Debutants' ball

As the T20 World Cup opens the game up to more countries, meet their young heroes

- Rudraneil Sengupta

Thomas Draca, who is leading the bowling for Italy as that country makes its ICC T20 World Cup debut, has one of the game’s legends to thank for his introduction to cricket.

Born to a Neapolitan mother and a Yugoslavian father, the 25-year-old grew up in Sydney, obsessing about football. Then, Draca’s father, a wine connoisseur, met Dennis Lillee at a wine event. The two men hit it off. At some point, Lillee asked if his son played cricket, and was told he did a bit of fast-bowling.

Lillee invited the boy over for a session. And that’s how Uncle Lillee, as Draca calls him, became the young Australian's fast-bowling mentor.

Draca made it onto Italy's national team last year.