Long having been billed as the next big thing in Victorian cricket, Matt Short is now showing why he was so highly regarded, with a brilliant season in Australia’s domestic white ball competitions.
Both a promising young cricketer and a burgeoning Australian Rules footballer, he chose to pursue cricket after receiving a Victorian contract at just 18 and made his List A debut soon after. Then Victorian Under-19 coach Jarrad Loughman praised Short’s exceptional ability as a “natural striker of the ball” and a “dynamic fielder with fantastic hands”.
However, it had not been smooth sailing in the early years of the Ballarat native’s career. Short began his career with 48 List A games at an average of 26.56 and a strike rate of 79.78. Meanwhile, in T20s, he was averaging 14.77 with a strike rate of 113.93 after just 34 innings.
However, things have certainly changed, with Short something of a revelation since being handed the opening duties for the Strikers in BBL 11.
That season, he tallied 493 runs across 16 innings, averaging 32.87 at a strike rate of 155.52, scoring three half centuries and a highest score of 89.
Following that success, Short was given the opportunity to hold down the number three position for Victoria in the 2022/23 edition of the Marsh Cup and he didn’t disappoint. Short brought stability to the Victorian top order while also scoring at a high clip, averaging 47.50 at a strike rate of 104.39 during the first half of the Marsh Cup series.
Then came time for BBL 12 and the Matt Short show took centre stage. He scored 458 runs in 14 innings at an average of 35.23 and struck the ball at a strike-rate of 144.48 to be the tournament’s leading run-scorer.
That included a scintillating 100 not out off just 59 deliveries as stand-in captain, which helped the Strikers chase down a target of 230 against the Hurricanes; the highest successful run chase in BBL history.
Short also became more than just a part-time tweaker and demonstrated genuine wicket-taking ability, particularly during the powerplay. He took 11 wickets at an average of 22.82 with an economy rate of 7.14.
Short’s excellent display with both bat and ball in the BBL earned him the accolade of Player of the Tournament at the Australian Cricket Awards.
He has backed up his excellent BBL form by carrying it into Victoria’s one-day side after being given the opening duties in the 50 over format. Short bludgeoned a rapid-fire 108 not out from only 94 deliveries to guide Victoria to a 9-wicket victory, on a pitch that Queensland scrapped and scraped just 202 from 46.2 overs.
Short has had a somewhat inconsistent first half of his professional career, but at the age of 27, now begun to live up to his ability and the potential seen in him when he was handed a professional contract at 18 years old. He is now at the top of the pecking order to replace David Warner in the limited overs formats after a dominant summer with the white ball.
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