Dimuth Karunaratne is Sri Lanka’s Tests captain and one of the best opening hitters in the world, but over the next few months he will play for Endeavor Hills in Victoria’s second-tier competition, writes PAUL AMY.
His last test match took place in July in Galle, against Pakistan.
Dimuth Karunaratne scored 40 and 61, and steered his Sri Lankan side to a fine win, making it his 6,000th try.
Two weeks earlier, he had also led his team to a round victory against Australia.
Karunaratne’s next game will be at club level and on a former landfill in south-east Melbourne.
The Sydney Pargeter Reserve in Endeavor Hills is named after a legendary councilman and is big enough for five cricket pitches and a grill pitch.
Conversion of the landfill into a sports complex began in the early 1980s.
It is the home of Endeavor Hills Cricket Club, which plays in the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association, the state’s second tier cricket club.
In recent months, the Hills’ profile has been more in keeping with a Big Bash League franchise; they held a two-game T20 exhibition series and brought in players such as Chris Gayle, Dawid Malan, Shoaib Malik and Karunaratne.
Dandenong’s Shepley Oval will host the T20 matches, which are promoted on billboards alongside the highways.
These will be ticketed events incorporating live music.
Endeavor Hills will face a yet-unknown club side from Queensland and an “All Star” XI that should feature at least one former Test fast bowler.
Sri Lankan skipper Karunaratne will not only play in the T20s, but in the first six or seven rounds of the Subbies, under former Sri Lankan skipper Tillakaratne Dilshan and alongside teammate Lahiru Thirimanne.
Thirimanne is the subject of a dispute between the Hills and the Sub-District association over his points classification.
The club argue he should be worth four as he played a handful of games last year and is a returning player.
Competition officials are convinced he should be five years old, pointing out that he has beaten at Test level this year.
There has been talk of a legal challenge from Endeavor Hills.
But a Cricket Victoria hearing will take place early next month and both sides will accept the final decision and continue with the season.
Karunaratne’s status is undisputed.
It’s a five point, of course.
And as Test captain, he will be among the most credentialed players to appear in Victorian sub-district cricket.
“It’s a huge achievement for the club and the sponsors to bring in a player like him,” said Endeavor Hills board member Paul Kirchner.
“For the local community and for local cricket, this is a huge win.”
Club President Arun Rajendran said: “It’s a huge honor for Endeavor Hills.
“Captain of Sri Lanka and he will be wearing the Endeavor Hills CC cap. It’s something very special for us.”
This will be cap no. 176. This has already been done before the first round game against Bayswater on October 8.
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Dimuth Karunaratne and Lahiru Thirimanne have regularly opened the baton together for Sri Lanka.
They did it against India in March.
And they did it on Sunday, in a practice match at Pargeter Reserve, against Victorian Premier cricket club Frankston-Peninsula.
Karunaratne took a few balls to get out of the mark. When he did, it was with an inside edge that went for four.
His other killer shots were played with more authority, but they had no value on a soft infield slower than an arthritic turtle.
Two back foot punches calmed down to fairy kicks.
On the 15th, the southpaw was caught by Frankston Peninsula captain James Nanopoulos.
There was no shame in that; Nanopoulos has taken nearly 400 wickets in Premier Cricket and has runs of 9-27 and 8-16 to his name.
Chasing 9-200, the Hills won with three wickets to spare after Thirimanne retired on 68.
Nanopoulos enjoyed bowling in Karunaratne and Thirimanne.
“It’s always a big challenge when you meet real cricketers and compete against the best,” he says. And he was happy to put the Sri Lankan captain “in his pocket”.
From behind the stumps, Frankston Peninsula wicketkeeper Jacques Augustin saw a “very, very good cricketer”.
Augustin showed up to the game unaware that Karunaratne was in Endeavor Hills.
It was, he said, “too surreal to play against the Sri Lankan Test captain in a practice match”.
“It’s nice to know that even at the age of 32 there are a lot of surprises in your cricketing journey,” says Augustin.
He was surprised, too, that Nanopoulos was so reserved after returning such a distinguished hitter.
Karunaratne had come from the ground after lining up the first 25 overs of the Frankston Peninsula innings.
He left after some stretching exercises and a bite to eat.
In his last Test match he complained of pain in his lower back and he told CODE his visit to Australia was to ‘regain confidence’ after the injury and play cricket ahead of the Test series of his country against New Zealand at the start of the next one. year.
He says a few of his teammates have also filled the gap in the Test schedule by linking up with club teams.
Oshada Fernando is one; he also joined the VSDCA, signing with Taylors Lakes.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s a sub-district or district club,” says Karunaratne.
“You just want to play good cricket and get used to the conditions and keep fit and skilled.”
Fernando also played in the Test series against Australia and Pakistan.
In both cases, the Sri Lankans lost the first game but won the second.
They are third in the ICC World Test Championship standings, behind Australia and South Africa.
Their skipper, an 82 Test veteran, is the eighth best Test hitter in the world in the official rankings.
“We lost the first game against Australia very badly and came back strong, that’s what we wanted, the rebound,” Karunaratne said.
“As a captain, that’s what I expect.
“The Pakistan series, we had the same results. We lost the first game and came back. This is a very good sign for Sri Lankan cricket.
But the Sri Lankan captain won’t captain Endeavor Hills during his time with the club; he will leave that to Dilshan, 45, who represents Sri Lankan legends abroad in the Road Safety World Series (and beat a century against the Australian team).
As for exhibition matches, Karunaratne says he is looking forward to playing with Gale and Malan, his former teammate at Yorkshire.
He says cricket is a game where “you never stop learning; it will be a good experience for me to see how they approach it.
Likewise, he says he is keen to help the young players of Endeavor Hills during his Subbies stint.
Karunaratne had arrived in Melbourne last Saturday (his family will be out at the end of October), the day of the AFL Grand Final.
He landed too late to catch the game, but he knows the game.
“I looked once at the MCG. I have a small idea. Not much,” he says.
“Cricket at the MCG is a bit different.”
