Nannes looking forward to Victoria clash

Victoria will start their tilt at the lucrative Champions League Twenty20 tournament in October by coming up against their best bowler. Dirk Nannes was the only player to side with his away team for the tournament, but Victoria received US$200,000 as compensation for their man turning out for Delhi Daredevils when the outfits meet on October 9.

A condition in Nannes' IPL contract meant the decision was made for the left-arm fast bowler. "We're all good mates [at Victoria] and they understand my decision," he said. "It's going to be a pretty hard-fought game. I don't know who's going to win, hopefully it's me, but I don't know."

He said it was an awkward choice but his itinerant playing career made it easier. "In the last 12 months I've played for six sides, or something like that, so we're all used to playing against each other," he said. "It's going to be an interesting one. We'll have a beer afterwards and we'll go back and play together back home."

Nannes, who appeared in his first ODI for Australia against Scotland on Friday, has 24 wickets at 13.08 for the Bushrangers in Australia's domestic Twenty20 competition and won't be much fun for his state friends to face. David Hussey, the Victoria batsman, has been ribbing Nannes about his decision and is planning his tactics already. "We wanted him at Victoria for the Champions League," he said. "Unfortunately Delhi have Dirk and we'll have to take him down there and hopefully win the silverware."