T20 World Cup | I want to make my ‘uncle’ Dennis Lillee proud: Italy pacer Thomas Draca

Italy’s Australia-bred pacer Thomas Draca will run in this T20 World Cup with history swinging against his chest – a chain once worn by Dennis Lillee. To others, it’s just a chain. To him, it’s inheritance. He calls Lillee family.

“Dennis has actually given me his World Series chain. It’s got his Test cap and his signature on it. He gave me that for my 21st birthday. In this World Cup, I’ll be wearing it, and I want to do him proud. I wouldn’t be here without him,” said the 25-year-old after his team’s 112-run win over the UAE in a warm-up match here on Friday.

Their bond began over a drink. “My dad grew up watching Dennis, but they bonded over wine. Dennis asked if I played, offered a session, and from that day, we have had an unbelievable bond. I call him my uncle,” Draca said. What Lillee gave him was method. “His philosophy is just to work hard and be very fit.” When Draca suffered a stress fracture, the diagnosis was blunt. “Dennis said: ‘You’re not running enough. You have to train like a sprinter.’”

The stories stuck. “Dennis told a funny story. In the team hotel, the boys would go downstairs for a drink and hear ‘thud, thud, thud’. He’d be running in his corridor,” Draca said.

Draca lives by that. “After this interview, I’m going for a run. The boys think I’m crazy.” He doesn’t. Because when he runs in now – faster, stronger, and unbroken – Lillee runs with him. In philosophy. In habit. And soon, in chain.