Local man creates some niche history on his international T20 debut

Rob Vitas (front row, third left) with his Serbian international teammates

Vitas, a former captain of Castor CC and Ketton CC and current manager of Hunts CCC, skippered Serbia in an international series in Bulgaria. He qualified to play for Serbia through his father George.

Vitas was first called up by his country for a T20 World Cup qualifying campaign last year, but failed to make an appearance.

He now hopes to lead Serbia, who are not ranked in the world’s top 100 teams, into the 2024 T20 World Cup qualifying competition in Finland, after a return series against Bulgaria in Belgrade.

Serbia's opponents in World Cup qualifying are Turkey, Cyprus, Isle of Man and Romania.

"Just like David Gower I struck my first ball in international cricket for four,” Vitas enthused.

“Apparently I was the first ever captain on debut to face the first ball of a match and hit it for a boundary in the history of International T20 cricket!

"I’m now averaging 30 in international cricket with a top score of 37. We lost the series against Bulgaria, but the boys played well.”