Tom Moody hails Chandimal, Lintott & Atkinson signings

Former Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal headlines three new additions to an already powerful Desert Vipers line-up, along with left-arm wrist spinner Jake Lintott and fast-bowling all-rounder Gus Atkinson.

The three signings will feature in the Desert Vipers squad that will play at the inaugural ILT20 tournament in the UAE early next year.

Tom Moody, the Desert Vipers Director of Cricket, is thrilled with the new signings and believes Chandimal’s leadership qualities, Gus Atkinson’s genuine pace and Jake Lintott’s subtleties combine to add great value to an already outstanding group of players while adding depth, flexibility, and variety.

Dinesh Chandimal has a vast amount of international experience having played 70 Tests, 157 ODIs and 58 T20 Internationals for Sri Lanka, and captained the team in a total of 57 matches. And Tom Moody believes this will be invaluable to the side.

“The real positive with Dinesh is he is a natural leader, and he has had those responsibilities with Sri Lanka,” said Moody. “He is a versatile cricketer who can offer a position anywhere in the batting order. He is also a highly recognised wicketkeeper and if we want to play him as a pure batter, he is (also) more than capable in the field.”

Chandimal is not currently in the Sri Lankan T20I squad and believes the ILT20 is a chance for him to show the world that he still has what it takes at a high level.

“This (ILT20) is a real opportunity to showcase your talent,” he said. “If you can perform well, you can show the world how capable you are in T20 cricket. I am really thankful to the Desert Vipers management and coaching staff for giving me this opportunity to come and play in this league. I am looking forward to doing well, and I cannot wait to play in the tournament.

“(In) this kind of forum, if you can perform well, it means good things for your future. If you can perform well, you can represent any league in the world. So, this is a forum for us as players, not just senior players but younger players as well, to showcase their talent in front of crowds.”

Tom Moody, too, believes a tournament like the ILT20 can help Chandimal remind the Sri Lankan selectors of his talent.

“It is a terrific opportunity for him (Chandimal). He was on the reserve list for the T20 World Cup but did not quite make the final cut. He is not far away, and Sri Lanka recognise he is a valuable T20 player but in that role with the wicket keeper-batting role, they (Sri Lanka) are a bit spoilt for choice.

“So, his main selection priority is for 50-over cricket and Test cricket, but he is also smashing down that T20 door. Having an impact in the ILT20 with the Desert Vipers is only going to do someone like him a world of good, as it reminds the Sri Lankan selectors and the world of cricket that he is a genuine three format player. He has been doing that recently in the Lanka Premier League where he is having an impact with some good performances so, all-round, we are thrilled to have him as part of our team.”

Surrey’s fast-bowling all-rounder Gus Atkinson offers variety to the Desert Vipers bowling attack and Tom Moody believes he is one of the more exciting talents coming through the system in the UK.

“He (Gus) has got genuine pace, and we believe it is an important element to have in your squad,” said Moody. “(He is) someone who can bowl at up to 85-90 miles per hour and have an impact in all three phases of the innings.

“He has certainly been on our radar at the Desert Vipers for some time because we not only like to identify players with vast amounts of experience, but we also like to identify players that have got a lot of upside and we feel Gus is certainly in that category.”

With 33 wickets in 23 T20 matches at a strike rate of just a touch over 12 balls for every wicket he has taken, Tom Moody believes Atkinson is a real wicket-taker.

“That is the attraction - the fact that he gives us that X factor with that genuine pace, and I think there are only better things to come with regards to Gus, and what he brings to the table.

“The more exposure he gets to tournaments like the ILT20, and with his county at Surrey, the better he is going to get and, who knows, I am sure there may be international honours not too far away.”

Atkinson has faith in his own abilities and believes what he lacks in experience he makes up for with his controlled pace: “I can bowl quick which helps, and I know where I am going to bowl,” he said.

“Sometimes people who bowl quick are not quite sure where the ball is going to go. I am pretty confident with my skills in the T20 format. I feel I am relatively smart with how I bowl. I am inexperienced, but things have gone well so far for me in this format, so I will continue to do what I have been doing and hopefully it keeps going well.

“I do not know about (my) expectations (for ILT20), (but) hopefully I can have a great tournament and the Vipers can have a great tournament. It would be amazing if we can win it, I am sure that is what everyone will be thinking about in the first edition of the tournament. Hopefully, we can have a good tournament and getting the trophy would be amazing.”

Left-arm wrist spinner Jake Lintott joins the ranks as an addition to the spin bowling attack and Tom Moody believes he will complement an already formidable spin attack at the Desert Vipers which includes leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga, left-arm finger-spinner Mark Watt and off-spinner Rohan Mustafa.

