Son of innovative cricket shot excited to play in India

Mumbai: Former Zimbabwe fast bowler Heath Streak, who has coached several international players, brought a team of youngsters to play a few games in India. During their one-week stay in India, they played few matches in Mangalore. The notable among them was Codie Marillier, the son of ex-off spinner Dougie Marillier.

Speaking exclusively over telephone before returning to Harare on Tuesday, Codie Marillier said, "the India tour, mine first ever, has been a great eye opener towards another magnificent cricket community. The people who have played against are very talented and I expect the players will get far in their cricket future". "We came on the Heath Streak international cricket club".

Interestingly, Codie's dad is an inventor of the Marillier shot. In this the bat is used as a ramp to flick a ball backwards over the batsman’s shoulder for a boundary towards fine leg area. It is a rare, risky and unorthodox shot batsmen play but when successfully played it can frustrate the bowlers. "My dad doesn't really discuss the shot. He always tells us to play proper shots and try not to play unorthodox cricket".

Dougie Marillier is four years younger than Sachin Tendulkar. Both share the same birth date (April 24). "We celebrate it by my dad telling us stories about his cricketing days and how hard he worked for what he achieved. He is an inspiration". "I don't think my dad ever took Sachin's wicket because I'm sure he would of boasted of this unbelievable achievement to be able to get from what I've heard the best batsman there is...", the son concluded.