Born-again Doolan no longer sees red

THE swift termination of Alex Doolan’s Test career has had a silver lining for his Twenty20 game, with the Tasmanian veteran converting himself into a more than useful opener in the shortest format.

More noted for his red-ball exploits, Doolan landed a last-minute contract with the Hobart Hurricanes for BBL|07, and after impressing in the two warm-up matches slotted into the opening spot vacated by Tim Paine’s elevation to the Ashes squad.

After 13 games with the Melbourne Renegades and two years on the Brisbane Heat list without featur- ing in the Big Bash, Doolan scored 26 in the loss to the Renegades before Christmas, building a solid platform of 52 in the powerplay with D’Arcy Short (34), which the side couldn’t convert.

But with an extended BBL run beckoning, the 32-year-old is itching to prove his T20 credentials after working tirelessly on his batting in recent years once his focus shifted from regaining his baggy green.

“My time at the Heat, when Test cricket seemed to be no longer a possibility, I was able to develop my T20 game and work on that,” said Doolan, who played four Tests in 2014 before being dropped on the tour of the UAE against Pakistan. “Prior to that I was always trying to be a Test cricketer. The T20 stuff, while I enjoyed it I didn’t really try and develop my game.

“I have been a little bit late to the party in that regard but the last few years I have worked hard on different shots, learning the game itself and really trying to excel in the shorter formats. I always felt I was in a good space and hopeful I would get an opportunity to show that.”

The elegant strokemaker is now preparing to return to his home town of Launceston when the Hurricanes host the Sydney Thunder at UTAS Stadium tonight, hoping to continue his solid start and help Hobart get on the BBL victory board.

And while the Thunder has shown a heavy reliance on skipper Shane Watson in the early stages of the tournament, Doolan said the Canes can ill afford to be too focused on the T20 slugger.

“I don’t think you can underrate any team, it seems they are relying on Shane because he has come off in the first couple of games, but that doesn’t mean he is their only player.

“They have quite a few very handy batsmen up there, they have some really experienced players — Ben Rohrer being one of those — he is an outstanding Twenty20 player.”