefully can keep the ball rolling.

I will report in again later in the tournament. In the meantime, best wishes to all you Bears fans. Stay safe and warm!

Danny