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Northern Knights coach Grant Bradburn has no qualms about meeting his star import Thilkaratne Dilshan for the first time just before the team’s pivotal HRV Cup clash with the Firebirds on Friday.
Dilshan is racing to New Zealand direct from representing Sri Lanka in the final of the Tri-Nation Tournament in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Assuming no delays, the helicopter ferrying him on the final leg of the journey is anticipated to land on the field at Blake Park at around 3.30pm, just 90 minutes before the power-hitter could conceivably be walking open the batting for team-mates he will have only just been introduced to.
“It’s a reasonably tight schedule, so if there are hold-ups it could well be the case that he steps out of the chopper and into the changing room to pad up”, Bradburn says. “But for a player of Dilshan’s calibre, we’re absolutely prepared to accommodate that. Even if he doesn’t arrive until five to five, as far as I’m concerned he’s in the playing XI.”
Bradburn adds that he was impressed that Dilshan himself had signalled his willingness to step straight into the action.
“We’ve heard that he is very keen to play for us irrespective of being straight off an international journey - and that immediately sent a big message to us about his keenness and commitment to team-mates he hasn’t even met yet.”
Bradburn says the Knights are both “excited and a wee bit nervous” about meeting Twenty20’s international player of the year for 2009.
“We’ve got a nice mix in our team, a lot of young guys who are really looking forward to the opportunity to soak up all the knowledge and experience from him that they can. Not only from Dilshan, but from having Dan Vettori in the same environment, Dan having slid easily back into our team environment this month - the guys have already been feeding off his experience.
“We’re particularly proud of the fielding in the team and we’re aiming to not only be the best fielding team in the country, but one of the best fielding teams in the world. We know that Dilshan is an outstanding fielder himself, so we’re really keen to show him the way we work with our fielding and that aspect is exciting in itself.”
Signing Dilshan - the star of last year’s ICC World Twenty20 showdown with a tournament batting average of 52.83 and a match-winning 96 off 57 balls against the West Indies, which saw Sri Lanka into the final - was a coup for the Northern Knights, though subsequent international arrangements meant he became unavailable for the first five rounds of the HRV Cup.
“We’ve been a little bit short of firepower at the top, so he was a great choice for the team from a selection point of view and hopefully, come Friday, we will still be in a position to really contest this competition,” says Bradburn, whose side needs to claw its way back up the points table after two wins and three losses.
Dilshan scored 10 centuries in all forms of international cricket in 2009 and got his tally for 2010 underway immediately with an innings of 104 in the opening one-dayer of the Tri-Nation Tournament. There were a few anxious moments far away in the Waikato when a groin tweak forced him to call for a runner in that match, but Bradburn was relieved when he saw Dilshan selected for a subsequent dead rubber against India.
“Sri Lanka had already qualified for the tournament final so in theory he didn’t need to play. But we see he did, which is indicative that it was nothing more than a small strain. We understand he’s fine and good to go.”
Dilshan meanwhile says he’s looking forward to a “new chapter in his cricketing life” when he touches down for the business end of the HRV Cup.
“New Zealand is one of the best places to visit and live, and I hear the Knights players are a great bunch of guys - I thought it would be a worthwhile experience,” he said from Bangladesh. He’s also in tune with the team’s commitment to their official charity, the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation, and looking forward to wearing a pink playing strip for the first time.
“I own a few pink T-shirts at home, but a pink uniform is a first for me,” said Dilshan. “Breast cancer is a major issue and while I haven’t known many people with the disease myself, I appreciate the efforts by the Northern Knights to support such a worthy cause. I hope there will be many others who will want to emulate the Knights in wanting to make life better for people.”
The charity campaign has also seen the Knights launch a new, pink-themed official website called www.howcricketchangedmylife.com. Dilshan says cricket has unquestionably changed his life dramatically, to the point where he’s been mobbed by fans for his deeds with a wooden bat. “Cricket has had a very positive influence on my life.”
He burst onto the international scene in 1999 with a century in his maiden test series, but by September 2008 had been dropped from the Sri Lankan one-day side, before being thrown a career lifeline in early 2009. “Really my life changed with my decision to open the batting in an ODI against Pakistan early last year. Since then it has been a very successful time as a batsman and I think it helped me to realise my full potential as a batsman.”
Dilshan added he was looking forward to arriving at the ground by helicopter, something no player has done in New Zealand since Sir Richard Hadlee made a dramatic entrance at Eden Park in his testimonial series nearly two decades ago. “I’ve never arrived at a ground in a helicopter before and the effort to get me to the game has made me feel very welcome. It’s a good feeling to have at the start of my time in New Zealand.”
Meanwhile, the Knights are geared up to make him feel at home. Says Bradburn, “We’re really looking forward to meeting Dilshan and showing him our environment, which we think is really enjoyable, supportive and fun. We’re also musical, so we’ve got a couple of songs lined up for him in the Sri Lankan language to make him feel welcome!”
Northern Knights CEO David Cooper says that gates at Blake Park will open at 3pm so that the public can come in to see the Bay Flight International helicopter land and Dilshan make his much-anticipated entrance.
