Dirk Nannes is hoping to secure his spot in the Australia team for the one-off T20 international against Pakistan.
Fast bowler hopes to cement place in World Twenty20 squad
Fast bowler Dirk Nannes is hoping to secure his spot in the Australia team for the one-off Twenty20 international against Pakistan on Friday.
The 33-year-old has been called up for the national Twenty20 squad this week after being ignored for the ICC World Twenty20 in England last year, despite being the leading wicket-taker in the 2008-09 Big Bash while representing Victoria.
Friday's showdown against Pakistan serves as one of just five chances to play for Australia in the shortest form of the game ahead of this year's World Twenty20, which gets underway in the Caribbean in just over two months time.
The other opportunities will be two games each against the West Indies and New Zealand.
Goal
Nannes ended up representing Holland in the World Twenty20 last year but insists his ultimate goal is to wear green and gold for the 2010 edition.
"I think any chance to play is a big opportunity," said Nannes.
"Every game you play in the Big Bash is a massive opportunity to prove yourself.
"Hopefully I get a few more opportunities after that (Friday's clash against Pakistan) and who knows? I'm not a selector and all I can do is try and bowl as best as I can.
"It's great to be in the Australian team and whether that, going forward, gets me a place to the World Cup that would be fantastic."
Nannes boasts an impressive record in the newest incarnation of the game having taken 70 wickets at 17.74 for numerous sides around the world, and the bowler is thankful that age is no longer an important factor to Twenty20 selectors.
Different
"It's a bit of a different game, I think there's a different mentality for sure bowling Twenty20 as opposed to bowling one-dayers," he said.
"It's probably the first time they've really gone down that track, they did it in England, they picked a different side and unfortunately we got rained off," he said of the two abandoned Twenty20 matches against England that followed the 2009 Ashes series.
"So this is the first time really that the new-look outfit really has a chance to shine.
"(The selectors have) certainly picked a lot of people who have got good records in the (Twenty20) game."
