England vs Australia T20I Southampton Matthew Short makes his case to replace David Warner

While Fraser-McGurk’s meteoric stardom has shot from the fringes of domestic cricket into the stratosphere in less than 12 months thanks to an impressive IPL, Short has been batting all over Australia in the most consistent format at Australia’s domestic level for the past two years. again. the leading opener in the BBL in the last two tournaments, winning back-to-back tournament MVP awards.

Short was unsure if he would get a chance to open after missing the Scotland series due to the birth of his first child. But he is determined to take his chance at the top of the order after shuffling in his last eight T20I innings.

“I got it last night,” Short said following Australia’s 28-run win. “Obviously, with Davey Warner out, you know a place is open. But Jake Fraser-McGurk has been playing the last few games for Scotland, so you never know where he sits. But I’m glad I took that chance tonight again I played my part to help the team win tonight.

“It’s kind of my goal. I’ve been in and out of the side for the last 12-18 months. Now Dave’s out I’m really trying to take this opportunity and cement my place in this side.”

Opening spots in Australia’s T20Is are the most coveted and most contested. Australia has plenty of players who can do it well. Where the selectors would like to build depth is in the middle and at the death. It was the venue that won them the 2021 World Cup with Marcus Stoinis and Matthew Wade, who were molded into lethal batsmen despite being home openers. They’ve got a world-class talent in Tim David but he’s had a slow start to his career, although he continues to play a heavy hitting role. It was the area where Australia failed during the recent T20 World Cup in the Caribbean where they lost to Afghanistan and India as they were in a position to win both the matches. They also fell badly against England in Southampton although it didn’t cost them the game, turning a strong performance of 86 for 1 into 179, having been dismissed without using all 20 overs.

Australia’s selectors want to go easy on all their T20I batsmen, and have tried to give Short opportunities in the middle in last year’s five-match T20I tour of India, this year’s New Zealand tour and in three of his four ODI matches. . But it is clear that Short is very comfortable at the top of the order. In T20s he averages 29.96 and bats at 150.09 batting in the top three compared to 14.09 batting 113.97 batting at No.4 or below.

The strike rate variation is very high in his limited T20I appearances. He is batting at 186 from his seven innings at the top three and 126.66 from his two innings at No.6.

It’s clear that his approach has been used at the top, and he fits seamlessly alongside Head into Australia’s game plan of working as hard as possible on the powerplay.

“It’s a clear game plan from the coaching staff,” Short said. “Just go out there where you have freedom and make good choices. Trav and I make it a point to go to games with that mindset.”

The short-favoured Fraser-McGurk in the opening game of the series is no guarantee of the future thinking of the selectors as they plan for the 2026 World Cup. Fraser-McGurk’s talent remains an exciting prospect. But even his IPL coach Ricky Ponting agreed this week Sky Sports Cricket podcast that his game still needs to be refined. Fraser-McGurk’s all-or-nothing display in Scotland was evidence of that as he faced 17 dot balls in 23 games over three innings.

Short, in contrast, hit the first seven balls he faced at Southampton but did not hit a boundary until he produced a six when he blasted a six in a row off Reece Topley.

Captain Mitchell Marsh said earlier this week that there was “no pressure” on Fraser-McGurk to succeed at international level any time soon. But Short uses his pressure to give Australia a wealth of opening options.