Thomas (Tom) Bruce, the New Zealand-born batter picked up by the Desert Vipers in last month’s DP World ILT20 auction, has said he is very much looking forward to playing with rather than against Vipers captain Lockie Ferguson.
Bruce, now qualified for Scotland through his father who was born in Edinburgh, joined the Vipers as one of the franchise’s Associate player picks and made his debut for his adopted homeland in August, after previously playing 17 T20 Internationals for the Black Caps.
And speaking to the Vipers Voices podcast the 34-year-old said he was most excited about playing alongside New Zealand fast bowler Lockie Ferguson.
Bruce said: “It is always nice to play with Lockie rather than against him. We have certainly had some good battles on the field and I have always enjoyed playing against Lockie as a competitor.
“There is just something about a fast bowler that as a batter, you go one of two ways: you either get up for it or you hide and crumble.
“I have really enjoyed my battles with Lockie, and it will be awesome to be on the same team as him.
“And if you look at a few of the other guys, like Shimron Hetmyer, Fakhar Zaman and Sam Curran, there are some world-class names there. I am really looking forward to getting alongside them, gaining some knowledge and just being teammates. I am excited to get to know them as people as well as cricketers.”
Earlier this year Tom played an innings of 345 for the Central Stags against Auckland in New Zealand’s first-class competition.
It was the third highest individual score in New Zealand’s domestic history, and although his team could not force a win in the four-day game, it was an effort that he said would stay with him forever.
Explaining his unique experience of playing for two different national teams, Tom said his dream of playing more international cricket was behind his decision to seek to represent Scotland: “I qualified through my father, who is born in Edinburgh, and his whole family were from Scotland, and they moved out to New Zealand at a young age.
“I still have a burning desire to play international cricket and think I have still got plenty of good years left in me, so I thought the time was right, while I am still in some form and still have plenty of cricket left in me, to make the change and to make the switch to Scotland.
“Unfortunately, they (Scotland) have missed out on the T20 World Cup next year in February (in India and Sri Lanka) which is really disappointing for the side, and I know they are gutted with that result. But if you look ahead, there is a One Day World Cup in 2027 and another T20 World Cup in 2028, so there are a couple of goals on the horizon that we can strive to get towards.”
Tom Bruce was asleep in New Zealand when the DP World ILT20 auction was taking place and woke up early to news of his selection by the Vipers. But he was able to quickly get an insider’s view on the franchise and his role within it from Head Coach James Foster, who happened to be in New Zealand with the men’s national team.
“I was really fortunate in the week after the auction, because James Foster was with the Black Caps team, and he came to our pre-season training and worked with the (Central) Stags (Tom’s domestic team in New Zealand) and the Auckland Aces,” he said.
“So it meant I got to catch up with him there in person, which was great. He had nothing but positive things to say about the team, the management, the ownership and everything that the team brings.
“He (James Foster) obviously laid out the expectations, and the hope to go one better than last year. (The Desert Vipers were losing finalists in season three of the DP World ILT20).
“Personally I do not have too many expectations. I am walking into a team environment, so I will be prepared to do whatever the team needs, whatever Fozzie and Tom Moody and Lockie think is going to be best for the team.”
Bruce added he was flexible about his batting position: “I have batted for the majority of my career in the middle order, but I told James Foster I was versatile and I could bat wherever I was needed and do whatever sort of role that the team needed at that time.”
Earlier this year Tom played an innings of 345 for the Central Stags against Auckland in New Zealand’s first-class competition.
It was the third highest individual score in New Zealand’s domestic history, and although his team could not force a win in the four-day game, it was an effort that he said would stay with him forever.
“It was a special, special knock and certainly something I am pretty proud of,” he said. “I am not going to be emulating that feat any time soon again.
“It was certainly something I look back on as one of the top highlights in my career from an individual level.
“It is not going to get much better than that in first-class cricket. To score a century is great, a double-hundred is even better, but to go on and get a big score like that 345 was pretty special.”
With a strike rate of 142 in T20s, plus his experience of playing in the Bangladesh Premier League, the Global T20 Super League in Guyana which featured the Dubai Capitals and his time on the New Zealand domestic circuit Bruce will add a lot of value to the Desert Vipers line-up.
And while he acknowledged the strength across all the teams in season four of the DP World ILT20, he said he was hopeful the Vipers could go one better this season and win the title for the first time.
“You look at every team (in the DP World ILT20) and every team is strong,” he said. “Every team has some great names, some world-class players. And it shows the nature of this tournament and the fact that people want to play here.
“The best in the world want to play in this tournament. So, it is a great opportunity to test yourself against the best.
“Hopefully we can come out on top and go one better than what the team did last season. I certainly think we have got the squad to do it. But like I say, you look at every squad and they all look tough.
“It is just about who is going to be the best on the day each time that you turn up to play.”
