White-ball blitz could give Short Test hope

SHANE Warne may have declared D’Arcy Short a mustpick when Australia plays the opening Test against India in December, but the short-form opener is not taking his eye off the ball.

Short, who smacked an Australian domestic one-day record of 257 for Western Australia last month, racked up 68 not out in Abu Dhabi yesterday in Australia’s T20 win over the United Arab Emirates.

The Aussies only lost three wickets in chasing down the UAE’s 117 in the first ever official international between the two teams.

Short’s innings came after Warne declared the left-hander could be the next David Warner and go from shortform specialist to Test star, despite a first-class batting average of just 23.58 from nine matches for WA.

He will only have more white-ball cricket to push his Test case before the home summer begins, with T20s against Pakistan and India plus a one-day series against South Africa filling Short’s calendar.

The 28-year-old knows opportunities could open up with the Test team in a state of flux but said he’d just keep thinking about making runs every time he went out to bat, and the rest would take care of itself.

“There definitely is a lot of spots open I guess,” Short said.

“All I can do is score runs in white-ball cricket and whatever comes from that, I’ll be happy to take it. I just try to back myself ... it’s all about being consistent for me.”