“Yes, we have ticked the final box with Jake as we have every other spin variety covered, and he has had a fascinating career, where he has had that real impact in this format of the game. This (T20) is where he specialises,” said Moody.

“He is a bowler with an impressive economy and strike rates. I just see him complementing what we already have. Depending on the opposition and conditions we are facing, there is no reason we cannot look at playing all our spinners as potential options. Jake gives us a real point of difference. If the wickets do dry up and start turning, then he is an exciting option for us.”

Lintott comes in as an outlier, who spent a lot of time playing Minor County cricket in England and he has had to grind his way up the ranks, to break into the county cricket scene.

“I started out as any other cricketer wanting to sign a contract at eighteen, but I did not end up signing a full-time professional contract until I was twenty-six,” said Lintott.

“It has been a much longer process, with many bumps in the road and setbacks and failures, but I managed to get where I wanted to get to. I signed my first contract with Warwickshire two years ago. It has been a bit different, but I would not have it any other way. I feel like I have come into the game ready, instead of learning on the job. I feel in a good place and ready to contribute wherever I am needed.”

It is exactly these qualities that have impressed Tom Moody, who said: “I find with players who have had to put in the harder yards, the longer road to finding that opportunity, have a lot more resilience rather than those who get those opportunities early in their career. Jake is a good example of that.

“He has had to find a longer road to get his opportunity and he is a resilient and creative player because of that. That is a plus for us (Desert Vipers) because of his unique journey into his T20 career and we will be the beneficiaries of that.”

A transcript of the quotes can be found below:

Tom Moody on the thinking behind bringing Gus Atkinson – a fast-bowling all-rounder for Surrey and The Oval Invincibles – on board:

“We believe Gus is one of the real exciting young talents to come through the system in the UK. He has got genuine pace, and we believe it is an important element to have in your squad. He (Gus) has got genuine pace, and (he is) someone that can bowl at up to 85-90 miles per hour and have an impact in all three phases of the innings.

Tom Moody on how Gus Atkinson is a real wicket taker, with 33 wickets in 23 T20 matches at a strike rate of just a touch over 12 balls for every wicket taken:

“That is the attraction - the fact that he gives us that X factor with that genuine pace, and I think there are only better things to come with regards to Gus, and what he brings to the table. The more exposure he gets to tournaments like the ILT20, and with his county at Surrey, the better he is going to get and, who knows, I am sure there may be international honours not too far away.”

Tom Moody on how right-arm fast bowler Gus Atkinson offers variety to the Desert Vipers bowling attack that has a strong left-arm pace attack in Tymal Mills, Ruben Trumpelmann and Sheldon Cottrell:

“He comes at a different angle being a right armer, not that I am a big believer that we need the perfect balance of left and right. But at the end of the day, I think you need a balance in the bowling attack that can provide different expertise in different phases of the game. You need impact bowlers at the top of the order, whether that be through genuine pace or through spin, and likewise in the middle phase and the end phase. Whatever combination you require, hopefully Colin Munro our captain has got those options at his disposal.”

Tom Moody on where Gus Atkinson fits into the bowling attack, and if he thinks Gus is a three-phase bowler:

“I think at this stage he is probably developing the third phase which is at the death. Certainly, in the first two phases, up front and in the middle overs, he will play a significant role in taking wickets. As we know in T20 cricket if you are taking wickets, you are stemming the run flow at the same time. You need those bowlers in that first 14-15 overs that can create that impact.”

Tom Moody on how Gus Atkinson is a capable batter and a multi-faceted cricketer:

“He is a good all-rounder; he is a good athlete, so he is good in the field as well. It is always nice to have that depth in your batting. Ideally you are wanting your top five or six (batters) to be carrying the maximum load with regards to the batting, but it is always nice to have that reassurance that if things do go wrong at the top, that you have players that are capable of having an impact in those final overs.”

Tom Moody on where left arm spin bowler Jake Lintott fits in an already formidable spin attack at the Desert Vipers, which includes leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga, left-arm finger-spinner Mark Watt and off-spinner Rohan Mustafa:

Tom Moody on how Desert Vipers captain Colin Munro will have good knowledge on Jake Lintott and Rohan Mustafa as they played in the T10 together recently for the Bangla Tigers:

“That is the real benefit of having someone like Colin as our captain because he has played around the world consistently in franchise cricket and he has run across many, many players, and Jake Lintott is one of them. Rohan is another one that he has a personal relationship with.

