Australia’s players will take away different lessons from their ongoing ODI series against India, but for Matthew Short, it’s a pivotal moment. The in-form batter views this series as a golden opportunity to cement his place in the top order, with the competition for spots intensifying ahead of the 2027 ODI World Cup.
A Chance to Prove His Worth, Matthew Short
The rain-hit opening ODI in Perth marked Short’s 16th appearance in the format since his debut, where he first batted at No. 8 against India in Mohali. His journey since then has been filled with experimentation — featuring at No. 6 against West Indies in Sydney before eventually finding a rhythm at the top of the order.
Earlier this year, Matthew Short showcased his potential with a career-best knock of 63 against England at the Champions Trophy. Unfortunately, his progress was hampered by injuries — a quad strain that cut short his Champions Trophy campaign, followed by a side injury that sidelined him from the T20I series against West Indies and South Africa.
“𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒇𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈…𝑰 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝑰’𝒎 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒅𝒅𝒍𝒆. 𝑱𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏’𝒕 𝒈𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒖𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒂𝒓𝒅. 𝑯𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒐𝒏,” 𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝑻𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒅𝒂𝒚.
The 29-year-old recently featured in the T20I series against New Zealand, but consistency in ODIs continues to elude him. His scores of 0, 20, and 12 this season, followed by an 8-run outing in Perth, underline a string of missed chances.
Adapting to Different Roles
A proven performer for the Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League (BBL), Matthew Short has carved out his reputation as a reliable top-order batter. However, he remains flexible about his role in the national side and is willing to adjust wherever the team needs him.
“𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒂 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑿𝑰. 𝑰’𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 — 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆, 𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓,” 𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒅. “𝑰’𝒎 𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒊𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒅𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕. 𝑰𝒇 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒅𝒅𝒍𝒆, 𝑰’𝒅 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒑 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑰’𝒗𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰’𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒔.”
Meanwhile, Australia’s training session on Tuesday was moved indoors as persistent rain swept through Adelaide Oval. Though more showers are expected, conditions are likely to improve before match day. On the injury front, left-arm pacer Ben Dwarshuis has been ruled out of the ODI series with a calf injury but is hopeful of returning for the T20I leg starting October 29 in Canberra.
Also Read: Women’s World Cup 2025: Alyssa Healy ruled out of England clash with calf strain
