Daniel Worrall

In the early 2010s, there was a whisper of a notoriously eccentric action in the Australian domestic circuit. Rumor has it, that his backyard hard an awkwardly placed tree, which he had to run around to complete his run-up. For the purists, however, a swing bowler with a curved run-up was a nostalgic sight; a throwback to the yesteryears when instinct, rather than biomechanics, dictated the action of a fast bowler.

Like most aspiring cricketers in Australia, Daniel Worrall started off with backyard cricket; a backyard with an inconveniently placed tree. He clawed his way through the ranks and made it to the Victorian Premier League, but made a decision to move to Adelaide after being offered a rookie contract for South Australia in 2012/13. He was handed a Sheffield Shield debut, but due to inconsistent performances, lost his place in the side over the next 3 years.

He slowly started to work on his consistency and started to deliver some commendable performances in List A cricket in 2014. That he had worked on his bowling showed in the wicket charts in the 2015/16 Sheffield Shield season, as he snaffled 44 scalps at 26.18. He exhibited his composure for the big match as well, as he picked up a 6/96 in the final against his home side Victoria. Despite failing to take his team to victory, he had come in as an injury-replacement fringe bowler and managed to turn the spotlight for national reckoning towards himself.

He also earned himself the “Most improved player” award from the South Australian Cricket Association, on the basis of which, he was awarded with his selection into the Australia A squad for the Quadrangular series. He was one of the best bowlers in this tournament, his breakthrough performance coming against India where he claimed 4 wickets for 26 runs. He continued his meteoric rise to the top and consequently earned himself a call-up into the Australian ODI side to play against Ireland, where he was asked to open the bowling and performed admirably to take a wicket for 43 runs. The selectors showed faith in him and picked him for the series in ODIs in South Africa. However, he failed to repay the faith and went wicket-less in the two ODIs that followed, and was dropped after conceding 78 runs in 9 overs as Australia failed to defend a mammoth total of 371.

He continued to perform in domestic cricket, and once again demonstrated his knack of performing in big matches, as he picked up 5/62 against Victoria, knocking over Aaron Finch for a golden duck in the process, and driving his team into the final of the JLT One-Day Cup final.

He currently plays in the Big Bash League for the Melbourne Stars, and has the distinction of picking up 9 out of his 10 wickets against the Perth Scorchers. He only took the field once in the 6th edition of the BBL, taking 1/15 in the semi-final against the Perth Scorchers, which the Stars went on to lose. Nonetheless, barring fitness issues, he will continue to be a vital cog with the new ball for the Melbourne Stars in the 7th edition of the Big Bash League.

Fun Fact

- Daniel 'The Weapon' Worrall is a professional darts player and plans to take it up in case his cricket career doesn't work out, or after his cricket career.

By Rishi Roy

As of December 2017