David Grant

A disciple of the Glenn McGrath school of fast bowling, David Grant has emulated his role model's approach as a bowler. Rather than looking for express pace, Grant has been on the lookout for accuracy since his teenage days when most other young boys of his age would want to bowl fast. He managed to do well in the age-group competitions and represented Australia at the Under-19 level in 2014, featuring both in Youth ODIs and Tests. His dream of being coached by McGrath came true in 2015 at the MRF Pace Foundation - an experience that Grant feels has added so much to his game. He also performed admirably in his stint at the National Performance Squad.

After a string of successful performances at the Under-19 level, Grant finally managed to break into the South Australian team via a rookie contract for the 2016-17 domestic season. He made his First-class debut and also got initiated in List A. However, in March 2017, tragedy struck him in the form of a foot stress fracture which ruled him out of the entire season. Despite this setback, Grant's rookie contract was upgraded to a full contract for the 2017-18 season. After full recovery from his injury, Grant is back and hungry for success.

Among the modern Australian bowlers, Grant's attributes and bowling ethics are likened to Josh Hazlewood and Chadd Sayers. His tall frame enables him to extract bounce from most pitches while he also has the skill to get seam movement off the deck. Although not brisk by any standards, South Australia's high performance manager feels that Grant can easily put in a yard or two as far as pace is concerned in the coming years. Given his natural attributes, Grant has everything going for him to become a complete fast bowler. The Adelaide Strikers spotted his talent and have roped him for the 2017-18 BBL season.

By Hariprasad Sadanandan