Top gunslinger set for shootout

IN THE modern world of profes- sional cricket, it’s not too much of a reach to compare the game’s players to gunslingers of the Wild West.

Mercenaries. Guns for hire. And if that was the case, in Otago’s Ryan ten Doeschate you’ve got a Wyatt Earp or Jesse James of the top degree.

The Dutch international has made a name for himself being one of the top available import players for Twenty20 leagues around the world in the last few years.

In addition to Otago, whom he will play for in today’s HRV Cup final against Wellington in Dunedin, you can count Essex ( England), the Chittagong Kings (Bangladesh), the Kolkata Knight Riders ( India), the Mashonaland Eagles (Zimbabwe), Tasmania (Australia) and Western Province ( South Africa) as short- form teams ten Doeschate has represented.

Twenty-four hours after today’s final and he’ll be off again – taking a flight to Bangladesh where he will play for Chittagong in their national Twenty20 league.

It’s a lucrative lifestyle moneywise, ten Doeschate admits, but one that requires maximum application.

‘‘ It’s full- on,’’ he told Sunday Star-Times. ‘‘You’ve got to weigh things up – you can’t take every chance. The opportunities are there to travel, and it’s a good way to make a living.

‘‘There is a lot of strain though. The pressure of being the overseas player, and what is expected of you, and time away from family is tough as well. But I’m enjoying it at the moment, and you’ve got to really keep going as long as you can.’’

Ten Doeschate, who played for Canterbury two summers ago, first entertained the thought of coming back to New Zealand in May, after playing alongside Black Caps skipper Brendon McCullum for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL.