The 24-year-old, who hails from Hull in northern England, arrived in Mildura last week ready to strap on the pads for Irymple in the Sunraysia Cricket Association starting on Saturday.

Wilkinson made his debut for Irymple in the pre-season Twenty20 competition on the weekend and said conditions here would be vastly different to Hull, where the hottest it gets in summer is a balmy 27 degrees.

“It was good good laugh on Saturday, we just had a bit of a hit although the pitch was a bit wet. I think I brought the rain with me,” Wilkinson said.

“(The weather) is only going to get worse here, I might have to wear a hat. I might struggle when it gets up to 40.

For more of this story, purchase your copy of Wednesday’s Sunraysia Daily 07/10/2009.