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Colin de Grandhomme - Source: Photosport
New Black Cap Colin de Grandhomme should be in familiar territory if he makes his international debut in tonight's Twenty20 against Zimbabwe at Eden Park.
The Zimbabwe-born Auckland representative came to New Zealand in 2006 after representing his home country in the 2004 Under-19 World Cup.
The 25-year-old is set to meet some of his team-mates from that side tonight with inspirational captain Brendan Taylor and Tino Mawoyo both part of that World Cup campaign.
However De Grandhomme has already ruined the night of a few of his former compatriots, producing a fantastic fielding effort as a substitute in the final one-day international in Napier on Thursday, taking two catches and igniting a run out during the 202-run win. But the big-hitting Aucklander believes he is now ready to torment his ex-countrymen with bat in hand.
"I feel that I have all that I need, I just need to sort the top two (inches) out and then see what happens," he told media yesterday.
"It feels good because this is my new home and playing for the fern is good and I'm enjoying it."
De Grandhomme's ability to clear the boundary rope, added to the fact that he provides a solid part-time bowling option, makes him an attractive prospect in the shortest form of the game, however he has ambitions to prove he's not a one trick pony.
"I fancy myself in all forms but Twenty20's just quick and enjoyable and I suppose it fits with the game I play.
"I definitely want to play for New Zealand and eventually try to get into Test cricket if I could."
New blood
De Grandhomme joins left-armer Michael Bates, offspinner Ronnie Hira and medium-pacer Andrew Ellis as players in line to make their international T20 debut tonight.
Stand-in skipper Brendon McCullum told reporters that the new blood in the squad has given them an added edge.
"They bring enthusiasm and they also bring domestic experience as well and as long as we play them in positions they are familiar with they've got experience domestically to call upon," he said.
Meanwhile McCullum said the Black Caps understand the need to step up tonight despite the disappointing efforts put out by Zimbabwe in the series so far.
"We've gone up a notch every game that we've encountered in this series and we've got two Twenty20s where I think the skill level side of things and the gap is always narrowed.
"That means we've got to be even more efficient in the areas that we need to so we'll work on that and make sure that we're pretty sound tactically."
The match gets underway at 7:30pm at Eden Park