“(He) also has a good understanding of how they (Rohan and Jake) tick as cricketers and how they operate and at what stage they are at their best. We are not going to find a situation where in the first two or three games we have still got our trainer wheels on, and we are still trying to find our way. I think the transition from the early practice matches and net sessions to our first match will be up and running and ready to go. “

Tom Moody on how Jake Lintott came into the professional game relatively late and how, in the last couple of years, he has accumulated a lot of cricket experience:

“I find with players who have had to put in the harder yards, (and taken) the longer road to finding that opportunity have a lot more resilience rather than those who get those opportunities early in their career, and Jake is a good example of that. He has had to find a longer road to get his opportunity and he is a resilient and creative player because of that. That is a plus for us (Desert Vipers) because of his unique journey into his T20 career and we will be the beneficiaries of that.”

Tom Moody on how Jake Lintott has been on the Desert Vipers Radar for a while and was going to be on the reserves list anyway for the tournament and now there is an opportunity to put him into the squad:

“He is a cricketer who we have identified as someone who could have a real impact in our squad. We also recognise that there is the potential that the likes of Wanindu Hasaranga, who has a heavy workload, and fixturing around Sri Lanka cricket can change at the last minute. So, we need the depth and quality to back up the likes of Hasaranga. As of now we are expecting Hasaranga to be fully available for the tournament, but how that stands in three weeks’ time we do not know and therefore that kind of flexibility and quality within our squad is going to be very important.”

Tom Moody on how former Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal comes in and adds a lot of depth and quality in the middle order(batting):

“The real positive with Dinesh is he is a natural leader, and he has had those responsibilities with Sri Lanka. He is a versatile cricketer who can offer a position anywhere in the batting order. He is also a highly recognised wicketkeeper and if we want to play him as a pure batter, he is (also) more than capable in the field.

“Again, with the unpredictability of international fixtures with the likes of Sam Billings and Ben Duckett and Alex Hales who we have in our squad, we cannot read the minds of England’s selectors and get a real understanding of when these players will be expected to report for duty, which may have a slight crossover with our inaugural tournament. So, to have the backup of the quality of someone like Chandimal is going to be very important.”

Tom Moody on how a tournament like the ILT20 could help Chandimal remind the Sri Lankan selectors of his talent:

“It is a terrific opportunity for him (Chandimal). He was on the reserve list for the T20 World Cup but did not quite make the final cut. He is not far away, and Sri Lanka recognise he is a valuable T20 player but in that role, with the wicket keeper-batting role, they (Sri Lanka) are a bit spoilt for choice.

“So, his main selection priority is for 50-over cricket and Test cricket, but he is also smashing down that T20 door. Having an impact in the ILT20 with the Desert Vipers is only going to do someone like him a world of good, as it reminds the Sri Lankan selectors and the world of cricket that he is a genuine three format player. He has been doing that recently in the Lanka Premier League, where he is having an impact with some good performances so, all-round, we are thrilled to have him as part of our team.”

Gus Atkinson on how he got involved with the Desert Vipers:

“Surrey has got a few of the (Desert Vipers) staff including our fitness and conditioning coach Daz (Darren) Veness, who is with the Desert Vipers, as is our fast-bowling coach Azhar Mahmood. I was meant to be with the Oval Invincibles in The Hundred last year and Tom Moody is the coach there. So, there are a few strong connections to Surrey. I was meant to join the Vipers anyway to bowl for a few weeks, but I just got brought into the squad, which was a nice surprise.”

Gus Atkinson on his strengths as a bowler:

“I am pretty confident with my skills in the T20 format. I feel I am relatively smart with how I bowl. I am inexperienced, but things have gone well so far for me in this format, so I will continue to do what I have been doing so far and hopefully it keeps going well.

Jake Lintott on how he has had to grind his way up the ranks, to break into the county cricket scene:

“I started out as any other cricketer wanting to sign a contract at 18, but I did not end up signing a full-time professional contract until I was 26.

Jake Lintott on his strengths, and which of the Desert Viper Squad he is most looking forward to playing with:

“There is a lot of talent all the way through, but I am looking forward to working with Wanindu Hasaranga. As a fellow wrist-spinner that will be really exciting for me.

“I like to think I have good control as a wrist-spinner, and I can tie down and shut batters down. That is generally what I like to do, and I find I create wickets by being economical, and being disciplined with that side of things. That is definitely me as a bowler.”

Dinesh Chandimal on the prospect of playing at the ILT20:

“This (ILT20) is a real opportunity to showcase your talent. If you can perform well, you can show the world how capable you are in T20 cricket. I am really thankful to the Desert Vipers management and coaching staff for giving me this opportunity to come and play in this league. I am looking forward to doing well, and I cannot wait to play in the tournament.

“(In)This kind of forum, if you can perform well, it means good things for your future. If you can perform well, you can represent any league in the world. So, this is a forum for us as players, not just senior players but younger players as well, to showcase their talent in front of crowds.”

Desert Vipers