MELBOURNE: Top-order batsman Matt Short will have a role in Australia’s leadership group during the Twenty20 International series against Pakistan and has put his hand up to stand in as captain with Mitchell Marsh away on paternity leave.

Short has fewer than 20 white-ball internationals to his name but the 28-year-old Victorian led the Adelaide Strikers with aplomb in the last Big Bash League (BBL) tournament when promoted to captain the T20 side.

With none of Australia’s test regulars in the T20 squad against Pakistan, Short is seen among the contenders for the captaincy along with Glenn Maxwell, Adam Zampa and Josh Inglis.

Short told reporters on Friday he was definitely interested in the role.

“I’ve done it for a little bit now with the Adelaide Strikers and really enjoyed being involved in making some of the calls,” he said.

“The communication [from selectors] at the moment is ... they still haven’t made up their mind, but if it was me they wanted, I’d definitely put my hand up for it.”

It would be a rapid elevation for Short, who missed out on a spot in Australia’s squad for the T20 World Cup in the US and West Indies, and played his first T20I in seven months in September.

However, David Warner’s retirement has opened the door for Short to stake his claim at the top of the order after topping the BBL’s batting list with 541 runs from 11 matches, earning him a second successive Player of the Tournament award.

Short is seen in a two-horse race with Warner apprentice Jake Fraser-McGurk to open for Australia’s white-ball teams with Travis Head.

Fraser-McGurk lit up the Indian Premier League with a sensational tournament for the Delhi Capitals and the 22-year-old scored his maiden international fifty in the T20 series against England in September.

Short and Fraser-McGurk will have an unofficial “bat-off” when they open for Aus­tralia in the first of three ODIs against Pakistan at the MCG on Monday. The T20 series starts in Brisbane on Nov 14.

Short will face Pakistan bowlers prepared by his former Strikers coach Jason Gillespie and he said the 71-Test quick was “probably a big reason” for where he found himself today.

“He’s seen plenty of me batting in the nets and in games and I’m sure he’s going to hand that onto some of their bowlers,” he added. “We’ll see how we go.”

Published in Dawn, November 2nd, 2024