Big spinner Dwayne Leverock might have been enjoying his new found fame yesterday — but his feet were still planted firmly on the ground.

Having snapped up the key English wickets of Paul Collingwood and Kevin Pietersen, considered two of the world’s most destructive one-day batsmen, British newspapers devoted page after page to the left-arm spinner, almost ignoring the fact that England raced to a massive 241-run victory.

All the attention, even on British TV, was focused on the 35-year-old heavyweight policeman who, until Monday’s performance at the Arnos Vale, was barely known outside the Americas region.

Leverock was compared to some of the best spinners in the world, England skipper Michael Vaughan paying the ultimate compliment by warning that the big man could be a threat to some of the other World Cup favourites.

Watching the Australia versus Zimbabwe warm-up game with his team-mates yesterday, Leverock said he was flattered by the attention but he wouldn’t be letting it go to his head.

“It’s nice but you’ve still got to keep your feet on the ground, because anything could happen. You still have to take it one ball, one game at a time,” he said.

“What Vaughan said means a lot to me. For a Test player of that nature and the captain of England to pay me a compliment of that nature is very nice, and I think it bodes well for what’s coming through in Bermuda.”

Of the Pietersen dismissal, Leverock admitted that it would always hold a special place in his memory.

“That was really satisfying getting him out. To know that I can bowl to people of that quality, especially a man rated as one of the top batsmen in the world . . . these are really good players, Pietersen’s a bit unorthodox but he’s someone who can take the bowling apart.

“So yes, I enjoyed that.”

With observers here at Arnos Vale surprised that Leverock had never tried to break through into English county cricket, he admitted it was a thought that had crossed his mind.

“I always wished I could have played a bit of county cricket because that’s a high standard where a lot of the overseas players go to play. I could maybe have set a benchmark for my career.

“But after the World Cup I think I’m going to keep playing until 2009 to at least try to help Bermuda re-qualify for the next World Cup. I’d like to help the youngsters and then maybe I can assess my own situation.”

Meanwhile, coach Gus Logie said the media focus on Leverock had come as no surprise.

“I think we’ve seen already that the surfaces in the Caribbean will favour a bit of spin and l’ve always said he’s one of the quality spinners we have in Bermuda . . . no two ways about it.

“I’ve watched him bowl, watched him contain pretty good players . . . and yesterday was a perfect example. A player like Pietersen who clobbers the best spinners in the world, he got him out and also Collingwood who’s a pretty special player.

“I think he got two special wickets but not only that, the control that he showed, it’s to his credit.

“He’s worked pretty hard at everything, he has been the butt of a lot of jokes in the past about his weight but he’s mentally strong and that is something that is also to his credit.

“I’m very pleased for him. I’ve said it before, he’s certainly one of the key players for us in this World Cup and he’s proven that so far.

“All I’d say to him is, ‘continue as you are, continue to be as humble as you are and focus on the job at hand’, and I think overall the sky’s the limit.”

Having watched Leverock and Delyone Borden snap up five English wickets between them — although Borden’s three scalps came for a costly 71 runs, Logie agreed that spin would play a key role in their World Cup attack.

“Those are the two spinners we have and obviously those two will play, no doubt about it,” added the coach. The time that Delyone bowled against England, at the death, it was always going to be tough for him, and that’s not something we’d want to continue with.

“I think the circumstances yesterday (Monday) possibly dictated that. In future matches, hopefully we can give him a bit more protection, more in the middle of the innings.

“And hopefully he can come up trumps again. He’s always a wicket-taker, unlike Sluggo whose economy rate is a lot better. But we want him to take wickets to put pressure on the opposition even if he costs a little more.

“I think spin will hold sway on most of the pitches we’ll play on, especially in Trinidad.”