KFC BBL|12
They might be foes now, but Matt Short is continuing to reap the benefits from conversations with Cameron White that's helped elevate his game to another level this summer
Jack Paynter
17 January 2023, 03:00 PM AEST
@jackpayn
They might be on different teams now – including opposing ones tonight – but Cameron White's influence on Matt Short is still paying dividends for the Strikers' red-hot opener.
After six scores between 20 and 40 during a breakout KFC BBL campaign last summer, the 27-year-old allrounder has taken his consistency to another level this season.
Not only has he broken through with a maiden T20 century in a record run chase against the Hurricanes, but he's been converting those 'starts' into scores of substance more often.
Data provided by Opta shows it too; so far in BBL|12 he's faced 124 deliveries in the middle overs (7-15) for 178 runs, compared to 95 for 133 runs in his 16 innings in BBL|11.
It's also proved to be a boon for the Strikers and Short at the death, with the opener more than doubling his balls faced from overs 16 to 20 this season (21 in BBL|12 compared to nine in BBL|11), which has delivered 48 runs at an incredible strike rate of 228.57.
While a slight technical adjustment has helped him stay more neutral at the crease to be able to hit to all areas of the ground, it was those conversations with White while he was at the Strikers around batting strategy that have resulted in the biggest shift in his output this season.
"Over the last couple of years, I'd been getting off to fliers early on and then throw my wicket away after 30 runs," Short said.
"He (White) has helped me guide my way through an innings; if I do get through that first Powerplay, it's almost toning it down a little and just batting, taking the ones and twos and the odd boundary here and there."
White, the former Strikers now Sixers assistant coach told cricket.com.au that middle overs batting craft was the skill that probably took young players the longest to master.
"That's why you see underrated players – not that they're underrated within their teams – but someone like Jordan Silk and Moises Henriques in this (Sixers) team, Jon Wells from the Strikers now Renegades, they're specialist positions that are still sought after in the Big Bash," said White, who played 142 matches for Australia across all formats before turning to coaching after his retirement in 2020.
"(It was) actually giving him (Short) a bit of a strategy and just working out when the right time to pull the trigger is and having a bit more method just getting back into batting mode.
"At the start of last season, he was really good, he made quite a lot of 30s and 40s and got the team off to a flier.
"But he only converted three of those across 16 innings.
"Whereas this year, the adjustment for him to not only get through the first Powerplay, but to have some method to his play about actually constructing an innings through the middle and not just be out for 45 off 25 and your innings is finished."
Despite not being shortlisted for last year's auction (though he will be available as a replacement player if required), it's that new found consistency combined with his power that's led Australian great Ricky Ponting to declare that Short should be on the radar of Indian Premier League clubs and for superstar teammate Rashid Khan to lead calls for his inclusion in Australia's T20 team.
White agrees that Short is ready for international cricket, especially in Australian conditions.
"He's doing it all; batting, bowling, add in his fielding and his captaincy as well, there's no surprise that there's a bit of chat about him getting an opportunity for Australia now so that's good to see," he said.
"He's got a got loads of ability and everyone would be hoping he'd be able to adjust his game quickly and accordingly if he was given an opportunity in any conditions but definitely the quicker wickets here in Australia he's very much suited … and hopefully he gets a chance at some stage."
It was an opportunity to open the batting at the start of last season that White says Short was "ready for", combined with a slight tweak to his pre-delivery approach that's helped turn him into one of the most damaging openers in the competition.
"I felt as though he was committing way too far forward and almost walking at the bowler and it needed to be full for him to score," White said.
"We worked on his set up to be a bit more neutral so he could play off the front and back foot to hopefully help him score all around the wicket.
"As you can see now with the way he's playing, he's much more neutrally set up and he can obviously play off the front foot and you can see as soon as they're bowling waist height or get on his hip at the moment, he's very dangerous with that pick up shot, especially in Adelaide.
"He's not committed too far forward or too far back and therefore he can just react to whatever ball is delivered to him and let his natural ability take over.
"That's what he's doing at the moment, he's putting himself in a very nice position to access a good strike on the ball."
And while White will be hoping his intricate knowledge of Short's game plan will work against the tournament's current top run-scorer tonight when the Strikers take on the Sixers in Coffs Harbour, it will no doubt bring him some joy to see his former pupil go big once again.
"It's great for Shorty, he's put in a lot of hard work throughout his career," White said.
"He's always threatened to be a really good player and now he's one of the very best in the Big Bash … and does all three disciplines really well."
Sixers squad v Strikers: Sean Abbott, Jackson Bird, Dan Christian, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Mickey Edwards, Moises Henriques, Daniel Hughes, Hayden Kerr, Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy, Izharulhaq Naveed, Stephen O’Keefe, Kurtis Patterson, Josh Philippe, Jordan Silk, Steve Smith
Strikers squad v Sixers: Wes Agar, Cameron Boyce, Jordan Buckingham, Alex Carey (wk), Harry Conway, Colin de Grandhomme, Travis Head (c), Adam Hose, Henry Hunt, Thomas Kelly, Ben Manenti, Matt Short, Henry Thornton
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