Short’s whirlwind Hurricanes rise has Langer’s blessing
GIFTED Territory product D’Arcy Short ( pictured) was once a Scorcher, but Perth coach Justin Langer could not be happier to see him fire in a Hobart Hurricanes uniform.
The Palmerston product is now at the forefront of discussions surrounding the makeup of Australia’s T20 team which will take on England and New Zealand in a tri-series starting on February 3.
That is after the destructive opener pummelled sensational scores of 97, 96 and 122no against the Thunder, Strikers and Heat, respectively. in the BBL. Langer famously told Short he wasn’t fit enough and needed to lose some weight while coming through the ranks at Western Australia under Langer’s tutelage.
The upfront advice hit a nerve, and Short trained harder as a result.
“D’Arcy is a great news story,” Langer said ahead of the Hurricanes-Heat clash in Hobart tomorrow night.
“His career was at a crossroads, but then he worked extremely hard and now he’s in really good shape.
“His leg spin has really developed, and of course his batting has been terrific.”
Langer has guided the Scorchers to three BBL titles since being appointed as coach in November 2012, the Perth outfit now the most successful T20 franchise in world cricket.
A large part of the legendary former Australian opening batsman’s success has been developing Western Australian cricketers.
Short went through the Perth grade cricket system, and has represented Gosnells and Willetton, and now stars for WA and the Scorchers.
Langer was shattered to lose the 27-year-old to the Hurricanes, Short making his Big Bash debut for Hobart in stunning fashion by cracking 61 off just 29 deliveries against the Sydney Sixers in December, 2016.
“We would have loved to have kept him, but we couldn’t have forecast Shaun Marsh making the Test team,” Langer said. “We also had Michael Klinger, Adam Voges and Asthton Turner.
“Ask D’Arcy – we encouraged him to go to the Hobart Hurricanes. The truth is with the salary cap, we couldn’t afford to keep him.”