SHORT ROBBED OF A SECOND BBL TON
The shot that should have delivered Big Bash star D’Arcy Short his second BBL century was no fluke.
Short has been working on adding a “draw” shot to his repertoire as he continues to evolve into the competition’s most devastating batsman.
The Hurricanes’ blaster pulled out the shot against the Melbourne Stars at the MCG on Monday night – deliberately closing the face of the bat to a full-pitched delivery as late as possible to get the ball to fine leg – and it should have made him only the third player in BBL history to register two centuries.
However, his wizardry in squirting a near yorker from Dwayne Bravo to the fence was given four leg byes by the umpire, with the left-hander finishing unbeaten on 96 as Hobart romped to a 59-run victory.
Usman Khawaja and Luke Wright are the only two batsman to have chalked up two tons in the BBL but Short, who cracked 122 not out against the Brisbane Heat last year, now has four scores of 90-plus, two more than any other player.
“It is something I have kind of worked on a little bit ... trying to get it fine if they are going at my toes,” Short said, adding he practised the shot by getting players to throw the ball at his feet. “I don’t really have the lap (sweep) so I have to try and have something to get it down there ... some of it is a bit of instinct as well.
“It’s just something I have kind of got there and will use it where I can. Unfortunately it didn’t go my way with the umpire, but it was his decision.”
Short’s innings rocketed him back to the top of the BBL run-makers with 355 at 59.1 at a strike rate of 141.4. He has scored four half-centuries from his past seven innings.
A feature of his tournament has been his improvement against spin – considered a weakness and a reason for being left out of Australia’s one-day side – but if he continues to take down the slow bowlers it will only be a matter of time before he earns a national recall.
For the first time in the BBL, Short’s strike rate against spin (166 runs from 116 balls at a strike rate of 143.1) is better than that against the quicks (189 from 135 at 140.0).
“Stats only speak for themselves. If I can do better against them (spinners), which I have this year, hopefully I get back in the ODI squad,” he said.