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Durban - Dolphins’ hard-hitting opening batsman Cameron Delport has started his short term innings with Leicestershire County Cricket Club in England where his hard hitting skills will be put to good use in the 2016 NatWest T20 Blast.
The 27 year-old, who has experienced many cricketing regions around the globe in his career already, is relishing a maiden county gig and is eager to make a difference in Leicestershire’s tournament.
“It’s a real privilege to finally get a county stint!” says Delport who has also been part of the Dolphins’ 2014 Champions League campaign in India as well as enjoyed stints with the Caribbean Premier League’s Trinbago Knight Riders, the Big Bash League’s Sydney Thunder and the Pakistan Super League’s Lahore Qalanders.
“To play some county cricket has been one of my goals for the past few years as it really is a good league and the NatWest T20 Blast has really grown over recently.”
“I am hoping to contribute as best I can whilst I’m here, get to know the guys on and off the field and hopefully help win some games for Leicestershire,” he added.
Delport believes the English T20 domestic tournament’s improvement is confirmed by the involvement of a flood of West Indies’ ICC World T20 winning squad, including victorious captain Darren Sammy, players whom he has a healthy respect for along with his new team mates and coaching staff.
“You can see the trend of all the big names - Dwayne Bravo, Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum - now playing in the competition and you know when they’re involved then the league is strong.
“Leicestershire is a great team and they’ve got great coaching staff - South Africa’s Pierre de Bruin and Australian Andrew McDonald, who I spent some time with during my time at Sydney Thunder - are both involved.
“I made my debut on Friday evening against Lancashire and it was really nice to play at a test ground and a world class venue that Old Trafford is.”
While fully focused on his on-field efforts, the tournament’s format will also afford the former Westville Boys’ High School pupil the opportunity to make the most of the English summer and enjoy the country he spent some time in during his school years.
“Games are only on Fridays and Saturdays so I’ll also have a bit of down time in between games during which I can hopefully travel around the UK, experience it, take it all in, and meet up with some old friends.
“Hopefully I can get some club cricket when I’ve got a gap too.
“All in all though, I’m really looking forward to the next few weeks and hopefully we can get a few wins under our belt during that time,” said Delport.
More information can be found at www.dolphinscricket.co.za
