Matt Short admits the current one-day series against India feels like more than just another set of fixtures. With the next 50-over World Cup not until 2027, Australia have room – and motive – to look at new combinations. Short, 29, is well aware that every outing matters if he is to convince selectors he belongs near the top of the card.
Australia’s reshuffle
The opening match in Perth, reduced by rain, was Short’s 16th ODI since debuting in South Africa two years ago. That first appearance saw him walk in at No. 8; a few months later he was listed at six; then came a run as opener, highlighted by 63 against England at the Champions Trophy. Each role has offered clues while never quite guaranteeing security.
Injuries have not helped. A quad strain cut short his Champions Trophy campaign, and a side strain forced him out of the T20Is versus West Indies and the white-ball leg in South Africa. Domestic returns have been lean too: 0, 20 and 12 for Victoria in the Marsh Cup. His eight from 17 deliveries at Perth Stadium, edging Axar Patel to short third, summed up an awkward stretch.
“It’s been frustrating…I still feel like I’m moving well. I’m feeling good out in the middle,” Short told reporters in Adelaide. “Just haven’t got the runs on the board. But hopefully they come soon. It’s been a frustrating year in terms of getting that continuous cricket.”
Open spots, open minds
Australia are missing Cameron Green (side) and Josh Inglis (calf) this series, two men likely pencilled into a full-strength XI. With Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head seemingly locked in as opening pair, the race for the remaining top-order slots is open, especially with Steven Smith and Glenn Maxwell in the later stages of their 50-over careers.
Short has flourished as an opener in the BBL for Adelaide Strikers, yet he is realistic. “It’s always going to be tough to get a spot in the XI and I’ll sort of take whatever that is, whether it’s opening, batting a three or wherever. It’s just [about] staying flexible and trying to bat wherever you’re put and be able to take that.”
Flexibility may soon be tested. Should David Warner or Marnus Labuschagne be rotated, Australia could ask Short to slot in anywhere between three and seven. He insists a move one place down is hardly dramatic: “Especially the last few years, I’m so used to opening the batting and batting in that top order, but batting a three is not too dissimilar. But if it was to come through the middle, you’d probably need to prep a bit for that but it’s something I’ve done before in the past. If that came to happen, I’d definitely take it.”
Pitch, weather and personnel
Training in Adelaide shifted indoors on Tuesday as showers lingered. Forecasts suggest a clearer day for the second ODI, but bowlers may still need towels as much as yorkers.
Left-arm seamer Ben Dwarshuis has been ruled out of the 50-over leg with a calf strain, aiming instead for the T20Is that begin in Canberra on 29 October. His absence nudges Spencer Johnson or Wes Agar closer to game time, adding another audition to a series already thick with them.
Balanced outlook
Head coach Andrew McDonald has stressed that performances now will carry weight, though he also warns against over-reading a single series so soon after a World Cup cycle. Selectors want depth, not drama, and will keep rotating.
For Short the equation is straightforward: stay fit, score runs, stay in view. An eight-ball cameo in Perth did little harm, yet little good. Two or three decisive contributions over the next week could change the conversation entirely.
As he packed his kit after an indoor net, Short allowed himself a smile. “Opportunity’s there,” he said quietly to a team-mate. The tone was calm, not cocky – apt for an all-rounder who knows chances appear, disappear, and reappear, sometimes all in the space of a rain-affected series.
