D Arcy Short

A blistering left-hander top order batsman suited primarily for white-ball cricket (T20 format especially), D'Arcy Short is the latest sensation to come out of the Big Bash League in Australia. It was in the tournament that the world got to know the young talent from Katherine. Apart from being a destructive batsman, Short also bowls the exciting left-arm wrist-spin variety which makes him a superb limited-overs package. He had made his debut in the domestic arena during the 2011 season in the List A format but after that, had to wait for over five years to get another opportunity in the domestic circuit.

It was the 2016-17 season that turned the tables for Short in many ways. He returned to the 50-over domestic circuit as a middle order batsman and looked quite compact - a reason behind his First-class debut in the same season although he looked a bit out of sorts against the red ball. As a result, Short hardly got any games in that format and after a lull, he came back with a bang in the BBL season where as an opener, he flayed attacks around the park. If the 2016-17 BBL season was great for him, the 2017-18 one was nothing short of extraordinary as he ended as the top run-scorer, that too at a phenomenal strike rate. His T20 form saw him being picked up by the IPL franchise Rajasthan at the 2018 Player auctions.

With such heroics in the BBL, a national call-up wasn't far away, at least in T20Is and that happened in early 2018 during the tri-series between Australia, New Zealand and England that was co-hosted by the Trans-Tasman neighbors. Short didn't appear overawed on the big stage and showed his talent already as free-flowing opener. Later the same year, he shared the highest ever opening partnership in T20 cricket (223) with Aaron Finch in a game against Zimbabwe. While Short himself struck a 42-ball 46, he had the best seat in the house to witness Finch's record-breaking 172 off 76 balls.

While failing to break into the Australian team as a regular, Short played cricket around the globe. He played for Durham and Hampshire in the T20 Blast and for the Trent Rockets in The Hundred. He was also signed by the Dambulla Giants in the LPL. Back at home, after a successful stint with the Hobart Hurricanes, Short moved to the Adelaide Strikers in 2023/24 where he opened the batting with his namesake, Matt Short.

By Hariprasad Sadanandan