D'Arcy Short in Line for National Selection, IPL Selection Also Looming Large for the Southpaw

Aussie all-rounder Dan Christian and part of the Hobart Hurricanes squad in the Big Bash League Dan Christian feels that his Hobart teammate D’Arcy Short won’t look out of place if he is selected for the upcoming Gillette ODI series against England. Following the 5^th match in the ongoing BBL, Short is the leading run scorer currently with 284 runs at an impressive average of 56.80.

Melbourne Renegades skipper Cameron White overtook Short very shortly after and is currently leading him by a solitary run having played an innings more than the southpaw. It has been a sensational start for Short in the T20 competition, and all those runs have come at a brisk strike rate of 153.51. The southpaw followed up his consecutive scores of 90 with a 12-ball 36 against the Sydney Sixers at Blundstone Arena on Monday night.

Short fell short of his 3^rd half-century of the tournament when he was holed out at mid-off by Johan Botha, but before getting dismissed, he smashed a gigantic six of 107 m which flew into the press box balcony. Glenn Maxwell and Peter Handscomb are the frontrunners to replace Chris Lynn who has been ruled out due to an injury.

However following a string of impressive performances, Short has a realistic chance of breaking into the ODI squad and with the ability to bowl some handy left-arm spin he has given some realistic thoughts to the selectors of his call-up to the national squad.

“He wouldn’t look out of place,” Christian stated when asked about his potential to impress as an international cricketer. “He’s hitting the ball beautifully, it’s a bit scaring bowling to him in the nets actually. Everything is just coming out of the middle of the bat. He’s pacing his innings really well too. He’s hitting the quicks up front in the first six and when the spin is on, he’s hitting it to his areas. He’s been fantastic for us,” he said.

Former World Cup-winning skipper and the newly appointed head coach of Delhi Daredevils Ricky Ponting feels that Short is well within the radar of national selection following a string of impressive performances in the Big Bash League and List A encounters. Meanwhile, Mark Waugh is also a fan of Short’s strokeplay and predicted of the tournament that the southpaw would be the player to watch out.

Following a sensational knock of 97 of a mere 63 deliveries against the Sydney Thunder, former legendary leg-spinner Shane Warne said that Short would appear in national colors pretty soon as much for bowling as his batting.

Even if Short is overlooked for the ODI series, he is in prime contention for a call-up in the upcoming Tri-Nation T20I series also involving New Zealand and England.

“If it happens, it happens,” Short said last week when asked about what are his plans for higher honors. “I’ve just go to keep concentrating on my game, keep being consistent,” he further added.

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