My six sixes not as good as Yuvraj’s, says Marcus Stoinis

Though Stoinis achieved the rare feat in a low key game against Australia’s indigenous squad at Allan Border field, Brisbane, it earned him stardom. It would no doubt boost his stakes further in the next edition of the Indian Premier League.

The 25-year-old Stoinis was a member of the Delhi Daredevils squad last season, but he didn’t get a match. “My sixes weren’t, probably, as good as Yuvraj’s, but they really help in getting more visibility. I got a lot of congratulatory messages from my Delhi Daredevils teammates. We have a WhatsApp group and everyone was talking about it. Delhi players are quite good in supporting each other,” said the all-rounder, who scored 77 and took two wickets in the first four-day match against India ‘A’ at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium here last week.

Stoinis went on to recall the blitzkrieg against medium pacer Brendon Smith. “It was bit of a slog. There were pull shots, a couple over long-on and one over mid-wicket. Thinking about the last ball was pretty funny. Obviously, I was trying to hit a six, but I wasn’t too really worried about it. I was standing outside the off stump. The plan was simple; stand there and try to hit over the shortest boundary,” said Stoinis.

According to the Australian, the time he spent with some of the stars in Delhi Daredevils helped him evolve as an all-rounder. “It was a great set-up. I spent quality time with Yuvraj.

Coach Gary Kirsten, skipper JP Duminy and other South African players were of great help. S. Sriram who is involved with the Australia ‘A’ squad here as a consultant is also part of the Delhi support staff. Not just about the conditions, Sriram also taught me about different types of bowlers one comes across in India. I learned the Indian style of approaching a game from him,” he said.

As the talk veered towards his cricket hero Viv Richards, with whom he worked in the Big Bash League team Melbourne Stars, Stoinis couldn’t stop raving about the West Indian legend.

“I get along really well with him. Viv is such a charismatic person and he carries so much confidence that it rubs off on you. His mentality is simple when he talks about batting. He always speaks about how to carry yourself as a person and in a team and how it can help others on the field. People rel ate him to swagger and batting skills, but he knows more than that,” added Stoinis.