da betano casino： More than a decade after his last international match, the former Australia wicketkeeper is set to turn out for Hong Kong at the World T20

da 888： Tim Wigmore17-Feb-2016Few cricketing comebacks have been as unlikely as that of Ryan Campbell. At the age of 44, nearly 14 years after his two ODIs for Australia and a decade after his last match as a professional cricketer down under, Campbell is poised to make his debut for Hong Kong in the opening game of the World T20 in India.”I’ll be as thrilled as I’ve ever been playing a game of cricket when I receive my Hong Kong cap,” he says. “It’s obviously a big risk on my behalf and Hong Kong cricket’s behalf. But it’s a risk they’re happy to take, and I am too. Hopefully a good result will come of it.”Some are less enthusiastic about the prospect of Campbell playing for Hong Kong, seeing his selection as a throwback to a time when ageing imports were ubiquitous in Associate teams.To Campbell, such comparisons are unfair. “I’ve got family in Hong Kong: my son was born here, so was my wife-to-be. This is our home.” His grandmother is Chinese, and his great-grandfather was born in Kowloon, where Campbell has been a player and coach since early 2012. “Four years later I couldn’t be happier – I’ve got a wonderful fiancé, have a beautiful seven-month old baby boy, and have a great job at Kowloon Cricket Club and with the national team. I have roots and history here, so I’ll be very proud to represent Hong Kong.”Without these links, Campbell “wouldn’t even consider” an international comeback. “Then it would be just ridiculous. But because I do have a history here I feel that I can and should be helping out.”

“Those who throw stones should just look at the English team. They’ve got South Africans, they’ve got Irishmen, they’ve got Scotsmen, they’ve got whoever they want”

Eighteen months ago, Campbell scored 303 not out off 107 balls for Kowloon Cricket Club. It was an innings that, together with an average of over 50 over four seasons in Hong Kong domestic cricket, suggested age has scarcely diluted the quality that brought Campbell ten Sheffield Shield hundreds.After he became Hong Kong batting coach in July 2013, the players were immediately impressed by Campbell’s skills. “I have always felt how beneficial it would be to have him in the national side,” says former captain Jamie Atkinson, who is a club team-mate.Hong Kong’s hierarchy has long known that Campbell qualified just prior to the World T20; they were privately discussing whether to approach him during the qualifiers in July. For one of the youngest squads in the game, the appeal of Campbell is obvious.”Experience is something we realised is crucial after our performances in the last World T20,” says Charlie Burke, Hong Kong’s director of cricket. “Cambo’s biggest trait is his calming influence and his ability to read the game and the situation. Even though T20 is a fast-paced game we still need clear minds and an understanding that you can still win the game if you take it deep enough.”Campbell says he “needed a bit of persuading” before agreeing to make himself available. “Obviously my age does come into it – I didn’t want to let the team down or let myself down. I’m very aware that a lot of the time when you throw up Associate cricket, people say, ‘Oh, it’s just all these expats’ or whatever. I wanted to do the right thing by Hong Kong cricket as well, but I feel I can contribute to the team and help out a very young top-six line-up: give them a bit of experience and calm them in the middle.” The recent suspension of Irfan Ahmed for failing to disclose a match-fixing approach was also “a big factor” in Campbell’s decision. “He was our most experienced player at the top of the order so there was a hole to fill there.”As Campbell stresses, the notion of Hong Kong as a team of expats is a myth. All but three members of the World T20 squad moved to Hong Kong before 18; he is the only player in the squad who has lived there less than seven years. “Those who throw stones should just look at the English team. They’ve got South Africans, they’ve got Irishmen, they’ve got Scotsmen, they’ve got whoever they want.””I’d never practised the ramp shot in the nets before. Once I started playing it, I practised it and started to mess around with it”•Getty ImagesHe intends to be equally combative on the pitch in India. “I’d love to open the batting. I’ve always loved opening the batting in T20. It’s one of the best positions to bat – especially in India, if you can get yourself in against the quicker bowlers. I enjoy facing spinners but I like being in when they come.”If he does not seem fazed by his unlikely return to the game, Campbell has never been the sort of cricketer to be constrained by convention. Well before Tillakaratne Dilshan made the shot famous, Campbell was a successful exponent of the scoop.”Being the wicketkeeper, I used to go to meetings with all the bowlers. Every single person always said, ‘In one-day cricket you have to bowl full at the death and look to bowl yorkers.’ Sitting there and listening to that, I always knew no one ever fielded behind the wicketkeeper. So I thought the theory must be sound: if they’re bowling yorkers, and if I get forward and get my bat down, I’m going to get a full toss. And if I get a full toss, it’ll just hit the face of my bat and go over my head or my shoulder and it should be runs. That was the theory.”In a one-day game against Victoria, Campbell put it to the test. “Darren Berry, my old mate and sparring partner, was keeping. He was up to the stumps and sledging the hell out of me. Ian Harvey was bowling, and I knew he definitely bowled really full. I thought: I’m going to try this ramp. There’s three things that could happen: I’m either going to hit myself in the face, hit Darren Berry in the face and stop him from talking to me, or it’s going to go for four. The two times I tried it, they both went for four.”He had never even played the ramp in the nets before. “I always had the theory but I’d never practised the shot before. I’d seriously thought about it but I just thought I don’t want to practise this because it could make me look stupid if I get hit in the face. Once I started playing it, then I practised it and started to mess around with it. I always tell young cricketers: ‘If you have a good theory and want to talk to me about it, I’m happy to talk through it, as long as the theory is sound.'”Campbell still has the shot, though is not sure whether he will unveil it in India. “I don’t play it too often now. I might use it, depending on the situation of the game.”

“Cambo’s biggest trait is his calming influence and his ability to read the game and the situation”Charlie Burke, Hong Kong’s director of cricket

Commitments with Kowloon CC mean that Campbell is not part of Hong Kong’s squad for the T20 Asia Cup qualifiers later this month. “It’s just too hard to get so much time off.”He has already started work on a custom-built training regime, devised by coach Simon Cook, to ensure that he is ready for the first game against Zimbabwe in March, 4825 days after his last international match. “Now that the reality has set in that I’m going to be representing Hong Kong, I’m obviously stepping up the workload. I’m confident I’ll be at a good enough standard to play.”While Campbell admits that “fast bowling’s always going to be the issue for the older guys”, he professes to not worrying about not being up to the rigours of international cricket. Anyway, he cannot only think of himself: Campbell will also remain batting coach during the World T20. “I’ll make sure that I work with all the players and then I’ll look after my batting side later on. They’ll always come first.”He does not intend for his return to be a fleeting one, either. Campbell hopes to play ODI cricket for Hong Kong too. First, though, he has his eyes set on the main stage of the World T20, where Sri Lanka, South Africa, West Indies and England will lie in wait if Hong Kong progress.”This is the most successful Hong Kong sporting team in the history of Hong Kong. No one will ever take that away from us. It’s going to be a very good contest for the boys. It helps us that the ball doesn’t bounce a lot in India, because the wickets in Hong Kong aren’t too bouncy. These conditions suit us a lot better than if we were playing in Perth.”In T20 cricket only one or two blokes need to play really well and then you can win the match. Our goal is to make the Super 10. If that happens it’s one of the greatest stories ever.” Especially if a 44-year-old is at the heart of it.