With a name like Dimitri Mascarenhas, and an Aussie twang thrown into the mix, 'Dimi' was never going to be your run-of-the-mill county pro. And so it has proved. Born in Middlesex to Sri Lankan parents, but brought up in Perth, Western Australia, Mascarenhas returned to these shores in 1996 to play for Hampshire, making an immediate impact whilst taking 6 for 88 against Glamorgan on debut. At his most effective in one-day cricket, he has made a habit of producing big performances in vital games, including a Man of the Match performance in the 1998 NatWest trophy semi-final when he took 3 for 28 and scored 73. He also featured in Hampshire's victorious C&G campaign in 2005. He scored the first century at the Rose Bowl, against Worcestershire in 2001, and also took the first hat-trick recorded in Twenty20 cricket, amongst his 5 for 14 against Sussex at Hove in 2004. A regular in England's Hong Kong sixes team, it is his allround pedigree - he is an excellent fielder - which has made him so effective in domestic one-day cricket. After being awarded a benefit year by his club in 2007, he was given his chance to shine for England when called up to their one-day squad in June. It was a long overdue selection as Hampshire supporters will attest to, but Mascarenhas made his chance count, slapping five sixes in a single over from Yuvraj Singh at The Oval, and earning a call-up to England's Twenty20 squad on the back of some disciplined bowling performances. His growing reputation in the shorter forms of the game saw him as the first England player to join the Indian Premier League, but it was there, in 2010, that he suffered a serious Achilles injury that meant he bowled just three overs for Hampshire in the season and eventually needed surgery.
Will Luke July 2011