Indika Senarathne will relish playing alongside and against Central Districts' elite players in the Chapple Cup tournament in Napier from today. Photo / Warren Buckland
Sometimes playing in a weaker team can do wonders for an individual's development.
Indika Senarathne goes a fair way to add credence to that theory after his second stint in Canada.
The 28-year-old Sri Lankan-born cricketer returned to Hawke's Bay this summer after helping West Vancouver CC, as their overseas player/coach, to the final where they lost by two runs to West Coast Tamils.
"The players in my team weren't very good so I had to score in every game," says Senarathne before representing the Pay Excellence Hawke's Bay senior men's representative team in the three-day Chapple Cup tournament at Nelson Park in Napier from today.
The Complete Flooring Napier Technical Old Boys opening batsman is likely to be in the middle-order in a Mathew Sinclair-coached Bay side boasting eight players with first-class experience, including Black Caps seamer Doug Bracewell, in their opening match against Horowhenua-Kapiti.
The Bay are cup holders in the Central Districts inter-district tourney, which is the symbol of one-day supremacy, before they embark on the two-day Hawke Cup campaign from next month.
The Chapple Cup also offers CD selectors the opportunity to make final selections on borderline players.
Senarathne took part in a two-day CD Stags trials this week but admittedly came up shy.
"I didn't have a good trials but I learned a lot of new stuff. It was great two days with the best players from CD."
He is happy to play Chapple Cup but isn't sure how the Hawke Cup will pan out because of NTOB commitments.
"Dougie Bracewell invited me to play here and his father, Brendon, looked after me [at the academy] so it will be great to play alongside Dougie in the Bay team this weekend."
Senarathne met Bracewell in England in 2009, before accepting to play for The Station Napier Old Boys' Marist, who the Bracewells were involved with then.
He lauds the province for its conviviality, standard of cricket and the prowess of head groundsman Phil Stoyanoff in producing fine wickets.
"[HBCA CEO] Craig Findlay's management of cricket is good and he also gave me junior coaching," says Senarathne, who also mentors Lindisfarne College pupils and hails the contribution of Dale Smidt in developing Bay junior reps.
He is indebted to Dan Hart and his family for giving him lodging during summer, mindful such factors contribute to better performances.
This summer he has dropped to No4 for NTOB and last Saturday, in the opening round of the Property Brokers two-day English-style 55-over competition, racked up an unbeaten 144 runs from 105 balls, including 13 boundaries and eight sixes.
His portfolio this weekend for the Bay, he believes, is to see the game to the end in helping out juniors.
"Skippy [Sinclair] has scored 15,000 first-class runs in 20 years of experience, so it's a good opportunity for me to learn from a guy like him to improve my game."
In Vancouver, he relished playing against IPL squad members from India and Windies.
Voted the British Columbia player of the year the previous northern summer, Senarathne enjoyed having the services of Bay of Plenty cricketer Scot Stewart.
"You improve your game there because there's a lot of good spinners," he says, leaving an indelible impression on the league president, Rod Hesp, who will travel with Vancouver CC president Alex Turko and club secretary Ingrid Kendrick to watch him play in the Bay in December/January.
"Rod gave me a job there as a gardener and painter," says the right-arm offspinner who has amassed 1400 runs in two seasons there.
The former Kingswood College pupil, who greeted Lindisfarne XI on tour of Sri Lanka in September last year to his hometown of Kandy, felt at home in Vancouver.
"I'm grateful to my aunty [Geena Amath] for letting me stay with her and there are lots of Sri Lankans there, so it was just like being at home."
Senarathne is confident Sinclair has picked the right team to retain the Chapple Cup this weekend, although sporadic rain may see the dreaded Duckworth-Lewis Method kick in to decide outcomes.
Tourney details
CD interdistrict one-day details
*Hawke's Bay (from): Stevie Smidt (c), Doug Bracewell, Graeme Tryon, Mathew Sinclair, Ajaz Patel, Andrew Mathieson, Indika Senarathne, Luke Kenworthy (wkt), Ben Stoyanoff, Charlie Robson, Kruger van Wyk (wkt), Kieran Noema-Barnett, Luke Wright.
Coach: Sinclair.
*Horowhenua-Kapiti (from): Matt Fowler (c, wkt), Hayden Hill, Jason Strickland, Drew Peacock, Angus Schaw, Matt Good, Andrew Pine, Carter Andrews, Caleb Gaylard, Matt Bacon, Ewen Thompson, David Schlup.
Coach: Thompson.
*Today's matches:
Hawke's Bay v Horowhenua-Kapiti, Manawatu v Wanganui, Taranaki v Marlborough, Wairarapa v Nelson.
*Day two, three: Winners v winners and losers v losers.