Quick an instant hit
Speedster’s stunning debut
RILEY Meredith is “horrible” to face and Australia’s latest international fast bowler has been hailed as a weapon who looms as a “scary” prospect for batsmen around the world.
The 24-year-old Tasmanian with the rocket arm made a stunning entry to international cricket, taking two wickets in his T20 debut against New Zealand on Wednesday night, including the prized scalp of Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson.
His recent million-dollar Indian Premier League payday was an indication the cricket world already had an appreciation for Meredith, who declared his intent was always to try to “hover” around the 150km/h mark when bowling.
Meredith hit 151km/h against the Kiwis in Wellington.
“It’s good to finally be over, a bit of a relief. I was really nervous beforehand,” Meredith said after finishing with 2-24 in Australia’s 64-run win.
“Most of the day I was playing it all out in my mind. I thought about that first ball a thousand times. It was nice to get it on the pitch, in a decent area and go from there. Nice to get a couple of wickets and contribute to a win.”
Meredith said the wicket of batting gun Williamson, catching him plum LBW, was “a cherry on the top”.
Aussie teammate Glenn Maxwell hailed the impact of Meredith, who has stood out as one of the best bowlers in the Big Bash in recent seasons.
He collected $1.4m after being picked by the Kings XI Punjab for the coming IPL season, and Maxwell has continued to call for Meredith to play all three forms for Australia.
Maxwell felt the full force of Meredith after being hit by him in the nets and said his debut should be just the start.
“He’s horrible to face. Game, nets or a practice game,” Maxwell said.
“When you have a weapon like that, and the way (captain Aaron Finch) used him I thought was brilliant. He was able to use him as an impact player, he gave him the new ball to see if there was any shape.
“I think Riley’s biggest strength is swinging the ball at high speeds … it’s pretty scary.”
A SIMPLE run has dealt a blow to Barrabool’s premiership hopes with key batsman Daniel Mair set to be on crutches for months after an achilles injury.
The Bulls coach flicked one off his pads and took off for a run in the Round 13 loss to St Leonards, only to feel sharp pain in his lower leg.
Mair tried to get up and walk it off but realised he couldn’t put weight on the leg.
He works in heating and cooling and estimated he wouldn’t be back on site for four to five months but has avoided surgery. He had been battling with a calf complaint through the summer but said it was not related to the achilles blow.
“I’ve got a cast on the front
(of the foot) to keep the toe pointed at the moment,” he said.
“It will just stitch itself up naturally. The next week or so I will end up in a moon boot for about 10 weeks.”
Almost two weeks on from the injury, Mair said he was “just bored” around the house but he wasn’t the only one in pain.
“The worst part was my wife had torn her ACL two weeks prior (when walking dogs) so we are both hobbling around and not going too well,” he said.
Mair will be a spectator this week as Barrabool faces Jan Juc.
The two clubs will remarkably meet in semi-finals in each of the BPCA A1, B1 and C-grade competitions.
Barrabool and Jan Juc share a friendly rivalry and Mair was confident his club could knock the Sharks out, having beaten them twice in A1 this season.
“There might be a bit more (heat) in it because I think (Jan Juc) used to think they had us covered,” Mair said.
“If we stick to our plans we are absolutely competitive against anyone. We showed that last week when for the second time we have played them (this season) we took Anglesea to the last over. We know our cricket can be successful.”
THE WORST PART WAS MY WIFE HAD TORN HER ACL TWO WEEKS PRIOR (WHEN WALKING DOGS) SO WE ARE BOTH HOBBLING AROUND AND NOT GOING TOO WELL.” BARRABOOL’S DANIEL MAIR, PICTURED