Dwarshuis, currently the BBL’s leading wicket-taker, is hoping to emulate the path of Sydney Thunder’s Daniel Sams, who made his international T20 debut for Australia against India earlier this month.
“It’s a nice time for me,” the 26-year-old said. “I’ve increased my responsibility within the team … there’s that opportunity to step up and really contribute to some wins.”
Fast-bowler Ben Dwarshuis, who is hoping for a spot in the Australian T20 World Cup squad next year, said this period of the Big Bash season was critical for young players looking to impress selectors.Credit:Getty
Dwarshuis posted figures of 4/13 on Sunday night to lead the Sixers to a record-breaking victory over the Melbourne Renegades. The margin of 145 runs was the biggest win in Big Bash history, and was achieved without their big-name players.
The Sixers are also without star all-rounder Tom Curran this year, who was granted a release due to biosecurity bubble fatigue.
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“It’s a massive loss, losing those couple of players, but I think we’ve filled the gaps really nicely,” Dwarshuis said. “Something that we are really good at and probably led to our success last year was that if you guys were out, there were people on the sidelines ready to take their place.”
The defending champion Sixers are again preparing to play in front of a sea of empty seats when they face Adelaide Strikers at Blundstone Arena on Sunday.
With the competition battling declining interest in recent years, Sunday’s two matches – which began with an 11-run win for the Hobart Hurricanes over the Strikers – attracted a combined crowd of just 4000.
Less than 500 were in attendance for the Sixers game, despite the stadium allowing for 10,000 under COVID-19 restrictions. Even against the home team, the Sixers’ opening match of the season against the Hurricanes attracted just 3791 fans.
“It almost makes it easier in a way because you can hear your captain a bit clearer…and you get a better feeling for what’s going on out in the game,” he said. “Obviously crowds are great but you’ve just got to try and do the best we can as players.”
