DUNK’S PLAN TO GIVE HIS BIG BASH BATTING FORM A LIFT
A FLAW in Ben Dunk’s backlift contributed to the slashing opener’s poor debut season for the Melbourne Stars.
Innisfail’s Dunk was the Big Bash League’s leading runscorer in 2013-14 (395 runs) and 2016-17 (364 runs), helping him earn a five-year contract at the green team.
But the wicketkeeper’s first three knocks for the Stars generated just 11 runs.
“I was trying so hard and I essentially had so many moving parts, and one of my strengths as a batter has always been my stillness at the crease,” Dunk, 31, said.
“I lost a bit of trust in that and was trying to get going and find a way to break the shackles and just went away from what I was good at.
“After the Big Bash I stripped everything right back and went back to being really simple and embracing what I was good at, and no surprise it worked.
“I was disappointed I didn’t do that earlier. But again I was just probably trying too hard last year to make an im- pression and to carry on my form from the previous year.
“When that didn’t happen at the start I probably panicked and lost a bit of trust in my own game, and then it snowballs from there and what you get is an average of 11.”
Stars captain Glenn Maxwell said Dunk had “got his swing back” after last summer’s BBL slump.
“He said he worked out something in his backlift that seemed to trigger him,” Maxwell said.
“It was really frustrating I think for him. To go through a Big Bash like last year, in your first year at the club, was tough and I know how disappointed he was.”
Dunk has enjoyed the world T20 circuit this year and played alongside Chris Gayle in the Canada tournament, which also featured David Warner and Steve Smith.
Dunk played under Brendon McCullum in the recent Ten10 tournament in Dubai – which has been backed as a future Olympic sport.
“We chased 94 down in four overs in one game, we were 0/96,” Dunk said.