Matt Short enjoys the new ball, but he’s reluctantly accepted that Australia’s top order is close to set in stone. So, if he wants a ticket to next year’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, he’ll probably have to earn it somewhere between Nos. 6 and 8.
“Personally I think I am suited to the top of the order, but having conversations with selectors and coaching staff, I think, looking forward to that T20 World Cup, I know that our top four or five is going to be pretty locked in,” he said in Brisbane this week.
Those chats have been frank. David Warner looks keen on one final white-ball fling, Travis Head is in rare form, Mitchell Marsh now captains the side and Glenn Maxwell can win games on his own. That doesn’t leave much daylight for anyone who fancies a crack in the powerplay.
Short, 29, was a travelling reserve during Australia’s flat 2024 campaign in the Caribbean. Not playing still hurt, so he is treating the current home series against India as a very public job interview. His first two knocks in the series were down at No. 7, a role that requires quick runs and a bit of off-spin if the skipper fancies a mismatch.
“If I was to make the XI in the World Cup, I think my best chances are in the middle or lower order. We are probably using this series to see guys in different positions and looking ahead to that World Cup.”
The wording is plain, yet the ambition is obvious. Short smashed a lively 26 not out from 15 balls on Tuesday, showing he can finish an innings rather than just launch one. He already owns a more eye-catching international highlight – 66 off 30 while opening against South Africa in 2023 – but he seems resigned to parking that memory for selection purposes.
“To play at the World Cup would be massive. I missed out on the one in the West Indies where I was a travelling reserve, but I love playing cricket for Australia no matter if it’s in the World Cup or a series like this. I am happy taking what I am getting, whether that is in the top order or through the middle.”
Selectors like versatility. Short offers power hitting, tidy off-spin and sharp fielding. Those skills helped him secure back-to-back BBL player-of-the-tournament gongs for the Adelaide Strikers (seasons 12 and 13). Domestic form was the ladder, international cricket the reward.
Yet sub-continental conditions are different. Australian quicks often talk about “hitting the deck”; for batters it’s more about angles, gaps and how well you handle spin. Short admits there’s work to do.
“There’s always ways to improve,” he said. “Looking at the World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, it is probably my game against spin that probably needs a little bit of work.”
In Australian colours, the likely middle-order rivals already boast strong numbers on turning pitches. “Especially when you look at our squad and the power hitters we have got through the middle like Tim David, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Owen, Marcus Stoinis … guys that have had that experience in India before and have that real power game against spin.”
Short’s own off-breaks could tip the scales. Part-time spin is still spin, and teams love having a sixth bowling option. On smaller Indian grounds, a cheaper over here or there can decide matches.
“It is obviously a challenge, and playing for Australia is not easy, so we will have to wait and see.”
Between now and the squad announcement, there’s more Big Bash and a short white-ball tour of New Zealand. Short knows the maths: runs plus wickets equals leverage. Fail, and someone else – perhaps an emerging all-rounder such as Aaron Hardie – slides ahead.
The good news? Australia haven’t locked in a specialist finisher since the 2021 title win in Dubai. Tim David holds the inside lane but not a monopoly. Maxwell will float. Stoinis remains effective yet injury-prone. There’s space for one more. Short just has to show he can adapt his free-flowing style to the middle overs, where risk-and-reward is a tighter dance.
For now, he’s not over-thinking it. He’ll keep swinging, keep bowling off-spin that drifts a fraction and, if the opportunity comes, keep reminding selectors he can slot in almost anywhere. Sometimes that flexibility is the very thing that gets you on the plane.
