Is it pronounced door-shus? Dwarf-swiss?
Either way, after capturing the big wickets of Matthew Wade and Callum Ferguson on debut for the Sixers on Friday night, the name Ben Dwarshuis is getting to be a lot more well-known!
The Sixers stormed to victory on Friday night, securing a win by 8 wickets against the Melbourne Renegades thanks largely to Nic Maddison who scored a blistering 84 not out. While Maddo was the hero, it was the combined effort of our fast bowling unit and the likes of Sean Abbott, Brett Lee and Dwarshuis that limited the Renegades to a total that was ultimately hauled in with 7 balls to spare.
Making his BBL debut on Friday night, Ben Dwarshuis isn’t a player that many fans outside of the Sydney Grade Cricket scene would’ve recognised. But after his efforts, he has surely pencilled himself in as one up and coming player that fans should start to take note of.
Awarded a Rookie Contract by the NSW Blues in 2013, 20-year-old Dwarshuis is a player who first gained attention at a young age. As an 18-year-old, he helped his Grade side Sutherland through to the Final of the Two-Day competition, spearheading their efforts with the new ball.
Dwarshuis went on to make his Futures League debut in the 2013/14 season. Injuries though soon began to plauge the youngster, forcing him out of contention for a spot in the Sixers last year and ruining his chances for playing for the NSW first team momentarily.
In a cruel twist, injury again almost ruled him out of the Sixers first match of the season against the Renegades, but Dwarshuis was able to take to the field and finally make his first team debut for the Sydney Sixers in BBL04.
Things didn’t exactly start well for Dwarshuis in the match, having the first three balls of his debut over smashed for boundaries - the first ball going for six and landing on the roof of the Member’s Pavilion. He immediately bounced back though, claiming Wade for 35 off 18 after he attempted to go for one more big hit, but instead picking out Henriques at mid off.
Returning for his second spell, he bowled with great pace, and fired in yorkers on a great length to stifle the efforts of the Renegades batsman. Dwarshuis was then able to claim the wicket of Ferguson for 40 off 32 deliveries after the batsman could only spear on of his yorkers to Doug Bollinger on the cover boundary. Dwarshuis finished his 4 overs with figures of 2-38 after conceding 15 from his first over, showing his skill with the ball and importantly great mental fortitude to comeback and play a crucial role for the Sixers.
For the record, it’s pronounced Dwar-shus, and Sixers fans should get used to saying it a lot more in games and seasons to come!